Press release from the Virginia Voters Alliance
At the end of May, 2014 the Virginia Voters Alliance turned over to the State Boards of Elections a file containing both Virginia and Maryland data of people that appeared to be registered in both states. There was an additional list of 164 voters that appeared to have voted in both states during the 2012 election.
At the same time the Election Integrity Maryland informed the Maryland Board of Elections of the same data. To date, neither board has responded to inquiries concerning progress being made in investigating these duplicate voters and registrations.
The Fairfax Electoral Board, to their credit, asked for and received subset lists of voters that reside in Fairfax County. Progress is being made on the duplicate voter file but nothing was being done respective to the duplicate voter registrations.
Subsequently, VVA learned that the new Virginia Commissioner of Elections is willfully instituting new procedures that will treat all duplicate voters under the rules established by the National Voting Registration Act (NVRA) and coding all duplicates, no matter their origin, as inactive voters. By doing this, these 43, 896 duplicate registrations could reside in the online system (VERIS) until 2019 (two federal election cycles).
It is a requirement in the NVRA for all Boards of Elections to keep their voter registration lists well maintained, which is what prompted this challenge letter to the Fairfax Electoral Board.
Pursuant to Virginia Code 24.2.429 county citizens can challenge registered voters via a letter to the General Registrar. There are then procedures in place, including a hearing before the Fairfax Board, for the Registrar’s office to expeditiously remove these duplicate registrations from the VERIS online database system.
We believe this situation points to at least two significant problems for voters in Virginia.
1. Improperly maintained registration files, especially between multiple states, provide a rich environment for voter fraud to occur. Contrary to the Brennen Center’s talking points, this type of fraud is prevalent in almost all jurisdictions throughout the country but is difficult to prove and prosecute because fraudulent voters are using existing valid voter registrations.
Photo Identification is a good beginning to stop this activity, which is why the left, especially Obama’s Department of Justice, fights Photo Id. everywhere it exists. This flies in the face of overwhelming surveys where 75% of Americans want photo id to vote and experience shows that voter participation goes up when photo id is instituted in elections.
2. The General Assembly has repeatedly cut the State Board of Elections budget to the point where our annual election cycles, as well as, special elections are all the SBE can accomplish. Investigating and tracking voter fraud can’t be done with existing resources.
VVA sees this as very short sighted on the part of the General Assembly since elections are not only the cornerstone of our Constitutional Republic but also the mechanism by which the General Assembly wins and maintains their elected positions.
We encourage voters in every state to take responsibility for the former registrations in other states. Also, it is imperative that we contact our Delegates and Senators reminding them of the importance of open and honest elections by providing the needed resources in the annual budget.
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