Tag Archives: Voter Fraud

Is Voter Fraud An Issue

Election Fraud

As a follow up to my last post, I have thought it would be important to point out that the Republicans might have a point when it comes to the illegal immigrant and their desire to vote.

Namely, do they?  Do immigrants, not yet citizens, vote?

Yes:

How many non-citizens participate in U.S. elections? More than 14 percent of non-citizens in both the 2008 and 2010 samples indicated that they were registered to vote. Furthermore, some of these non-citizens voted. Our best guess, based upon extrapolations from the portion of the sample with a verified vote, is that 6.4 percent of non-citizens voted in 2008 and 2.2 percent of non-citizens voted in 2010.

So, 14% of non-citizens REGISTERED to vote and 6.4% voted in 2008 and 2.2% voted in 2010.  That sounds like a lot, but is it?

Because non-citizens tended to favor Democrats (Obama won more than 80 percent of the votes of non-citizens in the 2008 CCES sample), we find that this participation was large enough to plausibly account for Democratic victories in a few close elections. Non-citizen votes could have given Senate Democrats the pivotal 60th vote needed to overcome filibusters in order to pass health-care reform and other Obama administration priorities in the 111th Congress. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) won election in 2008 with a victory margin of 312 votes. Votes cast by just 0.65 percent of Minnesota non-citizens could account for this margin. It is also possible that non-citizen votes were responsible for Obama’s 2008 victory in North Carolina. Obama won the state by 14,177 votes, so a turnout by 5.1 percent of North Carolina’s adult non-citizens would have provided this victory margin.

Yup – again, it is a lot.  And further, may have given Franken his seat as well as Obama North Carolina.

Voter Fraud: North Carolina

Voter Fraud

For the record, I am FOR voter ID.  To think otherwise is nothing more than pure political gamesmanship.  In today’s world, to obtain a photo ID is next to trivial.

With that said, I acknowledge that voter fraud is rare.

Ladies and gentleman, North Carolina:

Voter Fraud And Gun Regulations

Vote

I think that requiring law abiding citizens to submit to a background check is a solution looking for a problem.  Many people feel that requiring voters to show photo ID is the same thing.  They claim that voter fraud, actual “at the poll voter fraud” is rare, very rare.

They may have a point.

However, I think that there is a parallel.  We require people to register to vote, to vote only one time, to be 18.  To live in the precinct they are voting in.  It’s reasonable to ask for proof of ID.  Reasonable in the same way that asking people to submit to a background check is reasonable.

Even if neither is really very effective at targeting abuse.

Tonight I posted an idea that WOULD reduce gun crimes:

I’m just saying that maybe before we get all worked up about checking the backgrounds of people willing to submit to background checks, we should admit who commits crimes with guns and work to remove the guns from them.

In the same vein, I think it’s important to admit that vote fraud may not be taking place at the polling station, but it IS taking place in other places:

A jury in South Bend, Indiana has found that fraud put President Obama and Hillary Clinton on the presidential primary ballot in Indiana in the 2008 election. Two Democratic political operatives were convicted Thursday night in the illegal scheme after only three hours of deliberations. They were found guilty on all counts.

Former longtime St. Joseph County Democratic party Chairman Butch Morgan Jr.  was found guilty of felony conspiracy counts to commit petition fraud and forgery, and former county Board of Elections worker Dustin Blythe was found guilty of felony forgery counts and falsely making a petition, after being accused of faking petitions that enabled Obama, then an Illinois Senator, to get on the presidential primary ballot for his first run for the White House.

Fraud occurs all over the place.  We should go get it where it occurs.

I Wonder What The Chance Nate Silver Would Assign To This

Here are some mind blowing numbers:

It’s one thing for a Democratic presidential candidate to dominate a Democratic city like Philadelphia, but check out this head-spinning figure: In 59 voting divisions in the city, Mitt Romney received not one vote. Zero. Zilch.

These are the kind of numbers that send Republicans into paroxysms of voter-fraud angst, but such results may not be so startling after all.

“We have always had these dense urban corridors that are extremely Democratic,” said Jonathan Rodden, a political science professor at Stanford University. “It’s kind of an urban fact, and you are looking at the extreme end of it in Philadelphia.”

Most big cities are politically homogeneous, with 75 percent to 80 percent of voters identifying as Democrats.

Cities are not only bursting with Democrats: They are easier to organize than rural areas where people live far apart from one another, said Sasha Issenberg, author of The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns.

“One reason Democrats can maximize votes in Philadelphia is that it’s very easy to knock on every door,” Issenberg said.

Still, was there not one contrarian voter in those 59 divisions, where unofficial vote tallies have President Obama outscoring Romney by a combined 19,605 to 0?

The unanimous support for Obama in these Philadelphia neighborhoods – clustered in almost exclusively black sections of West and North Philadelphia – fertilizes fears of fraud, despite little hard evidence.

For the record, voter ID laws wouldn’t have an impact here.  If there is fraud, it’s being perpetuated on another level.

Voter ID Laws And Shoes And Other Foots

Today North Carolina voted on “Amendment One”.  This is the constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union between one man and one woman.  It bans gay marriage.  In fact, some feel that the amendment is written such that it bans civil unions between men and women as well.  I’m not so sure about that, but it’s possible.

Anyway, an interesting con-flux occurred tonight.

It involves primary voting, age and fraud.  All the best election night news.

Continue reading

Voter Fraud Made East Courtesy Eric Holder

Without comment:

Voter Fraud: Dead Man Walking

With the wave of Republican victories in the states in 2010 elections, one of the goals has been to tighten Voter ID laws.  Currently there is no requirement to show ID in order to vote.  Republicans are changing that by passing legislation into law that requires some form of state ID in order to vote on election day.

Democrats are crying foul.

The claim from those on the left is that such laws are aimed to diminish the Democrat vote.  The logic, as I understand it, is that the people who don’t have valid state IDs are the poor, minority voters.  And these poor and minority voters typically vote Democrat.

As evidence that these laws are being passed to repress voters is the argument that voter fraud is not common; in fact, it’s very rare.  While I’m willing to accept the fact that voter fraud is not rampant, I have little faith in the methods that measure it.  For example, how are you able to audit such an event?  Ballots are private, anonymous and carry no identifying marker.  I’m not sure of the science behind the data.

In any event, the whole argument smacks of, “We are willing to allow a certain degree of fraud in order to allow more of my voters to vote.”

The whole of the Democrat argument is one of politics.

However, there IS a certain statistic that is easily validated when verifying voter fraud; dead voters.  How surprised was I to see this:

Time and time again the reporters were given ballots.  In some cases they even tried to make the case that they didn’t have ID only to be assured that they didn’t need it.

No fraud indeed.

Hat Tip: Larry Volker

Voter Fraud and Voter ID Laws

States are passing Voter ID laws.  The stated reason is that if you have restrictions on who can and can’t vote, it’s a reasonable position to take that these requirements are validated.  For example, you wouldn’t pass a speed limit an then refuse to allow officers to use speed detectors.  You don’t require that a teacher have a license and then not allow administrators to validate that license.

If you require a thing, you must validate that thing.

Now, Democrats are crying foul claiming that Republicans are trying to prevent other Democrats from voting.  I disagree.  I think that Republicans are doing what anyone in their right mind would do; allow validation of legal requirements.  Further, Democrats will argue that fraud simply doesn’t happen; there are few cases of voter fraud.

Some thoughts:

First, the number of dead voters in Minnesota:

A review of Minnesota’s statewide database of registered voters revealed at least 2,812 deceased individuals voted in last November’s general election, according to a new report by the “traditional values” advocacy group Minnesota Majority.

After obtaining the list of voters who participated in November’s election, the group hired an independent firm who specializes in “death suppression” for direct mailing lists to review the data. The process, which involved matching names and addresses to state death records, bore troubling results.

According to Minnesota statute 201.13, the commissioner of health is to report monthly the name, address, date of birth, and county of residence of voting-age deceased residents to the secretary of state.

Presumably the commissioner of health would not issue incomplete reports (read: no motive), the blame then falls elsewhere – namely, at the feet of Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, whose partisan leanings and curious alliance with vote fraud-magnet ACORN are becoming more salient by the day.

For those of you not familiar, this is in relation to the 2008 election where Al Franken defeated Norm Coleman by 312 votes.  This was the election where votes were trucked in by the trunk load of boxes.

For even more history, this was the election that allowed the Democrats to push through the Health Care law.

Franken defeated Coleman by 312 votes.

Three Hundred.

Ten.

And two.

Almost 3,000 dead people voted.

Then, consider the testimony of an ACORN whistle blower:

Former ACORN/Project Vote employee Anita MonCrief agreed.  “It’s ludicrous to say that fake registrations can’t become fraudulent votes,” she said.  “I assure you that if you can get them on the rolls you can get them to vote, especially using absentee ballots.”

There are even reports of blank absentee ballots being distributed on election day in the Scott Brown election.

When Democrat politicians tell you that fraud doesn’t take place, they are lying.  It does take place.  And the fact that they don’t wanna address it means that the fraud is taking place in their favor.

Voter Fraud And Voter ID Laws

In June of last year our North Carolina governor Bev Purdue vetoed a bill that would have required voters present government issued ID at the ballot.  In other words, our citizens would have to prove they are who they say they are.

Bev’s comments upon vetoing this bill:

“The right to choose our leaders is among the most precious freedoms we have – both as Americans and North Carolinians. North Carolinians who are eligible to vote have a constitutionally guaranteed right to cast their ballots, and no one should put up obstacles to citizens exercising that right.

“We must always be vigilant in protecting the integrity of our elections. But requiring every voter to present a government-issued photo ID is not the way to do it. This bill, as written, will unnecessarily and unfairly disenfranchise many eligible and legitimate voters. The legislature should pass a less extreme bill that allows for other forms of identification, such as those permitted under federal law.

“There was a time in North Carolina history when the right to vote was enjoyed only by some citizens rather than by all. That time is past, and we should not revisit it.

“Therefore, I veto this bill.”

I read the Constitution of North Carolina, I have to assume that Gov. Purdue was speaking about that state Constitution because she is acting as state Governor AND the United States Constitution has no “Right to Vote” language in it.  And this is what the Constitution says:

Section 1.  Who may vote.

Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided.

 

Sec. 2.  Qualifications of voter.

(1)        Residence period for State elections.  Any person who has resided in the State of North Carolina for one year and in the precinct, ward, or other election district for 30 days next preceding an election, and possesses the other qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election held in this State.  Removal from one precinct, ward, or other election district to another in this State shall not operate to deprive any person of the right to vote in the precinct, ward, or other election district from which that person has removed until 30 days after the removal.

(2)        Residence period for presidential elections.  The General Assembly may reduce the time of residence for persons voting in presidential elections.  A person made eligible by reason of a reduction in time of residence shall possess the other qualifications set out in this Article, shall only be entitled to vote for President and Vice President of the United States or for electors for President and Vice President, and shall not thereby become eligible to hold office in this State.

(3)        Disqualification of felon.  No person adjudged guilty of a felony against this State or the United States, or adjudged guilty of a felony in another state that also would be a felony if it had been committed in this State, shall be permitted to vote unless that person shall be first restored to the rights of citizenship in the manner prescribed by law.

It is pretty clear.  You have to be:

  1. 18
  2. A citizen
  3. A 1 year resident

It is a reasonable request that an individual representing his desire to vote prove that.  Any claim that this is NOT reasonable is based in pure politics.  There are those who claim that requiring such proof would disenfranchise voters who, as it turns out, would vote for candidate of a certain political persuasion.  It can not be ignored that the desire to create a system that so easily creates conditions where people who are not who they say they are can vote is a system that is inherently and purposely flawed in order to create election day advantages.

I bring this up because the state Republicans were unable to overcome the Governor’s veto and it appears the bill will remain just that, a bill.

If You Don’t Know – How Do You Know You Don’t Know?

At the risk of summoning Don, I have to ask the question in light of this information:

Raleigh, N.C. — An 89-year-old Raleigh man accused of voter fraud said he was trying to prove a point by casting two ballots.

“I think the election system is pathetic,” Leland Duane Lewis said Wednesday.

On Oct. 29, 2010, Lewis said he voted early at the Optimist Center in Raleigh.

“I voted on the front of the ballot – just the front,” he said.

Lewis said he wondered how easy it would be to get a second ballot, so he went to his regular polling place, St. Raphael’s Catholic Church, on Election Day. He said he gave his name and address to precinct officials and was given a ballot.

“So, I voted the back of the ballot,” he said. “They should’ve had information that said, ‘Hey Mister, you voted.'”

Nice.

So, a man, able to vote early on one day and then, on election day, goes to his regular polling place, is able to vote again.  But our system isn’t broke.  And how do I know it isn’t broke?

Because I don’t know it’s not broke.

Or something like that.