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March 02, 2012 11:04 PM UTC

Gessler taking his bogus numbers on the road

  • 18 Comments
  • by: Jason Salzman

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Since day one in office, Gessler has had a number of problems as well a problem with numbers, as in figures.

First, you recall, it was his salary figure. Too low.

Then he said there was the “pretty high incidence” of fraud (implying a BIG number) in Denver’s 2009 elections, based on the fact that 200 inactive-voter ballots were returned. The real number was zero. No cases of fraud were found.

Later, he told the Pueblo Chieftain, regarding returned election ballots, that “some are fraud.” This sounded like a MID-SIZED number, but “some” turned out to be none, based on any real-life evidence released to date. Ditto for evidence of Gessler’s assertion that “instances” of voter fraud in Colorado could have been prevented by requiring voters to present identification.

Then there was the 11,805 people who, Gessler said, were not citizens when they registered to vote.

Of these people, Gessler said he has a  list of 4,947 registered voters who could have voted illegally in Colorado.  But Gessler refused to give this list to The Denver Post or anyone else. Most recently, last weekend, he said there are “a lot” of noncitizens on the voting rolls.

So what’s the accurate number of noncitizens on the Colorado voting rolls? Until proof shows otherwise, you have to assume the number is zero.

Also stuck in make-believe land are the 106 people, of the 4,947 figure above, Gessler said were likely to actually have voted illegally. The correct number, as far as anyone can tell, is zero, unless someone is hiding evidence. Which is unlikely because Gessler himself has access to databases he needs to verify this figure.

Journalists should be able to relate to Gessler insofar as reporters are known to have trouble with numbers, too. But unlike Gessler, journalists self-identify as innumerate and double- and triple-check their numbers before putting them out there.

This doesn’t stop journalists from making numerical mistakes, but they usually try to set the record straight.

But Gessler plows ahead, as if his wrong or ostensibly fictional numbers are meaningful.

And he seems to drop his numbers in media venues where reporters might not know the history that I’ve outlined above, like the Sterling Journal-Advocate, which recently reported:

[Gessler’s] office is also working on making sure only eligible people are voting.

“One of the areas that we’ve got a real hole in, in Colorado, is the issue with respect to non-citizens voting,” Gessler said.

When his office compared the driver’s license data base against the voter registration data base last year, they found thousands of people who are here legally, who proved they were non-citizens, had a green card or student visa and got a driver’s license with that and registered to vote. [Big Media emphasis]

This figure of “thousands” of potentially illegal voters, like most of Gessler’s numbers, has nothing supporting it. It’s never been verified or substantiated at all.

At this point, after living through Gessler’s parade of numbers, you wouldn’t think reporters who’ve been following our Secretary of State would regurgitate any number from him without letting thier audience know if it’s wrong, unverified, or, we can only hope, accurate.

But reporters at small-town newspapers should be on their guard. Please, if Gessler passes through town, in the interest of maintaining basic faith in our voting system, check his numbers.

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18 thoughts on “Gessler taking his bogus numbers on the road”

  1. Inject uncertainty, then drive the wedge. Classic.

    But just because you don’t know the number does not mean the number is zero. In fact, the number keeps turning out to be greater than zero, and in an election that is unacceptable.

    1. big confirmed numbers he would be falling all over himself to share them to make his point. He’s got nothing.  Long ago we found out the truth:  no confirmed cases of successful fraudulent  voting.  No proof that any illegal votes counted in any Colorado election. None. If Gessler knows different why won’t he show us the proof? If you, ArapG know of any proof why don’t you  show us?

      You folks just love that word “Alinsky” don’t you?  Too bad it means nothing to the low info base you pander to. Or to 99+% of anybody, for that matter.  

      1. ask almost any OWS or 99% activists or young radical.  Alinsky stands for a hell of a lot more than Gessler ever will.

        How can you not love a dude that threatened a “fart in” toward a Philharmonic.  Guess GOP stupid asses & Romneybots are too ignorant to  know that Rules for Radicals is required reading for the the upper cadre of FreedomWorks activists & TeaParty organizers.  

    2. When your dire numerical claims are fraudulent and unsupported by any legitimate facts, attack your opponents inability to nail down the precise insignificant number.  (This is even better when you hold the data that show just how piddling and insignificant your claims are, but refuse to release it.)  fu-Classic-ing awesome.

      Just because the number is something slightly bigger than zero does not mean that number justifies the disenfranchisement of large numbers, and in an election that is not only unacceptable, it’s criminal.  (Well, it ought to be, anyway.)

       

      1. We’re just asking for a single case.  Any case.  Please show us the facts.  He hasn’t even shown us a single case.  As a smart old lady used to say on television, “Where’s the Beef?”

    3. “Gessler said he has a  list of 4,947 registered voters who could have voted illegally in Colorado.  But Gessler refused to give this list to The Denver Post or anyone else.”  The name Joe McCarthy and the location Wheeling, West Virginia, came to mind as soon as I read this post.  If Gessler has the proof, why not make it public?

    5. If Gessler had a specific number that he could back up with evidence, this would be a national story. He doesn’t gain anything by refusing to produce the evidence — which is proof that he doesn’t have any.

    6. In fact, the number keeps turning out to be greater than zero

      Can you point to any case of a single vote cast fraudulently in the last election? One? Because if you can’t then your statement is a lie.

    7. Its a little creepy.  I am pretty sure that there are actually more recent organizing manuals, primers, and guides.  Just because Glenn Beck never got around to reading those yet, and I am sure he taught a whole ‘course’ at GBU on the guy with the foreign sounding name, doesn’t mean that you can’t update your ‘radical bogeyman list’ to make it a bit more relevant.  As someone who has trained hundreds of organizers over the years, let me say I think I have mentioned Mr. Alinsky twice (certainly I have included many of his ‘rules’ as most are pretty standard, well-worn techniques).  

      Just a suggestion because I enjoy some challenge and you provide so little it has gotten rather boring.

      SAUL ALINSKY!!!!!  

    8. Among other reasons, I dislike contributing to feelings of self pity and persecution that the person at the bottom of the pile is likely to indulge. And besides, usually someone else has already raised the point I had in mind.

      But in this case, I can’t resist.

      “Classic Alinsky” isn’t going to make for a snappy bumper sticker. (Remember when you brought up bumper sticker slogans?) Refrains like this usually only work if the population at large knows what the fuck you’re talking about. I bet that less than one in 1,000 Americans has ever heard of Alinsky, fewer have heard of his book, and fewer still have read it.

      BTW, your statement “Inject uncertainty, then drive the wedge” is classic Rove. Maybe he learned it from Alinsky – if so, then it’s just one more instance of something being IOKIYAR.

  2. try this Brennan Center for Justice (NYU School of Law) publication: The Truth About Voter Fraud, by Justin Levitt – 11/09/07

    I seriously doubt PoS SoS Gessler has read it.  It might help if others (especially reporters) give it a lil’ perusal and decide for yourself if Scottie is just a time-wasting piece of partisan crap or if we’re truly living in a seething hotbed of rampant vote fraudsters.  Somebody please shut Scottie up with the facts.  

    2. It was seven when you posted (unless you were counting responses to responses).

      As I said, I make it a rule not to jump on the dogpile, but I really needed to this time.

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