by Frank James
A few weeks ago, a lot of journalists got e-mails from people outraged by what they said were illegal efforts by election officials in certain jurisdictions to strike voters from voter rolls. They wanted journalists to investigate.
The New York Times was on the case and it appears those e-mailers definitely had cause for concern:
Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times.
The actions do not seem to be coordinated by one party or the other, nor do they appear to be the result of election officials intentionally breaking rules, but are apparently the result of mistakes in the handling of the registrations and voter files as the states tried to comply with a 2002 federal law, intended to overhaul the way elections are run.
Still, because Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, any heightened screening of new applications may affect their party's supporters disproportionately. The screening or trimming of voter registration lists in the six states -- Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina -- could also result in problems at the polls on Election Day: people who have been removed from the rolls are likely to show up only to be challenged by political party officials or election workers, resulting in confusion, long lines and heated tempers.
Some states allow such voters to cast provisional ballots. But they are often not counted because they require added verification.
Although much attention this year has been focused on the millions of new voters being added to the rolls by the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama, there has been far less notice given to the number of voters being dropped from those same rolls.
States have been trying to follow the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and remove the names of voters who should no longer be listed; but for every voter added to the rolls in the past two months in some states, election officials have removed two, a review of the records shows.
The six swing states seem to be in violation of federal law in two ways. Michigan and Colorado are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or have been declared unfit to vote.
Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio seem to be improperly using Social Security data to verify registration applications for new voters.
In addition to the six swing states, three more states appear to be violating federal law. Alabama and Georgia seem to be improperly using Social Security information to screen registration applications from new voters. And Louisiana appears to have removed thousands of voters after the federal deadline for taking such action.
Under federal law, election officials are supposed to use the Social Security database to check a registration application only as a last resort, if no record of the applicant is found on state databases, like those for driver's licenses or identification cards.
The requirement exists because using the federal database is less reliable than the state lists, and is more likely to incorrectly flag applications as invalid. Many state officials seem to be using the Social Security lists first.
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Comments
Ah-ha-ha, watch them shufflin' along, see them shufflin' along!
Go take your best gal, your real pal, go down on the levee,
I said to the levee, and we'll join that shufflin' throng.
Hear that music and song.
It's simply great, mate,
waitin' on the levee,
waitin' for the Swift Boat!
Posted by: Kenneth Janowski | October 9, 2008 1:18 PM
If the Employee-Free Choice Act becomes law, the voter eligibility of any employee who would have voted "no" to a particular union will be purged if the union supporters petition with signatures from over half the employees.
Posted by: Protect Voting Rights at Work, Too | October 9, 2008 1:20 PM
Please Trib, look into what is happening in your own back yard up here in WI. A republican Attorney General is suing the state for voter fraud. A fine time to do this, when his fellow republican is so far behind in the poles. How about we address these kinds of issues when a big election is not looming.
Posted by: Xcellentform | October 9, 2008 1:42 PM
The post makes it sound like these election officials are doing something wrong. They are doing their job - i.e. enforcing election rules. If registrations don't follow the guidelines, then they are not allowed.
The democrats have been aggressively registering voters because of ACORN commiting voter fraud.
Posted by: Pedro | October 9, 2008 1:51 PM
What price democracy?
Posted by: ndo | October 9, 2008 2:50 PM
Where's the story about Obama's friends at ACORN who are commiting voter fraud all over the U.S? Opps, i forgot that the trib doesn't cover stories like that.
Posted by: Dave | October 9, 2008 3:44 PM
"SECRETARY OF STATES SPEAKS"
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO VOTES, IT ONLY MATTERS WHO COUNTS THE VOTES!
BORN BEFORE 1964, PURGED, PROVISIONALIZED AND ALL DATE OF BIRTHS CHALLENGED!
BORN AFTER 1964, HISPANIC, LATINO, MEXICAN LAST NAME CHALLENGED BY "IMMIGRANTS WATCH LIST"
BLACK BORN BEFORE 1965
PURGED, CAGED, PROVISIONALIZED AND NOT JUST "DEAD" CHALLENGED, PROVISIONALIZED AND CAGED!
"PURGED PROSECUTOR"
IT'S AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION AND WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DISCUSS ANY ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS!
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO VOTES, IT ONLY MATTER WHO COUNTS THE VOTES!
WE AIN'T COUNTING YOUR VOTE! HE'S BLACK AND HE PRAYS!
Posted by: Roger Morris | October 9, 2008 4:01 PM
I registered in Illinois when I got my license. However, many months went by and I gave up and registered again at the library near my home...THEN, a short time later I got two registration cards that showed up in the mail on different days.
The previous state contacted me to let me know I was taken off their list of voters.
FOX NEWS just had a story about a women who was harrassed into registering thru ACORN 7 times, and the election board contacted her about it and she had to register all over again. She said she told ACORN she was registered already, but they kept pressuring her so she just gave in and agreed. She said they would get so pushy that you couldn't go anywhere in the downtown without being harrassed badly....even as you would get off local bus system. She said it was just easier to say OKAY than go thru that.
I wonder if the people complaining about their names not on the list might be some that were purged by election boards because some might have used their names repeatedly so they would be removed and unable to vote for a different party.
Posted by: It's disturbing to think your country doesn't have fair elections | October 9, 2008 4:02 PM
If the Federal government indicted ACORN and it's leaders for violating the RICO statute then we might not be facing this concern!
Has the NYTimes looked into the activities of ACORN, I doubt it because ACORN is endorsing Obama and anything that helps the "Annointed One" is approved of by the main-stream-media!
Posted by: Pat H | October 9, 2008 6:04 PM
It's disturbing to think your country doesn't have fair elections: "FOX NEWS just had a story about a women who was harrassed into registering thru ACORN 7 times, and the election board contacted her about it and she had to register all over again." Right! You know what would fix this? A poll tax. BTW, your white hood and sheet are ready at the dry cleaners.
Posted by: Kenneth Janowski | October 9, 2008 7:43 PM
If it's Thursday, this must be ACORN. Wednesday is AYERS DAY; Tuesday is REZKO DAY.
Sunday, of course, is REV. WRIGHT DAY.
Just one little prob with the spam campaign:
Nov. 4 is BARACK OBAMA DAY.
Posted by: ornery | October 9, 2008 9:58 PM
Kenneth-The Dems are the ones who came up with the poll tax. If ACORN and such groups would stop making the news over fraudulent voting, seems to me we wouldn't be having to discuss a plan of action.
I also heard rumor that RICO might be going to bust Acorn and Obama, but it's just a rumor at this point.
Posted by: when people choose not to police themselves, they need to be policed | October 10, 2008 11:10 AM
Just how many people have been convicted of voting fraudulently in the last 10 years? Anybody? I know there was a Republican convicted for his phone bank jamming effort. But I haven't heard of any cases involving phony registrations. Why does it seem like these purges always in Democratic districts right before the election? I wonder how many registration purges have been done in majority Republican districts?
ACORN gets a lot of flack for bad registration cards, but in most states they are required by law to turn in every card they get, even if they suspect them to be bogus. But how many actual votes do you think those falsely registering as John Smith or George Washington or Mickey Mouse cast each year? This is just one more GOP con job. They are attacking ACORN because they don't want "those people" voting for "that one".
Posted by: Tom O | October 10, 2008 11:33 AM