Mike McGee's Pal: Same Methods, Too

Heh.

S'pose Mikie told him how to do this?

It was the 32nd birthday of 1,921 Gonzálezes registered to vote in the western state of Zulia on Wednesday. But instead of celebrating with balloons and cake, many Venezuelans have been shouting fraud.

Every one of these Gonzálezes obtained their first government ID -- and simultaneously registered to vote -- in 2004, just before President Hugo Chávez defeated a recall referendum. And many of them registered on the same day, at the same registration center.

The case is ``one for the Guinness Book of Records,'' said Roberto Ansuini, a former opposition representative on the National Electoral Council who stumbled on it while looking into the registry's reliability. He said the most Gonzálezes ever born on one day in one year in Venezuela is 89.

The González case in Zulia typifies the opposition's claims that the registry is full of fraudulent voters -- one of the reasons some parties boycotted the December legislative elections and may sit out the presidential elections late this year. Many say the case also shows fraud in the recall vote.

The birthday coincided with a European Union report Wednesday on the legislative elections -- which Chávez forces swept in part due to the opposition boycott -- applauding the Electoral Council for its preparation leading up to the vote, but criticizing its reliance on what the report considered an antiquated system to identify voters.

On the other hand, since the EU approves, who are WE to argue?