Posted on 08/19/2004 7:39:55 AM PDT by Phantom Lord
State investigates voter drive
Offhand, Prens Ferrell doesn't remember President Bush's party affiliation, his first name or his opponent in the fall election.
He also doesn't know how his own personal information ended up on a Wake County voter-registration form. Even if he cared about politics, Ferrell couldn't vote.
He is only 15.
Because of problems on Prens' form and others, the State Board of Elections is investigating a voter-registration campaign in Wake County.
Some of the forms turned in by the N.C. Public Interest Research Group had nonexistent addresses, suspiciously similar signatures, or birth dates that appear to have been altered, said county Elections Director Cherie Poucher.
In Prens' case, the form misspelled his first name and listed him as having been born in 1986, and not 1989, though his address, phone number and other information were correct.
In another, a man's last name was listed as "James," but the form was signed "Jones."
Other forms list streets that do not exist in Wake County or give street numbers that are too high. "We've got a mess," Poucher said.
Twenty-three forms of 4,000 turned in by N.C. PIRG workers have been forwarded to a state investigator, but Poucher said "a couple hundred" others were being held because of illegibility and other problems.
This is the first time since Poucher became elections director in 1991 that the state has investigated a voter-registration campaign in Wake County.
Laura Hepp, canvass director for the Community Voters Project of N.C. PIRG, said that there is a "margin of error" in any campaign but that workers double-check all forms before turning them in to the board of elections.
"There is always a concern about voter-registration fraud, clearly," she said. "I would like to think that through the check-out process that we catch as many of those as we can."
The campaign, paid for by a donation from a private foundation, is designed to increase turnout of low-income and minority voters in North Carolina, Michigan and Florida, states that are getting attention from both major parties in the 2004 presidential election.
Hepp said the campaign, like N.C. PIRG, is not designed to aid either party. The 23 forms in question include would-be voters who are Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated.
Workers were fired
In a letter to the state investigator, a Wake County elections employee wrote that two N.C. PIRG workers who dropped off forms said that some of their colleagues had been fired and that "some of the same things we were accusing them of had happened."
Hepp said that three to five of the approximately 20 workers had been fired for poor attendance or lackluster performance on the job, but none was suspected of doing anything improper with registration forms.
The workers, who wear matching blue shirts, are paid $40 for a five-hour shift and an extra $10 if they register more than 15 voters a day.
Timing also was an issue. Poucher said four large boxes containing hundreds of forms were turned in after the June 25 deadline to register for the primary. As a result, 10 to 15 people cast provisional ballots that were not counted in that election.
Hepp said that she was aware of that problem but that she did not think it was "overwhelming." She said the campaign was not intending to register voters for the primary election.
"It may just have been an oversight," she said.
For his part, Prens said he wouldn't vote even if he could. The rising ninth-grader at East Wake High School said he doesn't think one vote can make a difference in an election.
"I don't like that whole voting thing, really," he said.
More NC Nonsense
"I don't like that whole voting thing, really," he said.
Guess he's taking his lessons from the government-run schools pretty seriously, eh?
WTFIIWNC?
This is amateurish and low rent... atleast we have county clerks that falsify the tallies, which is much more efficient.
Sure buddy, whatever you say, LOL!
You would be suprised how many people feel this way, and not just kids. I know college educated adults that have never voted and never plan too, most could probably tell you that Bush is president, but have no idea who the VP is, no idea who their senators or congressman are and wouldn't have the slightest idea who John Kerry is, they probably don't even know this is a presidential election year.
"The workers, who wear matching blue shirts, are paid $40 for a five-hour shift and an extra $10 if they register more than 15 voters a day"
This is the whole problem in a nutshell.
Pay them an hourly wage with no-incentives for 'extra' votes and maybe they won't be so inclined to 'makeup' new voters.
I am talking about democrats. Right?
Oh well.
In order to maintain the integrity of our voting process here in America, I believe we will have to enlist some type of fingerprint voting card, or single state-issued number ID voting card.
Or something. I fear the zealots on the left will continue to find ways to illegally register and cast votes, especially in inner cities where there is little to no GOP oversight.
PIRG is the main group of Nader.
If your kids go to college, you and they are helping support these frauds. They have insinuated themselves onto campuses and manage to get a portion of most kids 'student fees'.
Well, wtf! No one should be paid to get people to vote!!! This is part of the problem, imo! Sheesh!
You're preaching to the choir my friend.
In states and on campuses where the checkoff is not automatic, I've heard students are heavily pressured on registration day to check the box.
bump
It should be required by law that you show two forms of identification prior to voting, one with a photo. They'd still cheat, but at least we'd make them work harder at it.
BUMP!
Since I live in Wake County here is a fun fact for you all ... contributors to NCPIRG include contributors to John Edwards Senate Campaign. What I find most amazing about this story is that registration fraud by liberals is happening in John Edwards home county and almost no one in the nation knows about it!
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