The latest potential election fraud freakout was launched after the South Carolina Voter Registration Declination Form was given to a non-citizen refugee by the South Carolina Medicaid Office.
The form asks: “If you are not registered to vote where you live now, would you like to register to vote here today?”
The person who received this form could check “yes,” “no,” “Already registered to vote,” or “Will use vote registration by mail application.” The person could also ignore the form or, if it was on a piece of paper, use it to make a paper airplane and send it flying.
The form noted that applying to register or declining to register is optional and “will not affect the amount of assistance that you will be provided by this agency.”
Unfortunately, the form did not say, “This form should be ignored if you are not eligible to register to vote. If you try to register and you aren’t a U.S. citizen, you’re wasting your time. You can SAY you want to register, but to really be able to vote, you’ll need to fit the requirements.”
The South Carolina Voter Registration Frequently Asked Questions page says:
In order to vote, South Carolina law requires one must first register to vote at least 30 days prior to the election. To be eligible to register in South Carolina you MUST:
• be a United States citizen
• be at least 18 years old on or before the next election
• be a resident of South Carolina in the county and precinct in which you are registering
• not be under a court order declaring you mentally incompetent
• not be confined in any public prison resulting from a conviction of a crime
• have never been convicted of a felony or offense against the election laws OR if previously convicted, have served the entire sentence, including probation or parole, or have received a pardon for the conviction.
South Carolina isn’t the only state where a non citizen can get access to an invitation to register to vote. The horror! In Kansas, and any other state, ANYONE can go online to the National Voter Registration Application Form for U.S. Citizens. There could be 15-year-olds accessing this form! Non-citizens may see it and try to register! Big Foot, Santa Claus and the Loch Ness Monster could apply, and who would stop them?
So what if it asks, “Are you a citizen of the United States of America? Will you be 18 years old on or before election day?” So what if, in red letters, the form states, “If you checked ‘no’ in response to either of these questions, do not complete form.”?
Keeping people from voting is one way of keeping them from being heard. It has been argued that one of the biggest obstacles to criminal justice reform is the fact that in most states, people in prison or one felony-level probation or parole cannot vote.
The League of Women voters aims to protect every American’s right to vote by “challenging those who seek to restrict Black, brown, female, disabled, and other Americans from making their voices heard in our democracy.” Examples to curtail certain groups from voting include reducing the number of ballot boxes in communities of color, shortening voting hours, piling on voter ID requirements and making it illegal to provide those waiting in line with food or water. Voter-suppressing bills limit mail-in voting and early voting hours and restrict in-person voter assistance for people who need it, such as people with disabilities.
Most Americans are fine with requiring a government-issue photo ID to vote but even something as simple as that can thwart an older voter who no longer has a valid driver’s license or someone who never had one. One study showed that the people who are most likely to be prevented from voting by ID laws are not only low income, but also African-American or another racial minority. Another complication that affects mainly older women is verifying name changes that come with marriage and divorce.
Voter suppression and gerrymandering pose a greater threat than voter fraud. The Brennan Center for Justice reports, “extensive research reveals that fraud is very rare. Yet repeated, false allegations of fraud can make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to participate in elections.”
For information from an alternative viewpoint, look up the Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Database. The Heritage Foundation states: The United States has a long and unfortunate history of election fraud. ... Preventing, deterring, and prosecuting such fraud is essential to protecting the integrity of our voting process.”
We should not ignore the need for election security. By the same token, we should safeguard the right for every eligible citizen to vote without jumping through unnecessary hurdles.
