McCain camp must resolve mailing fiasco

An editorial  —  9/15/2008 5:32 am

When it comes to the right to vote, it is not enough after a dramatically inappropriate move to say, "Oops."

The campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain has dispatched a mass mailing to Wisconsin voters -- including many Democrats and liberals who are not likely to be McCain backers -- that encourages eligible voters to send their applications for absentee ballots to clerks in communities where they do not reside.

Following the instructions of the McCain mailing could lead voters to run afoul of election rules and regulations -- and that might lead to the disqualification or even the prosecution of an innocent citizen for supposed wrongdoing.

That has caused consternation of the part of voters around the state. "They're trying to knock me off the rolls," says Beverly Jambois, of Middleton, who complained after she got one of the McCain mailings. "I can't tell you how upsetting it is to me. This is how (McCain tries to) win elections? By disenfranchising voters?"

The McCain campaign claims mistaken addresses and other information in the mailings were "certainly not intentional." But campaign staffers are refusing to answer questions about how this mess was created.

Republican officials are a little more forthcoming. But they too deny any wrongdoing and suggest that this is merely a stumble by their candidate and his team.

If so, it is a very serious stumble.

And coming at the same time that Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, a McCain campaign co-chair, launched an aggressive new effort to purge voting rolls, this development is deeply unsettling.

The McCain camp has raised questions that need to be dealt with.

They can do so by:

1. Dispatching a new mailing with proper addresses to all voters who were contacted.

2. Working with the state Government Accountability Board and local clerks to ensure that any confusion they have created is resolved.

3. Publicly urging that any disputes over absentee ballots and related matters be decided with an eye toward ensuring that all voters who seek to cast ballots this November are able to do so and that those votes are counted in a timely and accurate manner.

The McCain camp has created serious concerns for Wisconsin voters.

Those voters will not be able to trust the Republican nominee or his party unless those concerns are addressed quickly and completely.

An editorial  —  9/15/2008 5:32 am