Tricked into Registering Republican

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An article at Latimes.com reports:

Dozens of newly minted Republican voters say they were duped into joining the party by a GOP contractor with a trail of fraud complaints stretching across the country.

Newly registered voters report that an organization identified as Young Political Majors, hired by the California Republican Party:

.... said they were tricked into switching parties while signing what they believed were petitions for tougher penalties against child molesters. Some said they were told that they had to become Republicans to sign the petition, contrary to California initiative law. Others had no idea their registration was being changed. 

It is a bait-and-switch scheme familiar to election experts. The firm hired by the California Republican Party -- a small company called Young Political Majors, or YPM, which operates in several states -- has been accused of using the tactic across the country.

Election officials and lawmakers have launched investigations into the activities of YPM workers in Florida and Massachusetts. In Arizona, the firm was recently a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit. Prosecutors in Los Angeles and Ventura counties say they are investigating complaints about the company.

The firm, which a Republican Party spokesman said is paid $7 to $12 for each registration it secures, has denied any wrongdoing and says it has never been charged with a crime.

The 70,000 voters YPM has registered for the Republican Party this year will help combat the public perception that it is struggling amid Democratic gains nationally, give a boost to fundraising efforts and bolster member support for party leaders, political strategists from both parties say.

Those who were formerly Democrats may stop receiving phone calls and literature from that party, perhaps affecting its get-out-the-vote efforts. They also will be given only a Republican ballot in the next primary election if they do not switch their registration back before then.

Some also report having their registration status changed to absentee without their permission; if they show up at the polls without a ballot they may be unable to vote.

The article further states:

The Times randomly interviewed 46 of the hundreds of voters whose election records show they were recently re-registered as Republicans by YPM, and 37 of them -- more than 80% -- said that they were misled into making the change or that it was done without their knowledge.

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A related article at Californiachronicle.com states:

The San Bernardino County Democrats set up a meeting with an assistant Registrar in the County office and together they agreed to check up on the new Republicans that were being turned in. The Registrar's office gave the list of new registrations to the Democrats who parceled out the voters which had changed from "Democrat" or "Decline to State" to "Republican." They designed a questionnaire, assigned lists of voters to be called by various volunteers, and made several hundred calls to the voters using the questionnaire to determine what was happening and how it was being done.

Their findings were surprising. Of all the voters who were contacted, more than 80% said they had intended to register Democrat and that their party had been switched without their knowledge or permission.

More than 75% of the phone numbers listed were no good, and these registrations were just two weeks old. Republicans usually require 75% phone numbers on the cards they pay for, so it is necessary to invent phone numbers in order to get paid.

Also at NowPublic:

Republican Hired Young Political Majors Head Arrested