by Kathy Love, Republican candidate for HD 85, Hamilton
In response to your emails and recent letters to the editor:
You may find it comforting that in all the talks I’ve given since declaring for office, I have never mentioned you at all. I have only talked about issues that I’m hearing are important to the people and to me. Only when asked a direct question in reference to you did I refer to your voting record, not your character or your faith. There is a difference. Voting records are important when you’re running for re-election. It is a measure of your performance so people can determine how well you’ve represented them. If the people feel that you’ve represented them well, then nothing I say should change their mind.
I did offer an example to the attendees. It was HB 402 which you did indeed vote for. HB 402 would have put into Montana law that people with unverified citizenship can vote. This is in direct conflict to MCA 13-2-206 (2) which states “Illegal aliens are prohibited from voting in the State of Montana” as well as 13-1-111 (1) (d) that states “A person may not vote at elections unless the person is (d) a citizen of the United States.” This is in direct conflict to Montana Code as well as our Constitution. Nothing about that was a lie or dirty politics. I don’t play that game. The people are looking for representation that will protect their rights as well as offer solutions. Unverified citizens need to be caught between the registration process and being added to the voter rolls and certainly not after they cast a vote. Anything less than that is greasing an already slippery slope. If you choose to be offended by the truth of your voting record then perhaps you should have made better choices.
As per my message to you after your accident, I sincerely hope you heal quickly and have a full recovery.
H Sabin says
Kathy – you obviously did NOT listen to David Bedey the sponsor of HB402 when he explained that the bill you obviously did NOT understand even though he explained it, was NOT to let illegals vote. It was the exact opposite.
NOT NOT NOT…what part of that do you NOT understand. I know you John Birchers have tried to misinform the people of the valley about the bill and one of our best legislators, David Bedey as he is NOT one of your group but you do not have the listening, comprehension and reading skills necessary to be in the legislature.
Bedey’s bill was intended to identify “voting offenders” but allowed for the “fact,” that the “citizen verification system”, at least initially, might not be “real-time correct” so that in some instances a person could cast a vote if the verification process was NOT complete.
The intent of HB 402 was to “catch illegal voting offenders early.” However, to “survive court challenge” it was necessary to add the provision, “allowing a person whose registration has been accepted and processed to vote while citizenship verification is pending.” Without this clause, the bill would have been ruled unconstitutional by the courts.
This was an unfortunate necessity driven by the NVRA (National Voting Rights Act) and the Montana courts’ interpretation of the law. i.e., once you attest to being a citizen on a registration form, you must be treated as a citizen even if you are NOT!”
Now do YOU understand or NOT?
Kathy Love says
Helen,
It is not legal in ANY state for a noncitizen to cast a vote in a Federal election.. States get to decide if they are going to let them vote in local and state elections. If you want to go with legal precedent then let’s start with the recent ruling by a NYC court that overturned a law there that allowed illegals to vote in local elections. It was ruled UNCONSTITUTIONAL. No state currently allows noncitizens to vote in statewide elections. If you want to catch noncitizens voting illegally then it needs to be done between the registration process and actually casting their vote as once a vote is cast it cannot be retrieved. There are federal databases that can be checked to verify such as the Social Security Administration. As you well know, background checks are done regularly for firearm purchases. It’s not that hard. With the Real ID drivers license, CITIZENS have to practically give a blood sample to get one and that incudes birth certificates and such, yet we register people to vote at the same time without requiring any proof. I am well aware of the Kansas case that is always referenced. That is Kansas. This is Montana. This issue is left up to the state. I am neither stupid nor ignorant and I can read, I can also think for myself. I can always count on you for your usual insults.