The 2004 Republican Election Theft Tour

Today's stops are Michigan:

Michigan's top elections official on Monday said qualified voters can request absentee ballots until Nov. 1, citing fraudulent calls telling voters the application deadline already had passed.



Registered voters who qualify for an absentee ballot have until 4 p.m. on Nov. 1 to request one at their city or township clerk's office, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land said. Voters have until 2 p.m. on Oct. 30 to request an absentee ballot be sent to their home.



Land said there have been some reports of calls made to Ann Arbor and southern Wayne County residents by people identifying themselves as members of the state bureau of elections or local clerk's offices. They are telling residents the deadline to apply for an absent voter ballot has passed and are asking that completed ballots be sent to the wrong place.



"This fraudulent activity is unconscionable," Land said in a news release. "While these activities appear to be extremely limited and do not represent what's going on throughout Michigan, it's important that residents do not release private information over the phone."



It's unclear who is making the calls. A message left with the secretary of state's office on Monday morning wasn't immediately returned.

...and (where else) Florida. Now as we all should know by now, Gov. Jeb Bush put the entire state of Florida under a State of Emergency on September 7, 2001:

The Florida National Guard may order selected members on to state active duty for service to the State of Florida pursuant to Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes, to assist FDLE in performing port security training and inspections. Based on the potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism at a Florida port, the necessity to protect life and property from such acts of terrorism, and inhibiting the smuggling of illegal drugs into the State of Florida, the use of the Florida National Guard to support FDLE in accomplishing port security training and inspections is "extraordinary support to law enforcement" as used in Section 250.06(4), Florida Statutes.

It looks like he's gearing up to do it again, this time just in time for the election:

Florida National Guard troops who spent months patrolling airports after the 2001 terrorist attacks may return to the terminals around the state soon.



Florida Guard officials are drafting plans to dispatch "at least a couple of hundred" troops to airports across the state, Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, a Guard spokesman, said Thursday.



Tittle said the planning was prompted by a "warning order" received earlier this week from U.S. Northern Command in Colorado, which is responsible for the military's homeland-defense operations. Warning orders are typically issued before National Guard troops are called to active duty.



Several law-enforcement officials said there is no specific threat to Florida. It is unclear when, or whether, the troops will be ordered to the airports.



"The planning stage is still ongoing in case we get notification to do it," Tittle said. "It's not a certainty" that the soldiers will be called up, he said.