Blog

Another day, another serious error by Robin Carnahan

September 2, 2010

It has been a bad week for Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.  On Tuesday, Carnahan received the latest in a string of judicial rebukes when the courts overturned her decision to disqualify valid signatures from an initiative petition.  Yesterday, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a Carnahan error nearly cost a qualified independent a spot on the ballot.

“What is going on at the Secretary of State’s office?” asked Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.  “Each day, it seems that we are learning more about Robin Carnahan’s incompetence in performing her chief duty, which is safeguarding Missouri’s elections.  Already, Carnahan’s negligence has nearly cost a qualified candidate a spot on the ballot and her mistakes almost prevented voters from making a decision about an important constitutional amendment.  We know that Carnahan is fighting desperately to go to Washington to act as Obama’s rubberstamp, but there is absolutely no excuse for errors like these.”

The most recent revelation that a Carnahan error nearly deprived voters of the ability to have a choice in November is just the latest in a series of problems over the past six years that cast doubt on Carnahan’s ability to perform her chief responsibility, which is safeguarding our elections.

*This week, a Cole County judge overturned Carnahan’s decision to disqualify legitimate signatures from an initiative petition.  Carnahan’s decision, if allowed to stand, would have prevented Missourians from voting on an amendment preventing taxes on the transfer of real estate.

*Earlier this month, Carnahan’s ability to run a fair election was called into question when a Democrat filed a lawsuit alleging irregularities and illegal votes during the August election.

*Over the past several years, the courts have called Carnahan’s ballot summaries “troubling,” “unfair,” “insufficient,” and “inadequate.”  And on four different occasions, the courts have taken the previously unheard of step of rewriting her language.

*In addition, the Missouri Republican Party has uncovered more than 1,400 pages of emails documenting Carnahan’s cozy relationship with ACORN—what ACORN called a “great team effort.”