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51 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 9, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 25, 2004 Mark Juber, left, signs up Tony Verrett of Butte Falls for the Republican Party outside Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Friday. The booth has generated concerns from elections officials who advise voters to deliver their information personally. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Money and politics It’s legal to receive money for registering voters, but county elections officials say people should exercise some caution By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Jackson County elections officials urge residents to be wary of voter registration booths, following complaints over independent contractors who were getting paid to sign up Republicans in Medford. "We would highly recommend that people take the responsibility to complete the cards themselves and bring them in to us," said Donna Connor, county elections supervisor. Connor said it is not illegal to get paid for voter registrations, but it would be illegal if the gatherers tried to influence the way someone registered. The Elections Center has received several complaints about voter registration efforts, particularly about a booth outside Driver and Motor Vehicle Services in Medford. The local Democratic Party headquarters reported a complaint to the Elections Center from a Medford Democrat who claimed his card had been ripped up because he didn’t register as a Republican. Advertisement Another Democrat, Medford resident Gary Glosser, said he was encouraged to register as a Republican Thursday at the booth outside the DMV. "He said it at least three times — ‘Mark Republican because I get paid for it,’" Glosser said. "I told him, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t care what your situation is, I’m not going to mark Republican.’ " Glosser said he was worried that his registration might never make it to the county Elections Center. "I’m going to the Democratic headquarters and register again just to make sure," he said. Mark Juber, who was manning the booth outside the DMV Friday, said he gets paid $7 for each Republican he signs up, making $112 during a two-hour period. "I don’t get paid for Democrats," said the Medford resident. Juber said he didn’t know anything about tearing up a registration card, and insisted he doesn’t try to persuade anybody to sign up as a Republican. He said at least five different people man the booth at various times. He said he takes all signed registration cards, including Democrats, independents and other parties, to the Elections Center after clearing them with his employer. On Friday, he showed a stack of registrations for both parties as well as independents. Juber was vague about who was paying for the registration effort, saying he would contact them later to see if they wanted to talk to the Mail Tribune. He did say, "I get paid by the Republican Party." He said he was surprised that many of the Democrats who came to his booth were already aware that he is getting money only for signing up Republicans. "A lot of people say, ‘It sucks that you don’t get paid for this,’" he said. Juber, a Republican who also helped gather signatures to get Ralph Nader on the ballot, said he isn’t aware of any similar efforts by Democrats. "If I could hook up with somebody registering Democrats, I would trade (registration) cards with them," he said. Bryan Platt, chairman of the Jackson County Republican Central Committee, said he knew of no local efforts to pay someone to gather signatures and condemned any coercion of voters to register for a party. He was particularly disturbed, he said, because "there will be the perception by John Q. Public out there that these people are representatives of the Republican Party." He also condemned anyone who doesn’t turn in all the registration cards. "They are breaking state, if not federal, election laws if they are doing that," he said. But Platt has heard of a Republican effort to pay $7 or $8 for voter registrations. "I know the RNC (Republican National Committee) is offering a bounty for voter registration," he said. The Jackson County Republican Headquarters has not asked for any payments for the voters it has signed up, Platt said. He did receive complaints a month ago from some Republicans about a registration effort at the PC Market of Choice in Ashland. Mike Hanson, manager of the market, said he asked a Democratic nonprofit group to leave the property after customers complained their registration cards were being separated according to party. He didn’t have the name of the organization available. Hanson said customers felt uneasy about what the organization was going to do with the cards. "One woman was concerned that her privacy was being abused," he said. Dawn Phillips, spokeswoman for the Oregon Republican Party, said, "The Oregon Republican Party frowns on anyone violating the law or coercing people to register one way or another." She said she did not know of any particular effort to pay for each signature gathered. However, she said, the practice isn’t new in Oregon, saying that groups backing Democratic agendas have paid people to register voters. Paige Richardson, state director for the Kerry campaign, said her organization is not paying to register voters. "That’s why we don’t have paid signature gatherers," she said. "They are more likely to mislead and harass and intimidate." Deena Brugnoli, manager of the Medford DMV office, said she has received complaints from her staff and customers about the booth, which she said was interrupting the course of business. "I asked them to please pay attention," she said. Her staff complained that people manning the booth had been urging customers to register to vote outside rather than inside at the DMV. Brugnoli said her staff has been cautioning customers about the outside booth. "When they come in we tell them they’re not a part of us," she said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities