Wisconsin's Voter Registration Problem

This is not a minor problem.

This is a big one.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

One in five people who registered this month to vote provided information that does not match driver's license records, state officials said Wednesday.

Many of those mismatches are likely typos or similar problems because voter records are supposed to match driver records exactly. Mismatches can occur in a host of situations — when clerks transpose digits in driver’s license numbers; when people use a middle initial or nickname on their licenses but not when they register to vote; or when they register to vote under their latest residence without updating the address on their driver’s license.

Officials said they do not know how many mismatches can be attributed to those types of problems compared with attempts to commit fraud.

Election clerks began comparing voter records with driver, felony and death records on Aug. 6, when the state’s voter database became fully functional. Matching the data is required under a 2002 federal law meant to avoid the election meltdown that occurred in Florida in 2000.

From Aug. 6 until Tuesday, 4,350 of the voters whose names were checked did not match driver or Social Security records, said Barb Hansen, the Statewide Voter Registration System director. That’s 22% of the 19,470 voters whose names were checked; it includes people who registered for the first time as well as those who changed their address.

If people registering to vote do not have a driver’s license or state ID, the state checks the last four digits of their Social Security numbers against federal records.

WHOA!

Check the last four digits of SS numbers against federal records.

Why not use that method at the polls as a means of identification?

Republicans could give up the photo ID fight. Democrats should be happy that the four digit SS method wouldn't make voting more difficult for minorities or the poor.

What a great idea! Thanks for pointing that out, Journal Sentinel!

I find it hard to believe that 22% of the mismatches are due to typos or people using nicknames.

Officials admit that they have no way of knowing how many are legitimate mistakes and how many are attempts to commit voter fraud.

THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

Wisconsinites cannot have confidence that their election results are valid.

Voters whose records don’t match get a letter from election clerks telling them to correct the information. But there are no consequences if they don’t follow up with the clerks.

No consequences for not following up.

Why aren't there consequences?

Wisconsin is INVITING voter fraud.

On Wednesday, the Government Accountability Board — composed of former judges — failed on a 3-3 vote to pass a proposal to require voters to show ID at the polls if they hadn’t corrected mismatched information. Supporting the measure that would require ID at the polls in those cases were board members Tom Cane, Victor Manian and Gerald Nichol. Voting against it were Michael Brennan, William Eich and Gordon Myse.

The board said it will continue to perform the checks and ask voters to fix any incorrect information. But it will not create hurdles for those who don’t. The board voted 5-1 on that approach, with Manian dissenting.

This is a disgrace.

I'm sick of this "creating hurdles" stuff being used as an excuse to create conditions that allow fraud to occur.

It's inexcusable to not protect the integrity of our elections.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and other Republicans said the board should require election clerks to perform matches on as many people as possible who were entered into the voter database since Jan. 1, 2006. That’s when states were required to have databases under the federal law; Wisconsin’s database wasn’t fully functional until this month because of technical problems.

That's nice that Van Hollen said what the board should require.

Words aren't needed. Concrete measures to prevent fraud are needed.

...Robert Friebert, an attorney for the presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama, said Republicans were overstating the potential for fraud, and called most mismatches harmless errors.

“Just because there’s two non-matches does not mean that someone is not qualified to vote,” he said.

“There’s nothing really much to do with any type of massive fraud being perpetrated.”

This makes me sick.

How can Obama's attorney know that most mismatches are harmless errors?

Friebert doesn't know that.

He can't declare the status of the mismatches to be harmless. Such an assertion is based on NOTHING.

Mayor Tom Barrett, DEMOCRAT, said, "We will continue to make the necessary improvements so that citizens of Milwaukee can be confident in their elections."

Really?

What a load!

Michael Brennan, William Eich and Gordon Myse -- Champions of voter fraud.