November 28, 2006
Mail Ballot Horror Show (XXXII): Coerced voting

KING-5 has an investigative report on a frightening assisted living facility for mentally ill adults. According to the report, the "therapist" who runs the place is not only unlicensed, but also an abusive control freak. And she makes her dependent clients vote per her instructions:

The clients' mail is opened and read, all phone calls are monitored. At election time, Dr. Greff even gathers the clients in a group and tells them for whom to vote.

Investigators: "Are you saying people didn't have a choice in who they voted for?"

Lariva: "No."

Investigators: "They had to vote for who she wanted in the positions?"

Lariva: "Right."

Of course that sort of coercion only works when you vote by mail.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 28, 2006 12:59 PM | Email This
Comments
1. I was wondering if you would catch that.

I complained to the county auditor (then Stipek) about a nursing home doing the same thing with my Great Grandmother. She of course stated it was none of her concern.

Posted by: Vince on November 28, 2006 01:19 PM
2. I'm betting this happens a lot more than anyone realizes. Didn't a bunch of dead voters appear from one of these retirement homes in the 04 recount?

Going through the PDC database- there is a lot of money put out by retirement homes.

Posted by: Andy on November 28, 2006 01:23 PM
3. How dare you complain about this! These poor souls would not have even been able to vote if it were not for that nursing home director! She is a compassionate liberal who is looking out for herself I mean her charges. This woman feels and cares, and should not be punished for being so compassionate.

You mean republicans just can't take a defeat can you, you have to make up stories about dead people voting! How terrible!

C.

Posted by: Chris Brownell on November 28, 2006 01:28 PM
4. I hate playing devil's advocate so often here. Makes me feel like a liberal.

Granted, she is registered in a precinct where Kerry won over 2-to-1, but why are we assuming that Dr. Greff is a liberal?

And I'm not sure what you were expecting the county auditor to do, Vince. Tragic as this is, I doubt the county auditor's office has the time or resources to look into what can't be un-done and what may not be a crime in the first place. After all, the only case in which the votes would be invalid (correct me if I'm wrong) would be if they were cast by someone not competent enough to cast votes. That may be the case, but again - can we really expect the county auditor to personally investigate that? I doubt he/she even has the authority.

Finally, the only way that this could have been stopped would be eliminating mail balloting altogether. I think that a caretaker home owner like this would have doubtlessly been able to convince a reasonable elections office that her patients were too disabled to go to the polls, and get disability-related absentee ballots. It might have been flagged as suspicious, but again, I doubt that the auditors are looking out for this kind of thing (and who can really expect them to?)

Posted by: Alcon Nighthawk on November 28, 2006 01:45 PM
5. If KING 5 has the goods on the therapist, they should make sure it gets into the hands of the County Prosecuting Attorney. That's a felony offense, and probably with several counts. It's the very thing that gives absentee voting a bad name. Especially since most of the residents couldn't otherwise vote.

Posted by: Bob B. on November 28, 2006 01:45 PM
6. How is this any different than a "Drinking Liberally" gathering?

Posted by: Jeff B. on November 28, 2006 01:49 PM
7. Jeff stole my theme;...that is,

this whole story sounds like a fable about Seattle as a whole; no real choice on voting...

Posted by: righton on November 28, 2006 01:51 PM
8. Granted, she is registered in a precinct where Kerry won over 2-to-1, but why are we assuming that Dr. Greff is a liberal

As far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter. It's unacceptable no matter who does it. I'll bet there are a lot of abused wives (and maybe some husbands) who have to vote the same way. There's absolutely no security outside the polling place.

Posted by: RBW on November 28, 2006 01:54 PM
9. It seems there are alot of Rural people getting ballots back saying signature did not match. Also lots of flood victims complaining their vote was not counted. Funny all these problems in conservative districts.

Posted by: Jimbo on November 28, 2006 02:05 PM
10. After reading the King-5 story, I think the therapist in question could stand a little medical attention of her own from the Doctors who helped this poor french woman out

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061128/ap_on_he_me/france_face_transplant

Posted by: JDH on November 28, 2006 02:08 PM
11. Nothing will come of it....nothing to see folks, move along....

Posted by: yourpointis? on November 28, 2006 02:27 PM
12. Horrifying! Where is the outrage by forced-mail-voting advocates????

Posted by: Michele on November 28, 2006 03:11 PM
13. Hey send that charge down to island county they charged a mother with a felony for siging her daughters ballot.oh course the prosecutor was a democrat who was in a tight race.guess he showed them.

Posted by: BIG O on November 28, 2006 04:59 PM
14. BIG O... gotta reference? I'd like to read about your Island Conuty incident.

Posted by: huckleberry on November 28, 2006 05:43 PM
15. "My dear Watson, it's obvious that Dr. Greff is a Republican."

"How so, Holmes?"

"Only the mentally ill vote Democrat. If the therapist were a Democrat, she'd let them vote for themselves. Elementary."

Posted by: S Holmes on November 28, 2006 08:18 PM
16. It's entirely irrelevant what party or political persuasion the therapist is. The fact that she is instructing residents at the facility how to vote is illegal on two counts: a) coercion and b) if the resident is incompetent to vote, they should not legally be voting. If it's happening, it needs to stop. And if the therapist has "padded her resume" and is actually not qualified, that's another reason for her to go.

Posted by: katomar on November 28, 2006 10:33 PM
17. libs LOOOVE "investigations" and "rights"...so?...(holding breath...)

Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on November 29, 2006 06:24 AM
18. Uh...not that Washington State is into following the law or anything...but isn't there one somewhere that states you have to be mentally competent to vote? (note: this would probably disqualify most liberals...).

Posted by: Scott C on November 29, 2006 09:35 AM
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