Democracy for sale
Ihoped the recently allegations of voter fraud in Calexico might have caused a more proactive reaction from our elected officials.
My colleague Julio Morales just made public the allegations that have been ongoing for about two decades, but that until today have been brought to the public opinion.
At least three candidates disclosed a little bit of this criminal actions in charge of several individuals who operate in the border town to buy citizens’ ballots and filling them out for the candidate that has paid for such services.
As I said, the issue was brought to our attention years ago and was not published due to the involved parties’ desire to remain off the record and some others preferring to stay mum.
Calexico City Council candidate Esther Alicia Marquez was the first to speak about the topic in social media, after learning of the purchase of ballots during the past election. In some cases, the payment was of up to $50 per vote.
Former police officer Jason Jung, who is also running for one of the three posts of the City Council here, said he was going to file a report regarding the voter fraud allegations not only with the Registrar of Voters, but before state and federal agencies related to voting.
Even though she did not tell me if the report was made, Registrar of Voters Debbie Porter told me in an email that if a candidate or citizen has concerns about the issue they can file a voter complaint at her office or online with the Secretary of State. The complaint forms are downloadable from the SOS website.
Businessman Morris Reisin, who is running again for the City Council, said everything began about 20 years ago, when a local resident started to purchase votes from senior citizens at apartment complexes. The alleged criminal taught other community members on the way to buy voters’ will and eventually repeated the scheme by offering their “services” to other candidates. As of today, around six people have been accused off the record of voter fraud.
According to several sources, candidates spend several thousand dollars to commit election fraud in order to get elected. Even though it might sound ridiculous to some, it is actually not far from reality. Of course, some individuals running for office lack the funds to incur into this intrigue, but there are other wealthy people willing to support this illegal activity. Years ago, I was told a businessman delivered several bundles of dollar bills to one of this type of criminal to get a certain candidate elected to office.
Let’s not forget the state Elections Code includes provisions that mandate jail for up to three years for those people who commit voter fraud and even prohibiting public servants from holding public office in case of a conviction.
What troubles me most is the almost-dormant reaction from those in charge of holding elections. I was told that the allegations must be forwarded officially through a complaint in order to revise the matter. As I was made aware, at least one complaint has been presented to authorities in the past with not even a simple statement underlining the concerns and warning voters and candidates from refraining to fall into this machination.
What have our state and federal elected officials said regarding the issue? And what about our county and city officials?
As almost no active approach is expected from our local authorities, either the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the state Department of Justice must come here and “take the bull by the horns” by bringing these criminals to justice, as what is in jeopardy is the most pure essence of our country. I wonder what George Washington would say regarding these accusations.