As ELC has been reporting, there have been
serious storm clouds brewing at the Federal Voting Assistance Program
(FVAP). Those clouds have resulted from reports about expected low
military voter participation in 2012, a blistering DOD IG report
identifying widespread failures to comply with the MOVE Act and data reliability issues, and questions related to the waste of $75 million
in congressional appropriations. Surprisingly,
several current and former FVAP employees are quietly blaming this mess
on Bob Carey, the former Director of FVAP. Perhaps this explains his
unexpected jump from the ship in May. Or it may be a convenient scapegoat for those now responsible for supporting our military and overseas voters. We will have more on this in the
future.
It seems to me if I declare my intention to be in Canada on election day 2012, having gotten there by ferry or airplane from Ohio, that I can declare my last state of residence to be Ohio, and cast my vote for Obama in Ohio, instead of Tennessee where I actually reside. I do this through fvap.gov, with no photo id. Can legit Ohio residents with no photo ID also do this? Can I make this declaration for several battleground states? (I know this would be immoral and illegal but would I get caught?)
Are Republicans like Karl Rove more stupid than I am about gaming the vote? I do not think so. How many Republicans are going to blow off voting in their real home state and cast their vote in one or more battleground states? How would this be detected? Would it be detected in time? Would President Romney do an investigation?