GOP Operative Defends Unethical Behavior

Nathan Sproul is a GOP operative who sent out people in various states to register new voters - but only if they agreed to register as Republicans. Volunteers were told to walk away from anyone who indicated they might vote Democrat. Some even tore up Democratic registrations. Sproul is unapologetic - he thinks that acting unethically is just fine.

The Boston Globe explains:

While it is illegal to tamper with voter registration forms -- in some states it is a felony -- it is not against the law for groups to decline to register certain voters. However, it is frowned upon by some. "It's unethical to not register anyone who comes to you to register," said Karen Osborne, a Democrat who is elections director for Maricopa County, Arizona's most populous county.

Whether the Justice Department is investigating Sproul is unclear. The department did not immediately return a call for comment, but Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller said the FBI has taken the lead on an investigation into claims of voter fraud in his state by a company headed by Sproul. Sproul is fighting back. After former canvasser Eric Russell of Las Vegas claimed that he saw a Sproul supervisor tear up eight to 10 registration forms completed by Democrats, Sproul hit Russell with a slander suit.

During Sproul's recent work on an effort to dismantle Arizona's "Clean Elections" system for publicly funding candidates, Democrats secretly videotaped one of his petition gatherers lying about the ballot measure -- and portraying it as something that would promote Clean Elections -- to get a voter's signature. (The measure never made it to the ballot because of problems with the wording.)

It is perhaps not a surprise that Sproul used to work for the Christian Coalition in Arizona — they aren't exactly known for high ethical standards in the context of political campaigns. One can't object to wanting to register more Republicans than Democrats, but if someone is going to go out for the purpose of registering new voters, one should be willing to register all comers. A person's loyalty should be to the democratic process first and a particular party second. Sproul's loyalties are just the opposite and that is very bad.

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