The Chairman of Maine’s Republican Party apparently thinks he’s uncovered voter fraud:
Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster is once again alleging possible voting irregularities, this time claiming that groups of unknown black people showed up in some rural towns to vote on Election Day.
Webster made the claim in a wide-ranging, post-election interview this week with Don Carrigan of WCSH-TV.
“In some parts of rural Maine, there were dozens, dozens of black people who came in and voted on Election Day,” he said. “Everybody has a right to vote, but nobody in (these) towns knows anyone who’s black. How did that happen? I don’t know. We’re going to find out.”
When Carrigan pressed Webster on where it happened, Webster provided no specifics or proof of his claims, but said the party would investigate further.
When asked about the issue in an interview Wednesday with the Portland Press Herald, Webster again refused to provide specifics.
He said his point is not that the new voters were black, but that they were not recognized by town officials.
“I’m not talking about 15 or 20. I’m talking hundreds,” he said Wednesday. “I’m not politically correct and maybe I shouldn’t have said these voters were black, but anyone who suggests I have a bias toward any race or group, frankly, that’s sleazy.”
Yea, this will help with that whole minority outreach thing, won’t it? The state party chair in Maine alleging voter fraud because of stories he claims to have heard of scary black people roaming the Maine countryside voting at whim. Yea, that’s entirely plausible.
To be fair, though, other Maine Republicans are criticizing Webster:
Webster’s comments come at a sensitive moment for Republicans, including many who say the election losses last week show that the party needs to reach out to minority voters.
Lance Dutson, a Republican strategist and former campaign manager for Senate candidate Charlie Summers, posted a statement on his Twitter account Thursday saying Webster should step down now rather than wait until his term ends next month.
“Webster’s statements should be cause for immediate resignation. Any GOP who values future of the party should demand the same,” he says in the Tweet.
Webster said he has identified five “pockets” of the state where he has concerns about voting irregularities. He would not identify those areas, but said he plans to mail “Thank You” cards to all of the newly registered voters. If a large number of cards are returned because the addresses are invalid, Webster said, he will know he is on to something.
Megan Sanborn, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Charlie Summers, said Summers was shocked when he watched the video of the interview on WCSH.
“Our office has not heard any complaints about Election Day,” Sanborn said. “Secretary Summers jealously guards the right of everyone to vote and feels that they should.”
Hallowell Town Clerk Deanna Mosher Hallett, outgoing president of the Maine Town and City Clerks’ Association, said she hasn’t heard about any Election Day problems from clerks around the state.
“If there is enough chatter out there, I’d hear about it,” she said. “Everything went smoothly.”
It’s people like Webster that give the GOP a bad name.
