« Wha…?
Awkward… »

2008 Primaries, Views on News • August 8th, 2008

Voter registration flap exposes potential for fraud

by Chris Lato

Wisconsin’s voting system is one of the loosest in the nation, and can lead to problems like this.

In this case, the system ended up working and the wrongdoers were identified. But those who think this is the only problem that will surface in 2008 are kidding themselves.

As a former Communications Director for the Wisconsin Republican Party, who was in place during the fraud problems that developed in 2004, I have seen just how rickety our election system is. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found:

In that [2004 presidential] election, Republicans raised concerns about voters registered from non-existent Milwaukee addresses, and a Journal Sentinel review found about 1,200 votes were cast from invalid addresses. The newspaper also found a large gap between votes recorded and people identified as having voted, among other problems.

The problem with those defending the current system, who say there is no widespread problem, conveniently sidestep the fact that once a voter has cast a ballot illegally, through the use of a nonexistent address or the name of a dead person, how do you track that person down? It’s not like voters sign their ballots, or even have to provide photo ID at the polls. With all that in mind, how can the Journal Sentinel’s reporting be explained away?

Despite widespread public support, Wisconsin still doesn’t even have a voter ID requirement. Thus, the door remains open to fraud.

Voter ID opponents, and those who believe the current system is A-OK, have semi-successfully painted this as a Republican vs. Democrat issue. Too bad – we know plenty of Democrats in Wisconsin support such measures as ID at the polls, too.

Protecting the integrity of the ballot should not be a partisan issue – no one should have to worry that their vote was negated by illegal conduct. But until decisive action is taken, the concern will always be out there in Wisconsin – and not without reason.

The goal is not to restrict voting – rather, it is to ensure that every legal vote is counted. What are its opponents afraid of?

This entry was posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 6:10 am and is filed under 2008 Primaries, Views on News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Voter registration flap exposes potential for fraud”
  1. Goofticket Says:
    August 8th, 2008 at 7:46 pm

    It’s no wonder you aren’t at the GOP anymore Chris. Misinformation is fatal.
    The state had two cases of acutal fraud, in 2006. Two, not thousands.
    In fact, this recent case was caught before ONE REGISTRATION became an official document.
    You need to find out what a Special Registration Deputy is, and who is legally allowed to register voters since Feb 2008. And the SVRS system the state now has that cross checks, all the ID forms used….fraud is almost impossible, and is likely to get discovered, before a ballot is cast.

    You seem to be afraid of an open, transparent election system…and you certainly would love to force the 3.5 Million Wisconsin voters from being the Independent status they legally all have, and make them register with a political party before being eligible to register to vote….which is not gonna fly in Wisconsin.
    No charges have been filed, or any official investigation begun.
    The group screaming about this is just a little group, within the very partisan Milwaukee Mayors office, with a real scary name. The Milwaukee Elections Commission.
    The MEC has no legal authority over any election process, in fact if you look at the registration card they offer…it requires a Special Registration Deputy’s signature and stated certified SRD ID number…not the MEC staff signature.

    Wisconsin’s elections are just fine, fraud free and you lost in 2006, and got axed.
    Just make sure you register again, if you moved out of your old ward…it’s a felony to go to your old one, if you moved Chris.

    PS: I have torn up registration forms and ballots, and it was all perfectly legal.

  2. Voter ID is part of the solution « Moneyed Politicians Says:
    August 12th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    […] For the same reason we want effective ethics oversight and public funding of campaigns, we should also want Voter ID. We want to clean up the system to make it fair to both sides. “Voter ID opponents, and those who believe the current system is A-OK, have semi-successfully painted this as a Republican vs. Democrat issue. Too bad – we know plenty of Democrats in Wisconsin support such measures as ID at the polls, too. … The goal is not to restrict voting – rather, it is to ensure that every legal vote is counted. What are its opponents afraid of?”  Chris Lato […]

Leave a Reply

Avicom Political and Public Affairs