Registering Voters at the DMV? What Could Go Wrong?

The 2014 Connecticut governor's race was decided by about 30,000 votes statewide. Four years earlier, the contest was decided by just about 6,000 votes. So it's a concern for state Rep. Arthur O'Neill, a Republican, that the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles--which recently misidentified more than 50,000 people for having unpaid taxes on their vehicles--will be in charge of voter registration. "If you misidentify 30,000 voters, that's more than enough to swing an election," O'Neill, deputy minority leader of the Connecticut House, told The Daily Signal in a phone interview. "As time goes by, and [the state] see[s] the difficulties and dangers of this, I hope they will at least postpone it," O'Neill said. "The DMV is still coping with regular duties of registering cars and issuing driver's licenses, which has been a catastrophe." The DMV has faced severe computer problems that have led to the tax mistakes, but also identifying vehicles and vehicle owners as living in the wrong town. Connecticut is changing its voting registration system largely in response to the Obama administration's threat to sue over what it calls the state's "widespread noncompliance" with the federal Motor Voter Act.

2020-05-03T23:36:32+00:00July 13th, 2016|News, Voter ID|
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A Guide to Photo ID, Early Voting and other Voting Law Cases

As the presidential election nears, a number of important voting law cases are still up in the air. And that can be confusing -- for voters trying to figure out what they do or don't need to cast their ballots, for election officials trying to figure out how to run elections, and for politicians trying to make sure supporters get out and vote. Here's a brief guide provided by National Public Radio via WAMU on where some of the big cases stand, as of the end of June. More rulings are expected, although courts are reluctant to make major voting law changes too close to Election Day. Referenced states are: North Carolina; Texas; Ohio; Wisconsin; Kansas; Virginia.

2020-05-03T23:36:32+00:00July 13th, 2016|Early Voting, News, Voter ID|
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Texas City Official Avoids Jail in Vote Fraud case

A former Weslaco city commissioner has admitted to cheating to get re-elected in 2013. Lupe Rivera on July 11 pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawfully assisting a voter -- one of 16 counts he was charged with in a mail-in ballot fraud scheme. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped the other 15 charges, which included failing to properly mark mail-in ballots and other counts of unlawfully assisting voters. Rivera was sentenced to one year probation and fined 500 dollars. The accusations had been brought by Rivera's challenger in that 2013 District 5 race, Letty Lopez, who had lost by just 16 votes. When a judge ordered a new election, Lopez defeated Rivera by 39 votes.

2020-05-03T23:36:32+00:00July 13th, 2016|In the Courts, News, Vote Fraud, Voter ID|
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Missouri Governor Vetoes Voter Photo ID Bill

JEFFERSON CITY (July 7) -- A measure that would require a government-issued photo ID to vote was vetoed by Jay Nixon today, with the Democratic governor arguing it would act as a barrier against citizens' fundamental right to vote. It proved to be one of the most contentious items of debate during the 2016 legislative session, reflective of a broader ideological divide between Democrats and Republicans on voter access. GOP lawmakers argue the bill would prevent voter fraud, but their Democratic colleagues said it was a solution in search of a problem. Missouri Democrats fought the issue throughout session, eventually winning some compromises. Under the measure, voters without a photo ID can sign an affidavit at the polls, swearing they are who they say they are under penalty of perjury. Their vote then counts so long as their signature matches the one on file. Other provisions in the bill include exemptions for anyone born before 1946, anyone with a disability and those with religious objections to their photo being taken. Under the measure, the state also foots the bill for the IDs and any documents needed to get them.

2020-05-03T23:35:34+00:00July 7th, 2016|News, Vote Fraud, Voter ID|
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A Great Win for Election Integrity

By Hans von Spakovsky (June 30) Yesterday was a great day for election integrity and everyone (other than the Obama administration and its political allies) who wants to make sure non-citizens don't illegally vote in our elections. Federal district-court judge Richard Leon issued an order Wednesday refusing to grant the injunction sought by the League of Women Voters (and the U.S. Justice Department to its everlasting shame) against the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in litigation over a state requirement that individuals registering to vote provide proof of citizenship. As I previously explained to readers of The Corner in February, several well-funded groups including the League and the NAACP filed a lawsuit trying to reverse a decision by the EAC granting the requests of Kansas, Georgia, and Alabama to modify the instructions on the federal voter registration form. The modification would notify residents of those states that they have to provide proof of citizenship if they use the federal form to register to vote. The U.S. Justice Department, which is charged with defending federal agencies when they are sued, tried instead to throw the case. It came into court, to Judge Leon's great surprise, attempting to concede the case and agreeing to the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction the plaintiffs wanted. Commissioner Christy McCormick, the chairwoman of the EAC, was so concerned over the Justice Department's misbehavior and potentially unethical conduct, that she sent a letter to Leon asking for permission to get outside counsel to represent the EAC. She expressed her "grave concerns regarding the potential conflict of interest and failure of the Department of justice to provide" the EAC with proper representation. DOJ later requested (and got) a protective order sealing her deposition, which apparently included discussions of DOJ's potentially improper behavior and prior involvement in EAC decision-making. Makes you wonder what DOJ wants to hide. In February, Leon denied the request for a temporary restraining order. Yesterday in a 25-page opinion, he also denied the request for a preliminary injunction -- the same injunction the Justice Department wanted to agree to when it tried to lose the case. Leon held that the plaintiffs had not proved they will suffer an irreparable harm from this change in instructions on the federal registration form. He obviously did not put much stock in their claim that this would damage them because their voter registration drives would be less successful and require more effort on their part to educate the public about the fact that you have to be a citizen to register to vote. But as Leon said, "let's be candid; doing so pales in comparison to explaining to the average citizen how the ACA or tax code works!"

2020-05-03T23:38:00+00:00June 30th, 2016|ACRU Commentary, In the Courts, Proof of Citizenship, Voter ID|
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ACRU Sues Broward County over Inflated Voter Rolls

Florida's Second Largest County Has More than 100 Percent of Residents Registered to Vote. ALEXANDRIA, VA (June 28, 2016) --- The (ACRU) has filed a lawsuit alleging that officials in Broward County, Florida, have violated federal election law by failing to maintain accurate voter registration. "When a county has more people registered to vote than there are eligible residents, it's an open door for vote fraud," said ACRU Chairman/CEO Susan A. Carleson. "Corrupted voter rolls are the first step to vote fraud. Broward's Supervisor of Elections, Dr. Brenda Snipes, is not using all of the tools available to keep Florida elections clean." The complaint, filed by the Public Interest Legal Foundation on ACRU's behalf on Monday, asks the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division, to find Broward's supervisor of elections in violation of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (Motor Voter Law), "to implement reasonable and effective registration list maintenance," and to allow the ACRU to inspect voter records. The lawsuit notes that the county of nearly two million people, with a non-citizen population of 256,430, has removed only 18 people from the voting rolls over the last five years for lacking U.S. citizenship. Also, that 106 percent of county residents were registered to vote in 2010, and 103 percent in 2014. "Broward was one of four Florida counties that was asked to do a recount in the 2000 presidential election," Carleson said. "We think it's time they cleaned up their rolls before the next one." The case is and Andrea Frankel-Bellitto vs. Brenda Snipes. Andrea Frankel-Bellitto is a registered voter in Broward County. The ACRU is the only private party to successfully sue under Motor Voter to clean up county voter rolls, winning consent decrees in Texas and Mississippi.

2020-05-03T23:39:00+00:00June 30th, 2016|ACRU Litigation News, Early Voting, In the Courts, News, Press Releases, Proof of Citizenship, Vote Fraud, Voter ID, Voter Roll Maintenance|
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Judge Upholds 3 States’ Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration

Residents of Kansas, Georgia and Alabama will have to prove they are U.S. citizens when registering to vote for federal elections using a national form, a judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon sided against a coalition of voting rights groups that sued a U.S. elections official who changed the proof-of-citizenship requirements on the federal registration form at the request of the three states and without public notice. Residents of other states only need to swear that they are citizens, not show proof. Leon refused to issue a temporary injunction sought by voting rights advocates to overturn the move by Brian Newby, the executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, until the case can be decided on its merits at trial. No trial date has been set.

2020-05-03T23:36:32+00:00June 30th, 2016|In the Courts, News, Proof of Citizenship, Voter ID|
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ACRU: Voter ID Opponents Try End Run Around Court’s Shelby Ruling

ALEXANDRIA, VA (June 20, 2016) --- Opponents of North Carolina's voter photo ID law wrongly sought to use an illegal interpretation of the Voting Rights Act to attack North Carolina's election integrity law, the (ACRU) argues in a brief filed on June 16 at the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Regarding North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, et al. v. Patrick L. McCrory, et al., the brief, notes that a U.S. District Court rightly rejected the plaintiffs' claim that the law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In 2013, in Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which had required Southern states and other jurisdictions to obtain preclearance from a D.C.-based court panel or from the U.S. Justice Department for any changes in districting or voting laws. The Court said the requirement was based on obsolete data and was no longer necessary, but left intact Section 2, which empowers the federal government to address discriminatory voting conditions in the states. In the current case, the plaintiff attempted to make a purely statistical case of disparate impact that the law discriminates against minorities. The plaintiffs sought to use hair-trigger standards to strike down state laws that the Supreme Court invalidated in Shelby County. "The appropriate standard is one that looks to the totality of the circumstances, as expressed in Section 2, and does not use statistical disparities between groups of voters to establish liability," the ACRU brief says. The District Court's ruling upholding the law "is consistent with traditional Section 2 jurisprudence, does not conflict with Shelby County, and preserves the constitutional balance between states and the federal government," the brief states. "The opponents of common-sense voter ID laws are attempting an end run around the Supreme Court," said Susan A. Carleson, Chairman/CEO of the ACRU. "The District Court got it right, and we are confident that North Carolina's law will stand in the appeals process."

2020-05-03T23:34:40+00:00June 21st, 2016|In the Courts, News, Press Releases, Voter ID|
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Voter ID Laws Balance Risk of Fraud, Barring People from Polls

Voter ID laws are now active in 33 of the 50 U.S. states, covering about 60 percent of the population. Since President Barack Obama was elected in 2008, 11 states have enacted identification requirements for voting. The rules in those states range from strictly asking for photo IDs such as a driver's license to simpler documents such as a paycheck. Proponents say the laws prevent voter fraud and give the public more confidence in the process. "Voter ID can prevent and deter impersonation fraud, voting under fictitious voter registrations, double voting by individuals registered in more than one state, and voting by illegal aliens," Don Palmer, a former election official in Virginia and Florida, wrote in a Heritage Foundation report. Palmer argued that those who oppose the laws exaggerate the number of people who are affected, and that those assertions inhibit the national debate

2020-05-03T23:34:40+00:00June 21st, 2016|News, Vote Fraud, Voter ID|
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