Friday, June 29, 2007

I wish my cats were smart enough to vote

From The Associated Press:

The Seattle area grandmother who registered her dog to vote pleaded not guilty Thursday to making false statements on a voter-registration form.
Jane Balogh, who says it's too easy for a voter to register illegally, sought to prove her point by registering one of her dogs, Duncan MacDonald, as a King County absentee voter.
She put her phone in Duncan's name, and that apparently sufficed. Although the Australian shepherd-terrier mix signed each ballot envelope with a picture of a paw print, he didn't vote. Balogh wrote “void” on each ballot.
The King County prosecutor's office charged Balogh, 66, with making false or misleading statements to a public servant, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

1 comment:

Jim Thomsen said...

That's freaking ridiculous. She was making a salient point. The right thing to do is say, "Okay, lady, point taken ... but this isn't the best way to make it. Case dismissed; let's get on with our lives."

It's like being thrown into prison for a few years because you made a joke at the airport security-screening area. A crime it may be, but the punishment doesn't fit.