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June 13, 2011 08:52 PM UTC

Gessler: Not Intended To Be a Factual Statement?

  • 21 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

It’s been a couple of months since we last discussed Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s controversial “awareness campaign” around the threat of tens of thousands thousands hundreds maybe a hundred? illegally registered noncitizen voters in Colorado. After the legislation Gessler pushed to deal with this “problem” was killed, it was widely reported that the normal rate of naturalization of citizens during the time period that Gessler “studied” easily accounts for the figures he cited as evidence of a problem.

A bigger credibility issue is the different numbers that Gessler confusingly bandied about in the course of his various press conferences and testimony, both in Denver and in Washington, DC. The different numbers invoked by Gessler without adequate explanation of their meaning–11,000 noncitizens, but only 5,000 who “might” have voted, and only 106 that Gessler is “mostly sure” there is some “problem” with–were freely misrepresented by illegal immigration opponents. Gessler didn’t really seem interested in correcting the misrepresentation of his numbers: after all, it’s impossible to claim that 106 voters represents a problem worth jeopardizing the voting rights of tens of thousands. Not to mention it’s already a federal crime to vote as a noncitizen.

Well, as the Greeley Gazette reported this weekend, unwinding this little campaign is proving expensive credibility-wise. Makes you wonder–for legislation that was never going to pass? Which gave Gessler authority he already reportedly has? Was it worth all this “clarifying?”

Following Congressional testimony that 5,000 illegals may have voted in the last election, a spokesman for Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler contacted the Gazette to explain his remarks.

The Gazette reported that Gessler told Congress nearly 12,000 illegal aliens were registered to vote and up to 5,000 may have cast votes in the last general election.

Andrew Cole, a spokesman with Gessler’s office, said he was attempting to make a point that our current system does not have the capability to effectively confirm with certainty the eligibility of voters in the state.

In his statement before Congress, Gessler was able to say they were only “nearly certain that 106 individuals are improperly registered to vote.” Cole explained the 5,000 number arose from individuals who were identified as being ineligible to vote at the time they obtained their driver’s license…

But as you know, some 32,000 people became United States citizens in Colorado during this period. And once you know that, you know that this 5,000 number is highly questionable at best. The title of the above article is “Gessler’s office clarifies remarks about 5,000 illegals voting in last election,” but we really don’t see where they’ve clarified much.

In fact, it’s probably better for Gessler if you stay confused.

Comments

21 thoughts on “Gessler: Not Intended To Be a Factual Statement?

  1. In HD-29, control of the Colorado House was decided by less than 200 votes.

    Keep telling the voters that a few hundred slipping through the cracks is okay. They remember better than you do, obviously. And they expect that EVERY voter is eligible to vote. You can’t say that principle is not important out of one side of your mouth, and demand McNulty not take office as Speaker of the House out of the other….

    1. Gessler has yet to show any of his work that there have been even 106 ineligible voters.

      And, second, the solution — even if this specious figure is correct — is not to place sufficient hurdles to disenfranchise a large number of actually eligible voters.  

      (but, you already knew all of this, didn’t you?)

      1. To date, Mr. Gessler has not provided one shred of evidence to back up any of his numbers. Requests for him to prove his allegations have been so numerous and from all sides that we have to conclude he fabricated the numbers to justify the legislation he had introduced on this subject. I don’t know what motivates Mr. Gessler, and won’t guess, but thus far he has been a disappointment as SOS.

        1. Gessler concedes he does not know the full scope of the problem. The legislation would have clarified his authority to investigate.

          My point is very simple: the right of Americans to vote, and have that vote counted equally, is diluted by even ONE unlawful voter. The integrity of the system demands that we act to preserve that right above all else. As long as those affected have ample time to correct the problem, which they would, no one rights are infringed and everyone else’s rights are protected.

          1. Then Gessler should have kept his mouth shut.

            But Gessler wanted legislation passed, so he manufactured “facts.”

            He has never provided evidence to support his made-up “facts.”  That makes his “facts” bullshit, and it makes Gessler a bullshitter.  

            I agree that the integrity of the system is important.  So who is the real threat to the integrity of the system?  I say it’s Gessler the bullshitter..

            You can defend him all you want–at the risk of your own credibility.

          2. and he can investigate election fraud right now without any new legislation. None of Mr. Gessler’s statements on this subject make sense.

      1. I said that elections are sometimes decided by very small margins. In a very close election, I want to be confident that every vote was cast legally. Not almost every vote, EVERY vote.

        Anything short of 100% hurts my rights as a citizen, and yours too.

        1. I want to be confident every vote was cast legally, AND I want to be sure everyone who can cast a legal vote was allowed to. If you only take on one side of the problem, you’re just a partisan hack.  

    2. in election fraud and ignore campaign finance regulations because voter fraud is so much more prevalent than Republican election fraud.

      Not

      When you compare the destruction on Democracy from Republicans engaging election fraud at every opportunity from jamming Democratic Headquarters to magically finding 7,000 votes there is no comparison.

      How about cleaning up the cheaters in your own party GrOPer before accusing anyone else?  That would take guts to confront those who seek to subvert fair elections for partisan gain so I guess we all know what you won’t do.  What a cowardly partisan.

    3. is that you assume all of those 106 votes out of a total of one and a half million were all going to vote Democratic making you once again (drum roll) “The Victim”.

      How do you know that they all voted Democratic?

      What if they were Tea Party extremists who are dodging the Feds because they choose not to pay taxes and cheated on their voter registration to vote for Mr. Hate All Government even the United States of America government (best in the world though) Dan Maes?

      Your bullshit victimization angle looks outrageously stupid when even elementary logic is applied to it.

      It’s all a shell game to give an excuse why Republicans lose and point attention away from the election fraud that they are committing.  What a phony, whiny victim.

      1. Maybe they all voted Republican. This isn’t a partisan issue. If someone who cannot legally vote votes, my right to equal democracy is infringed upon. So I want it to never happen, and I don’t care if they vote Republican or Democrat.

        Why is this so hard to understand?

  2. Now Gessler got that “5000 illegals voting” in yet another headline. Not only is that number an utter fiction but the 106 number is equally ridiculous if less inflammatory. There is no methodological validity behind these numbers. Gessler came up with the 106 number like all the numbers himself and that 106 is a number that came as a result of cross checking various lists that contain the names of 3.7 million registered Colorado voters. Percentwise, have a look at what the Colorado Independent found: 106 alleged “illegals” casting votes is 0.00286 percent. Can anyone say “human error’? WILL anyone say human error?  C’mon Gazette reporters. Suck in your guts, puff up your chests and do it; call bullshit already!

    http://coloradoindependent.com

    The entire issue is a fabrication. Yet we’re still talking about it. So Gessler wins another round with the Latino hating GOP base.

    1. take the Gazette too seriously as adding to the public perception that Gessler is right. The Greeley Gazette is mostly a vanity sheet put out by a local conservative that most people don’t take seriously. It’s the equivalent of repeating talking points on right-wing radio– not likely to spread to people who might take it as new information.

      1. But it still galls me. That stuff gets passed around as only headlines or excerpts. People in Colorado Springs just see “Greeley Gazette: Gessler’s office clarifies remarks about 5,000 illegals voting in last election” among a list of anti-illegals headlines attached to a press release about how Gessler is doing great work against all odds.  

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