ELECTIONS, THE JERSEY WAY - AT 8:24 A.M. ET: When the term "clean elections" is mentioned, the name "New Jersey" does not instantly come to mind.  Among many finer things, the state is also known for some, uh, colorful election practices.  Are we seeing the usual tactics practiced by the usual suspects?  Maybe so.  There'll be an election for governor in Jersey tomorrow.  There'll also be a vote count.  The two may be somewhat connected:

...evidence is building that Corzine’s campaign may see its only salvation is in rigging the election.

I'm just shocked to read this.

Now, in the final days of the campaign, it appears state democrats are paying for robo calls supporting Independent Chris Daggett. First reported here, the robo calls attack Christie (but not Corzine) and promote Daggett. At the end of the call, it is mentioned that the calls are paid for by a “project of the NJSDC.” No idea what that acronym stands for, but New Jersey State Democratic Committee, isn’t too big of a stretch. More interesting is the fact that the return number on the calls is the same number that was used to promote Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s election in closing days of the 2006 race.

But all men are brothers, aren't they?

More telling that the fix is in, however, is the sudden appearance of ACORN on the scene. Not by name, mind you, as their reputation is so tarnished that even New Jersey Democrats don’t want to be associated with them. No, in New Jersey ACORN sought cover behind its big brother, SEIU, specifically SEIU Local 32BJ.

The political director for the SEIU local is Peter Colavito. Just last year, he was ACORN’s political director in New York, working directly under Bertha Lewis, ACORN’s CEO and co-chair of ACORN-backed Working Families Party.

Oh, ACORN.

GOP officials recently received a phone tip from a hospital in Newark, reporting that people in ACORN t-shirts were in the facility signing up and collecting absentee ballots...

...There are reports out of Camden, New Jersey that voters are discovering that absentee ballots have already been submitted under their name. They did not authorize these ballots. Early reports suggested that the number of absentee ballots ‘requested’ in Camden city is higher than in any previous election.

Camden is one of the most depressed, and dangerous, cities in the nation.  Look, maybe people want absentee ballots for their personal safety.  You never know...

And get this:

Possibly anticipating this confusion, the state Democratic Committee recently sent a letter to the Secretary of State, arguing that any absentee ballot that is rejected should still be counted as a “provisional” vote. The letter complained that almost 3,000 absentee ballots had already been rejected “solely on the basis of a comparison of their signature to the signature on record.” Solely? If the signature of the voter doesn’t match the signature on the ballot, is there really a reason to look at anything else?

Oh, come on.  Signatures are artistic expressions.  Maybe some citizens like to vary them.  This reporter has no sense of local culture.

The best hope here is that Christie wins by enough of a margin that these dirty tricks are moot. As they say in sports, put enough points on the board and the refs can’t steal it from you.

We'll be reporting an election to you tomorrow night, I think.  You'll know Jersey is in trouble if the number of votes in some precincts exceeds the number of people who live there.

November 2, 2009