Power Line: "The Felon Swing Vote"

Power Line: "The Felon Swing Vote": "May 05, 2005

'The Felon Swing Vote'



Michelle Malkin has pulled together what we now know about illegal voting by felons in Washington state, which the Democrats have now admitted. Her conclusion:



Even if only 544 felons voted in Washington State last fall and that 85 percent of them voted for Gregoire, the felons changed a 252-vote Rossi victory into a 129-vote Gregoire victory.



That understates the impact of the felon vote because it's limited to the 544 felon voters that Democrats have identified in Rossi-leaning districts. Republicans have documented hundreds more felon voters in Gregoire-leaning districts. Based on the Florida numbers, it's reasonable to assume that a majority of felons in all districts, both Rossi-leaning and Gregoire-leaning, voted for Gregoire.



Bottom line: if felons had been prohibited from voting last fall, as the law requires, Rossi almost certainly would be governor today.



Voter fraud is like illegal immigration--an issue that the vast majority of Americans feel strongly about, but which neither political party wants to push. It's easy to see why the Democrats won't touch either issue; what's not so clear is why the Republicans won't."