MA Sec of State Says Rushford’s Training Illegal

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Rob Eno, MINDSETTER™

“We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections.” – John Adams, Founding Father

The first column I wrote for Go Local Worcester, called for the United States Department of Justice to monitor the elections in the City of Worcester on November 6, 2012. Recent events by the government of Worcester are causing me to renew that call. On Tuesday October 30, 2012 the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth’s Office called into question rules promulgated by the City of Worcester for poll observers. The rules were a result of recent poll observing activity, whereby conservatives have called into question the impartiality of Worcester Elections.

The Worcester Election Commission, under the direction of David Rushford, conducted poll worker training sessions over the past few weeks. During those training sessions Rushford and the Commission laid out rules for poll observers that are in direct violation of Massachusetts Law. Michelle Tassinari, the Legal Counsel of the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office In a letter outlined the violations. Tassinari wrote, “this office directs you to take immediate remedial action and provide this office with a statement as to the action you take or intend to take.

The primary issues that Tassinari took with Rushford’s directions were:

1) The requirement that observers present a photo identification. This is not a requirement of state law.

2) The requirement that observers must wear badges with their names. This is not a requirement of state law.

3) That the Secretary of State’s office promulgated these rules and trained municipalities on them. The Secretary’s office did no such thing.

4) That videotaping and photography are not allowed in the polling location. This is not a true statement. In fact video and photographic record keeping are allowed.

Under the direction of Councillor Sarai Rivera and David Rushford, the City of Worcester is trying to stop independent poll workers from documenting the voter fraud committed by groups such as Neighbor to Neighbor in order to help the campaign of Elizabeth Warren. There have been serious allegations of voter fraud documented as having been committed by this group in past elections.

The only way to ensure a “free, fair, virtuous and independent election”, in the City of Worcester, remains to have the U.S. Department of Justice observe the election. The City Officials of Worcester have demonstrated that they are incapable of doing so.