Wellllll, isn't that special?!
Posted on 10/31/2004 5:17:13 AM PST by Captiva
Voters double-dip in Ohio, Fla.
More than 27,000 are registered in both states, could cast ballots in either place
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Scott Hiaasen, Dave Davis and Julie Carr Smyth Plain Dealer Reporters
Hundreds of voters could easily cast ballots Tuesday in both Ohio and Florida because they are eligible to vote in both states and have received absentee ballots from election officials in Ohio, The Plain Dealer has found.
And if they do, they almost certainly will go undetected.
These people are among more than 27,000 listed as active voters in both Ohio and Florida who could cast ballots in either of the two states, both among the most closely contested in the presidential race.
Despite increased scrutiny of voting procedures following the 2000 election - and a federal reform law aimed at shoring up the patchwork system - virtually nothing prevents transient voters from casting ballots in multiple states, testing a system that relies more on the honesty of individual voters than on any checks and balances.
As many as 400 people voted in Ohio and Florida in the same election over the past four years, records show. In the 2000 presidential election, about 100 Ohio voters also cast ballots in Florida - where the presidential race was decided by just 537 votes.
And though some states exchange voting records as residents move, it is not legally required, state officials say.
This opens a gaping hole in the election system, allowing thousands of voters to alternate between states, voting in Ohio in one election and in Florida the next - a practice frowned on by election officials in both states.
Florida's secretary of state, Glenda Hood, asked the U.S. Justice Department to launch an investigation of double-voting after other newspapers reported similar problems between Florida and other states.
But there is little that election officials can do to stop double-voting from occurring this week, if it hasn't happened already. For example:
More than 300 voters from Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Franklin counties received Ohio absentee ballots for Tuesday's election, though they are also eligible to vote in Florida. Many of these voters requested their Ohio ballots within days or weeks of registering to vote in Florida.
At least a handful of voters from the three counties requested absentee ballots from both states - potentially allowing them to vote twice without even going to a polling place.
Some voters registered in both states within the same month.
Besides double-voters, records also show that thousands of voters have toggled from Ohio to Florida and back again since 2000. For example, 1,400 voters cast ballots in Ohio in 2000 and 2002 after registering in Florida.
"It is a problem," said Sharon Harrington, Lee County, Fla., supervisor. "Those are the ones that really ought to be caught."
Double registrations cross party lines: About 11,000 Republicans and 9,600 Democrats are registered in both states.
Voters registered in both states have not necessarily done anything wrong. When people move, they may not notify their elections boards to cancel their old registration. Federal law also requires election officials to keep idle voters on the books for at least four years, unless they learn that the voters have moved.
"It's not against the law to be registered in two places," Faraj said.
But even voters who migrate between multiple homes are supposed to declare a primary residence for voting purposes, said Carlo LoParo, an Ohio Secretary of State spokesman.
Residency rules differ from state to state. An Ohio voter must live in the state for at least 30 days. But in Florida, a voter only has to declare the state his or her primary home to register.
And once a voter has registered - swearing that county is his home - he shouldn't vote elsewhere, said Michael Greenman, a specialist with the Pinellas County, Fla., elections office.
"It's a trust system," Greenman said.
Many states, like Ohio, have just begun to compile statewide registration lists to comply with the 2002 federal Help America Vote Act. Though this allows officials to find double-registrations within the state - voters registered in both Lake and Cuyahoga counties, for example - states rarely coordinate with one another.
Clearly, thousands of voters fall through the cracks. And gaps in the system are most easily exploited by absentee voting - which has become more common, and easier, with every election.
When an absentee ballot is mailed to another state, election workers don't check to see if the voter is registered there, too. So election officials don't know if a voter is registered twice.
For example, 18-year-old Zachary Graney of Bay Village received an Ohio absentee ballot in Coral Gables, Fla., where he registered to vote on Sept. 28. His father, Timothy, said Zachary, a University of Miami student, decided to vote in Florida after the first presidential debate was held on campus, and his son does not plan to return the Ohio ballot.
"He will not be voting in Ohio," Timothy Graney said.
Michael Paparizos, 67, who lives in Independence and Pasco County, Fla., has also received an absentee ballot. Though he's registered in Florida, he says he has no plans to cast a vote there.
"I don't want to vote twice," he said. "I vote in Ohio."
Summit County election officials sent an absentee ballot on Oct. 15 to 56-year-old James Boughton in Orlando. About three weeks earlier, Boughton, also a Democrat, registered in Florida at the same address. He could not be reached for comment.
The relaxed absentee rules also could allow some voters to get ballots mailed to them from two states without ever leaving their homes.
Records indicate that Donald and Maureen Christopher of Dublin have requested absentee ballots in both Ohio and Florida.
Maureen Christopher insists that she didn't make the Florida request, and believes that someone has used her and her husband's names. They moved from Naples, Fla., to Kentucky (where she says she's also registered) before moving to Franklin County less than two years ago.
"I can't believe this is happening," said Christopher, 68. "There's got to be a scam here someplace."
Joye Tilton, 81, said she requested an absentee ballot in Sarasota, Fla., but moved to Westerville before receiving it. She registered to vote in Franklin County on Aug. 18, and she's already cast her absentee ballot there, records show.
As of Thursday, Tilton's Florida absentee ballot had not been returned to the Sarasota County elections supervisor. Tilton said she doesn't know where the ballot is.
"We didn't know we were moving," said Tilton, who now lives in a nursing home near her daughter.
Some experts say the best way to prevent such problems would be to create a national voter registration database - a distinct possibility once all the states compile their own lists.
But others worry that legitimate voters could be disenfranchised and stricken from the rolls based on an error in another state's records.
Computer-assisted reporting editor Thomas Gaumer and news researcher JoEllen Corrigan contributed to this story.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
shiaasen@plaind.com, 216-999-4927
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
It shows how absolutely unethical and UNlaw abiding the people are. It probably doesn't even bother them that they are committing a crime.
Nothing you can do about it this week, but they need to prosecute the hell out of the double voters after the election.
Jail them. Until there are long prison sentences the fraud will continue.
When I moved to a new state, I would have been registered in two states at once for a time until my registration in my old state of residence expired. Of course I never voted in both states. It is not illegal to be registered to vote in two states. The problem is knowing who will actually VOTE (illegally) in both states.
The GOP found out that New Jersey and New York snowbirds voted absentee at home
also voted in person in Florida. One man said he had done it in the past 4 presidentials. He was proud of it. They need to prosecute every one.
Let the State Revenue Departments announce that any person voting in their "State Income Tax" state will have their state income tax records reviewed! Since almost all of the "Snowbirds" declare themselves to be residents of Florida (no state income tax, residential homestead exemptions, etc.) they would run the risk of having to pay taxes to their "old states"...
Excellent tactic.
Frowned on?!! This is criminal - catching a half dozen of these dishonorable people should not be too hard - throw the book at them with a jail sentence and fine! I know a well known lawyer and his wife who are doing just this - voting both in Chicago and AZ.
I wouldn't worry. Most Ohio retirees in Florida are solid Republican voters on the Gulf Coast.
It looks like the political machines that run elections have *zero* interest in fair/proper elections.
A very small piece of me wants to see extensive legal challenges from both sides so everyone can see how lax the system is.
There are more identification controls at Blockbuster then at Board of Elections.
It's time to make it against the law. When a person registers in a new state, there should be automatic notification, state to state, that he is no longer registered in the previous state. The same thing could happen when moving within a state. The 'Rats don't want anything that clears voter rolls of non-legal voters.
It's OK if they fraudsters are on our side?
Plus, the Florida Atlantic Coast has the massive Northeast snow bird migration.
You have their names.
You have their addresses.
Now go do the right thing.
No, it's NEVER OK to commit voter fraud.
All I'm saying is that I'm not worried about this particular case throwing the election to Kerry illegitimately.
When a person registers in a new state, there should be automatic notification, state to state, that he is no longer registered in the previous state.
&&&&
Sounds like a great plan to me!
Voters who live in two places will have to decide which ONE address will be their Official address. This means that they cannot vote for local officials in their vacation home state. Maybe the husband should vote one place, and the wife in the other state - sort of the way the Kerrys file their income taxes.
It seems that requesting duplicate absentee ballots is not much of a "problem" for a significant number of people.
I agree. If someone votes in two places, they need to be prosecuted. But I have never heard of someone being successfully prosecuted for violation of election laws. I have also never heard of any party officials being prosecuted for violation of campaign finance laws, so I guess it is too much to hope.
Wellllll, isn't that special?!
Can anyone guess at the breakdown (Rep vs Dem) of those dually registered? I'd suspect that it's not just Ohio Dems that enjoy Florida's beaches. With Ohio being a Rep. state it could be that the majority of these are conservatives.
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