Last week, this site featured some videos of GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain speaking to the Independence Hall Tea Party Association on the Fourth of July. He seemed to be well received, but not well received enough to win the group’s Presidential Straw Poll conducted that day. Michele Bachmann did.
Congresswoman Bachmann garnered 23.5% of the 533 votes cast. Roughly 14% of poll participants voted for businessman Herman Cain, who finished second.
The vote wasn’t without shenanigans, though. An IHTPA press release stated, “Congressman Ron Paul finished third after a number of his votes were disqualified due to ballot box tampering. He received 13% of the vote.”
“Clearly, some of Ron Paul’s voters attempted to vote three, four, and five times–providing erroneous email addresses or no email addresses at all,” said Association board member, Don Adams. Voters were asked to provide email addresses in order to have their votes count. “One of the Straw Poll participants overheard a Paul supporter discussing how they would stuff the ballot box. So we took a close look at his ballots and found that there were a number of discrepancies. It delayed our final tabulation.”
Adams added that Bachmann would have won “hands down” even if the disqualified Paul votes counted. Among others receiving votes: NJ Gov. Chris Christie (10 percent), Sarah Palin (6 percent), Mitt Romney (5 percent), Rick Santorum (3 percent), Tim Pawlenty (“a dismal” 1 percent), Joey Vento (1 vote), “Barach” Obama (1 vote) and “Rudi” Giuliani (1 vote).
