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Paying the Price for Cheating Democracy

Posted by on November 30, 2006 at 02:18 PM

A judge in New Hampshire rules that the New Hampshire Democratic Party can seek millions in damages from the GOP:

MANCHESTER, N.H. --A judge has ruled New Hampshire Democrats can go after more than just the cost of renting and using telephones that were jammed by Republicans on Election Day four years ago.

The ruling offers the Democrats the right to argue the GOP jamming in 2002 hindered their attempt to boost voter turnout.

Republicans wanted Judge Philip Mangones to rule the Democrats could only claim $4,974 in damages -- the cost of renting and using phones for the get-out-the-vote campaign. Democrats argued they should be able to go after more than $4 million in damages -- the cost of seven months of work for the get-out-the-vote effort.

That's nearly half of what Democrats spent on their effort, which was disrupted for nearly two hours the day it was supposed to pay off.

Mangones placed some limits on Democrats' claims.

He said Democrats can't include the entire cost of their seven-month-long, get-out-the-vote operation. The costs of "postage, signs, rent and other such expenditures that were not proximately (almost directly) impacted by the telephone system interference would generally not be recoverable," he ruled.

In rejecting Republicans' arguments, Mangones said jamming the phone lines prevented Democrats from communicating with field offices, volunteers and voting sites.

"To the extent that the (Democrats) can establish a direct link between the precluded communications and the hindered (voter turnout) activity, such evidence would warrant consideration for purposes of damages," he said.

The Republicans hired a telemarketing firm to place hundreds of hang-up calls to phone banks for the Democratic Party and the Manchester firefighters union, a nonpartisan group offering rides to the polls. The election featured a hotly contested U.S. Senate race in which U.S. Rep. John Sununu defeated Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.


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