Author Archives: J Christian Adams

“AP Gives False and Misleading Information on Voter Fraud Case”

Gary Fineout of the Associated Press posted a story claiming a voter fraud investigation has ended that appears to be awfully shaky.  No soures are cited, not even anonymous ones.  Breitbart has more.

“True the Vote confirmed with Rhode Island and Florida authorities that the AP staff writer’s claims were premature and ultimately false.”




The big question is why did the Associated Press run with this story when it wasn’t true?  Why did Gary Fineout report things that the states later said were innacurate?

Conference on Mandatory Voter Registration


Mandatory Voter Registration


The Threat to Election Integrity of “Universal” Registration


 


Featuring


The Honorable Jason Gant


Secretary of State, State of South Dakota


 


The Honorable Scott Gessler


Secretary of State, State of Colorado


 


The Honorable Brian Kemp


Secretary of State, State of Georgia


 


The Honorable Kris Kobach


Secretary of State, State of Kansas


 


Hosted by


Hans A. von Spakovsky


Senior Legal Fellow, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation


 



Various advocacy groups argue that our current voter registration system is too complicated and many Americans do not vote because they are unable to register. That is a questionable premise, but their “solution” is even more problematic. They want a federal law that would force all states to use existing government databases to automatically register individuals to vote, even if they do not want to register. Many of the proposals for “universal” registration also include mandating that states allow anyone who is not automatically registered to register and vote on Election Day. One proposal even advocates requiring all individuals to register to vote when filing tax forms.  


 


Is there a registration problem or does the need for election integrity justify the minimal burdens of citizens? If there is a problem, is mandatory registration the answer? Would such a system lead to noncitizens being registered or multiple registrations by individuals with property, businesses, residences, and tax filings in more than one state? Is a federal mandate an unconstitutional invasion of the rights of states to determine the qualifications of their voters and is it a violation of the rights of individual Americans?


 


Join us as our panel of four state chief election officials discuss these issues, moderated by a former commissioner on the Federal Election Commission.


 



Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 10:00 a.m.


 


The Heritage Foundation’s Lehrman Auditorium


 



RSVP online | or call (202) 675-1752


Terms and conditions of attendance are posted at heritage.org/Events/terms.cfm


All events may be viewed live at heritage.org


News media inquiries, call (202) 675-1761


  


214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE | Washington, DC 20002 | (202) 546-4400

Nevada: “Voter ID plan gets mixed reception”

CBS Las Vegas reports that Secretary of State Ross Miller was cheered and booed Friday during a symposium at UNLV, while outlining his voter ID bill.  It calls for an electronic voter rolls system, where workers can verify a person’s identity through the DMV’s database.  Miller says voters will not be required to bring ID when they go to the polls, but some people question whether it will reduce voter fraud.

Some people question whether it will reduce voter fraud!?!  Well duh, it certainly won’t facilitate or increase it.  It appears some are even afraid of technology.  Or is it something else.  Link to the story here.

“Kentucky Senate Designates Electronic Military Voting Chief Priority”

WFPL -Louisville, Kentucky reports on pending legislation reducing the number of military voters unable to cast ballots.  

Giving Kentucky service members and their spouses the ability to cast absentee ballot electronically is the priority of the Kentucky State Senate heading into the 2013 legislative session, Senate President-elect Robert Stivers said on Monday.  Stivers says he’s taking recommendation from Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes to allow electronic voting for overseas military personnel.   

The measure will be Senate Bill 1 – the title that usually goes to the chamber’s chief legislative priority every year.  And Stivers says that if the legislation can be written in time. the Senate plans to pass it completely by the end of the session’s first week.

Will the incoming Committee on House Administration or the Senate Rules Committee make military voting and their oversight of the MOVE Act a priority?  In the House, the last hearing on the issue appears to be almost 2 years ago, Feb 2011. 

“Republicans soften voter ID stance”

The Charlotte Observer reports:  Gov. Pat McCrory and House Speaker Thom Tillis said they favor allowing
voters to show other forms of identification that don’t include a photo,
such as a registration card or other government documents. “I would
still like a photo on it, but I would also be willing to accept other
options,” McCrory said. “I’ll let the legislature work to develop those
bills. I expect a voter ID bill to be passed in the very near future.”

Democrat Nevada Secretary of State pitches different type of photo ID concept

In Nevada, the Secretary of State looks for a compromise to the partisan standoff over photo ID.  It appears from this story that he is getting some Republican support.  Despite the fact that with the concept voters don’t have to lift a finger, some Democrats are still unsure whether to support it. 


Miller, a Democrat, was complimented by many in the audience for what
he called “stepping into the lion’s den,” and presenting his plan to a
group of Republicans.

Yet Miller could get a better
reception from the GOP than from his own party, noted State Senate
Majority Leader Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, who spoke earlier in the day and
questioned the $10 million possible price tag for the bill.

Miller’s
proposal would provide for voter photos be included in election board
resister and rosters for early voting and provide for the Department of
Motor Vehicles to provide color photos of voters to the secretary of
state and county registrars.

“Galvin vows to oversee vote; Smith pleads guilty to rigging”

The Boston Globe reports on sentencing in the absentee voter fraud case in Massachusetts:


Secretary of State William F. Galvin said
he will oversee an upcoming election in Everett, specifically the use of
absentee ballots, after a federal investigation found that a former
state representative rigged ballots in three recent elections.

Galvin’s announcement was made Friday as Stephen W. Smith, who
resigned his seat after he was implicated, pleaded guilty in federal
court to two civil rights violations of deprivation of rights under the
color of law, for infringing on others’ voting rights.

...In some cases, prosecutors said ineligible voters filled out the
ballot and ­returned them. In other cases, the ballots sent to unaware
voters were intercepted and unlawfully filled out on their ­behalf.

Prosecutors would not say exactly how many people participated in the scheme or why no one else has been charged.

In court, Assistant US Attorney Eugenia M. Carris said only that the
scheme “deprived qualified voters . . . by diluting the valid ballots
that were cast.”