Daily Archives: March 17, 2017

A liberal activist in Ohio was sentenced to 180 days in jail last week after pleading guilty to 13 counts of voter fraud.

Rebecca Hammond, 34, of East Liverpool, Ohio, worked as a paid canvasser in 2015 for the liberal activist group Ohio Organizing Collaborative. Hammond was initially charged with 35 counts of falsely registering people to vote and forging signatures on voter registration forms in Columbiana County, Ohio, in September and October 2015. She was indicted on those charges in May 2016, WCPO-TV reported.

Hammonds indictment came after Columbiana County Board of Elections Director Adam Booth discovered discrepancies while trying to verify some of the information on voter registration applications. At least five of the voter registration applications in question included the names of dead people, according to the Salem News.

The handwriting wasnt the same. The signature wasnt the same, Booth told WKBN-TV. Maybe the birth date was off by a year or so. Things were flagging off as irregular than what we had in our system. The names matched up to the birthdays, which matched up, for the most part, to the drivers license and then she was just forging their signatures. Its not something anybody off the street couldnt just try to do.

Afterthe discovery, Booth alerted the Columbiana County Sheriffs Office, which launched an investigation into the matter. The case was later turned over to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which is part of the Ohio attorney generals office.

The investigation found that [Hammonds] falsely registered a number of Columbiana County residents, including some who were deceased, which is inexcusable, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said, according to WCPO-TV. Allegations of voter fraud referred to my office will always be thoroughly investigated.

Each of the 35 counts carried a maximum sentence of one year in prison. However, Hammond pleaded guilty in January to just 13 counts as part of plea deal. Hammonds public defender, Jennifer Gorby, said the activists actions were due to a a lack of judgment on her part.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative did not compensate its canvassers based on the number of voters they registered, but Hammond told the Salem News that she felt I needed to keep the numbers up to help ensure the organization didnt lose its funding.

Ohio Associate Assistant Attorney General Brian Deckert added that Hammonds actions may have come down to human laziness.

Hammonds was asked if leaders at the Ohio Organizing Collaborative were aware of what she was doing. Shereplied, Not that Im aware of.

Columbiana County Judge C. Ashley Pike laid into Hammond at her March 6 sentencing, saying that she made a mockery of the democratic system.

I just cant overlook this. You attempted to violate the integrity of our election process in the county, Pike said.

You made a mockery of our system. If 180 days [in the county jail] doesnt teach you a lesson, nothing will, Pike added.

Continued here:

Liberal activist sentenced to jail for voter registration fraud in swing state - TheBlaze.com

The Independent

Mark Rutte: Modest but steely Dutch liberal BBC News Dutch liberal leader Mark Rutte is poised for a third term as prime minister after neutralising the threat from anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders. The victory of Mr Rutte, 50, has brought relief for fellow centrist politicians in the EU, who feared that ... The EU is facing a liberal insurgence now is not the time for Britain to leaveThe Independent Liberal democracy wins, populism on the riseSky News Australia Dutch Liberals Defeat Wilders's Party in Blow to Populist SurgeBloomberg Daily Caller all 1,834 news articles »

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Mark Rutte: Modest but steely Dutch liberal - BBC News

NewsBusters (blog)

ABC Touts Liberal Judge Shooting Down Trump's Revised Travel Ban NewsBusters (blog) Late Wednesday evening, a federal judge in Hawaii put a temporary hold on the implementation of the White House's revised travel ban. The development was celebrated by the left and championed by the liberal media. There's new fallout this evening ... Liberal Judges Declare War On TrumpWestern Journalism all 2,321 news articles »

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ABC Touts Liberal Judge Shooting Down Trump's Revised Travel Ban - NewsBusters (blog)

Brian Gallant and Karine Lavoie aren't the only ones getting engaged.

The New Brunswick Liberal party is using the news of the premier's impending marriage to "engage" with voters by gathering their email addresses.

But it's not to invite them to the wedding. It's to send them pro-Liberal messages.

The party is asking people to use a form on the Liberal website to "join us in congratulating" the premier on getting engaged to Lavoie.

The form doesn't work unless the well-wishers submit their email address, and Liberal party president Joel Reed acknowledged Thursday it's so the party can send them Liberal promotional material in the future.

"It's probably evident that if you submit your email address voluntarily to a political party, we're going to assume that you're interested in our activities and try to stay in touch with you," Reed said.

Reed said "all parties" place a lot of importance on gathering email addresses.

He noted that Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau have both used "these sorts of outreach tools quite effectively and extensively. Gathering information is now vital to everyone's campaign strategy."

Reed also said most visitors to the Liberal website "are most likely supporters, or at least interested in the party. A very significant proportion would be existing members, and this allows us a quick and convenient way to update their contact information."

The web page includes a photo of Gallant lifting Lavoie off the ground in an apple orchard, the same photo he tweeted on March 13 when he revealed the couple was engaged. There's no date yet for the wedding.

The request doesn't break any rules, and it doesn't use any government funding.

Liberal party president Joel Reed said all political parties place a lot of importance on gathering email addresses. (LinkedIn)

The page also has a link to the party's privacy policy, which clearly says an email address can be used "to communicate with you about the New Brunswick Liberal Party and its activities, as well as to provide you with news and information."

Reed said people who submit engagement congratulations can also unsubscribe from the Liberal emails once they start getting them.

He said the premier's office wasn't involved in the decision to solicit the congratulations and emails but said Gallant was probably asked for permission.

A few hours after the New Brunswick Liberal party tweeted a link to the congratulations page, Gallant used his own Twitter account to thank people who had sent their best wishes. He didn't link to the Liberal web page.

Author Susan Delacourt says Gallant is "following in the path of many other political leaders who do this."

In 2014, the president of the federal Liberal party went online to ask for congratulatory messages for Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie on the birth of their third child messages that required the senders' email addresses.

And then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper invited visitors to the Conservative party website to wish his wife Laureen a happy mother's day in 2013, while submitting their email addresses and postal codes.

"It's all about the same thing. It's about collecting email addresses, which are way more valuable to political parties than membership fees," said Delacourt, the author of Shopping for Votes, a book about how political parties have adopted retail marketing technique.

"Once you've got an email address, you've got a foot in the door to their lives," she said.

Journalist Susan Delacourt believes Canadians' relationship with their politicians has changed since the consumer boom of the 1950s. Consumers have wants, she says. Citizens have needs - a theme she explores in her book Shopping For Votes. (Adam Scotti)

Delacourt said parties are especially interested in engaging with voters with only a passing interest in politics, because they're easier to sway with direct, targeted messages.

"Often email and Facebook and all those places are where politicians are finding people," she said.

Reed said he didn't have any numbers on how many people have used the web page.

Delacourt said people who wish Gallant and Lavoie a lifetime of happiness are likely to receive a lifetime of emails from the Liberals, including requests for donations, notices of what Gallant is doing as premier, and information on his election platform next year.

"Data is now the way people win elections, and email addresses are the way they collect that data," she said.

And despite Reed's assertion that recipients will be able to unsubscribe to the emails, Delacourt said "it takes a lot to get off" party email lists once you're on them.

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Premier's engagement used by Liberals to woo email addresses - CBC.ca

The Victorian Liberal Party faces a financial crisis ahead of next year's state election, with leaked documents revealing a string of budget blowouts, rising debtsand lost fundraising revenue from majordonors.

Figures seen by The Age confirm the party is struggling to balance its books, adding to tensions in the already bruising battle for state presidency between Liberal stalwarts Michael Kroger and Peter Reith.

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27-year-old Marcus Bastiaan and his outspoken partner Stephanie Ross have torn like a tornado through the Liberals' Victorian branch, aligning with figures such as Michael Kroger along the way.

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A 22-year-old woman was allegedly raped repeatedly outside the St Vincent's Hospital after the stranger followed her off the tram on Thursday morning. Vision courtesy: Seven News Melbourne.

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63-year-old Channel Seven commentator Bruce McAvaney has revealed he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) over two years ago. Vision courtesy: Seven News Melbourne.

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Nicholas Davison was sentenced to 11 years' in prison on Friday for killing Sydney woman Tanami Nayler, 24, in a hit-run crash in West Melbourne on July 30 last year. Vision courtesy ABC News 24.

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CEO David Herman talks about his plans for Lort Smith, the only animal hospital in Australia, and how he has brought his experience from the private sector to a charity he is passionate about.

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One person has died in a multi-vehicle smash on the Calder as two separate car fires across Melbourne bring peak-hour traffic to a standstill. Courtesy Seven Melbourne.

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Unit Controller John Soles will probably be forced to retire after 18 years working at Australia's dirtiest coal-fired power plant, which officially closes at the end of March.

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A court viewed a YouTube video made by Brendan Davies who was found guilty of five counts of arson, after long and drawn-out trial.

27-year-old Marcus Bastiaan and his outspoken partner Stephanie Ross have torn like a tornado through the Liberals' Victorian branch, aligning with figures such as Michael Kroger along the way.

Internal documents reveal the Victorian branch is expected to clock up about$1.73 million in losses by the end of this financial year, with an expected $1.52 million revenue hit from a major donor, the Cormack Foundation, and a further $233,000 in losses from an Enterprise Victoria fundraisernot being locked in as originally budgeted.

A deficit of $1.16 million was posted in the eight months to February 28, and the Liberals havealso taken on $1.72 million in debt to helpstay afloat with the possibility of more to come.

"We are borrowing to keep the lights on," said one furious Liberal source.

The figures are likely to raise questions about the party's financial management at a time when it should be building an election war chest for Opposition Leader Matthew Guy to fight the Andrews government.

In a sign of the underlying tensions,Mr Guy's parliamentary team have nowsetup their own fundraising account, separate from the administrative wingof the party, which contains almost $250,000 in donated funds to go towards their efforts at next year's poll.

Some insiders have blamed the party's financial woes onMr Kroger, who took on the presidency two years ago promising to shake-up the party's culture, decentralise power from head office to local branches, and significantly improvecampaigning and fundraising.

Since then, his critics argue, the result has been mixed: branches have been plagued by allegations of branch stacking centred on ally Marcus Bastiaan;the Liberals have flirted with the idea of a preference deal with One Nation; and the president has beenlocked in a dispute with the Cormack Foundation over internal governance issues, which has led to the withholding of funds.

State director Simon Frost insisted the party's financial status would not hinder the Liberals' election campaign against Daniel Andrews, saying: "The secretariat is closely monitoring our short-term financial situation. We have in place the systems and personnel to build a substantial war-chest to help make Matthew Guy the premier at the 2018 state election."

While MrKroger declined to comment, his supporters point to the role he played in uncovering the $1.5 million fraud by former Liberal state director Damien Mantach, and the positive federal election result the Liberals had in Victoria last year, where the Turnbull government snatched the seat of Chisholm from Labor.

Insiders say that the party might be able to break even if it can resolve the dispute with the Cormack Foundation andlock in another major fundraiser with the Prime Minister before the end of the financial year.

But the revelations of the Liberals' financial woes are set to intensify the battle for control of the Victorian branch, which will come to a head in April when Mr Kroger defends his presidency from a challenge by Mr Reith, a former industrial relations minister in the Howard government.

The contest has divided the party with federal ministers such as Josh Frydenberg, Michael Sukkar and Alan Tudge backing Mr Kroger to stay in the role, while others, such as Mr Guy, federal Liberals Scott Ryan and Kelly O'Dwyer, and most of the state parliamentary team, endorsing Mr Reith.

Declaring his support for Mr Reith earlier this month, Mr Guy said: "It's a 50-50 ball game in Victoria. We've got to be focused, ready and determined. We need to not, coming into an election, be focused on internal matters."

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Victorian Liberals face financial crisis ahead of state election - The Age