Court Orders Changes to Texas Voter ID Law
AUSTIN -- A federal appeals court ruled on July 20 [...]
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.
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.
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.
ACRU’s Complaint against Broward County, Florida
Sunshine State's Second Largest County Has More than 100 Percent [...]
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
Voter ID Opponents Insult Latinos, Candidate Says
ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO -- Refusing to be defined as a victim within a vulnerable population, Roswell's candidate for secretary of state said Wednesday that those who assert Hispanics lack the ability to obtain IDs to vote insult all Latinos. State Rep. Nora Espinoza, R-Rowsell, the guest speaker at Wednesday's monthly luncheon of the Chaves County Republican Women, said that when one person votes illegally, all other voters are disenfranchised. "Let me tell you what disenfranchisement really is," Espinoza said. "If a single ineligible voter casts a vote, every single honest voter in New Mexico is disenfranchised. If anyone votes in the place of someone else, whether that person be alive or dead or barks, every honest New Mexican is disenfranchised." Espinoza, who is Hispanic, said she supports combating voter fraud with a state voter ID law. Espinoza said she will press the issue in her campaign for secretary of state, the third highest office in state government after governor and lieutenant governor, to ensure the integrity of elections. "The more people believe the system is honest, that your vote will count, that someone can't steal a vote and therefore wipe out your vote, and that the election will be fair to all, well, the more likely they are to believe it's worthwhile, the more likely they are to participate," Espinoza said. "If we elect someone who doesn't believe in these common sense [auth] ideas, they are electing someone with a another agenda in mind altogether. And that agenda does not include safeguarding your vote and the assurance of integrity in the voting system." Espinoza said her Democratic opponent, Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver, is espousing the same liberal ideas that Toulouse Oliver ran on unsuccessfully in 2014. "What were those ideas?" Espinoza asked. "In 2014, that candidate said she is against voter ID, wants to register voters as they walk up to the polls on Election Day, believes voter fraud is a myth. Every poll shows that 75 percent of all New Mexicans, Democrats, Republicans, independents alike, all support voter ID. All New Mexicans want fair elections."
The Coming Ohio Election Mess
By J. Christian Adams Left-wing organizations and Soros-funded lawyers have been busy making a mess in Ohio just in time for the Presidential election. They have been engaged in a multi-year litigation campaign to make it easier for Hillary Clinton to win the state this coming November. Unfortunately, their campaign has been largely successful. Important election integrity reforms implemented by the Ohio legislature and Secretary of State John Husted have been recently undone by multiple federal courts relying on dubious legal theories. Whoever says voter fraud is a myth doesn't know much about Ohio. Just last month, Rebecca Hammond was charged with filing thirty-five fictional voter registration applications. An election in Lorain was invalidated because voter fraud made the difference in the outcome. Aliens are voting in Ohio elections. In 2008, Obama campaign volunteers such as Amy Little and Yolanda Hippensteele committed criminal voter fraud when they illegally voted in Ohio even though they lived elsewhere. And who can forget Cincinnati election official Meloweese Richardson who boasted she voted six times for President Obama and was treated as a hero by Ohio Democrats when she was released from jail? Meloweese Richardson Meloweese Richardson Criminal voter fraud in Ohio helps Democrats win elections, and Democrats know it. That's why they are pouring millions into overturning election integrity laws in the federal courts. The laws enacted in Ohio were specifically designed to stop election gangsters like Little, Hippensteele and Richardson. Without winning Ohio, the Left cannot retain power over the executive branch in November. That's why Democrats are fighting so hard in court to strike these election reforms down. That's why they've brought so many lawsuits, to undo the efforts of Secretary Husted and the Ohio legislature to stop the gangsters. As a result, a mess may come this November.
California’s Zombie Voter Apocalypse
By Hans von Spakovsky and Jana Minich Hollywood has always loved making films about the walking dead, but in Southern California it appears they have a real life problem with "zombie" voters. An investigation by CBSLA2 and KCAL9 found that hundreds of deceased persons are still on voter registration rolls in the area, and that many of these names have been voting for years in Los Angeles. For example, John Cenkner died in 2003 according to Social Security Administration records, yet he voted in the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010 elections. His daughter told the station that she was "astounded" and couldn't "understand how anybody" could get away with this. Another voter, Julita Abutin, died in 2006 but voted in 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014. According to CBS, the county confirmed they have "signed vote-by-mail envelopes" from Abutin since she passed away. So either someone has been forging her signature or her ghost has quite an earthly presence. The investigation revealed that 265 deceased persons voted in Southern California, 215 of them in Los Angeles County. Thirty-two were repeat voters, with eight posthumously-cast ballots each. One woman who died in 1988 has been voting for 26 years, including in the 2014 election. This report comes twenty years after the contested election of Rep. Loretta Sanchez. D-Calif., from this same area. An investigation by a U.S. House committee found that hundreds of illegal ballots were cast by noncitizens and improper absentee ballots
Hundreds of Dead Voters Found in California — Will Media Cover It?
By Tim Graham With the presidential candidates arriving in California to campaign and raise funds, this report from the Los Angeles CBS affiliate should become national news: "A comparison of records by David Goldstein, investigative reporter for CBS2/KCAL9, has revealed hundreds of so-called dead voters in Southern California, a vast majority of them in Los Angeles County." Voter fraud? But liberal Democrats like to claim there is zero evidence of voter fraud. CBS2 compared millions of voting records from the California Secretary of State's office with death records from the Social Security Administration and found hundreds of so-called dead voters. Specifically, 265 in Southern California and a vast majority of them, 215, in Los Angeles County alone. The numbers come from state records that show votes were cast in that person's name after they died. In some cases, Goldstein discovered that they voted year after year. Across all counties, Goldstein uncovered 32 dead voters who cast ballots in eight elections apiece, including a woman who died in 1988. Records show she somehow voted in 2014, 26 years after she passed away. It remains unclear how the dead voters voted but 86 were registered Republicans, 146 were Democrats, including Cenkner.