Vote recruiter ignores rules

   A solicitor for the Republican Party was pressured into leaving campus by student protesters after they began to yell warnings at students, saying that he was illegally registering them to vote.
   Tom Coombes, an independent contractor with Arno Political Consultants, a firm used by the Republican Party of Orange County, asked students who said they were U.S. citizens over age 18 to “help out with an initiative” that he said he was trying to get onto the ballot. Coombes would then hand students a voter registration form. Students received their sunglasses upon completing the form.
     “It was just ‘sign here’, ‘initial there’. He didn’t ask me to fill out box No. 9 and I had to specifically request my registration receipt from him,” Richard Santana, a SAC student, said.
  Coombes skipped over box No. 9 on the registration form, which instructs the person registering to indicate the political party for which they are registering. Anyone who registers must be given a receipt of their registration, another policy Coombes apparently failed to follow.
   In a videotape obtained by el Don, Coombes is seen packing
up his sunglasses while yelling expletives at a SAC student, who was warning students to be cautious of Coombes’ incentive prizes and his lack of providing registration receipts.
  When confronted by students about his failure to follow federal regulations, Coombes denied the accusations and began to get verbally aggressive.
   Individuals are required to obtain clearance from the campus facilities coordinator in order to solicit in the quad. Security officers are not responsible for enforcing electoral law, said Lt. James Wooley of the district safety and
security department.
   Coombes was only allowed a three day window in November to solicit on campus. He will not be welcomed back on campus, officials said.
  “From what I saw of him being rude and yelling at students, it’s not safe for him to be here. We don’t want anyone on campus violating electoral law and he will not be allowed back on campus,” Wooley said.
   Coombes was allegedly registering students as Republicans, which violates a federal law that makes it unlawful in an election in which a federal candidate is on the ballot for anyone to knowingly and willfully pay, offer to pay, or accept payments for registering to vote or voting. Even incentives as innocent as cookies are defined as payment. Violations are punishable by imprisonment of up to five years.
  In addition, some students may have submitted fraudulent information or lied about their resident status in order to get a free pair of sunglasses.     Submitting fraudulent information on a voter registration form is a felony, and non-citizens who register before gaining legal status here are putting their future as a citizen in jeopardy.
  “Offering anything of value isn’t good. Things like that often result in fraudulent information. The motivation to vote shouldn’t be a pair of sunglasses, it should be the fact that you are making a difference. You vote to empower the community, not for a gift,” Senator Lou Correa, D-Calif., said.
   Arno Political Consultants has been accused of registering voters fraudulently in the past by other  organizations. In 2007 Thomas F. Steyer, the chairman of the steering committee for the group Californians for Fair Elections Reform, accused ACP of using underhanded tactics by offering homeless people on Los Angeles’ Skid Row food in exchange for filling out voter registration cards and petition signatures.
   Most recently ACP is accused of listing false addresses for petition signatures in Ohio.
   Paul Babbington, an official with the Republican Party of Orange County, has acknowledged that they do pay recruiters.
   “We provide stipends per registration card, but we prefer people recruiting to be Republican because they believe in the message. Even if a person wanted to register with us as Democrat we would sign them up, but the ultimate goal is to sign up Republicans,” Babbington said.
   Henry Van der Meier, political director for the Orange County Democratic Party, explained that their registration process is different.
   “We don’t pay or hire anyone. All of our registration booths are run by volunteers such as the Young Democrats of Orange County,” Van der Meier said.
   Van Der Meier and Babbington both said the actions of Santana and other protestors were justified in yelling a warning about Coombes to students.
   “If he’s breaking the law, it needs to stop. It’s incorrect and it’s not how we operate,”
Babbington said. If students were registered improperly, the situation will be remedied by cross checking status.
  “If the person registering did not sign up as Republican, they will know. We’ll call them, send them a mailer, and we’ll go door to door to make sure they know what they’re doing. We’re taking three steps to make sure they’re not bamboozled into registering as a Republican,” Babbington said.