Hey Florida, is this ok with you?

UPDATE at the end of the post…
There are many stories of voter fraud this election and I have reported at least one major one in Ohio. The situation here may violate the spirit of those laws. I do not know how Florida officials will view this but I hope to find out tomorrow. This is from Obamatravel.org. I wonder how long this page will stay up.
appleton1
And here is Ms. Appleton holding her ballot:
voteappleton
To summarize, Ms. Appleton has been FL for 6 weeks, says she voted in FL, but plans to return “home” to NY a day or so after the election. According to this link and this one, Ms. Appleton’s residency is open to question. If I am missing something and this is legal, I do not think it should be. At least as long as we have an electoral system of electing a president, it seems fundamentally contrary to that system for people to leave “safe states” for a candidate (in this New York) and go to a battleground state to cast a ballot. It seems as though campaigns would spend their resources moving people from safe states to contested states. Maybe that is the point of this Obamatravel.org thing…
UPDATE: Earlier today, I spoke with Owen Torres, spokesperson for Miami-Dade County, and he clarified that one must register 29 days before an election which Ms. Appleton did in Miami-Dade County. He stressed that she would be allowed to vote in FL if she is registered which one may do whenever one moves to the state of FL. However, he said, she should not be registered in more than one state (which she is according to the Westchester County, NY BOE), but this is not illegal in itself. It would be illegal to vote in two places. What is problematic is Ms. Appleton’s expressed intention to leave FL to return “home” to NY as soon as the election is over. According to Mr. Torres, FL anticipates that the person who registers is doing so because they have become a resident of the state and intends to remain in the state. With the election happening tomorrow, I am not sure if I will hear the outcome of this particular situation soon. However, Mr. Torres indicated that he would pursue the matter.
UPDATE #2 – Commenter Tom pointed out that Ms. Appleton’s profile on Obamatravel.org has been removed.
UPDATE #3 – Palestra.net’s Tiffany Wilson made contact with Ms. Appleton but she declined to speak to Ms. Wilson. And Ms. Wilson notes this about FL election law:

101.045 Electors must be registered in precinct; provisions for change of residence or name. —
Chapter 101 VOTING METHODS AND PROCEDURE
Title IX ELECTORS AND ELECTIONS
SUCH PERSONS WHO ARE REGISTERED in the precinct in which the main office of the supervisor, as designated by the supervisor, is located and who are residing outside the county WITH NO PERMANENT ADDRESS IN THE COUNTY SHALL NOT BE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF A MUNICIPALITY AND THEREFORE SHALL NOT BE PERMITTED TO VOTE IN ANY MUNICIPAL ELECTION.

UPDATE: #4 – Ms. Appleton returned home to NY after the election.
Stay tuned…

AP says Obama's infomercial "skips over budget realities"

Obama’s prime-time ad skips over budget realities
Calvin Woodward
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.
Obama’s assertion that “I’ve offered spending cuts above and beyond” the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by “eliminating programs that don’t work” masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are — beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
A sampling of what voters heard in the ad, and what he didn’t tell them:
THE SPIN: “That’s why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year.”
THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it’s not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.
___
THE SPIN: “I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care.”
THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: “I want to start doing something about it.” He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.
___
THE SPIN: “I’ve offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost.”
THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama’s policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years — and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: “Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years.” The analysis goes on to say: “Neither candidate’s plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified.”
___
THE SPIN: “Here’s what I’ll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we’ll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. ”
THE FACTS: His proposals — the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more — cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged — although not in his commercial — that: “The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals.”

I didn’t see it all but what I did see did not seem to advance anything new. I was struck by his stories of people facing hardship. However, I am reminded that when he was Illinois state senator, he did not even have a conversation with Tony Rezko, a significant fund raiser about the conditions in the properties Rezko managed, properties which were in Obama’s district.

Vote Today Ohio organizer fired as adviser to New York Rep. John Hall

Yesterday, I posted about Amy Little, an adviser to New York Rep. John Hall and his campaign manager during the 2006 election. Little is also co-organizer of Vote Today Ohio, a pro-Obama get out the vote organization. Today according to the Times Herald-Record (NY), Ms. Little has been fired as Rep. Hall’s adviser in response to an investigation of her vote in Columbus, Ohio.
Alexa James writes,

NEW PALTZ — Congressman John Hall (D-Dover Plains) fired one of his long-time campaign advisers Tuesday, after learning that she’s embroiled in voter fraud investigations in Ohio.
Amy Little, 49, has been a registered Democrat in New York since 1991, and Ulster County election officials said she voted in the party primary here in February.
But in October, Little registered to vote in Ohio. On her registration paperwork, she indicated she moved from her home at 142 Guilford Schoolhouse Road in New Paltz to a place at 1979 N. 4th St. in Columbus, near Ohio State University.
That Ohio address also doubles as headquarters for a grassroots get-out-the-vote group called Vote Today Ohio. The organization’s pro-Obama Web site says it targets “young people from campus/urban centers” and drives them to early voting sights in Ohio. The group also offers housing to out-of-town members.
Franklin County Board of Elections officials said four people, including Little, registered from Vote Today Ohio’s address in October, just before the state’s deadline. Little requested an absentee ballot, which election officials said she has submitted.
According to Ohio election laws, voters must reside in the state at least 30 days prior to the election and must intend to stay there after November.

Ms. Little maintains she is following the law:

“I’ve been living in Ohio,” she said, when reached on her home phone in New Paltz Wednesday morning. “I have no intention of voting in New York,” she said, before cutting off the conversation, saying she had a flight to catch to Ohio.
Spokeswoman Pam Kapoor, with Vote Today Ohio, said Little moved into the group’s headquarters a couple months ago, along with several other “core members.”
Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Ron O’Brien confirmed that Little’s name and address are under scrutiny.
Franklin County Board of Elections Director Michael Stinziano said his office has about 160 allegations pending, including “many” directed at Little and Vote Today Ohio. Election fraud in Ohio is a felony.
Rep. Hall’s campaign isn’t waiting for a verdict. The freshman congressman, who’s running for re-election in the 19th district, heard about Little’s problems Tuesday. “The moment we heard about it, her campaign consulting contract was terminated,” said Campaign Director, Susan Spear.

1979 N. Fourth Street, Columbus, Ohio.
1979 N. Fourth Street, Columbus, Ohio
UPDATE: The Poughkeepsie Journal has an article on Rep. Hall’s response to the Vote Today Ohio leader, Amy Little. Just a couple of additional points:

Pam Kapoor, a spokeswoman for Vote Today Ohio, said Little was part of a group of five or six people who had been living at the headquarters for the past three months. She said it wasn’t uncommon, calling the news “much ado about nothing.”

Pam Kapoor (who apparently is from Canada) said Vote Today Ohio has had the HQ for three months. I don’t know how long someone has been there but the self-described leader, Tate Hausman has only been there since mid-September.
(h/t to Liberty Boys for the Poughkeepsie article)

Former staffer claims ACORN and Obama cooperated to raise donations

Via Michelle Malkin:
She said, he said…

HARRISBURG — A former staffer for an affiliate of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now testified today that the organization was provided a “donor list” from the presidential campaign of Barack Obama in late 2007 for fundraising efforts.
Anita Moncrief, a former Washington, D.C. staffer for Project Vote, which she described as a sister organization of ACORN, said her supervisor told her the list of campaign contributors came from the Obama campaign. Moncrief said she has a copy of a “development plan” that outlines how Obama contributors who had “maxed out” under federal contribution limits would be targeted to give to Project Vote, and that it was her job to identify such contributors.

The Obama campaign denies any coordination.

Julie the records clerk charged with investigating Joe the plumber

From WNWO:

Toledo Police have confirmed that a TPD records clerk is accused of performing an illegal search of information related to ‘Joe the Plumber.’
Julie McConnell, has been charged with Gross Misconduct for allegedly making an improper inquiry into a state database in search of information pertaining to Samuel Wurzelbacher on Oct. 16.
Wurzelbacher came under the spotlight after being spoken about during the final presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain.
The inquiry into Wurzelbacher’s record is a violation of department and state policy governing the use of the Law Enforcement Automated Data System. The clerk is under fire for making the inquiry for a non-law enforcement purpose.
McConnell was hired by the Toledo Police Department in April 1995 and assigned to the Investigative Services Bureau.
A discplinary hearing will be scheduled within the next ten days.

That makes two public officials investigating JtP.