Fraudulent absentee ballots cast in Florida

Two absentee ballots requested but never received by a Pensacola voter in Miami were discovered by election officials with fraudulent signatures, prompting an investigation by state attorneys.

Todd Vinson, a 28-year-old law clerk registered to vote in Pensacola, requested an absentee ballot from the Escambia County Elections Supervisor on Oct. 10 to be sent to his residence in Miami. When he did not receive the ballot after two weeks, he requested another on Oct. 24, according to a Pensacola News Journal report. That ballot also never reached its proper destination. Vinson contacted his father, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, the Thursday before the election, telling him about the mysterious, no-show ballots.

The judge immediately contacted Escambia County Elections Supervisor Bonnie Jones, informing her of the situation. After reviewing absentee ballots returned to elections officials, Jones' office found a ballot with Todd Vinson's name on it. The signature on the ballot, however, did not match the signature on his voter registration card. Additionally, the address listed on the ballot for the witness was not valid. All absentee voters must fill out their ballots in the presence of a witness, who writes in his or her address and signs the form.

"It was clearly forged,'' Vinson told the News Journal. "Somebody definitely got hold of it and sent it back in. The question is where did they get it, and my speculation was that it happened somewhere in the post office. It made it down here to Miami, but it never made it to me.''

To make sure Vinson's vote was counted, Jones overnighted him a third ballot in time for him to vote for Texas Gov. George W. Bush. The elections supervisor subsequently contacted the state attorney's office, U.S. Attorney Mike Patterson and the Florida Division of Elections.

Then, one day after the cliffhanger vote took place, Escambia County elections officials found what may be the second ballot intended for Vinson. It, too, had been forged and was handed over to state prosecutors.

Assistant Elections Supervisor Brenda Renfro told WorldNetDaily neither of the forged ballots will be opened by elections officials, so it is impossible to know who the illegal votes were intended to support. She added that a judge reviewing the case could decide to open them, but the elections office, as a rule, does not open fraudulent ballots.

So far, Renfro noted, no other fraudulent ballots have been discovered in Escamdia County -- located in the conservative-leaning panhandle of Florida. The state attorney's office is leading an investigation into whether the forged ballot is part of a broader scheme to redirect mailed ballots to someone who filled them out and forged the voters' signatures. Jones is in contact with state attorneys regarding the investigation, but was instructed by counsel not to give any interviews on the subject. Rather, she is to refer all media inquiries to Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar.

"I agree there may well be more than just this one,'' Edgar told the News Journal. "That's what I'm thinking right now.'' Edgar is heading the investigation.

A key issue in Vinson's case is how the ballots were redirected. Vinson suggests the U.S. Postal Service was involved. Should investigators suspect as much, federal law enforcement may be asked to take over the probe. One station manager in the U.S. Postal Service, who wishes to remain anonymous, told WND that postal workers received an intranet memo Wednesday morning from the postmaster general stating that absentee ballots were to be separated from other first-class mail to ensure they received "special handling." Upon asking for clarification from his supervisor, the source was told not to question the memo as it came from "the top." The postal worker explained his belief that setting the ballots aside may lead to a hold-up of absentee ballots, which could result in the ballots not being counted if they are not received before state deadlines.

Officials at the Postal Service admit they treat election mail differently than other items and maintain that treatment expedites, rather than hinders, mail delivery.

"We give all election mail, especially as it gets close to the day, special handling," said Dan De Miglio, California spokesman for the Postal Service. De Miglio denies the intranet memo was sent, noting that as California's communications director, he also would have received it.

"I would know if a memo like that was sent out yesterday," he remarked, noting that he never saw the memo purportedly sent by the postmaster general. "I would have been used to move the message." He suggested the employee, who has access to the agency's intranet as a supervisor, could have received a bogus notice. "It's a fraud," the spokesman said.

De Miglio pointed out the Postal Service gives special treatment to all forms of election mail, including campaign ads, putting them on a "fast track." He explained the Postal Service "ramps up" its staff and operations similar to the manner in which the agency prepares for the throngs of holiday mail it handles every year.

Specifically addressing Vinson's case, the spokesman said, "The only way that could happen is if someone came to his house and took his ballot."

De Miglio acknowledged some mail does have problems in the delivery process and that the Postal Service has been accused of facilitating those problems.

"You're almost defenseless, because there's no way to defend yourself against accusations like that," given the huge volume of mail handled by postal workers. He quickly added that in California, the Postal Service has been exonerated from such accusations in the past.

Due to the extraordinary closeness of the presidential race in Florida, even a handful of fraudulent cases like Vinson's could sway the outcome of the election.

"It definitely could impact the vote because one vote can make a difference, as we've seen in this election,'' Jones told the News Journal, which noted the supervisor's office has dealt with a record of number of absentee ballots this election.

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