Sunday, September 28, 2008

No fraud found in voter registration

Note, this article was not found when visiting the original link--it was copied in its entirety from the link's cached pages

Original link: http://www.keysnet.com/news/story/23716.html

Cached link: http://74.125.113.104/search?q=cache:oc7srmc2Qj8J:www.keysnet.com/news/story/23716.html+Dodamead+also+voiced+concern+at+not+being+able+to+obtain+a+copy+of+his+own+records+and+that+a+handwriting+expert+was+not+used+in+the+case&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

No fraud found in voter registration
Keys man claims signature not his

By RYAN McCARTHY
rmccarthy@keynoter.com
Posted - Wednesday, September 24, 2008 07:01 AM EDT

The Monroe County State Attorney's Office has found no evidence of fraud in a Marathon man's voter registration records, though he disagrees.

After he voted in the primary in August, Tom Dodamead filed a complaint with the Supervisor of Elections Office, claiming the signature on a change-of-affiliation form with his information was not his. Dodamead says he did fill out a form changing his party from Independent to Democrat -- just not the one on file with the Elections office.

"I'm saying I didn't do it, that's the way I feel about it," Dodamead said, adding he has no plans to pursue the matter further.

"It's pretty stressful for me; I'd rather it just go away. I thought it was important enough to make sure it wasn't happening to anyone else," he said.

Well, investigators say it didn't happen to him.

They say no motive appears evident to tamper with the affiliation form because the party change was what Dodamead desired and the information on it is consistent with his other records.

"Had the contents of the two cards been different in any way, that might have suggested that some crime was being committed," State Attorney's Office spokesman Matthew Helmerich said.
"Results of the investigation indicate that although Mr. Dodamead believes his signature on the card in question was not his signature, it is," a State Attorney's Office report says. "Therefore, no evidence exists indicating a criminal act occurred."

The report cites a mark Dodamead uses when signing his name "indicating he is Thomas Emile Dodamead III." "That mark, on the card in question, is similar to the mark on his Florida driver's license record. This record contains four separate signatures of Mr. Dodamead," the report reads.

Dodamead said the information in the report was not what he was told by the State Attorney's Office.

"They just said they can't resolve it; they can't figure out who's telling the truth," he said.
Dodamead also voiced concern at not being able to obtain a copy of his own records and that a handwriting expert was not used in the case.

"It wasn't necessary to analyze the handwriting. There's a preponderance of evidence that says he was present with ID when both cards were filled out," Helmerich said of the card in question and the new one he filled out before voting in August.

"I didn't want this to turn into a big political issue. I just wanted to make sure it's not happening on a regular basis," Dodamead said.

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