Posted on 10/07/2004 9:38:13 PM PDT by Utah Girl
More than 2,000 voter-registration cards turned into the San Joaquin County Registrar's Office for the November election are fraudulent, Registrar of Voters Deborah Hench said.
The problem stems from the two major parties pushing to register more people and paying independent vendors to do the work, she said.
Because vendors get paid based on how many people they register to vote, some are handing in made-up names to existing addresses or signing the cards themselves.
If a vendor gets paid $8 for every registration card turned in, and there have been only a few people registered, it's easy to make up a few more registrations, Hench said.
"They figure the registrations won't go in," she said.
For the November election, registration in the county is up by almost 20,000, she said.
But as the registration goes up, so does the number of invalid or fraudulent registration cards, Hench said.
Rick Veldstra, chairman of the county's Republican Party, said the state GOP party has been aware of registration problem and has been dealing with it.
"The local policy is that if we find a problem, we deal with it," he said. "We have a zero-tolerance policy on voter fraud."
The problem isn't just with Republican registration drives, Veldstra said.
"Instead, it's the integrity of the individual who is signing up these people," he said.
The local Republican Party has been trying to get away from using independent vendors and has started using its own volunteers, Veldstra said.
"I don't know of any fraudulent card turned in by a volunteer," he said.
County Democrats aren't happy with independent vendors, either, said Bill Casey, chairman of the county's Democratic Party.
"If they're getting paid for registration, then there's not much loyalty to the party," he said. "They're loyal to money."
Like the Republicans, county Democrats are using their own volunteers to register voters, Casey said.
Besides the fraudulent voter-registration cards, the other problem with independent voters registering voters is that often those new registered voters won't vote anyway, Casey said.
"The quality of registration is suspect," he said.
For Hench and her staff at the registrar's office, finding and then flagging the fraudulent registration cards is time-consuming.
"It's taken about 10 percent to 20 percent of our time," she said.
Hench and her staff can usually detect problems just by looking at the handwriting, she said.
Sometimes the complaints come from real registered voters who suddenly get a letter from the registrar's office asking them to correct information on their new registration card.
"They're telling us that they didn't fill out the new registration card," Hench said.
So far, Hench has sent a handful of fraudulent registration cards to the secretary of state's office for possible criminal prosecution.
And while there is jail time involved with voter fraud, often there's a plea agreement or probation, Hench said. However, one vendor who fraudulently registered voters was already in jail for the same thing, she said.
Registration for the November election will continue until Oct. 18, Hench said.
This is absolutely ridiculous.....we ALL need to pray this country through this election.
AND GET OUT THERE AND WORK!!!!!!!!!
The one positive here is that maybe alot of new registered democrats might have just been made up for money. Therefore they will not be able to vote. People need to check ID's hardcore this year if theyre working at polling places
It is a shame that this type of fraud is so time-consuming to figure out. It takes away from the real investigating that should be going on like ferreting out the illegal alien voters. Now that is one problem that always concerns me.
In a perfect world, yes.......but in most states, this isn't even an issue.
Why? I've always been carded when voting
I wish it were that way in EVERY state. I'm in CA...and have NEVER had to show proof. I've also lived in WI, YEARS ago...same thing there.
I'm GLAD your state is!!!
Can't vote in Louisiana without a valid picture ID.
Where is the FBI on this ?
Of course, here in California the Democrats are protesting requiring any ID at polling places.
This problem is solved simply by forbidding anyone but the voter to hand in his or her registration card, show ID when doing so, and show ID when voting. Case Closed!
I hear you! Here in LA LA land ive also never been asked for any id when voting! How many of these voting fraud schemes are going to be reported before somebody does something about this?
Nothing will be done about this.
No arrests, no handcuffs. Nothing.
But I suppose that's to be expected when you have Democrats in charge of the Justice Department and the FB.... uh....
It's very frightening. I searched before I posted this article, and there are many articles on FR that are talking about voter registration fraud all over the country.
I've never been asked for ID before I vote. Of course, I knew all the polling place workers by name.
Many years ago, I was at the polls in CA with a friend. I was okay, but when he gave his name, he was in the books as already having voted. At that point, he had to prove he was who he said he was, as they suspected him of trying to fraudulently vote.
I don't remember what ultimately came of it, but I know he had to spend a lot of time with the poll workers, filling out papers.
It seems to me that if people are so freaking lazy they can't or don't want to register to vote on their own...SCREW EM.
Please Pass Emergency Anti-Vote Fraud Measure Immediately!
Vote fraud threatens the very core of our republic, and it directly threatens our sovereignty
Please send the following message to your Congressmen and Senators:
Please pass, on an expedited basis, emergency legislation to require voters to show ID at all polling places on Election Day.
Vote fraud threatens the very core of our republic, and it directly threatens our sovereignty. There is a significant amount of evidence emerging that evinces a wide-spread plot to engage in massive voter fraud. Thus, Congress must take immediate action to counter this potential menace.
Congress has the express power to dictate the time, place, and manner in which federal elections are held. The congressional power to make or alter time, place, or manner of federal elections extends to the regulation of voter registration. Federal regulation of the electoral processes, including the regulation of federal voter registration, is also consistent with the Tenth Amendment and permissible; although states do have broad discretion to enact and implement registration procedures, states may not transgress the Constitution. It follows that state voter registration and Election Day statutes that are inconsistent with federal voter registration and Election Day mandates are preempted.
As per the Federal Court in Byrd v. Brice, the government may require a voter to furnish proof of identity at the polling place on Election Day. Such a measure would go a long way in protecting citizens’ federal voting rights from fraudulent practices.
Please set to work immediately on enacting emergency legislation to require a valid ID at the polling places on Election Day.
http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=6486121&content_dir=ua_congressorg&mailid=custom
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