Justice Department to Send Election Observers to Arizona as Concern Rises About Illegal Voters

The Justice Department is sending a small pack of election observers to Arizona as Hispanic groups sound the alarm over an anti-illegal immigration group's mass e-mail seeking to recruit Election Day volunteers to help block illegal immigrants from voting.

Hispanic voting rights groups say the e-mail is just an attempt to intimidate minority voters. But election fraud monitors say that there are hundreds of examples of duplicate registrations, wrong information and past unregistered voters getting ballots.

Voter fraud allegations have emerged just days before the midterm in many crucial battleground states across the country, including Nevada, Pennsylvania and Florida.

The Justice Department announced Friday it would deploy more than 400 federal observers to 30 jurisdictions in 18 states ahead of Tuesday's election. But Arizona officials say the department had already committed to sending observers to their state.

Justice Department officials had notified Maricopa County that they would send a "handful" of election observers, even before the e-mail was sent, Matthew Benson, a spokesman for Arizona's secretary of state, told FoxNews.com. 

"We don't know why (the observers are) coming," he said. "But we do not believe it's in response to the e-mails making the rounds."

But William Gheen, executive director of Americans for Legal Immigration, said he knows why they're coming.

"They're sending them out because the Obama administration is doing everything it can to make sure as many illegal aliens vote in 2010 although that is a violation of federal law," he told FoxNews.com.

Benson noted that the Justice Department sends election observers to at least one Arizona county every election. In 2006, the department sent around 30 election observers to Maricopa County, he said.

Benson said the plan had nothing to do with the firestorm elicited by Ban Amnesty Now, or B.A.N., the group that sent an e-mail entitled "6 Days to STOP Illegals from Stealing the Election!"

The e-mail said "open-border criminals" in the unions, the White House and Hispanic groups are "determined to undermine" the election.

The e-mail originally included the signature of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an immigration enforcement proponent and B.A.N. honorary co-chairman, but Arpaio's name was later removed after Sean McCaffrey, the president of B.A.N., said he didn't mean to send out the e-mail attributed to the sheriff.

That didn't deter one voting rights group, Mi Familia Vota, from sending a letter to Justice Department officials Thursday asking them to send election observers.

"We are very concerned when you have Sheriff Joe Arpaio putting out this type of call to the community with the fear and concern that illegals are going to take over the election," said Ben Monterroso, president of the group. "It's not that we're not concerned that the elections are secure, but the way that it's been written – anyone who has the appearance of a foreign person, i.e. being a Latino – then that can create intimidation and violate their rights to vote."

McCaffrey said Friday that, despite the erroneous attribution to Arpaio, he is looking for volunteers to provide information to his group about voter fraud, "especially stories concerning activities involving illegal aliens."

"We hope that by forwarding interested volunteers to state elections officials we may contribute to smooth, fair and legal elections in all 50 U.S. states," he wrote in a blog on the group's website. "Furthermore, we hope that those who seem so shocked and outraged that Americans are concerned about stopping voter fraud will own up to their actions and stop committing vote fraud."

McCaffrey told FoxNews.com in an interview that nearly 500 people have volunteered so far -- about 100 of them in Arizona.

Part of the concern for voter fraud monitors is a result of a ruling this week by a federal appeals court that stripped the state of its ability to request proof of citizenship when residents register to vote. State officials say the ruling could increase the likelihood of voter fraud but not in next week's midterms because the deadline for registration passed before the decision.

At Arizona polls, voters must show one piece of identification that includes their name, address and photograph, such as a driver's license. They also can provide two forms of ID with their names and address, such as a utility bill or bank statement. Voters can also provide one form a acceptable photo ID with another form of non-photo ID that includes their name and address, such as a passport and a utility bill.

Arpaio declined to comment, but McCaffrey told FoxNews.com that he apologized to the sheriff Thursday for using his name without his permission. Arpaio, he said, stepped down as honorary co-chairman.

"He'll continue to support us but he didn't want an official title with the group while he was being investigated by everyone with a badge at the White House," he said, alluding to the Justice Department's investigation into whether Arpaio's office was discriminating against Hispanics with its crackdown on illegal immigrants. 

Monterroso said he's happy the Justice Department is sending poll watchers, even if it's not in response to his group's letter. 

"I think it's the right thing to do," he said. "It's better to be safe than sorry. If they have people out there, we want to make sure people vote without fear of intimidation or harassment by anyone else."

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Democrats Scramble for Winning Strategy in Final Three Weeks of Election Season

Three weeks from Tuesday, voters will go to the polls to determine whether the political complexion of Congress changes – an outcome widely expected in the House, possibly in the Senate -- ratcheting up pressure on campaigns to avoid any last-minute stumbles or to deliver a Hail Mary.

But election analysts say three weeks probably isn't enough time to alter the course of this campaign season.

"I would not expect anything to happen between now and the election to shift the outlook," said Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University and expert on congressional elections.

"The economy is not going to suddenly get better in the next three weeks," he said. "That's the main thing people are upset about."

Michael Franc, the vice president of government relations at the Heritage Foundation and a scholar on midterm races, said the election will be a "referendum on the most ambitious experiment in government activities we've seen in over half a century."

"And it will answer a lot of questions about where Americans reside on what role they would like government to play in their lives," he said. "It looks like there's a decided thumbs-down coming from the heartland about what this administration and president have done over the last two years."

That hasn't stopped Democrats from swinging for the fences. Right now, it’s the money game – candidates burning through cash to stay competitive or pull ahead. Democrats are expected to flood the airwaves with any dirt they've found on their opponents in campaign ads released at the 11th hour to avoid thorough scrutiny, analysts say.

It’s also time for the parties’ campaign committees to leverage their resources and cut bait on some losing candidates to focus on races that are still within reach. Democrats canceled all of their ad reservations in at least six districts where their chances of prevailing seem to be fading, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee canceled all of its remaining reservations for districts held by Reps. Suzanne Kosmas of Florida, Kathy Dahlkemper of Pennsylvania and Steve Driehaus of Ohio, along with open seats in Indiana's 8th district, Tennessee's 8th district and Kansas's 3rd district, sources told the newspaper.

The DCCC has also retreated from districts where it is confident of victory – Rep. Joseph Cao's seat in Louisiana and an open at-large seat in Delaware, the newspaper reported.

Republicans need to capture 40 seats to retake the House.

Franc said he'll be closely watching moderate House Democrats like Rep. Bobby Bright of Alabama who have consistently voted against Obama's marquee initiatives to see if they can survive the anti-incumbent wave.

Abramowitz said if Republicans are picking up a lot of seats in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio early on Election Day, "that would be a good indication that they're going to make big gains by the time the night is over."

On the Senate side, where Republicans need to win 10 seats to gain control, both analysts said they'll be closely watching how Tea Party candidates do in Nevada, Kentucky, Alaska, Colorado, Florida and Delaware, races in which some say Republican establishment candidates would have performed better.

"Tea Party candidates may give Democrats a chance where they otherwise might not have chances," Abramowitz said.

Franc said the new breed of conservative candidates, including Joe Miller in Alaska, Ken Buck in Colorado, Marco Rubio in Florida and Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, boast some "very strong intellectual power."

"These are not a bunch of guys who fell off the turnip truck," he said, adding that if elected, "they're going to raise the average IQ in the Senate by a lot."

Franc said he hopes the intensity and energy among voters that he says he's never seen like this before has a ripple effect on incumbents, compelling those who return to Congress to be more humble and motivated.

"There's something going on that we haven't seen before," he said. "And it's not just about a single issue. It's about the future of the country."

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House Punts on Tax Cuts Vote Until After Election

House Democrats have decided to skip a vote on extending Bush-era tax cuts, announcing Wednesday that they will not count heads until Congress returns for a lame duck session beginning Nov. 15.

The decision raises the impending tax increase to the fore ahead of the Nov. 2 midterm election, a debate that Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen told Fox News that his party is ready to have. 

"We will take it to the election," Van Hollen, D-Md., said.

The House on Wednesday barely reached approval to adjourn. The 210-209 vote sets up a departure as early as Wednesday afternoon after lawmakers finish business still at hand, including a vote on health benefits for sickened Sept. 11 first responders.

The Senate punted two weeks ago on whether to hold a vote on extending nearly 10-year-old tax brackets for another year or longer. Democrats say they want to extend the current rates for couples making under $250,000 but hike it from 35 percent to 39.6 percent for couples making more than $250,000. The individual rate threshold is $200,000.

"Given the fact that Senate Republicans are going to hold tax relief hostage, we'll have to get this done later this year," Van Hollen said.

Republicans say the decision to forego a vote before the election amounts to a tax increase.

"A vote to adjourn this Congress without an up-or-down vote to stop all the tax hikes is a vote to raise taxes and destroy more jobs," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Wednesday. "American families and small businesses deserve better. ... If Democratic leaders leave town without stopping all of the tax hikes, they are turning their backs on the American people."

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