Alabama 2002- Suspicious Vote Tabulations and Governor Don Siegelman

Every Wednesday, Sfexpat and I will post a thread on Former Governor Don Siegelman until his release. We will attempt to provide information to make folks here aware of this situation. We hope you will get involved and help bring attention to his plight.


The changing of the guards: Bay Minette, election night


By Steve McConnell
Staff Reporter
smcconnell@gulfcoastnewspapers.com
(Created: Friday, July 20, 2007 10:03 AM CDT)



Nearly five years later, the specter of the 2002 Alabama gubernatorial election lives on.

Republican Bob Riley edged out a narrow victory over incumbent Democrat Don Siegelman, but a midnight vote recount in Baldwin County, giving Riley the edge, stirred a firestorm controversy that still receives national attention to this day.   

A recent New York Times editorial called into question “suspicious vote tabulations” that may have occurred at the Sheriff’s department in Bay Minette – the county seat - shortly after 11 p.m., the eve of election day, Nov. 5, 2002.

And, Time Magazine published an article entitled “Rove Linked to Prosecution of Ex-Alabama Governor” by Adam Zagorin which touched on a controversial computer glitch: “Though Republican Riley…initially found himself behind by several thousand votes, he had pulled ahead at the last minute when disputed ballots were tallied in his favor.”

Glynn Wilson, a former Christian Science Monitor correspondent who now publishes and writes for his news site locustfork.net, posted a piece in June stating that Dan Gans - Riley’s chief of staff during the would-be governor’s time as a U.S. Representative for Alabama’s 3rd District – electronically changed the results, giving a razor thin edge to Riley, who went on to win the state by 3,120 votes.

-snip

http://baldwincountynow.com/articles/2007/07/25/local_news/doc469fbb5bd2a7f444039407.txt



Selective Justice in Alabama?
Thursday, Oct. 04, 2007By ADAM ZAGORIN
-snip

The case of Don Siegelman, the Democratic former Governor of Alabama who was convicted last year on corruption charges, has become a flash point in the debate over the politicization of the Bush Administration's Justice Department. Forty-four former state attorneys general — Republicans and Democrats — have cited "irregularities" in the investigation and prosecution, saying they "call into question the basic fairness that is the linchpin of our system of justice." The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's office strongly deny that politics played any part in Siegelman's prosecution. They say the former Governor, who recently began serving the first months of his more than seven-year sentence, got exactly what he deserved. But Justice officials have refused to turn over documentation on the case requested by the House Judiciary Committee, which scheduled a hearing on Siegelman's prosecution for Oct. 11.

Now TIME has obtained sensitive portions of the requested materials, including FBI and state investigative records that lay out some of Young's testimony. The information provided by the landfill developer was central to roughly half the 32 counts that Siegelman faced for allegedly accepting campaign contributions, money and gifts in exchange for official favors. (Siegelman was acquitted on 25 of those counts and convicted on seven. Young pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges and, in recognition of his cooperation with the government, received a short two-year sentence and fine.) But what Young had to say about Sessions, Pryor and other high-profile Alabama Republicans was even more remarkable for the simple fact that much of it had never before come to light.
The Young transcripts will probably add fuel to charges that the Bush Administration pursued selective justice in Alabama. Leura Canary, the U.S. Attorney whose office drove Siegelman's prosecution, is married to Bill Canary, Alabama's most prominent political operative and a longtime friend of Karl Rove's. In May an Alabama lawyer and Republican activist named Dana Jill Simpson gave a notarized statement that she heard Canary say Rove "had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Siegelman, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. Attorneys. Bill Canary called her charge "outrageous," and other alleged participants in the phone conversation issued similar denials. (The White House declined to comment, citing Siegelman's pending appeal.) But last month Simpson testified behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee. Sources tell TIME that, under penalty of perjury, she repeated her allegations about Canary and Rove.

-snip
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1668220-1,00.html

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GOVERNOR DON SIEGELMAN'S CASE AT:

http://www.donsiegelman.com/



PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. HERE IS A RESPONSE I JUST RECEIVED FROM SENATOR SHERROD BROWN:

Dear XXXXX:

Thank you for expressing your concerns about the case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.

In June 2006, Governor Siegelman was convicted of federal charges of bribery, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice. Recently, questions have arisen as to whether Governor Siegelman was targeted for prosecution for political reasons, and these allegations raise serious concerns about the conduct of the Department of Justice and the Bush Administration.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently investigating this issue, and you can be sure I will continue to support aggressive efforts by Senate leadership, the oversight committees, and the Senate as a whole to hold the Bush Administration accountable for its actions.


Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown


MAIL Don at:

Don Siegelman
# 24775-0001
Satellite Prison Camp
Post Office Box 5010
Oakdale, LA
71463-5019

but, that's okay. Let's try again. :toast:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2702197

I erroneously went to this site:

http://www.siegelman.com/

NOTE THERE IS NO DON IN FRONT OF SIEGELMAN, BUT HIS NAME IS LISTED AT THE SITE. I THOUGHT THIS SEEMED WEIRD.

it was wobbly? I wouldn't put it past them, any way. :(

and this is one of them.

Since no one seems to care about the governor put there by illegal wiretaps and a judge that threw off members of the jury who wanted to acquit.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-08-23-edwards-appeal_x.htm

What a bunch of thughs.

K*R