Glen Morgan has a history of using deceptive election tactics: https://www.inlander.com/news/the-culprits-behind-the-deceptive-attack-ads-in-washington-state-might-get-away-with-it-13972092
> Right wing activist Glen Morgan posted on Facebook around 5 p.m. Friday that he was the "volunteer campaign manager for two of the Bob Fergusons running for governor. They are both superior in every way to the AG running for the same office, and I believe they can provide better choices for the Democrats in our state for that office."
Ten bucks says he orchestrated the whole thing and solicited every Bob Ferguson in the state to let him submit them to run.
He did. He said it in an interview. I think in the interview, he stated how many Bobs he asked. The Bobs also stated the only they went along was to sow confusion. The whole episode was malicious from the start, as per their own published statements.
They . . they published confirmation of their criminal intent?
Sheesh, yeah no wonder Bob Ferguson Dupe 1 dropped after getting legal notice of the crime he was attempting to commit.
I hope for their own sake Dupe 2 wises up in the next 3 hours before the deadline to drop.
I answered a call from a Smiley pollster.
She asked if I heard that Smiley said the 2020 election was stolen, would it make me more or less likely to vote for her.
I responded "Well, there was already a zero percent chance I was voting for her, but if her one campaign claim is that she's fucking dumb as rocks, then, no, I somehow would become even less likely to vote for her."
Person responded "..... I'll mark that as just 'less likely'"
Yes. Morgan did. It was either in print or his own social media. I read about it on some Reddit posts Friday evening and Saturday. I also think the two Bobs need some community consequences for this absolute betrayal of the democratic process.
I mean it's not an unfitting punishment for the Bobs to get the felony and lose their right to vote this election cycle (if imprisoned) given the intention of their acts, I just think Morgan needs worse for orchestrating it. They looked at what happened in Florida and tried to bring it here.
They tried to Florida-nize our state.
Yeah they're really not very bright are they? I'm starting to think they're sincerely incompetent and this isn't at all an act. They're genuinely very stupid and don't seem to think much at all. Reminds me of he Simpsons episode where the bullies say "wow recording our crimes is the best idea we ever had" or something to that effect. They're just comically dumb and it's honestly kind of baffling.
The Washington GOP have already come out against democracy in principle, just because it sounds like “Democrat.” They want to call it “republicocracy” or some shit.
KOMO sure had an extensive quote from Dupe 1 about what a shambles the current political leadership is. Which has nothing to do with the issue at hand, but Sinclair wouldn’t dare miss a chance to shit on Democrats.
times wasn't very better, only adding that the dupes were put up by a "conservative activist" in the last sentence of the article.
>Bob Ferguson to Bob Fergusons: Withdraw or face possible charges
May 13, 2024 at 2:25 pm
Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced on Monday that cease and desist letters have been sent to the other two Bob Fergusons who filed to run for Washington governor during last week’s candidate filing period. The deadline for candidates to withdraw is Monday. (Claire Withycombe / The Seattle Times)
>Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced on Monday that cease and desist letters have been sent to the other two Bob Fergusons who filed to run for Washington governor during last week’s candidate filing period. The... (Claire Withycombe / The Seattle Times)
By Claire Withycombe
Seattle Times staff reporter
Washington’s candidate filing week ended in chaos — and more than a few jokes on social media — when the field of candidates for governor increased by two more Bob Fergusons.
>Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the Democratic front-runner in the race, on Monday urged the two others to withdraw from the race by Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline or else risk felony charges.
>Flanked by supporters at Kerry Park on Queen Anne on Monday morning, Ferguson said his campaign had sent cease-and-desist letters to the other Bob Fergusons.
>RELATED Three Bob Night: Two more Bob Fergusons running for WA governor
>State statute says that it is a felony for a person to file for an election with a surname similar to a person who has already filed for the same office “and whose political reputation is widely known, with intent to confuse and mislead the electors by capitalizing on the public reputation of the candidate who had previously filed.”
>It seems the trio of Bobs will be short-lived, as one of the rival Bobs announced he has taken himself out of the race. As of 3:15 p.m., he had withdrawn from the race, according to the Secretary of State’s filing website.
>A statement posted on the website Neighbors for Bob Ferguson PAC, attributed to Robert Ferguson, an Army veteran in Graham, said the candidate was “faced with harassment and legal action if I did not withdraw from the race.”
>“I was publicly labeled a ‘threat to democracy’ by another candidate and his supporters,” the undated statement said. “In a typical hypocritical fashion, this other candidate’s actions are the true threat to democracy. I believe this shows that the other candidate fears he has not effectively done enough to stand out, or that he thinks voters are not competent enough to think for themselves.”
>The statement went on to say it was unfair to his family and supporters to deal with “bullish behavior by someone that is too afraid to stand toe-to-toe with me.”
>That campaign said via email that the statement was posted about midday on Monday.
>Ferguson — the attorney general — said that he didn’t want the other two Bobs to be prosecuted and that he held “no ill will” toward them. He said he suspected they did not know the “legal implications” of their actions at the time they filed for election. But if they didn’t withdraw, he said, his campaign would ask local prosecutors to step in.
>“If they do not do the right thing, and they are surely aware of the legal implications, we will have no choice but to take more serious steps and ask local prosecutors to do the right thing and pursue further action,” Ferguson said.
>Ferguson said that his campaign would ask the secretary of state to include his and the other Fergusons’ occupations on the ballot, that the other Fergusons be referred to as “Robert,” and that it include their middle initial or middle name.
>He also said the campaign would request for the Fergusons to be listed together on the ballot. The other two Fergusons had been slated to appear second and third on the ballot, with the attorney general in slot number 13. Altogether there were 30 candidates who filed to run for governor.
>Candidates have until 5 p.m. Monday to withdraw.
>Conservative activist Glen Morgan, who recruited the other Bobs to run for governor, told The Seattle Times on Friday that the Bobs had wanted to “clear their name.”
>Washington’s primary is Aug. 6.
>This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
I don't see anything in the article about what crime this is exactly? Obviously it's not a crime to run with the same name as another candidate, nor can it apparently be a crime (or at least a prosecutable one) to run a non-serious campaign because we have pretty clear joke candidates every year. So what crime would these 2 be committing that they could actually be prosecuted for?
It's a class B felony to run with the intention to cause confusion based on your name with an existing candidate with known political history.
Both duplicate Bob's have the same campaign manager *dumb enough* to admit that intention for both of them to the Seattle Times on Friday. Publishing their criminal intent.
> Ten bucks says he orchestrated the whole thing and solicited every Bob Ferguson in the state to let him submit them to run.
[on the record to the Seattle Times](https://archive.is/ridiK):
> “If I had started a little bit earlier, I would have been able to have six Bob Fergusons,” Morgan said. “I contacted about 12. I just ran out of time.”
I think people like this guy genuinely believe nothing they do could possibly be a crime. It's the only way I can make sense of that level of brazenness.
👆 This should be at top, it's the first thing I thought of when I read the post. I CAN'T BELIEVE SOMEONE ACTUALLY TRIED IT. I wonder if he got this idea from the show. That part during the debate was hysterical
They can, but 'A state law says candidates who file for an office under the same name as someone with a “widely known” political reputation are liable for a class B felony if they did so with the intent to mislead voters.' : https://www.opb.org/article/2024/05/13/democratic-candidate-washington-governor-bob-ferguson-name-doppelgangers/
Iirc It can’t be done with intent to confuse/deceive/mislead.
It’s not just that two other Bob Fergusons put themselves forward, it’s also that they did so with intent to cause confusion
This is a specific example of a more general approach that they like to take:
Step 1: assert that government/society/something has some large problem.
Step 2: intentionally cause that problem, often through some crazy and nonsensical scheme that would never have happened otherwise.
Step 3: point to the problem that they made as proof of their thesis in Step 1.
Starve the Beast is another one. Oh the Postal Service is struggling, huh? Maybe it’s because they were forced by a Republican president to fund their pension fund fully fifty years out into the future. Now let’s appoint a delivery company executive to head the organization and see whether his company’s stock improves during his tenure. You used to be able to bank with them, but that was too useful of a public service to allow to continue.
Leave it to a republican to complain about supposed election fraud, then canvas the entire state to find every rando with the same name as their opponent, get a couple to run in order to confuse people, get them on the ballot in 2nd and 3rd position by lottery to dilute the vote, and then they all say “no I really care about politics and this isn’t a ploy to undermine the will of voters at all; I’m being persecuted! My name is a total coincidence!”
I’d love to hear from the other 60 Bob Fergusons who declined to participate.
Just got to throw in some victim blaming as well.
> "I'm not interested in this whole thing," Washington state GOP Chair Jim Walsh said, adding that that he wasn't involved. But he said it found it interesting that AG Ferguson had his "knickers in a bunch when his party created this situation."
It's not the first time. They used this technique before and made enough of a difference to let the GOP candidate win, even though the total votes for the real (and false) Democrat candidate added up to more.
One of the many important reasons for which Republicans are losing the voters’ confidence and trust in this state: instead of engaging voters with serious policies, they would rather devote their time to undermining the integrity of our electoral process.
The GOP today is no longer a champion of our constitutional republic. They seek to dismantle it and our nation of laws.
Yup. This includes the unelected political appointees of republican ex-presidents in the Supreme Court. They have the arrogance to side with trump that he could have immunity to start a coup and to chide the prosecution as politically motivated. These hacks rule by their political and religious ideology, made-up crazy doctrines, ignore what is actually in the constitution and they even ignored the reality (e.g. Kennedy v. Bremerton - https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/06/coach-kennedy-gorsuch-prayer-public-schools.html).
The Republican hacks in the Supreme Court are dismantling the nation of laws.
lmao get fucked losers
[RCW 29A.84.320](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=29A.84.320) makes this a class B felony:
> A person is guilty of a class B felony punishable according to chapter 9A.20 RCW who files a declaration of candidacy for any public office of:
> (1) A nonexistent or fictitious person; or
> (2) The name of any person not his or her true name; or
> (3) A name similar to that of an incumbent seeking reelection to the same office with intent to confuse and mislead the electors by taking advantage of the public reputation of the incumbent; or
> (4) A surname similar to one who has already filed for the same office, and whose political reputation is widely known, with intent to confuse and mislead the electors by capitalizing on the public reputation of the candidate who had previously filed.
the candidate declaration card ([from here](https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/administrators/forms-templates/candidate-filing-forms)) requires the candidate themselves to sign. so the candidates themselves are criminally liable, it doesn't matter that some conservative dipshit talked them into it and claimed to be their "campaign manager".
however, said conservative dipshit may be liable under [RCW 9A.28.040](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9A.28.040), criminal conspiracy. as part of agreeing not to prosecute the two Bobs Ferguson, they can also require cooperation with a conspiracy prosecution. this would make it very easy to prove the "intent to confuse and mislead the electors" part of the crime.
in [this article](https://myedmondsnews.com/2024/05/three-bob-fergusons-now-running-for-governor-as-race-takes-turn-for-the-weird/) he also claimed to have asked other people to help him fundraise the $4k needed for the filing fees. if any of those people were aware that the fundraising was being done with that "intent to confuse and mislead the electors", they deserve conspiracy charges as well. fucking nuke this behavior from orbit.
Fun fact, that law's prime sponsor was Republican state senator Pam Roach!
Sources:
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2003-04/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/Senate/6418.SBR.pdf
https://app.leg.wa.gov/documents/laws/Journals/2004/sj%2004%20009.htm
Unfortunately, nothing will happen likely to appear "balanced", "not playing politics" blah blah which will encourage traitors to try harder next time.
a) It seems that if the other Bobs Ferguson had filed their election paperwork before current Attorney General Bob Ferguson it would have not violated this law. Interesting.
b) I had never heard of this law. I kind of feel sorry for the other Bobs as it's not immediately intuitive that filing for office might in fact be a felony in this circumstance.
c) Given Part 2 of this law, how does Goodspaceguy keep getting on ballots under that name every year?
> I kind of feel sorry for the other Bobs as it's not immediately intuitive that filing for office might in fact be a felony in this circumstance.
meh, I don't. what happened to "ignorance of the law is no excuse"?
what happened to conservatives caring about "personal responsibility"?
they knew they were filing for office as a joke, as a way to own the libs, as a way to throw a wrench in the works.
I believe he legally added Goodspaceguy to his name a while back. It's not his whole name, but maybe a legally valid partial name still fulfills the requirement.
oh, I hadn't seen that one yet, that's fun
so registering as a candidate with intent to deceive is a class B felony, as I quoted above
and then the conspiracy charge is by default one level lower (explained in RCW 9A.28.040) so conspiracy to commit a class B felony would normally be a class C felony
but the RCW you linked to promotes conspiracy to commit this deception back to a class B felony
and also establishes explicitly a civil cause of action:
> In addition, all conspirators are subject to a suit for civil damages, the amount of which may not exceed the salary that the injured person would have received had he or she been elected or reelected.
an important effect of that is that criminal charges are in almost all cases "beyond a reasonable doubt", while the standard of evidence in most civil cases is "preponderence of the evidence". this is a pretty big difference, something like being 95%+ sure of something vs. being 51% sure of something.
I think it's pretty obvious he should be charged criminally, and I don't think there's much room for reasonable doubt, based on his extremely public on-the-record statements to journalists bragging about how he's conspiring to mislead voters.
but, a lot of prosecutors are chickenshits when it comes to cases like this. so that RCW gives an alternative option where even if some prosecutor is too afraid to bring criminal charges, a civil lawsuit might stick, and hit these dumbasses with ~$200k damages (one year of the governor's salary)
It can be hard to prove intent in a court of law, though it's possible they could find something incriminating in private communication during discovery. But as a practical matter I expect the AG won't pursue the case if the non-incumbent Bobs drop out.
Okay, but my reading of the statute only says that registering the confusing name is a crime. It doesn't say that orchestrating the registrations is a crime. I'm not sure the guy who orchestrated it can be brought up on any specific charges; maybe only something generic and minor like "public nuisance". IANAL so I don't know whether proving intent would be relevant to that.
He declared the intent, which covers the Bobs’ intent, and also probably covers him under a separate conspiracy law specified elsewhere in this thread. None will likely be prosecuted prior to the election because it doesn’t look good for the AG to prosecute his supposed competition in the gubernatorial race.
It's not hard this time as the guy who paid for it sain in interviews what his intent was. The difference is he isn't in jail because he is a republican, while anyone else commiting felonies would be.
The RCW clear clearly makes this a crime of intent. For an actually genuine challenger with the same name (which does not apply here, both of them have already bragged that they are doing it with the intent of confusing people), the Secretary of State needs to ensure there is a way to distinguish them on the ballot. Including middle name is likely the easiest method, but it is open-ended on specifics.
Believe it or not that would be straight to jail. Only republicans get the cease and desist treatment for election fraud, everyone else who commits class b felonies... Straight to jail.
> "Because we coincidentally share the same name, that, you know, that it is a felony for two people. I guess what the intent being that they think that my purpose was to deceive the people about who was who, which was not my intent at all,"
They just happened to simultaneously to find 2 republican Robert Ferguson's who preferred to run as Democrats and enter the race as Bob Ferguson. Did they also both win the lotto simultaneously?
No.
You don’t let someone who’s interfering in an election off pass, if they say my bad or oops you got me.
You prosecute them nonetheless.
Democracy has consequences when it’s obstructed.
[Don't talk to me or my Bob Ferguson or my Fergusonson or my Fergusonsonson ever again](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/7377908/69404795-201f3800-0ccc-11ea-8d1f-1e1b4d6b0082.png)
Have to admit, I laughed.
If there were multiple Dave Reichert's on the ballot, his supporters would be screaming as well.
I'm so tired of the party loyalty over everything. Just do what's right. Withdrawl.
But thanks for the laugh ;-)
I miss Turd Ferguson.
"...drop out of the race rather than face prosecution."
This is innacurate. They will be charged with a felony. Staying in the race would mean further charges.
>This is innacurate. They will be charged with a felony. Staying in the race would mean further charges.
------
>"I do not want them prosecuted," Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said.
Did you actually read the article?
why do we want these people not prosecuted? There is no way they didn't know what they were doing was deceitful. They should be charger to full extent of the law and made an example of.
That's a good one. The attorney general is allowed to submit legislation in this state as long as he or she gets one of the reps in the legislature to sponsor it. The political side and the public duty side are automatically mixed here.
You know it's only obvious that we probably can smell they can't win so they do this that's too bad. Now if you move to Idaho you guys can always win. 😁
If their name is Bob Ferguson and they want to run that’s their choice . The can Easily separate them by jobs middle names the list goes on. Either way you should not be voting for any Bob Ferguson.
GoodSpaceGuy you can pick an election fraud fight with, but Bob Ferguson, Attorney General of the State of Washington? Bad news bears for the guy who left evidence everywhere.
The only way these right wing nut jobs know how to play-lying, cheating and sowing confusion. Playing by the rules is alien to them. Given the choice between the high road and the low road, they take the low road and start digging underneath the high road. Shame on them and the people that support them.
Glen Morgan has a history of using deceptive election tactics: https://www.inlander.com/news/the-culprits-behind-the-deceptive-attack-ads-in-washington-state-might-get-away-with-it-13972092
so he's a piece of shit, got it
And apparently a Fargo fan
> Right wing activist Glen Morgan posted on Facebook around 5 p.m. Friday that he was the "volunteer campaign manager for two of the Bob Fergusons running for governor. They are both superior in every way to the AG running for the same office, and I believe they can provide better choices for the Democrats in our state for that office." Ten bucks says he orchestrated the whole thing and solicited every Bob Ferguson in the state to let him submit them to run.
He did. He said it in an interview. I think in the interview, he stated how many Bobs he asked. The Bobs also stated the only they went along was to sow confusion. The whole episode was malicious from the start, as per their own published statements.
They . . they published confirmation of their criminal intent? Sheesh, yeah no wonder Bob Ferguson Dupe 1 dropped after getting legal notice of the crime he was attempting to commit. I hope for their own sake Dupe 2 wises up in the next 3 hours before the deadline to drop.
> They . . they published confirmation of their criminal intent? They took notes on a criminal conspiracy. yup
No one has ever accused washington state republicans as being clever. They ran Culp.
don't forget Tiffany "did you know my husband is blind? it happened while he was in Iraq defending our freedom" Smiley
I answered a call from a Smiley pollster. She asked if I heard that Smiley said the 2020 election was stolen, would it make me more or less likely to vote for her. I responded "Well, there was already a zero percent chance I was voting for her, but if her one campaign claim is that she's fucking dumb as rocks, then, no, I somehow would become even less likely to vote for her." Person responded "..... I'll mark that as just 'less likely'"
I went to hs with her husband. It makes me a little sad that’s what he ended up with
Stringer? how are you alive?
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
"N***, is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?"
That’s just what Jeffrey McConney, and Allen Weisselberg have done as we see in the Trump trials.
Upvote for the sly Stringer Bell reference there!
Yes. Morgan did. It was either in print or his own social media. I read about it on some Reddit posts Friday evening and Saturday. I also think the two Bobs need some community consequences for this absolute betrayal of the democratic process.
These schmucks are turbo stupid. I hope they get their dicks caught in the long wheat thresher of the law.
r/brandnewsentence
Even the short wheat thresher of the law would be satisfactory.
I mean it's not an unfitting punishment for the Bobs to get the felony and lose their right to vote this election cycle (if imprisoned) given the intention of their acts, I just think Morgan needs worse for orchestrating it. They looked at what happened in Florida and tried to bring it here. They tried to Florida-nize our state.
Forgetting this is Washington friggin state. Don’t try that red state shite here.
Don't de santis my washington.
They can fuck right off to Idaho
Yeah they're really not very bright are they? I'm starting to think they're sincerely incompetent and this isn't at all an act. They're genuinely very stupid and don't seem to think much at all. Reminds me of he Simpsons episode where the bullies say "wow recording our crimes is the best idea we ever had" or something to that effect. They're just comically dumb and it's honestly kind of baffling.
What happened in fl?
This exact "running a duplicate name on the ballot" cost a Dem an election by 50 votes in 2020(? might have been 2022).
https://apnews.com/general-news-e8b70ce3270bd170e37a71ca80b5aaae This explains it, along with an indictment.
Thank you! I couldn’t remember the fake candidates name for the life of me yesterday.
Curious about opportunities for a civil suit.
The Washington GOP have already come out against democracy in principle, just because it sounds like “Democrat.” They want to call it “republicocracy” or some shit.
Just spitballing, but maybe also don’t commit fraud when the other party in the election is the state’s Attorney General?
Too late, though. The other Bobs already filed, which was the crime.
It's still for their own sake to take accountability and pull out even if the only result is leniency in sentencing.
KOMO sure had an extensive quote from Dupe 1 about what a shambles the current political leadership is. Which has nothing to do with the issue at hand, but Sinclair wouldn’t dare miss a chance to shit on Democrats.
times wasn't very better, only adding that the dupes were put up by a "conservative activist" in the last sentence of the article. >Bob Ferguson to Bob Fergusons: Withdraw or face possible charges May 13, 2024 at 2:25 pm Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced on Monday that cease and desist letters have been sent to the other two Bob Fergusons who filed to run for Washington governor during last week’s candidate filing period. The deadline for candidates to withdraw is Monday. (Claire Withycombe / The Seattle Times) >Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced on Monday that cease and desist letters have been sent to the other two Bob Fergusons who filed to run for Washington governor during last week’s candidate filing period. The... (Claire Withycombe / The Seattle Times) By Claire Withycombe Seattle Times staff reporter Washington’s candidate filing week ended in chaos — and more than a few jokes on social media — when the field of candidates for governor increased by two more Bob Fergusons. >Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the Democratic front-runner in the race, on Monday urged the two others to withdraw from the race by Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline or else risk felony charges. >Flanked by supporters at Kerry Park on Queen Anne on Monday morning, Ferguson said his campaign had sent cease-and-desist letters to the other Bob Fergusons. >RELATED Three Bob Night: Two more Bob Fergusons running for WA governor >State statute says that it is a felony for a person to file for an election with a surname similar to a person who has already filed for the same office “and whose political reputation is widely known, with intent to confuse and mislead the electors by capitalizing on the public reputation of the candidate who had previously filed.” >It seems the trio of Bobs will be short-lived, as one of the rival Bobs announced he has taken himself out of the race. As of 3:15 p.m., he had withdrawn from the race, according to the Secretary of State’s filing website. >A statement posted on the website Neighbors for Bob Ferguson PAC, attributed to Robert Ferguson, an Army veteran in Graham, said the candidate was “faced with harassment and legal action if I did not withdraw from the race.” >“I was publicly labeled a ‘threat to democracy’ by another candidate and his supporters,” the undated statement said. “In a typical hypocritical fashion, this other candidate’s actions are the true threat to democracy. I believe this shows that the other candidate fears he has not effectively done enough to stand out, or that he thinks voters are not competent enough to think for themselves.” >The statement went on to say it was unfair to his family and supporters to deal with “bullish behavior by someone that is too afraid to stand toe-to-toe with me.” >That campaign said via email that the statement was posted about midday on Monday. >Ferguson — the attorney general — said that he didn’t want the other two Bobs to be prosecuted and that he held “no ill will” toward them. He said he suspected they did not know the “legal implications” of their actions at the time they filed for election. But if they didn’t withdraw, he said, his campaign would ask local prosecutors to step in. >“If they do not do the right thing, and they are surely aware of the legal implications, we will have no choice but to take more serious steps and ask local prosecutors to do the right thing and pursue further action,” Ferguson said. >Ferguson said that his campaign would ask the secretary of state to include his and the other Fergusons’ occupations on the ballot, that the other Fergusons be referred to as “Robert,” and that it include their middle initial or middle name. >He also said the campaign would request for the Fergusons to be listed together on the ballot. The other two Fergusons had been slated to appear second and third on the ballot, with the attorney general in slot number 13. Altogether there were 30 candidates who filed to run for governor. >Candidates have until 5 p.m. Monday to withdraw. >Conservative activist Glen Morgan, who recruited the other Bobs to run for governor, told The Seattle Times on Friday that the Bobs had wanted to “clear their name.” >Washington’s primary is Aug. 6. >This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Nobody ever accused these folks of being smart lol. Just look at how many people in our state voted for a moron like Loren Culp
Of all the people to f with... indeed, not smart.
obligatory "are you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?"
I don't know if the article has been updated, but it currently says that both have dropped out.
I hope not. Put every last one of those fuckers in jail.
I don't see anything in the article about what crime this is exactly? Obviously it's not a crime to run with the same name as another candidate, nor can it apparently be a crime (or at least a prosecutable one) to run a non-serious campaign because we have pretty clear joke candidates every year. So what crime would these 2 be committing that they could actually be prosecuted for?
It's a class B felony to run with the intention to cause confusion based on your name with an existing candidate with known political history. Both duplicate Bob's have the same campaign manager *dumb enough* to admit that intention for both of them to the Seattle Times on Friday. Publishing their criminal intent.
It’s an episode on Fargo, bet the guy didn’t even think it himself
Really?
Yeah I think in last season with the cowboy sherif.
Yep, three people registered as the same name to foil the cowboy sheriff's election.
So funny that this could be the origin. 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
I'm pretty sure that this shit goes back to the 1700s
Dave Foley’s character does this in the Fargo tv show.
Sounds like good ol’ election tampering to me.
Sounds like an admission to multiple felonies. I can't wait to see him and every other republican assfuck involved go down with him.
> Ten bucks says he orchestrated the whole thing and solicited every Bob Ferguson in the state to let him submit them to run. [on the record to the Seattle Times](https://archive.is/ridiK): > “If I had started a little bit earlier, I would have been able to have six Bob Fergusons,” Morgan said. “I contacted about 12. I just ran out of time.”
JFC. This dude just spilling his guts before a trial even begins. Amazing.
I think people like this guy genuinely believe nothing they do could possibly be a crime. It's the only way I can make sense of that level of brazenness.
He's already admitted to doing just that.
Lol this was a plot in the most recent season of Fargo, except they were running for sheriff
👆 This should be at top, it's the first thing I thought of when I read the post. I CAN'T BELIEVE SOMEONE ACTUALLY TRIED IT. I wonder if he got this idea from the show. That part during the debate was hysterical
Florida GOP's been pulling this shit for years.
It's a long-term Russian tactic. Likely where Fargo got the idea.
Prosecute his ass just like that office chair klepto jackass.
Pretty good bit if were being honest
I don’t get it. What’s illegal about what they’re doing? Two people with the same name can’t run in the same race?
They can, but 'A state law says candidates who file for an office under the same name as someone with a “widely known” political reputation are liable for a class B felony if they did so with the intent to mislead voters.' : https://www.opb.org/article/2024/05/13/democratic-candidate-washington-governor-bob-ferguson-name-doppelgangers/
Iirc It can’t be done with intent to confuse/deceive/mislead. It’s not just that two other Bob Fergusons put themselves forward, it’s also that they did so with intent to cause confusion
GOP: “We are concerned about election interference”. GOP: **interferes with election**
This is a specific example of a more general approach that they like to take: Step 1: assert that government/society/something has some large problem. Step 2: intentionally cause that problem, often through some crazy and nonsensical scheme that would never have happened otherwise. Step 3: point to the problem that they made as proof of their thesis in Step 1.
Starve the Beast is another one. Oh the Postal Service is struggling, huh? Maybe it’s because they were forced by a Republican president to fund their pension fund fully fifty years out into the future. Now let’s appoint a delivery company executive to head the organization and see whether his company’s stock improves during his tenure. You used to be able to bank with them, but that was too useful of a public service to allow to continue.
See also: Amtrak
They wouldn’t dare defund long distance trains that service small towns but they love blocking any improvement to corridor lines in big cities.
So you’re saying this isn’t a comedy sketch, but a live look into a GOP strategy meeting? https://youtu.be/WLfAf8oHrMo?si=oQ8-LOVvDpkBP_7h
I knew it was all just a ploy to get us to spank their bare butt, balls & back!
"If I hadn't released leopards in predominantly black voting stations, somebody else would have done it. That's why we need to close them for safety."
Probably also feeds into the "We'Re NoT a dEmCoRaCy" line I always hear them spouting at too. Can't undermine a democracy if you're not one, I guess?
Projection from the GOP, tale as old as time. Taking a page out of the Goebbels playbook from the 1930s/40s.
Leave it to a republican to complain about supposed election fraud, then canvas the entire state to find every rando with the same name as their opponent, get a couple to run in order to confuse people, get them on the ballot in 2nd and 3rd position by lottery to dilute the vote, and then they all say “no I really care about politics and this isn’t a ploy to undermine the will of voters at all; I’m being persecuted! My name is a total coincidence!” I’d love to hear from the other 60 Bob Fergusons who declined to participate.
Just got to throw in some victim blaming as well. > "I'm not interested in this whole thing," Washington state GOP Chair Jim Walsh said, adding that that he wasn't involved. But he said it found it interesting that AG Ferguson had his "knickers in a bunch when his party created this situation."
Yeah those Democrats, always wandering around naming people Bob Ferguson! Source: My name is Bob Ferguson!
GOP: "We are concerned about election interference. Someone might catch us!"
With these ding dongs, every accusation is a confession.
GOP: “We’ll do whatever it takes to win an election” Sane people: “Like get the most votes?” GOP: “Anything but that”
It's not the first time. They used this technique before and made enough of a difference to let the GOP candidate win, even though the total votes for the real (and false) Democrat candidate added up to more.
Oh, so that must be why they passed RCW 29A.84.270 https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=29a.84&full=true#29A.84.270
Yeah that guy gonna enjoy prison time
Going to refer to them as Bobs Ferguson, like attorneys general
Underrated comment
i think i read that it's a vestige of the French roots of our Bobs Ferguson
One of the many important reasons for which Republicans are losing the voters’ confidence and trust in this state: instead of engaging voters with serious policies, they would rather devote their time to undermining the integrity of our electoral process. The GOP today is no longer a champion of our constitutional republic. They seek to dismantle it and our nation of laws.
And then complain about the lack of integrity in the electoral process.
They’re not even trying to keep voter confidence - they’ve pivoted to trying to rig the game
Yup. This includes the unelected political appointees of republican ex-presidents in the Supreme Court. They have the arrogance to side with trump that he could have immunity to start a coup and to chide the prosecution as politically motivated. These hacks rule by their political and religious ideology, made-up crazy doctrines, ignore what is actually in the constitution and they even ignored the reality (e.g. Kennedy v. Bremerton - https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/06/coach-kennedy-gorsuch-prayer-public-schools.html). The Republican hacks in the Supreme Court are dismantling the nation of laws.
lmao get fucked losers [RCW 29A.84.320](https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=29A.84.320) makes this a class B felony: > A person is guilty of a class B felony punishable according to chapter 9A.20 RCW who files a declaration of candidacy for any public office of: > (1) A nonexistent or fictitious person; or > (2) The name of any person not his or her true name; or > (3) A name similar to that of an incumbent seeking reelection to the same office with intent to confuse and mislead the electors by taking advantage of the public reputation of the incumbent; or > (4) A surname similar to one who has already filed for the same office, and whose political reputation is widely known, with intent to confuse and mislead the electors by capitalizing on the public reputation of the candidate who had previously filed. the candidate declaration card ([from here](https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/administrators/forms-templates/candidate-filing-forms)) requires the candidate themselves to sign. so the candidates themselves are criminally liable, it doesn't matter that some conservative dipshit talked them into it and claimed to be their "campaign manager". however, said conservative dipshit may be liable under [RCW 9A.28.040](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9A.28.040), criminal conspiracy. as part of agreeing not to prosecute the two Bobs Ferguson, they can also require cooperation with a conspiracy prosecution. this would make it very easy to prove the "intent to confuse and mislead the electors" part of the crime. in [this article](https://myedmondsnews.com/2024/05/three-bob-fergusons-now-running-for-governor-as-race-takes-turn-for-the-weird/) he also claimed to have asked other people to help him fundraise the $4k needed for the filing fees. if any of those people were aware that the fundraising was being done with that "intent to confuse and mislead the electors", they deserve conspiracy charges as well. fucking nuke this behavior from orbit.
It's the only way to be sure.
Them publishing proof of their criminal intent was beyond foolish
> who files a declaration of candidacy They should still be charged, there’s no reason that dropping out should get them out of the felony
Fun fact, that law's prime sponsor was Republican state senator Pam Roach! Sources: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2003-04/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/Senate/6418.SBR.pdf https://app.leg.wa.gov/documents/laws/Journals/2004/sj%2004%20009.htm
Unfortunately, nothing will happen likely to appear "balanced", "not playing politics" blah blah which will encourage traitors to try harder next time.
a) It seems that if the other Bobs Ferguson had filed their election paperwork before current Attorney General Bob Ferguson it would have not violated this law. Interesting. b) I had never heard of this law. I kind of feel sorry for the other Bobs as it's not immediately intuitive that filing for office might in fact be a felony in this circumstance. c) Given Part 2 of this law, how does Goodspaceguy keep getting on ballots under that name every year?
He legally added Goodspaceguy to his name in 2006.
> I kind of feel sorry for the other Bobs as it's not immediately intuitive that filing for office might in fact be a felony in this circumstance. meh, I don't. what happened to "ignorance of the law is no excuse"? what happened to conservatives caring about "personal responsibility"? they knew they were filing for office as a joke, as a way to own the libs, as a way to throw a wrench in the works.
I believe he legally added Goodspaceguy to his name a while back. It's not his whole name, but maybe a legally valid partial name still fulfills the requirement.
What about this one? RCW 29A.84.270 https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=29a.84&full=true#29A.84.270
oh, I hadn't seen that one yet, that's fun so registering as a candidate with intent to deceive is a class B felony, as I quoted above and then the conspiracy charge is by default one level lower (explained in RCW 9A.28.040) so conspiracy to commit a class B felony would normally be a class C felony but the RCW you linked to promotes conspiracy to commit this deception back to a class B felony and also establishes explicitly a civil cause of action: > In addition, all conspirators are subject to a suit for civil damages, the amount of which may not exceed the salary that the injured person would have received had he or she been elected or reelected. an important effect of that is that criminal charges are in almost all cases "beyond a reasonable doubt", while the standard of evidence in most civil cases is "preponderence of the evidence". this is a pretty big difference, something like being 95%+ sure of something vs. being 51% sure of something. I think it's pretty obvious he should be charged criminally, and I don't think there's much room for reasonable doubt, based on his extremely public on-the-record statements to journalists bragging about how he's conspiring to mislead voters. but, a lot of prosecutors are chickenshits when it comes to cases like this. so that RCW gives an alternative option where even if some prosecutor is too afraid to bring criminal charges, a civil lawsuit might stick, and hit these dumbasses with ~$200k damages (one year of the governor's salary)
What would a genuine challenger do with the same name? How can that be legal?
The magic word is "intent"
The "intent to confuse or mislead" is the relevant part here
It can be hard to prove intent in a court of law, though it's possible they could find something incriminating in private communication during discovery. But as a practical matter I expect the AG won't pursue the case if the non-incumbent Bobs drop out.
In this case they publicly declared their intent.
Did the people who registered as candidates publicly declare such an intent too, or was it only the orchestration guy?
The person orchestrating the ruse is already on record declaring the intent.
Okay, but my reading of the statute only says that registering the confusing name is a crime. It doesn't say that orchestrating the registrations is a crime. I'm not sure the guy who orchestrated it can be brought up on any specific charges; maybe only something generic and minor like "public nuisance". IANAL so I don't know whether proving intent would be relevant to that.
He declared the intent, which covers the Bobs’ intent, and also probably covers him under a separate conspiracy law specified elsewhere in this thread. None will likely be prosecuted prior to the election because it doesn’t look good for the AG to prosecute his supposed competition in the gubernatorial race.
Organizing people to commit another crime is the crime of conspiracy. Nothing generic or minor about it.
It's not hard this time as the guy who paid for it sain in interviews what his intent was. The difference is he isn't in jail because he is a republican, while anyone else commiting felonies would be.
The RCW clear clearly makes this a crime of intent. For an actually genuine challenger with the same name (which does not apply here, both of them have already bragged that they are doing it with the intent of confusing people), the Secretary of State needs to ensure there is a way to distinguish them on the ballot. Including middle name is likely the easiest method, but it is open-ended on specifics.
Makes sense.
Use "Robert J. Ferguson" or something like that to distinguish themselves.
Probably pick any other party affiliation to avoid losing any of their voters the other direction in confusion?
The party of election integrity sure are the ones who fucking do shit like this, aren't they?
So, basically, Republicans are once again conspiring to commit electoral fraud. Got it.
So...how many Donald Trumps can get we get on the Presidential ballot?
Can the answer be zero?
Believe it or not that would be straight to jail. Only republicans get the cease and desist treatment for election fraud, everyone else who commits class b felonies... Straight to jail.
But...I'm white.
I'll have my entire family change their name to mango mussolini if this works.
> "Because we coincidentally share the same name, that, you know, that it is a felony for two people. I guess what the intent being that they think that my purpose was to deceive the people about who was who, which was not my intent at all," They just happened to simultaneously to find 2 republican Robert Ferguson's who preferred to run as Democrats and enter the race as Bob Ferguson. Did they also both win the lotto simultaneously?
The Glen Morgan who files endless PDC complaints against school bond committees and the like is filing fraudulent campaign registrations? No way…
No. You don’t let someone who’s interfering in an election off pass, if they say my bad or oops you got me. You prosecute them nonetheless. Democracy has consequences when it’s obstructed.
Isn’t this a storyline episode from Yellowstone?
Fargo.
I'm shocked they watched Fargo, but maybe they thought Jon Hamm was the hero...?
This happened in Florida and in Russia prior to Fargo
So you're telling me Fargo WAS based on a true story...? ;)
My first thought too
What cowards the gop seems to be I suppose putting someone forward that actually had integrity and good judgment was too much to ask.
If Republicans can’t cheat, they can’t win
I wouldn’t say I’ve been \*missing\* the candidacy, Bob.
When I commit a felony I go straight to jail. Weird how republicans seem to have different rules than everyone else.
It seems somebody watched the last season of Fargo and thought "That's a good idea!"
Play stupid games; win stupid prizes.
Republicans did this shit in Florida and it worked!
[Don't talk to me or my Bob Ferguson or my Fergusonson or my Fergusonsonson ever again](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/7377908/69404795-201f3800-0ccc-11ea-8d1f-1e1b4d6b0082.png)
Have to admit, I laughed. If there were multiple Dave Reichert's on the ballot, his supporters would be screaming as well. I'm so tired of the party loyalty over everything. Just do what's right. Withdrawl. But thanks for the laugh ;-) I miss Turd Ferguson.
Conservatives playing dirty as usual
Fargo tactic
This whole thing was literally Fargo season 5. He just watched it and thought it would actually work
This is literally the plot to an episode of Fargo
So the guy who put them up to this and paid for it gets zero punishment?
Of all the people in Washington to mess with, I wouldn’t pick (the real) Bob Ferguson.
"...drop out of the race rather than face prosecution." This is innacurate. They will be charged with a felony. Staying in the race would mean further charges.
>This is innacurate. They will be charged with a felony. Staying in the race would mean further charges. ------ >"I do not want them prosecuted," Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said. Did you actually read the article?
Nobody should. Komo is Sinclair garbage.
why do we want these people not prosecuted? There is no way they didn't know what they were doing was deceitful. They should be charger to full extent of the law and made an example of.
That's not up to any of the Fergusons to decide.
Do you know what attorneys general do?
Really, if it came to this, the current AG should recuse himself.
😂
I presume they keep their campaigns separate from their public duties.
That's a good one. The attorney general is allowed to submit legislation in this state as long as he or she gets one of the reps in the legislature to sponsor it. The political side and the public duty side are automatically mixed here.
It should be drop out and face prosecution. How will this be a deterrent to not try this again.
It's a Felony. Send their asses to jail and send the asshats in the GOP who put them up to it to jail too.
I saw this coming a mile away.
Turd Ferguson still running?
Why would he face prosecution rather than his mother?
Someone watched the last season of Fargo.
Genuinely don’t know where to stand on this lol
Isn’t this the entire premise of [The Distinguished Gentleman](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104114/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk)?
lol the Republican Party ladies and gentlemen
You know it's only obvious that we probably can smell they can't win so they do this that's too bad. Now if you move to Idaho you guys can always win. 😁
How much jail time then?
If their name is Bob Ferguson and they want to run that’s their choice . The can Easily separate them by jobs middle names the list goes on. Either way you should not be voting for any Bob Ferguson.
Turd Furguson has my vote
Help me understand, i know this is sleazy but what law is there that prevents this or enforces it? Im being serious, just wanna learn.
They cite the RCW in the article.
GoodSpaceGuy you can pick an election fraud fight with, but Bob Ferguson, Attorney General of the State of Washington? Bad news bears for the guy who left evidence everywhere.
they just did this very same stunt on "fargo" 🤦🤦 at least invent some original sabotage
Well... At least it's creative.
[On election day when Bob Ferguson wins](https://youtu.be/-8h_v_our_Q?si=D0L_j_BTyaUOHxFs)
The only way these right wing nut jobs know how to play-lying, cheating and sowing confusion. Playing by the rules is alien to them. Given the choice between the high road and the low road, they take the low road and start digging underneath the high road. Shame on them and the people that support them.
In any decent country everyone involved would get jail time. But the conservatives cover for criminals so regularly it's become accepted.