Yet More Voter Disenfranchisement?
The upcoming elections in Maryland are shaping up quite nicely for those who wish to subvert the electoral process. We need only to look at our less than stellar history of “cleaning up” outdated voter rolls; no photo id requirements; excessive union interference; and, a recent “redistricting triumph,” by Governor O’Malley. The latest opportunity to expand voter fraud and abuse is proposed legislation that does not require an application for mail-in ballots for special elections in Montgomery County.
The Voter Rolls
By law, Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act requires states do “list maintenance, identifying and “cancelling” names of ineligible voters. In 2010, Maryland, along with 15 other states, was cited as having voter rolls that were not updated. Such examples of blatant neglect, include having deceased citizens on the voter rolls – although one employee in the board of elections office reported that they are supposed to “update voting records within two election cycles.”
Christian Adams, a lawyer formerly with the Department of Justice noted to this writer that,
“officials who proclaim difficulty in complying with the law either usually are adverse to purging the rolls, or aren’t inclined to follow the law. It doesn’t take much money to get the list of dead people and purge the rolls, and if they are doing their job correctly, they should do regular maintenance on the rolls.”
Unfortunately, it seems that the Department of Justice has chosen not to enforce the law, and out of that concern, groups like Election Integrity Maryland are now taking action which includes database research and engaging in other activities to help counter election fraud.
It is this awareness and actions of groups like Election Integrity Maryland that have helped Maryland to join 17 other states participating in a program called ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center), which is working with the Pew Research Center. The goal of ERIC is to have accurate, cost-effective and efficient voter registration databases shared from multiple state and county databases according to staff. While the recent efforts to “clean-up voting rolls” are long overdue, this joint effort should give one pause when the state has to enlist a private organization to help deal with a government run agency problem.
Photo ID
It should be common sense to every legal citizen in the state of Maryland that voters should be required to show photo identification, prior to voting to maintain the integrity of the election process. Yet, common sense seems to have been discarded by Senator Ben Cardin, who alleges voter disenfranchisement” ( the requirement that a photo ID will actually prevent legal citizens from voting). Given the lack of photo ID, coupled with a de facto reputation as being a sanctuary state, it is reasonable to assume the lack of photo ID requirement will further question, the integrity of the voting process in Maryland.
Union Influence:
According to the Maryland Finance Database, unions contributed over $1.6 million to overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates during the last two election cycles. Much of this money comes from dues paying members – not all of whom support the candidates endorsed by the unions. Moreover, the Fair Share law signed by Governor O’Malley in 2009 has increased the amount of union dues funds, thereby providing an opportunity to increase the flow of money into Democratic coffers.
Redistricting
During the 2011 special session of the Maryland State legislature, legislators worked on Congressional redistricting, based on the results of the 2010 Census. Governor O’Malley presented his own version of the new Congressional districts – almost guaranteeing a one party state into the foreseeable future. From Governor O’Malley’s statement from Oct. 15, 2011:
“I’d like to thank the Committee for their hard work throughout this process, as well as the citizens who have submitted their comments and suggestions and all of the members of the General Assembly. I am looking forward to working with our legislature next week as we ensure that every citizen is fairly and accurately represented.”
It is obvious that his statement was made to placate the “disenfranchised voter” many of whom do not believe they will be “fairly and accurately represented.” However, Virginia offers a glimmer of hope where Republicans now control the legislature despite the gerrymandered voting districts that had been put into place by the prior administration.
Voter Application
The latest assault on the voting process is coming from Senator Jennie Forehand, who along with the Montgomery County Delegation believes that it is not necessary to require voters to complete an application when requesting to vote by mail ballot for special elections. This legislation has yet to be considered and was apparently borne out of concern for saving county taxpayer money (the last special election had a small voter turnout, but cost upwards of $8.5 million), which is commendable. However, removing an application requirement takes away a layer of security that can serve as a check against potential fraud.
In contrast, the Maryland Board of Elections and various groups scrutinized petitions to overturn in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, with a “fine-tooth comb” to verify information and signatures were accurate, which resulted in several thousand petitions being thrown out, and without recourse. The Maryland Board of Elections and these groups interest in ensuring the integrity of the process is admirable, but it is a shame that they do not appear to extend that level of concern across the board.
When one looks at these examples in their totality, both Democrat and Republican should feel “disenfranchised” from the voting process. As Thomas Paine stated in his dissertation on “First Principles of Government (1795):
“The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another and he that has not a vote in the election or representatives is in this case.”
It appears that increased voter disenfranchisement in Maryland, as noted above, is not in keeping with what Thomas Paine and our forefathers had in mind for the citizens of the United States. It behooves all voters – Democrats, Republicans and Independents to be aware and concerned about these threats to the voting process in Maryland.
Alexandra Brown
Montgomery County
MCGOP CONVENTION!