Political Watch Central Coast

In Ventura County, Democratic voter registrations are ahead of Republican by 6,698 as of this week with a slight increase in the Decline to State voter locally.

These DTS voters are now 71,956 or approximately 17.5 percent of the total voting population. Interestingly, California polls report today that only 2 percent of likely voters are undecided on the presidential race. With Obama polling at 55 percent while McCain polls at 39 percent we see a clear win for the Democrats. The predicted trend of our Decline to State voter as an Obama supporter will favor local Democrats, too.

Like Ventura County, San Bernardino will turn “blue” this week. In San Bernardino the Democrats gained 1,323 on the Republicans who registered only 747 new voters last week. Republicans have seen a dramatic drop in registration since their professional contractors fled the county after being accused of voter fraud. This appears to be the same company who is working to register voters for Republicans in Ventura. Young Political Majors, who is contracted by Republicans in Sacramento, have been on college campuses, in front of commercial establishments and even going door to door in an effort to re-register Decline to State and Democratic voters as Republicans.

Evidence of voter fraud involving a technique called “slamming” has been turned over to the Ventura County Elections Division and the Ventura County District Attorney by Vote Blue – Central Coast. The alleged fraud occurred over a one-month period in several cities in the county.

Voters were tricked into registering for the Republican Party in several different scenarios, said Vote Blue Co-Founder Helen Conly. “When we saw that the 19th State Senate race would be fought between Republican Tony Strickland and Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson this spring, Vote Blue – Central Coast and activist Democrats predicted a terrific battle,” Conly said. “Yet we never dreamed we would find Florida- and Ohio-like tactics from Republicans intimidating and registering voters.”

Here are two recent accounts from Ventura County Democratic voters: “My friend and I were shopping in Thousand Oaks. We were approached by two people and were told that they were collecting signatures for a petition to enforce that all sex offenders wear ankle bracelets which would track them. We signed the petition. Then they told us we had to register as Republicans in order for our signatures to count on the petition. They re-registered us right there but gave us no receipt. We are upset because we felt pressured and we are not Republicans.”

And another account: “A young woman knocked at my door asking me to participate in a poll. She identified herself as a Republican and I told her I was a Democrat and didn’t want to change that. She said that the questions and the signature wouldn’t change my registration as a Democrat. So I signed. Six weeks later I got notice from Ventura County that I was registered as a Republican.”

Vote Blue has an initial dozen official Complaint to Election Officials forms filled in by angry Democrats and Decline to State voters. This is a felony, according to the fraud unit of the Secretary of State’s office. The Ventura County Democratic Central Committee and Vote Blue are calling for the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General’s office to investigate and prosecute those who knowingly are committing this fraud against voters.