Which Party Is Using Dirty Tricks?

Democrats are amassing a team of lawyers to challenge close election results in virtually any state.

Already, some prominent Democrats are alleging Republicans will try to "steal" the election by suppressing the black vote. This is a clever strategy that has worked well for Democrats before — charge the Republicans with dirty tricks while you are using the same dirty tricks and maybe no one will notice.

Modern elections, dating to the famous Cook County, Illinois, cemetery voters that put John Kennedy (search) over the top, have provided Democrats with votes they otherwise would not have had. Former President Jimmy Carter (search) charged in a Washington Post column that the problems in Florida during the 2000 elections could be repeated this year. Specifically, Carter claims Republicans tried four years ago to disenfranchise 22,000 black voters on grounds they were felons and ineligible to cast ballots.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (search) took exception to Carter's claims. He says Carter did not try to contact anyone in his office to obtain up-to-date information before writing his opinion piece. Bush's press secretary said the former president was being used by his party "for low-level political rhetoric." You mean there is such a thing these days as "high-level political rhetoric?"

There is plenty of actual and potential fraud in Florida, but most of it appears not to be coming from the Republican side. Snowbird residents — those with winter homes in Florida — are being encouraged by Democrats to register in Florida and vote twice — once in their home states and once in Florida.

Another trick used in the past by Democrats is to obtain lists of non-voters and then vote absentee in their behalf. Partisans have also gone into nursing and retirement homes, requested absentee ballots for all residents and then voted them all, sending the ballots in to election officials in bundles.

This stuff happens all over the country, as John Fund notes in his new book, "Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy."

In close races, illegal votes could make the difference. Why aren't these people stopped before they can vote again?

And that's Column One for this week.

To check out more Column One features, click here.

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