Signs advertising "reward" for voter fraud conviction pop up in Philly

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Signs advertising "reward" for voter fraud conviction pop up in Philly

POSTED: Tuesday, November 6, 2012, 3:22 PM
Filed Under: News

Seen a sign like that around Philly?
The signs, paid for and distributed by a group going by the name "PA CAN," the motto "Free Markets for Free People," and which purports to be "Pennsylvania's  Grassroots Small Business Advocate," claim to offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for voter fraud.
They've been cropping up around the state: The Express-Times reports today that at least one formal complaint has been filed, in Easton, claiming that the signs amount to voter intimidation.   
They arrived in Center City Philadelphia last night, thanks to Republican ward leader Mike Cibik, who was to be seen casually placing them around various polling sites in his 5th ward, which contains parts of Center City and the Gayborhood.  
Where had they come from? "I don't know," Cibik said, shrugging.  "Matt Wolfe got them," referring to Matt Wolfe, esq. Republican leader of the city's 27th ward in West Philadelphia. 
(Wolfe confirmed this, saying that "Some guy I don't really know" had delivered them to his house not long ago.) 
Asked whether he thought voter fraud was a real probelm in Philadlephia, Cibik again shrugged. Four years ago, he says, one of his minority inspectors reported having seen signatures in the voter log book before the polls opened. Nothing came of the incident.
Despite a long history of allegations of voter fraud in Philadelphia, few incidents have ever been reported or discovered. A recent report by City Commissioner Al Schmidt claiming to have found "hundreds" of voting irregularities showed no new proof that voter "fraud," -- a voter illegally voting, that is -- had occured. 
Asked whether he thought the signs would survive the night in the heavily-Democratic neighborhood, Cibik shrugged for the third time. 
"Maybe some of them," he said cheerfully. 

Seen a sign like that around Philly?

The signs, paid for and distributed by a group going by the name "PA CAN," the motto "Free Markets for Free People," and which purports to be "Pennsylvania's  Grassroots Small Business Advocate," claim to offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction for voter fraud.
They've been cropping up around the state: The Express-Times reports today that at least one formal complaint has been filed, in Easton, claiming that the signs amount to voter intimidation.   
They arrived in Center City Philadelphia last night, thanks to Republican ward leader Mike Cibik, who was to be seen casually placing them around various polling sites in his 5th ward, which contains parts of Center City and the Gayborhood.  

Cibik said he'd gotten them from 27th Republican ward leader Matt Wolfe, who confirmed this, saying that "Some guy I don't really know" had delivered them to his house not long ago. 

Asked whether he thought voter fraud was a real problem in Philadelphia, Cibik again shrugged. Four years ago, he says, one of his minority inspectors reported having seen signatures in the voter log book before the polls opened. Nothing came of the incident.

Despite a long history of allegations of voter fraud in Philadelphia, few incidents have ever been reported or discovered. A recent report by City Commissioner Al Schmidt claiming to have found "hundreds" of voting irregularities showed no new proof that voter impersonation had occurred. 

Asked whether he thought the signs would survive the night in the heavily-Democratic neighborhood, Cibik answered cheerfully: "Maybe some of them." 

Posted by Isaiah Thompson @ 3:22 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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