UPDATE: Search Warrant for SEIU Operative Who Voted from Wisconsin Hotel

On Wednesday, Milwaukee Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf issued a search warrant for Florida SEIU organizer Clarence Haynes declaring there is “probable cause that Mr. H [Clarence Haynes] voted without the proper qualifications as an elector when he cast a ballot on April 5, 2011.”

Documents exclusively obtained by Media Trackers revealed that Clarence Haynes, along with two other out-of-state SEIU organizers, voted using the address of a Residence Inn in Glendale, Wisconsin in the April 5, 2011 spring election. Media Trackers first uncovered these individuals on October 26, 2011, prompting Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf to investigate the matter.

The gentlemen all share a common affiliation with the Service Employee International Union. Media Trackers first uncovered from SEIU documents that Haynes was listed as a “Senior Organizer in Training” and was previously registered as an SEIU employee in Florida. Haynes’ phone number on his Wisconsin election day registration form listed a Tampa area code.

On November 16, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported that ADA Landgraf had issued supoenas in the case of the Glendale hotel voters. The issued subpoenas sought records pertaining to hotel charges, credit cards used to pay those charges, as well as any information regarding the type of vehicles used by the three individuals.

According to John Mercure of 620 WTMJ, excerpts from ADA Landgraf’s search warrant read:

Mr. H represented that he was a Wisconsin resident and a resident for at least 10 days. He further stated to election officials that he had no present intent to move.

A false statement made to an election official is a Class I felony in violation of Wisconsin statutes.

Based upon Marriott Residence Inn records, I knew that Mr. H lived at the Residence Inn intermittently from January 2011 to April 2011. While staying at this hotel, Mr. H consistently gave a home address in Florida.

I am told Mr. H is a Senior Organizer in training working for the International office of the Service Employee International Union in Wisconsin to work on community organizing efforts in 2011. This included community organizing efforts related to the election of April 5, 2011 involving on the state level Justice David Prosser and Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg, and on the local level Chris Abele and Jeff Stone.

All of the SEIU community organizers were excited about the April 5, election and they wanted to vote. Community organizers were generally advised by their SEIU supervisors that they could vote if they had a job offer in Milwaukee, had been here for 10 days, and were planning to stay. They were otherwise counseled against casting a ballot if they did not meet those measures.

I would respectfully submit that Mr. H voted without proper qualifications as an elector when he cast his ballot April 5, 2011.

Mercure also explained that in a conversation with ADA Landgraf, Landgraf indicated there was “probable cause” that a crime had been committed and a decision on whether charges would be pressed may come in the next couple weeks.

If convicted, Class I felonies in Wisconsin carry a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment up to 3 1/2 years.

By Collin Roth

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