10 Ways to Unfairly Influence an Election
In spite of the mounting evidence that has emerged since 2006 demonstrating that voter fraud committed at the polling place is extremely rare, there are still of plenty of ways to unfairly influence an election. Common Cause and the New Century Foundation list 10 of the most common ways. Most involve the use of low tech combined with the power of ambition and the willingness to steal an election. Voter Registration: Many of the most pressing problems from 2006 have gone unaddressed, or have worsened. States are still failing to comply with certain provisions of the National Voting Registration Act designed to make registration forms more accessible to traditionally disenfranchised voters. Many states still have either vague or unacceptable standards for verifying the eligibility of a would-be voter: Statewide registration databases are still not working the way they should be. Voter Identification: Fraud is still regularly used as a justification for passing harsh voter identification laws by state legislators and other elected officials. These laws exist in many states and are of a particularly disenfranchising nature in Georgia and Florida. Stringent voter identification laws potentially disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of eligible voters and disproportionately impact minorities, young people, the elderly, poor people and voters with disabilities, while serving no benefit to the integrity of the election system. Caging and Challenges: State laws on this issue often made it too easy for people to challenge a voter on too slim a basis. This includes both challenges to a voter's registration eligibility and right to vote at the polls on Election Day. Deceptive Practices: In every election, fliers, mailers and increasingly robo-calls have been used to purposely give voters (usually in minority communities) misinformation about the voting process. Virginia did recently pass a strong deceptive practices law, and in New Mexico it is a fourth degree felony to distribute or display false or misleading instructions pertaining to voting or the conduct of the election. Provisional Ballots: A surge in registration can make it difficult for election administrators to ensure all new voters are accurately on the rolls, leading voters to arrive at the polls to find that they are not on the list and must cast a provisional ballot. Wide variations in the counting of provisional ballots persist in the states, making this yet another area in which whether a vote will be counted or not depends solely on where a person resides. A major concern is that polling sites will have insufficient supplies of provisional ballots and that poll workers, overrun with voters, will use provisional ballots when it is not appropriate to do so because it seems like the easier way to deal with problems. Voting Machine Allocation: In most states, the authority to decide how many voting machines are necessary at a polling place is left to localities, which means that the number of voting machines at a particular precinct may have more to do with the number the precinct can afford than the number of voters who will want to cast a ballot there. In the past, poor allocation of machines has led to long lines and concerns that machines have been allocated unfairly. Voter Education: States have widely picked up on the Internet as their primary conduit of voting information and their online efforts. That's good, but states must also be conscientious in their educational efforts of those voters who lack the resources or skills to access information online. Student Voting Rights: Youth participation was already unprecedented in the primaries, and student voters are reporting in record numbers that they are planning to vote, leading to concerns about problems young voters may encounter when trying to register and vote. |
Comments (4)
I can only assume 1 of two things given that you are regurgitating items published by Common Cause; that you agree with them or are ignorant of their particular slant. They seem to be particularly at odds with the Constitution and original intent, given the fact that they are pushing on their front page a National Popular Vote, DC voting rights, and public financing.
Given that, I can tell you that item #2 on your list is particularly slanted. I happen to live in Georgia and agree with the premise that in order to vote, you should be able to show thatyou are eligible to vote, which, in turn, means that on the day that you vote you need to be able to show who you are. Georgia's law is NOT particularly "harsh." There are about a dozen acceptable IDs, starting with a driver's license. If the individual doesn't drive or doesn't have the money to purchase an acceptable ID, one will be provided to them at no charge.
Also, to say that voter fraud is not rampant is also heavily slanted. Just take a look at the current investigations of ACORN in 13 different areas of the country, where they have been registering dead people, illegal immigrants, and others not eligible. To say that we should not be taking precautions against this is ridiculous. Oh, and we have been through the courts multiple times over this and have passed. At the mid-term elections two years ago, the number of people denied the ability to vote because of lack of sufficient ID was in the single digits.
I have taken a strong stance against Diebold (with Republican ties) because of their opaque code, poor quality control, and lack of paper backup, all of which contribute to suspicion of vote tampering. I am also against ACORN and other shady "get out the vote groups," lack of ID to vote, and other objectives (mostly Democrat and liberal supported) because they add to the suspicion of vote tampering (and in fact enable it).
There were a couple of decent ideas in the list, such as pool worker recruitment and training and the elimination of deceptive practices (which is already illegal), but voter registration and identification is a silly thing to list as a way to discourage the vote. Anyone discouraged by such a trivial "problem" is most likely not going to investigate the issues sufficiently to justify voting, anyway.
B.B.
Posted by Bob Builder | November 4, 2008 9:24 AM
I live in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Maybe you've heard of it.
I voted during the morning peak, about 7:30AM. It was very busy, yet I was in and out in 20 minutes. The key? Optical scan ballots. You get one, then sit down anywhere to complete it. Then, as you turn it in, its scanned for overvotes. Far more people can vote simultaneously. And, we have an iron-clad paper trail.
How we got to this point is messy. Ohio's previous Secretary of State, Republican Ken Blackwell forced most counties to adopt Diebold machines. They took forever to use, broke down, were proven hackable, and we had a problem keeping track of the memory cards.
In 2006, we defeated Blackwell for governor, and elected Democrat Jennifer Brunner Secretary of State. While many counties are keeping the Diebold machines for now, she forced Cuyahoga to switch to optical scan. Despite the massive turnout this year, it seems to be working very well. I'd imagine the rest of the state is on optical scan by 2010.
Now, we can sit back and watch Florida and Virginia mess up, without worrying about Ohio.
Posted by Greg | November 4, 2008 2:44 PM
The title of this silly piece of propaganda ought to have been "Ten Excuses For Allowing Ineligible Persons To Vote Illegally." I EARNED my right to vote - AND, I earned my right NOT to have it diluted by the votes of those who are too lazy or uninformed, or not legally entitled to participate.
If you want to vote, follow this simple formula:
1. Be (or become) an American CITIZEN.
2. Be 18+ years old.
3. DO NOT be a felon.
4. Register by the deadline, WHERE YOU RESIDE.
5. Identify yourself properly where you go to vote.
Posted by Dave Shiff | November 5, 2008 11:39 AM
I too live in Cuyahoga county (Cleveland).
You can fill out ballots in 20 seconds with those touch-screen Diebold machines instead of 20 minutes on 1970s tech filling in each oval on those stupid paper ballots to have them optically-scanned. Talk about disenfranchising those with shaky hands or poor eyesight (e.g. senior citizens). They could have fixed the "problems" with the Diebold machines (after already spending $21 million to get them) for alot less than the $4 million to buy the optical scanners.
Perhaps you forgot how your beloved Democrat Jennifer Brunner enabled vote fraud by allowing Ohio universities to issue dummy utility bills to students from out-of-state so they can use them as proof of ID to vote in Ohio - while still being able to vote absentee in their home state.
Or maybe you forgot that corrupt / indicted County Comissioner Democrat Jimmy Dimora (aka "Da Moron") said he'd "deliver Cuyahoga County to Obama". Sounds like a conspiracy like Diebold and their "Republican" ties, huh ?
Posted by Rob Kobb | November 12, 2008 5:41 PM