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2003 Tierradorian voter suppression scandal: Difference between revisions
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2003 Tierradorian voter suppression scandal (view source)
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The '''2003 Tierradorian general election voter suppression scandal''' is a [[w:political scandal|political scandal]] stemming from events that took place during the [[2003 Tierradorian general election]], which saw [[Partéq Pepal|PP]] candidate [[Victoría Hombêri]] defeat incumbent [[Socialist Party (Tierrador)|PST]] candidate [[Aphía Mōnderíq]] in one of the most controversial elections in Tierradorian history. It involved numerous [[w:robocall|robocalls]] and real-person calls that originated from the Partéq Pepal’s campaign office, [[w:vote buying|vote buying]] from the PP and the [[Conservatives Union (Tierrador)|TCU]], and the rejection of [[w:absentee ballot|absentee ballots]] in 6 regions. These were all mostly designed to result in voter suppression, except for the absentee ballots scandal, which was mainly done to comply with the laws implemented in said 6 regions. Investigations from the [[Civil Guard]] and [[Elections Terranóq]] were made to respond to claims that the PP was using robocalls and real-person calls to falsely inform voters that the location of their area’s polling stations have been changed. | The '''2003 Tierradorian general election voter suppression scandal''' is a [[w:political scandal|political scandal]] stemming from events that took place during the [[2003 Tierradorian general election]], which saw [[Partéq Pepal|PP]] candidate [[Victoría Hombêri]] defeat incumbent [[Socialist Party (Tierrador)|PST]] candidate [[Aphía Mōnderíq]] in one of the most controversial elections in Tierradorian history. It involved numerous [[w:robocall|robocalls]] and real-person calls that originated from the Partéq Pepal’s campaign office, [[w:vote buying|vote buying]] from the PP and the [[Conservatives Union (Tierrador)|TCU]], and the rejection of [[w:absentee ballot|absentee ballots]] in 6 regions. These were all mostly designed to result in voter suppression, except for the absentee ballots scandal, which was mainly done to comply with the laws implemented in said 6 regions. Investigations from the [[Civil Guard]] and [[Elections Terranóq]] were made to respond to claims that the PP was using robocalls and real-person calls to falsely inform voters that the location of their area’s polling stations have been changed. | ||
Calls began in [[Tabía, La Plazal]] on April 5, 2003, 1 week before Election Day. The [[La Plazal State Patrol]] (LPSP) discovered an automated calling machine in the [[Santa Cruz, La Plazal|Santa Cruz]] PP headquarters which they believed to be the source of said robocalls. By April 8, 2003, Elections Terranóq had received complaints detailing irregular calls from the PP in 316 of the 380 | Calls began in [[Tabía, La Plazal]] on April 5, 2003, 1 week before Election Day. The [[La Plazal State Patrol]] (LPSP) discovered an automated calling machine in the [[Santa Cruz, La Plazal|Santa Cruz]] PP headquarters which they believed to be the source of said robocalls. By April 8, 2003, Elections Terranóq had received complaints detailing irregular calls from the PP in 316 of the 380 ridings in [[Tierrador]], recorded in all 20 regions. The scandal received widespread attention throughout [[Crona]], and resulted in various arrests, lawsuits, and condemnations from other South and Central Cronan nations, along with [[2003 Santa Cruz Riots|widespread rioting in La Plazal]] stemming from Hombêri’s victory. Former President [[Pedro Gomez]] called the handling by Elections Terranóq and the Civil Guard “fucking disgraceful” and “a slap in the face to Tierradorian dignity.” | ||
== Fraudulent calls in Tabía == | == Fraudulent calls in Tabía == | ||
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== Fraudulent calls across Tierrador == | == Fraudulent calls across Tierrador == | ||
== | In the early days of the Scandal, most of the calls were only reported in the region of La Plazal, with a few also coming in from fellow island region Sonaxa. However, on April 7, 2003, Elections Terranóq reported complaints from 79 ridings, across 6 regions. This was the first wave of misleading calls from outside of La Plazal, and they all consisted of the same messages from the La Plazal calls. When meeting with Hombêri about the robocalls, PCq presidential candidate Marvín Tobekee described her behavior as "strange" and "seemed like she knew what was going on". By April 8, 2003, close to 1.3 million voters from 291 electoral districts filed complaints with Elections Terranóq, detailing fraudulent calls with outrageous contexts. | ||
Once Election Day came around, 326 of 380 ridings had reported misleading calls. For the first time in Tierradorian history, early voting, which was supposed to occur on April 9, was suspended, creating outrage throughout the entire nation, as most voters were unable to vote on April 12, and early voting was the only way that close to 2.4 million citizens could vote. The [[Alliance of Tierradorian Coscivians|ATC]] called this a "slap in the face to democracy", as ethic Coscivian voters made up 91% of that 2.4 million number. It sparked protests in cities with a large Coscivian population, such as [[Taisgol]], Qabór, and Santiago. | |||
Throughout Tierrador, these fraudulent robocalls had a significant impact on voters' perceptions of the electoral system. Many voters became apprehensive about trusting any information they received through phone calls, making it challenging for legitimate political campaigns and election officials to communicate effectively with the public. The lack of trust in information sources led to widespread confusion and, in some cases, apathy towards the electoral process. The alarming scale of these calls raised questions about the vulnerability of Tierrador's communication infrastructure and the need for stronger safeguards to protect citizens from such malicious activities. It also highlighted the importance of robust legislation to penalize those engaged in electoral fraud and disinformation campaigns. Companies such as [[Orixtal Communications]] and [[H2O Group]] were subsequently sued by Elections Terranóq in December 2003, for allowing the robocalls to continue despite them knowing of said calls. | |||
== Arcergate == | |||
An investigation in November 2004 uncovered the use of vote-buying by Partéq Pepal and the Tierradorian Conservatives Union. As evidence of an alleged fraud surfaced and pointed towards the PRI buying votes by providing voting citizens with store credit cards of Mexican department store chain [[Arcer Court]]. Elections Terranóq confirmed in January 2005 that the TCU and PP spent $7.5 million in electronic cards throughout their entire campaign. Opposition parties (and both the TCU and PP amongst themselves) complained that this represented a form of illicit funding, but both parties claimed the contrary. They claimed that the electronic cards were actually intended for party personnel, but this method rose suspicions because some of the money was transacted through "several shadowy companies instead of being disbursed directly from party coffers." This also increased the suspicions that the TCU had received illegal donations from various domestic and international corporations (given that this move is prohibited under law). | |||
The store credit cards typically had a balance of $250, and these forms of vote-buying were targeted towards lower-class citizens. This won close to 600,000 votes for the PP and 432,000 for the TCU. In ridings where the final results were determined by 1,000 votes or less for the PP/TCU, said scandal, on top of the robocalls, sparked massive outrage and voters, along with opposition politicians, called for the removal of Victoría Hombêri. This vote-buying scandal was dubbed [[Arcergate]], due to the supposed involvement of Arcer Court in the scandal. Arcer Court denied any involvement and subsequently canceled their pre-paid cards program until 2009. Regardless, Arcer Court was involved in numerous lawsuits, by opposition parties and groups of voters affected by the scandals. | |||
== Absentee ballots == | == Absentee ballots == | ||