6th Nov 2012 at 14:28 | By Brian Sikma
Federal Job Corps Vans Used to Bus Voters in Wisconsin
Job Corps Van At Poll in Wisconsin
By: Brian Sikma
Media Trackers has found federal Job Corps vans being used to bus voters to at least one polling location in the City of Milwaukee. A van with federal plates and driven by a Job Corps employee was seen pulling up to the small polling station at the Clara Barton Elementary School in urban Milwaukee shortly after 1:00 pm on Tuesday. A Job Corps administrator inside the polling place said the federal vans had brought approximately 125 Job Corps participants to the poll as of early afternoon.
The administrator declined to give his name. The Job Corps is a division of the United States Department of Labor, a cabinet level agency that reports directly to President Obama, who is up for re-election today and who has campaigned hard in Wisconsin in recent days.
Poll workers inside the location struggled to handle the extra traffic created by the Job Corps participants brought in from a nearby training facility. A number of them were first time voters who had to be registered using Wisconsin’s same-day registration procedure. At one point a poll worker had to be asked by an unidentified election observer to confirm that a would-be registrant actually lived in the precincts served by the polling location.
Obama Photo In Polling Place
Voter registration and voting were done inside one of the classrooms of the school. A photo of President Obama hung prominently near the ballot counting machine. There were no other photos of U.S. Presidents or U.S. historical figures hung on the walls.
Participants in the Milwaukee division of Job Corps are trained in a number of technical areas at no expense to themselves or their families. The Milwaukee center’s website – and other Job Corps sites – focus on the so-called green economy. “Job Corps is preparing students for the green economy through green training in the advanced manufacturing, automotive, and construction industry areas.”
As a federal government program Job Corps’ vans and staff time are paid for by taxpayers.
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Discussion | 15 Comments
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Dan Johnson said
Nov 6, 2012 at 3:25 PM
How in hell can this be legal…
Federal program gives free training to students.
Provides government paid transport to the polling place
and we expect this has no sway on the supported voter?
Suck my big toe!
Why isn’t big brother calling a cab for me, too?
Why don’t we bus all citizens to the polls gratis?
I want it all done FOR ME.
I’m not rich or smart enough to get this done on my own.
Bear said
Nov 6, 2012 at 10:54 PM
There was a picture of Obama on the wall of a classroom used for voting? And this is an issue? The first time I voted the was a picture of Gerald Ford on the wall, Nobody cared. He was after all the president of the country at the time, just as Obama is now. But unlike Obama, nobody elected Ford, he was appointed President after Nixon resigned in disgrace. It is only right that Obama’s photo be on the wall of the classrooms of the country’s public schools.
Claude Slagenhop said
Nov 6, 2012 at 3:59 PM
It is not legal. As a federal employee, we are not allowed to take any federal vehicle for a purpose other than job-related business. Doing so results in termination. This should be reported to the DOL inspector general.
Avidreader said
Nov 11, 2012 at 5:08 PM
This was their job – people being paid by taxpayers driving people to vote using vehicles paid for by taxpayers to elect a president that plan to raise the taxpayers taxes even higher.
JC said
Nov 6, 2012 at 4:04 PM
From the Job Corps “Policy and Requirements Handbook”:
“6.9 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
PURPOSE
P1. To provide students with the opportunity to exercise their voting rights.
P2. To ensure that students receive basic support services necessary for a comfortable
enrollment.
REQUIREMENTS
R1. Voting Rights
Centers shall develop and implement procedures to assist students to vote locally or by
absentee ballot. Any assistance with voter registration must be conducted with
nonpartisan entities free from party affiliation, bias, or designation, e.g., the League of
Women Voters, MTV’s Rock the Vote, etc.”
http://www.jobcorps.gov/libraries/pdf/prh.sflb
Sweeney said
Nov 8, 2012 at 8:29 AM
Nonpartisan entities like League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote? That handbook needs some serious revision.
TraderJo said
Nov 6, 2012 at 4:26 PM
Same-day voter registration is one of the biggest tools of voter fraud. If folks can’t register in advance and have a valid photo ID, they have no business casting a ballot.
And to help stop double-voting, let’s use the Iraqi method of dying voter’s thumbs purple after voting. Makes it a badge of honor and helps stop fraud.
david Shaw said
Nov 6, 2012 at 4:30 PM
Well first there is a picture of Obama in the polling place isn’t that campaigning withing 100 feet.
Second, using a federal vehicle for personal business is a terminable offense.
I’m sure the fact that they are getting free education, and free transportation, and a picture of Obama will not influence their vote.
stopthemorons said
Nov 6, 2012 at 4:43 PM
That’s how they vote in Kenya. Except they bring the folks to the polling place in a cart powered by a cow.
Tim said
Nov 7, 2012 at 6:21 AM
Meanwhile in America the racists continue to be anonymous, just like the good old hooded days.
BamaG said
Nov 7, 2012 at 4:59 PM
The bigger problem, other than the obvious, is that these ‘kids’ don’t live in Wisconsin. Many are here at this facility due to whatever the course being offered is.
I know of 2 ‘kids’ whom were sent to Chicago and another whom was sent down south, because he specifically wanted to learn masonry. Bet all those ‘kids’ voted absentee ballot as well in THEIR home states.
Eric said
Nov 8, 2012 at 11:04 PM
Wow, the stupid is VERY thick on this website.
How come people in flyover country are so damned stupid???
jan said
Nov 15, 2012 at 1:14 PM
Please report that to the GAB.
Thomas Collins said
Nov 11, 2012 at 1:49 PM
A photo of Obama hung prominently near the ballot counting machine. There were no photos of U.S. Presidents or U.S. historical figures hung on the walls.
jan said
Nov 15, 2012 at 1:13 PM
I contacted the GAB, and was told that they have no record of any complaints being filed about either the poster at the polling place or the government vans being used to bring in voters. Why has no one filed a complaint with the GAB yet?