But let me provide some context to my anger, anger at what I see as a witch hunt. A witch hunt is where people are agitated to start looking under their beds for commies. A witch hunt is where people are seeing voter fraud because they have been told to see voter fraud, not because it is really there. A witch hunt is where it is more important to score a possible 'hit' on the dread much-ballyhooed (mostly hooey) target than it is to look critically or to consider what harm might come from your actions. In this case, the harm is the embarrassment and added difficulty to people who face tremendous challenges, added difficulty that comes from an apparently (so far) groundless accusation made in the most public way possible.
Follow with me.
Twenty years ago, I had an unusual hound. One of my adventures with him involved getting to know a man who worked with providing assistance dogs to people who were hearing impaired; his interest in my dog was because of a new kind of training that provided what were called 'balance dogs' to people who had damage to the part of the ear which affected not only hearing, but their ability to maintain equalibrium. My interest in dog training grew, including service dogs, across that twenty year span.
A few years later in pursuing that interest, I encountered a woman who was in training with an Irish Wolfhound x Mastiff cross, a huge dog, who went beyond balance dog training as a service dog, "Able-the-Cane. I was the connection to the Able-the-Cane training for this very nice man who needed a service dog after a serious vehicle injury. What I also came to learn through this was that the service person also had received a brain injury in the accident. He had recovered in every way from that injury, except that he had lost his ability to read and to concentrate on written words. This man had been a life-long voracious reader, as voracious as I myself have always been. I cannot imagine not having the utility of words, either reading them or writing them. He can make use of audio books perfectly, but those are much slower than visual reading.
When I recently read about the alleged voter fraud in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, I thought of not only Brennan and his service person, but of my friend Lynda Lee who is a professional speech therapist working with people who have had illness or brain injury, such as strokes or accidents. Lynda is another woman I know through our mutual interest in dogs, in her case she has done work with therapy dogs in the course of helping people regain their language capabilities. Often she is part of a larger team dealing with additional problems related to these kinds of injuries and illnesses. Although an informal education, it has been instructive about the forms these problems can take. I'd bet I understand more than Monty Jensen, who doesn't appear to believe any specialized knowledge is necessary to evaluate disabilities, or even close observation.
So, when I read the latest 'big story' that conservatives are trying to twist and distort into a voter fraud accusation, the story of 'mental incompetents' voting for Democrats in Crow Wing County, in Congressional District 8, I thought of Brennan the larger-than-a-Shetland-pony size dog taking his service person into a voting booth -- a voting booth that had to be shared with another person to read the ballot because of a brain injury. His brain works just wonderfully, as well as it ever did.......except for the written words which have to be read out loud for him to process.
And instead of jumping on the voter fraud band wagon, with all the noise and sound and fury......and lack of facts, lack of both sides being reported, I waited to see what ELSE came out on investigation. Because my first thought was that the accuser was not qualified adequately to assess the physical or mental abilities of the voters he insisted were mentally incapacitated, and therefore voting illegally. Because like the assisted living facility story, there are a lot of devils in these details.
For example:
"[Montgomery] Jensen said he came to the Crow Wing County Auditor's Office in Brainerd at approximately 4:40 p.m. Friday to fill out an absentee ballot, because he wouldn't have time to vote there on Nov. 2. During that time, Jensen said he and his significant other noticed a "large and disorganized" crowd that "appeared to be mentally incapacitated." Jensen claimed that "these individuals had no idea that they were at the court house, let alone they were there to vote." He said staff members told the disabled to vote for Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidates."and
Jensen further stated while he was in his voting booth, he overheard the same staff member telling another handicapped person which candidate to select as if she was "instructing a young child on how to stay between the lines when coloring." Jensen said he then looked over and saw the staff member physically filling in the ballot.A thought which occurred to me, given the extreme differing in the accounts of events, is that perhaps a handicapped person may have been hard of hearing - not necessarily volume, but perhaps clarity. But Jensen had made up his mind apparently on what he was seeing, and doesn't seem to have allowed for other explanations. An appreciation of hearing impairment might have helped Mr. Jensen.
Jensen also claimed that when an employee of the county auditor's office went to take the ballot from the handicapped person, he refused and "thought it was his to keep. He had no idea where he was, let alone that he was voting for future elected offices."
In an interview Monday, Jensen said he doesn't believe these mentally handicapped people should have the right to vote, unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian.Except, that is not what the law states, nor has it been established by anyone qualified that Jensen has correctly evaluated the people in question. The news coverage from the local television station then offers the other side from Jensen's claims. The side the conservatives don't tell; the side you will not see on conservative blogs.
But according Minnesota state law, these individuals do not necessarily violate voting eligibility requirements, and likely have the right to receive assistance.
Minnesota's voter eligibility requirements state the individual must be 18 years of age or older; a citizen of the United States, and maintain residence in Minnesota for 20 days immediately preceding the election. Those not eligible to vote include anyone convicted of treason or any felony whose civil rights have not been restored, anyone under a guardianship in which the court order revokes the ward's right to vote or found by a court of law to be legally incompetent.[my emphasis - DG] Anyone who votes, who knowingly is not eligible to vote is guilty of a felony.
According to Minnesota statute 204c.15, "A voter in need of assistance may obtain the assistance of any individual the voter chooses. Only the following persons may not provide assistance to a voter: the voter's employer, an agent of the voter's employer, an officer or agent of the voter's union, or a candidate for election."
The law allows individuals to physically mark the ballots for others but the statute does limit how many people someone can assist. "No person who assists another voter as provided in the preceding sentence shall mark the ballots of more than three voters at one election."It is worth noting that there is a significant disagreement between Mr. Jensen and the staff of the Crow Wing County Courthouse as to how many people were present and involved in assistance. I'm inclined to believe the county; Jensen has an obvious axe to grind - the "the sky is falling" voter fraud axe of the right wing.
Jensen said he did not know what group or facility the handicapped people and staff came from. However, he said an employee at the auditor's office told him this was the fourth group of mentally disabled people to come vote Friday.Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan noted
"individuals with mental health issues are allowed to vote unless a judge has taken away that right or the person has been declared incompetent. Those people also have the right to have someone assist them with the voting process, if necessary."
The county attorney said his experience has been that the auditor's office management of elections has been above reproach.
"I think they do an awesome job," he said.Then the county staff responsible for the polling weighed in:
Crow Wing County Auditor Deborah Erickson said Monday neither she nor her staff witnessed any actions that might have constituted improper assistance to a voter on Friday.You'd think it is there job, and they ought to know. They also disagree with the numbers of individuals who were involved, and they deny anyone on their staff having told Mr. Jensen that 'this was the fourth group in today'.
"Erickson said every voter must either be registered or prove residency. It's not the auditor's staff's job to perceive what a person's ability or disability qualifies them to do, she said. Erickson said the law does provide for voters to receive assistance, if necessary. She said her office cross-references with the court system to see if a person's right to vote has been taken away by the courts."
Erickson said she spoke with her staff and no one recalled making such a statement [the fourth group today] and no one recalled any additional group home bringing in voters that day. Jensen estimated the majority of a group of about 15 to 25 people appeared to have mental health issues late Friday. Erickson estimated between eight and 12 people might have had mental health issues.Let me clarify - mental health issues are not necessarily incapacitating, rendering someone ineligible to vote. A mental health issue, from a stroke, or from a traumatic brain injury might affect someone's ability to read the way they did before, or it might affect some other aspect of their brain function like speech, or some aspects of memory, while leaving them perfectly capable of adult thought, of judgement, of adequate decision making for themselves in other regards, no more disabled or ineligible to vote than a blind person who needs a ballot read to them. Their minds may be perfectly sharp, but they may have a much harder time communicating those thoughts to others. THIS is why we have health care professionals to deal with these problems. THIS is why we have courts to decide who is and is not mentally 'incapacitated' for voting purposes (to use Monty Jensen's term), instead of relying on Jensen's ignorance. Jensen may believe that anyone could make this determination of function and intellect. Courts and trained professionals in these fields know so much better than the 'common sense solution' of what is 'obvious' that Jensen claims. Jensen would blythely trample on the voting rights of these people if he could prevent them from voting.
Thank God, in this state there are still good people of all political persuasions who believe that a casual inexpert opinion is not sufficient to interfere with someone's right to vote, who believe that health care professionals and the courts are the correct forum for deciding, with dignity, respect and compassion, by informed and objective metrics, who can and who cannot vote.
"We were quite busy," she said, estimating there could have been a total of about 25 people in the area, some of whom were conducting other business with the county.Mr. Jensen has been called a liar here, over the number of handicapped people who were voting with assistance. It would suggest that Mr. Jensen cannot tell those who were voters from those who did not need assistance and who were not voters. I for one find his claims unwarranted and not very plausible as an example of voter fraud.
So.......if there was one and only one group that came in to the office of the Crow Wing County Courthouse on that Friday afternoon.......who was it? Ah.....the intrepid local television reporters from KSAX, writing in Brainerd, MN have that information!
"One group that came to cast its votes was the Clark Lake Home Group from Brainerd. The group provides residential and community based services for people that are developmentally disabled or suffered traumatic brain injuries. Although the group wasn't specifically mentioned by Jensen, staff members from Clark Lake said they feel attacked by his accusations and deny any wrong doing."
"Administration staff member Jared Peterson said he and other staff members assisted their handicapped residents properly at the courthouse Friday afternoon."
"We're not sitting there saying, 'Well let me just fill out your ballot for you... And then you head out.' So, I'm very disappointed in (Jensen). Because I think perception is the main key here and privacy. Another main point ... is that if you're standing in a voting poll, we should be able to have our privacy and be able to assist these individuals with what they want to vote and how they want to vote without someone looking over our shoulder or feeling that we're not doing it correctly."
Peterson also said no one spoke to him personally about any wrongdoing including staff from the auditor's office. "The auditor spoke to me (Monday) and said if they felt there was anything going wrong, and that we weren't handling it professionally, they would have spoken to us." [my emphasis again - DG]
Lee Holley, a Clark Lake resident, who suffered a traumatic brain injury said Jensen's claims are false and values his right to vote.
"I don't think that he has the right to be going in there and telling people how to be acting, because we are just in there exercising our rights and this guy is trying to say whatever, and I just don't see what the deal is," Holley said. "There's a bunch of issues that I feel strongly about and I like to get my two cents in there. My time to vote is my time to voice my opinion."That is the crux of it, isn't it? We have Cravaack, the new candidate-elect commending one of his supporters for ignorantly calling a large of his other future constituents 'mentally incapacitated', an insulting term for their disability. We have Jensen who has insulted these voters and brought unpleasant attention to them for their disabilities - the exact same voters who have legally voted in previous elections without issues being raised - who is pleased to promote this disrespectful and inaccurate view of the disabled voters. We have their independence challenged, with Jensen making up his own "Rules According to Monty Jensen" about how and when and with whom they can vote, instead of following state law like the rest of us. We have distortions and exaggerations. Jensen has made his politics pretty clear as well, and it looks to me like getting a pat on the head from his political heroes is more important than treating his fellow voters with a bit more dignity and discretion when he had a concern. Anyone see the point in reviewing why Sarah Palin objects to the derogatory term 'retard' with Cravaack?
Holley said he'd been a part of Clark Lake since 1996 and that he had never noticed any wrongdoing on their behalf.
Clark Lake Administrator Lynn Peterson said the voice of the disabled is one that needs to be heard.
"Handicapped people should not be discounted. They need to be heard from and this is exactly what's important," Lynn Peterson said. "I think being a strong advocate for them to be heard and to vote ... is vitally at the core of who we should be."
Lynn claimed Jensen does not have the expertise to know the capabilities of someone who is mentally disabled.
Lynn also said he believes Jensen's claims are politically motivated, perhaps as a result of signs that stand in front of the Clark Lake office building supporting candidates who advocate [for]the disabled.
Videos of Jensen stating the claims made in the affidavit are posted on a website affiliated with the Minnesota Majority, Minnesota Voters Alliance, Freedom Council and the Northstar Tea Party Patriots, called electionintegritywatch.com. [also on Youtube - DG]
Jensen attended rally for Chip Cravaack, a Republican candidate for congress, Monday night. Jensen said Cravaack asked him to attend and commended him for notifying the public of the alleged voter fraud.
Anyone else believe that when this is over, Candidate-elect Chip Cravaack should apologize to the disabled voters he approved being described so derogatorily?
It appears that these disabled voters did their homework on the issues that concerned them. They appear to have been informed voters who knew the relative positions of Cravaack and Oberstar. They knew the quality of the two candidates, they correctly knew the lack of care and regard, basic human dignity and respect that we see in the promotion of this charge of voter fraud from Chip Cravaack, without any apparent effort on his part to investigate this allegation before supporting Jensen's version. THAT doesn't bode well for his future term in office - and if it continues like this, it will be one term.
We have some serious discrepancies on what happened, on how many people were involved, and what their capabilities were. And of course, we have Fox Nuisance weighing in with their coverage claiming lefty voter fraud; local news goes for the facts, state news goes for the facts, print news goes for the facts. Fox Not-news goes for the fiction. We don't have equal coverage of all sides, we don't have fair or objective balance from the right, and we sure as hell don't have fact checking by the right. We have Chip Cravaack, and we have the right wing bloggers, all screaming for more witch hunting for voter fraud.
But no significant election-swinging voter fraud so far. No mentally ill individuals who are not legally able to vote being manipulated so far. I'm betting none will emerge from this any more than from the claimed case of the poor old lady with dementia being forced by the SEIU staff to vote for Senator Franken.
Because all the right wing produces are accusations of voter fraud, never proof, never investigations which prove their claim, never care or concern for who might be hurt in the process.
I'll be updating this story here when the investigation is concluded, but based on the information so far - so far - no smoke, no fire, just one man terribly pleased with himself, making a yelling-fire-in-a crowded-theater kind of accusation at a north central Minnesota polling place. One more conservative; one of many true-believer-Witch hunters; one more immoral entrepreneur of Moral Panic peddling his the-sky-is-falling-the-election-is-being-stolen fears.
But emreging facts do not stop their hysteria, or their crazy conspiracy theories about voter fraud. (Remember ACORN?) It makes ME angry on behalf of these disabled voters to have their story, a very one-sided story favoring Montgomery Jensen's version of events, a one-sided story which makes them appear stupid, helpless, and voting illegally instead of praising their determination to overcome obstacles to participate in our society and our government spread all over the internet/blogosphere, to have it on Fox News, to have it on Youtube.
How about you? If it doesn't make you angry, maybe it should.
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