The problem is clear...
Doctor John Samples, the Director of the Center for Representative Government at the Cato Institute probably said it best in his testimony "On the Motor Voter Act and Voter Fraud" before the United States Senate's Committee on Rules and Administration...
"The damage done by vote fraud, of course, is clear. Breaking any law, but especially laws meant to protect the integrity of the electoral process, damages our nation. Vote fraud also devalues the votes of those who register and vote properly. It also strikes many people as unfair: most citizens bear the burdens of exercising the right to vote, those who vote illegally claim the right and wish to escape the minimal burdens associated with that right."
"The possibility of vote fraud also harms the nation by calling into question the integrity of our electoral system. The Supreme Court has said that the federal government may regulate campaign finance to prevent corruption or the appearance of corruption. Allow me to suggest that we should similarly be concerned about the appearance of our electoral process."
and so is the solution...
Simply require voters to show photo-identification proving they are the person the claim to be and living within the appropriate jurisdiction before allowing them to cast a ballot.
People who feel that they have been unfairly treated could file an instant protest with the voting captain -- to be noted in a special register and investigated at the earliest possible opportunity. Their vote would be placed in a sealed envelope that would be opened and counted if the voting panel ruled that the vote was proper.
The "request for determination book" along with the sealed votes could be transported, along with the other votes, to the counting area for further processing. In the case of electronic voting, a certain number of manual ballots must be made available for this dispute process.
So who might be against this voter identification process?
When I think of voter fraud, I think of the democrats and Chicago's "Daley" machine, Lyndon Johnson and Al Gore's idea of a selective recount of only certain key Florida precincts that were statistically favorable to his candidacy.
I think of the illegal aliens in Southern California which resulted in conservative Robert K. "B-1 Bob" Dornan losing his Congressional Seat to ultra-liberal democrat Loretta Sanchez.
According to an item in Human Events...
"In another case concerning a U.S. House seat in which voter fraud may have influenced the result, California Republican Congressman Bob Dornan was defeated by Democrat Loretta Sanchez in an upset, by the narrow margin of 984 votes in 1996. Dornan charged that Sanchez’s margin came from non-citizens, and an investigation by the House of Representatives found that 547 non-citizens had voted in the election, but not enough to void the election. Some believe that far more non-citizens who were not detected actually voted. John Fund, in his book Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy, says that an INS investigation in 1996 into alleged Motor Voter fraud in California’s 46th District revealed that '4,023 illegal voters possibly cast ballots in the disputed election between Republican Robert Dornan and Democrat Loretta Sanchez.'”
Making it easier to vote makes it easier to conceal voter fraud... Motor-Voter Rules
I worry about rules and regulations that were designed to make voter registration easier such as the so-called motor-voter laws which allowed for voter registration along with obtaining a drivers license. It seemed like a great idea at the time and provided that the registration process could incorporate a verifiable identification. But, alas, the unintended consequences of dumping a large number of names onto the voter rolls has had a profoundly negative affect. Again, according to Dr. Samples:
"The lax standards for registration encouraged by "Motor Voter" have left the voter rolls in a shambles in many states. As St. Louis shows, the uncertainty surrounding the rolls breeds mistrust and can call the integrity of the system into question. "Motor Voter" has fomented "the appearance of corruption" that has, fairly or not, done real damage to American government. Political scientists have charted the decline in trust in government over the past four decades. I believe "Motor Voter" has been part of that problem, not part of its solution."
Some voter fraud is inadvertent and done by accident...
Yes, the rich, with their multiple homes and mobile lifestyles, can make mistakes in locating the proper place to vote. Controversial and polarizing right-wing conservative Ann Coulter apparently voted in the wrong Florida precinct. Apparently Coulter wrote down the mailing address of her Realtor for mail forwarding purposes which was different from her actual address and its required voter precinct. While much has been made of the entire affair, complete will calls for her imprisonment, there exists proper forums to adjudicate these matters and they are available to all citizens without charge. Her actions were appropriately scrutinized and no further action taken.
Other vote fraud is sinister and designed to thwart the duly established electoral process in favor of a politician or their party...
But we are not speaking of innocent mistakes, we are speaking of an organized attempt by certain politicians to encourage illegal aliens and those who have lost their right to vote, through their felonious activities, being encouraged to break the law and vote for a particular candidate.
So what is the problem...
It's appears that it is the democrats and illegal alien activists who want to subvert our current system. If you are required to show valid identification to get on a plane or enter a federal building, why should you not present valid identification at the polling booth?
ALL VOTERS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO SHOW PROOF OF IDENTITY AND RESIDENCY WHEN VOTING
Not everybody agrees...
The standard argument is that poor people and minorities are disenfranchised when there is any attempt to require proof of identity or residency prior to voting.
Granted, someone may lack a driver's license and have no permanent residency -- but it is highly unlikely that this person is going to take the time and trouble to register.
As for the poor, every state makes provisions for providing a photo identification card in lieu of a drivers license. As for minorities, I would find that the assertions made by Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and others that they are not smart enough to read a ballot, find their way to the appropriate polling place or would unnecessarily be inconvenienced by the same requirements that affect other voters to be highly insulting and inflammatory. One question that never is answered by the politicians: how do the poor and the minorities receive and cash their welfare checks without proper identification?
If only one vote is saved...
I am surprised that the democrats haven't claimed that we need to allow everybody to vote for the sake of children who are depending on the leadership and legislation of the democrat party to make their lives safer and more productive.
But should we ignore voter fraud?
Should we open our voting process to all comers to justify and preserve that single vote when we find that absentee ballots may not even be counted if the result is overwhelming and significantly greater than the number of absentee ballots received by voting authorities?
Shouldn't we be more concerned with those who prepare absentee ballots in the privacy of their homes than some odd, patriotic drunk who wants to cast their ballot?
Shouldn't we be more concerned about our military members who may denied their constitutional votes, even while they are fighting to preserve our liberty, by some election official's proclamation?
Politicians, especially those who are democrats, liberals or are RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) continue to argue against the proper identification of voters. Consider Mike Huckabee, the only pseudo-conservative I know who stands for larger government, higher taxes and who claims that the Republican bill requiring proof of citizenship to exercise your voting rights and to access government benefits is ""un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life."
According to the Arkansas News Bureau...
"Gov. Mike Huckabee Thursday denounced a bill by Sen. Jim Holt that would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life.
Holt, R-Springdale, replied later that Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking."
"Senate Bill 206, filed Wednesday, also would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and would require state agencies to report suspected cases of people living in the country illegally."
The Supreme Court will answer the question...
The Supreme Court has agreed to rule on two cases with a very simple question: Does a state requirement that voters show a specific kind of photo identification before casting a ballot violate the Constitution? The combined cases of "Crawford v. Marion County Election Board" and "Democratic Party v. Rokita" will be heard on January 9th, 2008.
This is also a clear demonstration why those appointed to the Supreme Court should be strict constructionists who vote on the constitutionality of issues rather than activist judges who make up laws where none currently exist with their tortured logic and rulings.
In this particular case, if the constitution is silent on the issue and the state ruling does not specifically violate any constitutional requirements, the matter will be left up to each state to decide whether or not they will impose voter identification requirements on their residents.
If we do not fight to preserve our rights and limit the power of politicians and their corrupt parties, we are headed into a third-world abyss where only the rich and connected will survive in relative comfort.
What can YOU do?
Remember the days when the politicians called all of the shots. From defining their own districts (which exists today), awarding patronage jobs to those who could deliver campaign funds and the vote (which exists today) to killing any rule, regulation or legislation which would prevent them from parlaying a razor-thin vote tally into a major victory (which exists today). It is time when we must preserve our constitutional process from these electoral piranhas and demand that our voting process be made incorruptible by these petty politicians.
Remember the words of United States Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL.) who famously said. “This is Chicago. This is Cook County. We created vote fraud, vote scandal and stealing votes. We created that mechanism. It became an art form.”
Demand that your legislators preserve the integrity of our voting process. Demand that all candidates support voter reform to require that identification and residency requirements be enforced.
Condemn those candidates and politicians who want to allow illegal aliens to assume all the rights and privileges of citizenship without the imposition of any of the requirements and duties of a citizen -- all to gain access to or retain a public office.
Do not vote for any candidate or current politician who is willing to subvert the safety, security, sovereignty and economic strength of the United States or limit an individual's right of self-defense for personal power, prestige or profits.
-- steve
A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius
Reference Links:
Partisan Fissures Over Voter ID|Washington Post
The Stunning Reality of Voter Fraud|Human Events
On the Motor Voter Act and Voter Fraud|Senate Testimony
