Ron Paul Betting Odds Could be Impacted by New Voting Rules

Gambling 911 - Oct 3, 2007

Voting Rules Changed at Last Minute Will Shut out Votes for 2008 US Presidential candidate Ron Paul, according to Gambling911.com Special Contributor Jennifer Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds regularly reports on the Ron Paul campaign for the Gambling911.com website. Dr. Paul, as many of you already know, is opposed to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and there are many in the online gambling space who would love to see him get elected into office next year.

But it turns out his own party is going to make this an even more difficult task.
"Many states, in an effort to shut out Ron Paul are now closing their primaries," reports Reynolds. "That means that only Republicans can vote in the Presidential primaries for a Republican candidate."

And this could have a tremendous impact on Ron Paul betting odds, though probably not in the next few weeks. Ron Paul odds were slashed to 6 to 1 over this past weekend, making him a bigger favorite than Mitt Romney.

Ron Paul's popularity bridges the gap between all groups. He is truly a bi-partisan politician. Republicans like him, Libertarians like him, Independents are supporting him as well as many Democrats who see his small government, anti-war stance as attractive. Ron Paul is the first person in decades to have so many diverse groups support him. It is easy to see why: he believes in freedom and liberty for all. That includes the liberty to not have to go to war and the liberty to keep your entire paycheck. Only days ago he introduced the Tax Free Tips Act because by taxing tips, the IRS punishes workers for "doing a superior job." People in this country are fed up with being lied to and stolen from. They want the war over with and they want it ended NOW.

Ron Paul is fast becoming the only candidate in either party to pledge to end the war. People in general are sick of having no power to do anything and the majority of Americans believe that things are going to get worse for them in the coming years, not better. But Ron Paul offers hope to change all of that. He is truly the only man for the people. What is so amazing that so many Democrats, Independents and Libertarians are planning on voting for him. For those of you that fall into that class, the established Republicans do not want you to do that and are changing rules as we speak to try to shut you out at the voting window.

Many states, in an effort to shut out Ron Paul are now closing their primaries. That means that only Republicans can vote in the Presidential primaries for a Republican candidate. Many states are doing this quickly and quietly and giving people very little time to learn about the new rules. For example, New Hampshire decided only a week ago that you will now have to change your party affiliation by October 12, 2007 or it will be too late to do so. New Hampshire also has a closed primary and only Republicans and possibly Independents will be allowed to vote for Ron Paul.

In New York, you must be registered as a Republican or you cannot vote for Ron Paul and again, you must make this decision by October 12, 2007 or it will be too late. In New York, however, Independents cannot vote for Ron Paul. Same with New Jersey and many states around the nation. I hesitate to give you a link to a site that has correct information about voting in all 50 states because I have yet to find one that does not have an error and besides, this information is changing daily, as Ron Paul gains momentum. The people in power are doing their best to shut out the multitude of voices that want to vote for Ron Paul. If you are a Ron Paul supporter, or even thinking about becoming a Ron Paul supporter, please become a registered Republican immediately so that no matter what your state does to change the rules out from under you, you will still be allowed to vote for this great man.

All of these arbitrary deadlines are designed to keep a candidate such as Ron Paul from gaining momentum and making a last minute push. Effectively, Ron Paul has until October 12, 2007 to get as many Democrats, and others to switch sides in key states like New York and New Hampshire, or they will not be able to vote for Ron Paul in the primaries. That means that the people in power have shortened the Ron Paul campaign to less than two weeks with the stroke of a pen! The Ron Paul campaign now has less than two weeks to teach people about his candidacy and his policies. As of this moment, in New Hampshire you may be registered as an Independent and still vote for Ron Paul. Not so in New York. In New York you must be a registered Republican by October 12, to vote for Ron Paul (Independents cannot vote in the primaries at all). However, for those of you in New Hampshire reading this, I wouldn't trust that come election day the rules won't have been changed on you again. To be safe, make sure your voter registration card says Republican.

So, all of you sitting on the fence folks, the fence is about to crumble beneath you and you will not have the ability to affect the election at all. The rules are changing all over the place for Independents. Now, if you are an Independent in New York or Arizona or New Jersey and many other states you will not be allowed to vote in any primary at all. You will only be able to sit on the sidelines and watch as other people decide for you who your choices are. So get busy! Hurry up and re-register.

In another effort to stem the rising tide of Ron Paul supporters California this week just announced that they too would close their Presidential Primary, again shutting out Independents. (Despite the fact that the voters of California voted on March 26, 1996 to be make it an open primary state). So, once again, unless you are a registered Republican you cannot vote for Ron Paul if you live in California. The only good news, is that as of this moment, the deadline to change your registration is January 21, 2008. However, I would not depend on that. If it looks like Ron Paul might win, they could move that date up too. So don't put this off.

Arizona pulled a sneaky move on its voters. Arizona is an open primary state. That means that anyone can vote in any race - except, and here is the catch, in the Presidential Primary. How can they get away with that? Because, they don't actually call the Presidential Primary a primary at all, it is now officially called a Presidential Preference Election. So, with that new name comes new rules. Arizona actually did this many years ago, but most of Arizona's residents are unaware of this rule. As a result, many many people who want to vote for Ron Paul will be shut out because they think they can stay Independent or "party undeclared" and still get to vote. They will be rudely met by voting proctors who will turn them away at the door.

On top of all of this, many states are moving their primaries up earlier and earlier this year so that a come-from-behind candidate had better do his coming-from-behind in a sprint. Worse yet, if you call the official Secretary of State's office to find out the voting rules, you are likely to get faulty information. In my tiny sampling of seven calls, five of the states gave out incorrect information that if relied upon, would result in that voter not being allowed to vote for Ron Paul. The best place to get correct information is from your state's GOP. (But do not tell them who you are planning on voting for or they may make a mistake in the information. Beware of answers that begin with "I think..." that is almost always followed by a guess and often misinformation. Make them do the work and find out the real dates.) Here is one site that has some information, but please do not rely upon it as the rules may have changed by the time you read it. It will help you find links to places to change your registration.

It is appalling that states are allowed to change their voting rules at the last minute so most people will not hear of the change. It is more appalling that when calling an official state office you are given incorrect information. It is most appalling that millions of Ron Paul voters may not get to vote for their man because they didn't know the rules were switched on them.

So, for all of you Ron Paul supporters out there: Switch now. Hurry. Sign up to be a Republican if you aren't already, get that official voter registration card in hand so on primary election day no one can take away your right to vote! It doesn't matter if right now your state is an open primary state, or they claim to allow Independents to vote, they may close it tomorrow as California just did and they may give you only three weeks to make the change as New Hampshire did. Don't take the risk. Become Republican today. I know this is not fair. I know that the rules used to be different. I know, you may not want to be a Republican but still want to vote for Ron Paul. Please don't let your pride and their trickery get in the way of you voting for the man you want.

And remember New Yorkers and folks from New Hampshire - You have less than two weeks left. HURRY! The deadline is October 12, October 12, October 12... make that your new mantra. Please tell all of your friends.

For you Democrats out there who wanted the war to stop only to find that your party seems content on this war lasting another decade or so, Ron Paul voted against the war in the first place and would vote to stop it the minute he took office, in January of 2009. Isn't another 15 months enough time for this war to rage on and try to end with a "win." I know you may not want to switch parties. But think of it this way, if you do switch, and Ron Paul loses, then that will be another Republican who abandons the party come general election day, so you can have a little taste of revenge for them making you switch parties to vote for this man. How do you know that Ron Paul won't lie and keep this war going too? You can trust a man to behave in the future the way he has behaved in the past.

Protect your right to vote. Don't let them steal the greatest man in history away from you before you have even learned about him. Check out the www.ronpaulportal.com to find links to many ways to learn about Ron Paul. My favorites are the Ron Paul Library link and the You Tube videos.

And they call this a democracy? Ha!