Vote Fraud is “Insignificant”, Eh?
“Vote fraud is insignificant.” We hear that all the time from certain circles.
Well, Norm Coleman would be virtually certain to disagree – and if he’s willing to be honest, so would Al “Felon’s Choice” Franken. But I digress. (smile)
Back on topic: I guess it’s at least theoretically possible that vote fraud is indeed “insignificant” today. But IMO that also depends on what you consider “insignificant”.
How about having 2.7+ million people being registered to vote in more than one state? If that were the case, would you call that “insignificant”?
I certainly wouldn’t consider 2.7+ million potential multiple-voters to be an “insignificant” issue. But that – along with numerous other problems – is precisely what Pew Center found when they studied US voter registration back in 2012.
Pew Center found over 2.688 million US voters to be registered to vote in 2 different states. Over 68,700 were registered in 3 states. And over 1,800 were registered in more than 3 states.
Yeah, it’s unlikely that all of those folks voted in more than one state. Some of them were doubtless dual-registered due to the individuals concerned having moved in the year or two prior to the election and their former state not removing their name from the list of registered voters.
But I’ll guarantee you that some of those with multiple registrations did vote more than once. As this Fox News article documents, there have indeed been a number of prosecutions for exactly that during recent years .
My guess is that merely the blatantly stupid or a handful of unlucky few got caught. I’m thinking the cases prosecuted are barely the tip of the iceberg.
Short of requiring voting “in person only” and using indelible ink on a finger afterwards as proof of voting, requiring a prospective voter to produce a valid photo ID to allow reasonable verification of identity in order to vote is the logical first step in fighting vote fraud. And even that’s not sufficient in and of itself when it comes to multiple registrations; some way to detect and flag duplicate registrations in multiple states would also be required to stop people from voting in multiple states.
But for whatever reason some just won’t support requiring a prospective voter to prove he or she is who they claim before they vote. Apparently they’re fine with leaving open a loophole that enables this kind of fraud.
Kinda makes you wonder why.
Voter Fraud, it is the Democrat guarantee of an election win:
“Pew Center found over 2.688 million US voters to be registered to vote in 2 different states…”
Anyone who claims that having to show photo ID to vote is racist, or unnecessary burden, is lying. As we say here in the South: “That Dog won’t hunt.”.
The “that’s racist” claim always makes me shake my head.
If anything, the people most affected by a picture ID requirement would be poor rural folks, or those living in small towns. If they didn’t have access to a car, they’d have the hardest time arranging transportation to obtain the required ID.
In contrast, urban area residents almost always have much greater access to public transportation and the facilities where an ID might be issued than do those in rural areas and small towns. (The economic argument regarding any fee for such an ID is bull – fees for such an ID can be waived by law if someone can demonstrate income below a given threshold, such as by showing a copy of their previous year’s tax return.)
Last time I checked, rural areas and small towns generally were generally not areas that had a high minority population. In contrast, urban areas tend to have proportionally larger minority population than rural areas – generally much larger.
Bottom line: if anything, it would actually be easier in general for poor minorities in urban areas to get such an ID than poor rural or small-town whites.
The whole “to require African Americans to possess I.D. to vote is racist” argument is just another way Democrats say that African Americans are too dumb to aquire I.D.
Sadly, there are a lot of people who don’t recognize that.
Plus those “poor” urban dwellers seem quite capable of finding the time to acquire a state EBT card for SNAP assistance….if they can find the time to wander on down to the welfare office getting an ID across the hall at the state building shouldn’t be that much more of a burden.
I am surprised that more black voters aren’t incensed at the idea the democrats think they’re too fucking stupid to obtain IDs.
That just shows that some people don’t really care as long as they get their free shit. Which is pretty sad when you consider the sacrifices and hardships endured by the actual Civil Rights movement back in the day.
“That’s racist” is generally the liberals’ go-to argument when they can’t produce a valid counterpoint. The hope (all too often true) is that the dreaded R-word will simply scare away the competition.
“Last time I checked, rural areas and small towns generally were generally not areas that had a high minority population”
Uhhh Hondo??? Have you ever BEEN to Georgia? Or anywhere South of the Mason Dixon line? While that statement would pass muster in Wisconsin, it doesn’t here in the South. That said, voter ID laws protect the rights of all voters by ensuring that the vote is fair and lawful.
Actually, I grew up in the Deep South. So yes, I’ve been there. Have you ever been to rural north Georgia (exclusive of Atlanta)? Or north Alabama? Or western North Carolina or Virginia? Or Tennessee? Or most of rural north Florida? My statement is indeed quite accurate there. Above, I was speaking of the US generally. There are areas that are atypical. For historical reasons, the racial demographics of parts of the rural US South are not representative of the rest of the US. The rural racial composition in the US South depends greatly on precisely where you are. Some rural areas are have substantial minority populations; many do not. Here’s a somewhat detailed example, using the state of Alabama: Rural areas in the northern half of the state are largely non-minority. Ditto the extreme southeasthern and southwestern corners of the state, as well as most counties immediately north of the Florida panhandle. The strip running across the state a bit south of center, in contrast, has a higher minority population than the state average. This region – extending across Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and perhaps as far as eastern Texas – was of fertile, dark soil; it was termed the South’s “black belt” for this reason. It was well-suited to plantation agriculture – and thus the practice of slavery. Today’s demographics in this region are a vestige of that plantation agriculture present prior to the Civil War. That form of agriculture was only commercially viable in selected portions of the South; slavery (and the post-slavery US Black population) was initially largely concentrated in those areas. Over time, those rural areas have retained high minority populations (some even being “minority-majority”). However, there was also significant minority movement to urban areas, particularly during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, as the US industrialized and urban jobs became available to minorities. The above is generally true for all parts of the US South where plantation agriculture was common – e.g., the (largely) tobacco plantation areas of VA, NC, and SC, plus the Mississippi delta (which geologically extends north to Memphis, west… Read more »
Don’t get it that people of color and other ‘minorities’ don’t understand that they are being played by the Democrats. Don’t they get tired of being told they are incapable of self help? Guess not.
Actually it is racist. Against poor or rural white people.
When they say that, they’re inferring that only minorities are poor (democratic buzz word: underprivileged), or have trouble getting an ID.
So, my response is, “So you’re racist against white people then huh?”
Did you REALLY think obozo won the elections? REALLY?
Are you suggesting that one should have to show an ID; to vote? That is the most racist thing I have ever heard in my life. I am appalled, sir. It’s one thing to have ID to purchase alcohol, drive a vehicle or fly on a commercial airline but to VOTE!?!?
I’ll take it one step further, EODJay – election monitors, such as Jimmah Carter, go overseas to check on elections that require voters to show an ID… and they think that is perfectly OK and “certify” the election. But mention voter ID for elections here… RACIST.
Why, I believe a discerning individual might conclude that last sentence is pointing toward a level of hypocrisy among certain members of the ‘D’ party.
In other news, water is wet. Details at 11.
It is always telling when we spend millions in foreign aid to help countries prevent voter fraud with biometrics and other forms of ID check yet every time it is attempted here it goes to court and labeled unfair, racist, etc. It should be embraced so voters feel their vote matters and they do not have to worry that the local pet cemetery stole the vote.
Of course as others constantly put out we require ID for all kinds of things from getting meds to government benefits, to the purchase of alcohol and tobacco so why shouldn’t something as important as voting require and ID. Now everyone is forced to prove they have medical insurance but not that they have the right to vote or are not committing fraud.
That’s a good point. If civilian gun ownership is so unimportant to American life as the left claims, then why don’t I need photo ID, thumbprint, proof of residence, a completed 4473, and a 10-day wait before I can get my hands on a ballot?
Time for the States to actively purge the voting rolls. My daughter is still registered in SC even though she has lived in TN for 14 years. I have asked the voter registration office to remove her name for the last 8 years. I was able to get my deceased wife’s name removed, after I got notice that she had jury duty. Told them to deliver the notice to the Ft. Jackson National Cemetery.
Unfortunately I’m not certain based on my own personal experiences in a few different states that showing ID changes this equation unless as you rightly point out we make election day a vote in person day.
The easiest way to make that happen is to declare election day a mandatory national holiday with pay for all full and part time workers. Then the old excuse of having an undue negative effect on our working poor is mitigated by the requirements to pay everyone for the day and to allow everyone to have the day off from any work requirements.
Notable exceptions for hospitals, police, fire, etc…Open the polls at 6am and close them at 10pm. That should leave some time open for those who are obligated to work for the public safety.
I’m not certain I buy the whole issue about the working poor being unable to obtain a voter ID. They certainly seem to have no difficulty finding the time to obtain a state ID and EBT card to supplement their monthly food costs. I do realize that eating is far more important than obtaining an ID, but if you have the time for one ID perhaps getting both at the same time makes it easier.
In any event if you can’t get a loan, or a home, or anything of value without ID then why would we allow anything as important as voting to be different?
How do they cash their pay check without an ID? How did they get a job without that ID? How did they sign-up for welfare without proving who they were via an ID?
Sounds like I might just have to lose all my id and walk down to the welfare office for another paycheck. There are some light skinned mexicans, I can pull off the accent easy enough. I worked in LA for a lot of years.
When I moved out of one county to another, I not only got a change of address for my driver’s license, but was also put on the county tax rolls because I bought a house.
When the next voting season rolled around, I got a questionnaire from the old county requiring that I confirm my change of residence in regard to jury duty. Then I started getting all sorts of campaign PR crap in the mailbox from candidates in the old county.
After a while that faded, but I could still have gone and voted in the old county if I wanted to. There’s no requirement to renew your old voter registration in my state. Just keep the card.
Vote early and vote often…preferably drunk
Another reason this is Chicago’s phrase. If you don’t do it super early in the morning, you’ll probably get shot. Go early when all the murderers are sleeping.
Ask B-1 Bob Dornan how illegal voting works. Better yet, ask Loretta Sanchez, who “beat” Dornan with the help of several thousand illegal immigrants voting.
It doesn’t so much bother me that individuals are registered in more than one state-lots of people keep a winter home or vacation home in a different state-as there is no way to prevent anyone from abusing the franchise. I believe that we ought to keep elections under local control, but there ought to be some way for localities to coordinate to make sure that individuals aren’t casting more than one ballot in any election.
Let’s see……statistically how is this possible…. I mean theoretically it *IS* possible but how PROBABLE is it?
In 59 Philadelphia voting divisions, Mitt Romney got zero votes
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20121112_In_59_Philadelphia_voting_wards__Mitt_Romney_got_zero_votes.html
The only way it could be more blatant is if 500 people cast 7500 votes for Obama.
It would be incredibly easy for military to vote twice, at least in AZ. Active duty military can get an AZ driver’s license without having to change their official state residency. Easy to vote in AZ at the polls and your home state with and absentee or mail in ballot. Mileage may vary in other states.
Lyin’ Loretta Lynch was lamenting the other day that states wouldn’t recognize student ID for voter registration. I guess that no one has pointed out to her that the reason why ID, listing a name and local address, is asked for is to prevent “students”, dead people and illegals from registering to vote.
And just because they are “students” doesn’t mean they are citizens.
Or legal residents of the state in which they attend school. Plenty of out-of-staters at most Colleges and Universities. When I taught at Duke, most of the students in the ROTC class came from a state other than North Carolina.
Bingo. And that’s not the only issue.
All I had to do to register to vote the last time I moved from one state to another was to answer “yes” to the questions, “Are you a US citizen?” and “Do you want to register to vote?”
when I got a new driver’s license. I did not have to provide a damn thing proving I was a US citizen – no birth certificate, no naturalization certificate, no passport. Nada.
And yeah, that’s a problem too. But it’s a different problem than dual registration.
Up until the last election (2012) my town used paper ballots. They were counted locally and the results sent to the state capital.
In 2012 the ballots were still paper but the box was taken by the state police to the state capital where they were counted. Pissed off a lot of people.
Online voting is coming soon and that will be the end of any vestige of trust our elections.
New Yorkers get to vote three times. Once in Brooklyn, and twice again for their dead relatives in Florida.
I guess you guys don’t move around very much.
If you move from one state to another .. and you register in your new state .. guess what? You are now registered in two states! GASP!
I guess you have a problem with reading comprehension. Let me quote to you from the above article. I’ll even add emphasis so you won’t miss the pertinent sentence this time around:
Next time, maybe read a bit more closely before opening your mouth and exposing your ignorance.
So what’s got everyone’s knickers is a bunch if they are not multiple voting? Or do people just need to bitch?
Are you functionally illiterate? Or are you simply engaging in childish trolling? If the latter, please go elsewhere and quit bothering the adults here, child.
On the off chance you’re merely thick vice a troll: here are the next 2 para of the article above. They immediately follow the quote I highlighted in my previous comment; you obviously missed them as well,
Yeah, it’s a real problem. At this point, we don’t know precisely how big of a problem – but we do know it’s real.
There are 2.7 million potential multiple-voters who’d be damn hard to catch if they were discreet. That is something that could potentially change the outcome of a Federal election via fraud. IMO that fact alone makes it worth being concerned – and worth fixing.
Maybe you’re OK with outright fraud deciding an election. I’m not.