Turnout was key for Carson. Overall turnout for the election was 18.2 percent but was usually higher wherever Carson won.So Andre wins by 9,000 votes district wide but carries Center Township by a 12,000-vote margin. More significantly is the mention in the Star article that Bart Peterson out-performed Carson in Center Township. "Carson had a lesser margin of victory (64 percent) than Peterson (68 percent) in Center Township, but the important factor was turnout," O'Shaughnessy writes. "Carson received 24,929 of the votes cast in that district Tuesday, compared with 13,651 for Peterson in November." "In other words, more than 11,000 Democrats in Center Township who stayed home for Peterson came out for Carson."
Julia Carson began her political career as the Center Township trustee and steadily built a reputation as the only Democrat in contemporary times capable of delivering massive turnout in the city's black urban core.
That pattern seemed to hold true Tuesday, with Center Township delivering a 12,000-vote margin in a race that Andre Carson won by 9,000 votes.
"This shows the machine is still here," said Carl Drummer, the current Center trustee, who campaigned for the candidate. "It was extremely important to show that Center Township can still deliver, that we're still a force to be reckoned with."
People need to be asking questions about this result. For inexplicable reasons, a number of the precincts reporting huge margins for Carson did not arrive at the voting center until hours after the polls closed. The ballots were cast on paper ballots which were opened as soon as the polls closed to be hand-counted before being taken to the convention center. Remarkably, the Republicans left many of these Center Township precincts unattended. Only Democrats were supervising these hand counts of the ballots and their delivery to the convention center. This provided a unique opportunity to stuff ballots in the cardboard boxes used during the day to store the ballots cast by voters.
You also need to keep in mind that Jon Elrod represents a significant portion of the southern part of Center Township as state representative. Elrod carried precincts in and around the downtown--some by significant margins--as well as precincts in the southern part of the township. Many of these precincts which generated huge Carson numbers are actually neighborhoods replete with abandoned homes and buildings. These hardcore Democratic precincts are actually de-populating. The former black residents are moving out into the surrounding Pike, Washington and Lawrence Townships, primarily. The only areas of Center Township undergoing growth are areas where better-educated, mostly professional whites and young professionals are moving. These voters voted for Elrod in large numbers.
The Center Township numbers are highly suspect folks. I think some of us need to take it into our own hands to investigate these results. I'm sick and tired of my vote being disenfranchised because the Center Township gang is permitted to steal votes without fear of prosecution. The Democrats always say this is just urban legend. A Democratic friend of mine related a story to me of a close city-county-council race he worked a few years ago in which a white incumbent defeated a black candidate by a handful of votes. The black candidate demanded a recount. In preparing for the recount, my friend surveyed some of the precincts where the opposing candidate had done very well. He turned up dozens of voters who cast votes from vacant lots and abandoned houses after surveying a small percentage of the district. When the incumbent councilor threatened to expose the widespread vote fraud, the opposing candidate was convinced by the Marion Co. Democratic Party that it was in every one's best interest if the vote fraud allegations never surfaced publicly.
It's happening right under our noses and they're laughing in our faces about it. This is all the more reason we have to get rid of the Center Township Trustee's office and eliminate all those make work political jobs Carl Drummer is financing at our expense to turn around and use to screw us in every election. To add further insult to injury, our own money is being used to protect Drummer's job. He has paid Lacy Johnson's law firm tens of thousands of dollars over the past several years to lobby to protect his job. We've got to put a stop to this now.
A note on Beth White failing to open up heavily Republican precincts on election day. A businessman in Perry Township relates to me how his right to vote was disenfranchised on Tuesday after he twice tried to vote at his precinct but found it unopened. The second time was after 10:00 a.m. Thanks, Beth White, for continuing your tradition of disenfranchising voters.
15 comments:
Carl Drummer to my knowledge doesn't even have a high school diploma. Can someone confirm this.
Julia's political career did not begin as Center Twp. trustee. Don't they have any fact checkers working at the Star?
If Orentlicher takes a look at these numbers, he will know why he can't win the primary. The Center Township vote will swamp whatever results he legitimately earns elsewhere.
May 11th!
Andre Carson's butt has to go! He is an embarrassment to both Indiana
and the United States Congress.
Please vote.........
Sarge
"Carl Drummer to my knowledge doesn't even have a high school diploma."
Thugs and crooks don't need a diploma. They can always do what Andre did, buy one.
Why were republican workers not there to work at the precincts that didn't open up, Gary? Who are the Republican PC's for those districts?
I think it's funny that I've never heard a white political candidate referred to as "a thug." I guess that the new racial slur for the decade. But, by all means, investigate. At least then, I won't have to listen to the conspiracy theories. If you can prove it, more power to you. Anybody found to be fixing an election should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But a more practical idea is to make sure your precinct committee people aren't so stupid that they leave their polling place early or fail to follow the ballots to the counting location.
the only person(s) to blame in this matter is teh republican party. recruit pollworkers, have them watch to make sure no ballots are stuffed. without having republican poll workers, this could happen each and every time.
gary - you may be losing it here. you have rattled off conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory with this race. get over it. a democrat won a democratic district. you got caught believing your own bullshit. deal with it.
and only one person was disenfranchised at this polling site that allegedly opened late twice? i was at the clerk's office election day morning and the media loooooooooooves a polling site not opening on time. if one had not opened until after 10, we would have known about it. sounds like you have nothing else to complain about so you just bitch about the clerk. maybe ed treacy is a good nickname for you.
chris, I submitted my name as a volunteer to work election day in the mayoral election and this special election. The party didn't call me to work either election. Nobody worked my precinct on Tuesday, and nobody worked it last November. Jon Elrod's campaign delivered a credential to me right at 6:00 p.m. after I requested it so I could observe the vote counting at my precinct. It is absolutely inexcusable. One Democratic worker complained that every election the Rs send people to harrass voters at the Children's Museum. The Democratic worker just laughs and wonders why they aren't devoting those efforts over in Tony Duncan's ward where there's a lot more activity taking place.
"and only one person was disenfranchised at this polling site that allegedly opened late twice? i was at the clerk's office election day morning and the media loooooooooooves a polling site not opening on time. if one had not opened until after 10, we would have known about it. sounds like you have nothing else to complain about so you just bitch about the clerk. maybe ed treacy is a good nickname for you."
Why don't you provide your name and telephone you gutless anonymous nobody. I'll be happy to have the gentleman telephone you and give you an earful of you know what.
Anyone who doesn't believe that election was stolen must be a democrat.
Obviously, Drummer and his cohorts stuffed ballot boxes. There aren't that many "poor democrats" even in those precincts anymore, and they certainly don't go and vote unless bussed there, liquored up, fed, given cigarettes, and/or paid.
I wonder how many "poor people" filled out absentee ballots while at the trustee's office.
Business as usual for democrats.
This is why we need to move away from the neighborhood precinct voting system to a more modernized voting center system where voters can cast a ballot anyplace in the county. It's too hard to man all the different precinct voting locations. The voting center system would allow us to greatly reduce the amount of labor and the Republicans could keep a better eye on the Dems in Center Township.
There is absolutely no credible evidence that ballot boxes were stuffed.
There IS credible evidence that white voters in the 7th District no longer give a damn and prefer to stay home and bitch.
If the Marion County Republican Party and it's leader, Tom John, can't fulfill it's responsibilty to provide manpower in the precinct polling places to ward off this supposed corruption then I personally don't think it's your fight to fight Gary.
It's up to Tom John to address this issue not bloggers wrapped up in conspiracy theories.
So far, no formal protest has been filed by Chairman John regarding any voting irregularities and there won't be.
The irony is that the black Center Township vote stay home and Peterson was defeated and the white voters stayed home and Elrod was defeated. It's not a race issue it's simply demographics and voting patterns.
Elrod lost for three reasons:
1) He was a poor choice for the GOP to run against Carson.
2) His campaign was the worst managed campaign I've ever seen with the exception of O'Conner running the Peterson Campaign.
3) He lacked support of his own party which seems to be the norm nowadays with the Marion County GOP.
Black voters went to the polls for Carson and White voters stayed home. That's not a conspiracy, that's a fact.
Now, can we move on to something else.
When you are ready to get some folks canvassing precincts to find voters from abandoned lots and the like, let us know. I'd be happy to help.
I worked as a volunteer for Jon Elrod. I can tell you that it was not a well oiled machine between state and county GOP. The GOP has got to become more efficient if they're going to take 7.
I can also tell anyone who is complaining to GET INVOLVED and stop just bitching online! I simply walked up to the State GOP headquarters and said I'm here to volunteer. I was handed a phone and a script, some pizza, and made calls all night. On election day I walked into the County GOP and did the same. I was also asked to watch polling locations, and the actual vote count at the convention center.
I am not affiliated with any party, and have never worked on anyone's campaign.
ANYONE can do this, if you're concerned someone is stuffing boxes.
Put down the keyboard, get off your ass, and work the next election. You will have earned your right to bitch then...like me.
Post a Comment