Critics charge that the Justice Department, aided by
the 1993 Motor Voter law, is encouraging voter fraud in
many areas.
Here is a small sample of the instances they cite:
At least 12 percent of the names appearing on
California voter rolls aren't eligible to vote -- but
the Justice Department has consistently blocked
the state's efforts to cleanse the list of people
who have moved, died or can no longer vote for
various reasons.
The Justice Department is reportedly forcing
Texas officials to let admitted noncitizens vote by
blocking local governments from comparing their
voter registration lists with Immigration and
Naturalization Service records.
The Justice Department just settled a case
against Pennsylvania that will require the state to
expand voter registration efforts at county mental
health and mental retardation agencies.
Newspaper reporters in Boston and in Mobile,
Ala., tested the security of their areas' voter
registration systems by sending in multiple
fraudulent voting applications -- which were
processed and approved.
The Boston reporter successfully registered his cat to
vote three times, while Alabama authorities accepted
five applications with phony names.
States also bear responsibility for some fraud. The
Voting Integrity Project sought to prevent Maryland
from making bulk mailings of absentee ballots to
nursing homes, where administrators frequently forge
registrations and ballots under residents' names. A
federal judge acknowledged the potential for abuse,
but ruled there would be greater harm if voters didn't
receive ballots in time.
As well as allowing people to register at motor vehicle
department offices, the Motor Voter law required local
officials to let people register in every welfare and food
stamp office.
Source: James Bovard, "The Federal Voter-Fraud
Mandate," Investor's Business Daily, and Editorial,
"Eroding Elections," Wall Street Journal, both
November 3, 1998. |
