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Wisconsin finds voter fraud

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Also by Annie Dean:

Youth assuming increased political roles (October 4, 2004)
Mayor talks politics, change (September 30, 2004)

by Annie Dean

Friday, October 29, 2004

With four days to go before the Nov. 2 election, voter fraud has become a hot issue in Wisconsin and, according to Dane County Clerk Joe Parisi, one felon in the Dane County Jail has already tried to illegally vote via absentee ballot while other felons have also received absentee ballots.

These concerns of voter fraud prompted the Wisconsin Election Board to pass a motion not on its agenda requiring voters to produce a state-issued form of photo identification at the polls, such as a driver’s license.

Though the board’s intentions are to reduce the amount of voter fraud, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jon Erpenbach is calling a foul on this behavior, saying the action is in violation of Wisconsin’s open meetings laws.

“Voter identification is a hot issue, and would have drawn a lot of public notice,” Julie Laundrie, Erpenbach’s spokesperson, said. “If they were going to discuss this issue, they should have done it properly — by informing the citizens and allowing them to take action.”

Laundrie said Sen. Erpenbach would not support legislation requiring a photo identification to vote.

“Only three states have a photo I.D. requirement to vote, and the turnout in those states is the lowest,” Laundrie said.

Laundrie also said requiring photo identification at the polls would negatively impact students, many of whom are often from out-of-state, change addresses often, or may not have a driver’s license. John Savage, the drafter of the recommendation, wrote the photo identification must be complete with a current address.

Chris Lato, communications director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, says voter fraud is a real threat and should be a top priority, adding requiring a photo I.D. would cut down on the criminal activity.

“We’re already finding examples of illegal conduct,” Lato said. “We’re finding instances of felons registering people, and their names are appearing on the rolls — and this is illegal. We have an open election system, and that’s good, but there are too many holes in this piece of cheese, and that concerns us.”

Lato disagreed that there is a correlation between requiring photo identification from voters and a drop in voter participation, adding that concerns of this nature are unfounded.

“The vast majority of Wisconsin voters already have a state-issued I.D., usually in the form of a driver’s license,” Lato said. “It would affect only two-tenths of 1 percent of the voting population. This is not an added undue burden on voters.”

Parisi says that it is difficult to cast a fraudulent ballot in Dane County, and that there are already many safeguards in place to prevent voter fraud from happening. He said he believes requiring photo identification from voters could stop fraud from happening, but does not believe that Dane County needs such a measure.

“Voter fraud is a felony, and most people aren’t willing to spend time in jail in order to illegally vote, or to vote twice,” Parisi said. “A lot of these concerns over fraud are a bit overblown. We’re not Florida. We have one of the best voting systems in the country.”

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Anonymous (October 29, 2004 @ 6:56am):

"Laundrie also said requiring photo identification at the polls would negatively impact students, many of whom are often from out-of-state, change addresses often, or may not have a driver's license. John Savage, the drafter of the recommendation, wrote the photo identification must be complete with a current address."

I think that requiring a current address on the ID is unreasonable with our mobile society today.

Honest question: What about student ID's? If the students ID's aren't up to snuff, why not make them so.

Anonymous (October 29, 2004 @ 7:06am):

The Wisconsin voting system is severely flawed and undermines the democratic system.

In voting locations serving large student populations, fraud is rampant. Some students vote at all such locations with no problems.

I would outline the most common technique, but I don't want to give anyone who doesn't already know how to do this any ideas (at least not until after Nov. 2). Besides, I voted (absentee) Republican this year, and we all know which people generally purport such crimes to undermine democracy.

Anonymous (October 29, 2004 @ 10:42am):

Or crimes such as this...? Republicans challenging voters without cause to force them to go to court and defend their registrations in Ohio?

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/10042113.htm

Fraud goes both ways, folks.