Illinois Democrats Woo Voters Before Obama Rally

CHICAGO -- Democrats were out early Saturday trying to fire up voters before President Barack Obama's Chicago rally, where he was expected to make another push to fend off Republicans who want to claim his former U.S. Senate seat and the Illinois governor's mansion.

Gov. Pat Quinn and Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias, both Democratic candidates on the top of the Illinois ballot, implored people to vote at the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition. That gathering that was televised and broadcast on the radio.

"Please don't waste our votes," Quinn told about 200 people at the PUSH headquarters on Chicago's South Side. "We're running against the right wing that wants to tear down President Obama. They want him to lose the office of governor in his own home state of Illinois."

Quinn and Giannoulias, who's in a tight race for Obama's seat against Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, were gearing up for an Obama get-out-the-vote rally later Saturday evening. It's the president's latest effort to bolster his party ahead of Tuesday's election.

Like the Democrats, Republicans were busy as well on this final weekend before Election Day. Kirk and GOP candidate for governor Bill Brady were making stops around the state before wrapping up with a rally of their own in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook.

More of the same was planned for Sunday, with a GOP rally in Chicago with Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who claimed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat in a special election.

Illinois Republican Party chairman Pat Brady said Republicans in the state have mounted an aggressive get-out-the-vote effort over the past year and have made about 4.4 million outreach calls.

"I think this year we've beaten them at the get-out-the-vote effort," Brady said.

Obama's Chicago visit shows the Democrats are still trying to rally their base with just a few days to go before the election, which Brady said is "not good."

If Kirk wins Obama's old Senate seat it would be an embarrassing loss for Democrats and another big win for Republicans who are trying to shift control of Congress in Tuesday's election.

Giannoulias said he wants to help advance Obama's agenda to move the country forward and blasted Republicans for saying they want to take back America. He said Obama has been unfairly blamed for the country's problems, which Giannoulias said started under Republicans.

"How far back do you want to go? We saw what happened when they were in charge," he said.

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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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Obama, Biden Energize Voters at Philadelphia Rally

PHILADELPHIA -- Some of the thousands of people who heard President Barack Obama speak in Philadelphia on Sunday were divided over whether Democrats are disenchanted with him and whether Republicans will make major gains in November's election.

Matthew Halley, 28, and Erin DeCou, 27, walked back to their house after the speech in a park in the city's Germantown section feeling the glow of the president's words.

"He fired me up," said DeCou, a community organizer for an environmental advocacy group. In particular, she said, she was pleased to hear him take Republicans to task in stinging terms for a position that she views as simply trying to block his agenda.

DeCou and others at the rally who canvass or volunteer for phone banks say they can't explain why pollsters are projecting a wave of Democratic losses in November. They say people they reach on the phones are engaged and ready to vote on Nov. 2.

"They better," said Audrey Smalls, 61, a special education teacher from Philadelphia. "Because those tea party people, they're nuts."

But some Democrats acknowledge a disconnect between the need to press forward with Obama's agenda and the mood among their fellow party members.

Justin DiPietro, 31, and Marc Alfarano, 30, said there doesn't seem to be as much urgency to vote among Democrats this year and some don't grasp the seriousness of losing the U.S. House and Senate to Republicans.

"I don't think they understand what's at stake," said Alfarano, an elementary school teacher in suburban Philadelphia who is also a party activist.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who also spoke briefly, used the rally to energize Democratic voters for next month's general election. The event was Obama's first public political event in Pennsylvania since he took office in January 2009. The Democratic Party cited a city estimate of 18,500 in attendance at the event, including an overflow crowd who stood and watched from outside the park.

Pennsylvanians will decide on a U.S. senator to replace five-term Arlen Specter, who was defeated in the Democratic primary, and a new governor to replace Democrat Ed Rendell, who is leaving as required by the state constitution after his second term. Republicans also hope to pick up as many as eight congressional seats currently held by Democrats, as well as a majority in the state House of Representatives.

Republicans accuse Democrats in Washington of pushing policies that have stalled an economic recovery and driven up the debt. Democrats say the economy is growing again, and they need more time for their policies to fix the problems they say were wrought by Republicans under former President George W. Bush.

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