A Likely Fraud About Voter Fraud

Since I registered to vote when I turned 18, I have only missed voting twice.  Once was a very minor race where I didn't know anything about the two people running, and honestly had no idea which I should vote for.  It was a special election, with only one office on the ballot, and well, to be honest, I completely forgot about it until it was too late.  The other time was during a presidential primary, and I was a poll watcher.  I had not planned on doing it, but the person we had assigned to a particular location turned out to be a complete kook, and we had to get him out of there before things got out of hand.  He was claiming voter fraud repeatedly, and without good cause.  The funny thing was, there was real voter fraud during that election, but it was of a completely different nature.  I believe strongly in the right to vote, and I also believe that voter fraud should be dealt with severely.

That said, I have been amused by the hysterics coming out of the National Center for Transgender Equality.  They have been claiming that the above image from the cover of a training guide put out by a right wing group proves that they plan to target transgender voters.    At least three of the kookiest transgender blogs have featured this story.  Now, let me say, right off the bat, that I have no idea what the training material actually says.  I can't find a copy of it online.  But, I also suspect that the NCTE also does not know, OR, if they do know they might be engaged in a bit of fraud themselves.  Funny, but I have seen no one provide anything other than this cover image as proof of their allegations.  If the guide includes specific instructions to target transgender men, you would think they would want to quote it in  detail...

Now, what I see is a suggestion, perhaps meant to be humorous, perhaps meant to be serious, that some man might dress up as a woman, so he could vote fraudulently, possibly using the name of a person who is deceased.  That seems a lot more reasonable than some alleged plot to prevent transgender men from voting.  Let's face it, they're not that big a voter bloc, and it would not be worth the effort.

But truth rarely serves the purposes of extremists, so a silly claim is made, based on a humorous image.  If they don't have full access to the content of the training material, they should not be making a claim based on an assumption.  And if they do have full access, and it does not say what they claim, then they are guilty of fraud themselves.

But I do suspect this is making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Bottom line, regardless of how you lean, you should get out and vote.  

More Transgender Idiocy...

Sometimes the transgender extremists come up with some pretty silly stuff.  The latest is the complaint that "transgender" voters will be disenfranchised by voter ID laws.  That is truly absurd.  


Personally, given the high degree of voter fraud in some states, I think photo ID laws are a good thing.  I live in San Francisco, where there were considerable complaints about possible fraud in the most recent election where a candidate backed by the "moderate" (i.e. right wing) faction may have received fraudulent votes in Chinatown.  Of course, since the moderate faction also controls the DA's office, no one is really expecting much to be done about this.


The transgender extremists are whining that it is difficult for them to obtain IDs that match their "gender identity."  This is ridiculous.  Yes, some states will not change the sex marker (the TG kooks want to call it a gender marker) on a license until after surgery.  So what?  Is it not better to have a license that reflects one's legal name and has a recent photo while in transition?  Oh wait, we are talking transgender, not transsexuals.  They often want to play around.  They don't necessarily want to commit to one identity, or the other.


In truth, this has nothing to do with transgender people being denied the right to vote (they should either get their ID updated, or present in a manner consistent with their ID) and everything to do with transgender extremists trying to create an issue where none really exists in order to support those who wish to insure that voter fraud is easily committed.


Sad, but not surprising.