In East St. Louis, IL, as blogged here, votes are for sale for $5 to $10, in a scheme allegedly perpetrated by Democratic operatives in St. Clair County.
At the southern tip of Illinois in Alexander County, according to a civil suit filed in a neighboring county, just $3 will buy voters' allegiance in a Democratic Party primary election, so says the Southern Illinoisan. I'm not sure if $3 is the retail or wholesale price for votes in that part of Illinois chiefly known as the place where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers hook up, but I will report my findings here as soon as I get them.
From that article in the Southern Illinoisan:
Allegations surfaced in mid-February 2000, only days after absentee voting began in Alexander County, that people were being paid to vote for specific candidates. Several courthouse employees reported witnessing numerous absentee voters carrying small pieces of paper with four numbers - 35, 64, 83 and 104 - written on them. It was also reported that voters were being paid $3 to vote after they returned to a parking lot adjacent to the courthouse.
The four candidate names that corresponded with the numbers on the primary ballot were McGinness (83), Woolard (64), McRoy (104), and Smith (35). Smith was a candidate to be a delegate for Al Gore at the 2000 Democratic National Convention; the others ran for the offices indicated. All four were victorious in the primary.
After complaints were registered, the Illinois State Board of Elections and the Attorney General's office both conducted investigations prior to the primary election. The investigations centered on a political action committee that was operated through Laborers Local 773 in Cairo.
Absolutely sickening.
Hat tip: Rich Miller's Capitol Fax blog--deep in the comments.
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