Sheriff Joe Arpaio makes bogus voter fraud claims in voter suppression effort

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Several people have sent me the e-mail below from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. (I have disengaged any links so as not to aid and abet this abuse of law).

If they have not already done so, I recommend that the lawyers for the Arizona Democratic Party, voting rights and election protection groups contact the Office of the U.S. Attorney for Arizona and the Voting Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice to alert them to this e-mail from ostensibly the chief law enforcement officer of Maricopa County.

Keep in mind that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department is responsible for the security of polling locations and will respond to any incidents involving voters, poll workers and poll observers at polling locations on Election Day.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department is also responsible for the secure transportation of the ballots, and in past elections, the storage of ballots at facilities under the control of the Sheriff's Department.

The e-mail below I believe crosses the line into violations of regulations adopted pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibiting voter intimidation and voter suppression. When the Maricopa County Sheriff''s Department gives color of law to Sheriff Arpaio's BAN AMNESTY NOW "voter fraud prevention volunteers" (only recognized political parties may have poll observers inside polling locations pursuant to Arizona law) there is a serious problem here. This merits intervention and supervision by the U.S. Department of Justice of the election related activities of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Arpaio's partisan political activities places a cloud over the fairness and impartiality of elections in Maricopa County, and can reasonably be construed as intimidation of Hispanic voters to suppress their vote. The U.S. Department of Justice has a jurisdictional obligation to oversee elections in Arizona to prevent voter intimidation and voter suppression, and to ensure public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of elections under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This matter should be taken seriously.

Here is the vile e-mail sent by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio:

6 Days to STOP Illegals from
Stealing the Election!

Dear Friends,

I’m writing today because there is just one week to go in this year’s historic elections, and I need your help to make sure that America’s elections are just that… for Americans!

FACT: Thousands of illegal aliens have already organized and taken to the streets, campaigning in some of the closest Senate and House races in the nation to turn out votes and voters for pro-amnesty, open borders candidates!

STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THE ELECTION!

FACT: “The illegal registration of alien voters has become pervasive,” says Kris Kobach, the attorney who helped Arizona write SB1070. The problem exists across the nation, bolstered by open-borders criminals determined to undermine our elections, including the unions, La Raza… even the White House.

STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THE ELECTION!

FACT: The conspiracy between U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon goes far beyond the two joining forces in their lawsuit against Arizona’s SB1070, anti-illegal immigration legislation. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer put it right when she explained the Obama-Calderon conspiracy the media recently:

“The Mexican government does not want our borders secure…They have made it very, very clear… Calderon believes that he is helping out the [Obama] administration and they are looking at it in a political mode to bring in newly registered illegal immigrants to register to vote.”

STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THE ELECTION!

FACT: The same pro-amnesty criminals working in states like Washington to turn out pro-amnesty voters have been working to register illegal voters all over the nation! In one Arizona congressional district, more than 65% of the 3,000+ new voters registrations submitted by Mi Familia Vota and One Arizona were found to be invalid – many of them to non-citizens.

Nothing is more important in protecting the United States today than protecting the sanctity of our votes. Sadly, we are not just fighting criminals from other nations. We are fighting our own president and very determined individuals in America who want to disenfranchise U.S. Citizens of their votes.

At BANAMNESTYNOW.COM we aren’t going to let them. Our grassroots army of VOTER FRAUD PREVENTION VOLUNTEERS will stand vigilant across the nation. We will be the first and strongest line of defense to ensure that only legal citizens vote on November 2nd, but to do this, we need your help today!

* * *

November 2, 2010 is one week from today and we have a tremendous job ahead of us that we can’t accomplish without you!

Together we have already stopped Obama’s “Dream Act” nightmare! Together we’ve already stopped La Raza and the White House from punishing Arizona by trying to move baseball’s 2011 All-Star Game from Phoenix. Together we’ve added hundreds of thousands of new voices to the MAJORITY of Americans who support secure borders and oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.

…and together we’ll stand strong and protect American elections wherever we can!

But “together” starts with you, today. So please join me today and help me STOP ILLEGALS FROM STEALING THIS ELECTION!

Thomas Jefferson reminds us “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” America needs us now, more than ever, to do our part, to stand up for our nation, to defend her against those who would sacrifice her for mere political partisanship.

Thank you in advance for your contribution … And thank you to all who have registered to volunteer on Election Day!

For America, your friend,

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO

Hon. Co-Chairman, BANAMNESTYNOW.COM

UPDATE: Talkingpointsmemo.com has this story as well. Sheriff Joe Joins Anti-Voter Fraud Crusade | TPMMuckraker:

Lydia Guzman, director of the nonprofit immigrant advocacy group Respect/Respeto, told TPMMuckraker that Arpaio's e-mail was inappropriate because his office would handle many elections-related activities.

"When this Sheriff sends out e-mails like the one he sent out, it poses a problem," Guzman said. "He should not be the person to enforce or oversee the protection of the election because he's the one who is going to be disenfranchising the electorate."