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EXPOSING THE FRAUD OF VOTER FRAUD
Aug. 24, 2005 -
Atlanta – In supporting the new voter ID law (“Democrats hardly innocent of fraud,” @issue August 19), Sen. Bill Stephens (R-Canton), like his colleagues who voted in favor of the law, relied on irrelevant examples of voting fraud. He also mischaracterized certain facts in making his points, points which could not have been validly made had such facts been accurately presented. Accordingly, Stephens has failed to offer valid evidence in support of the new photo ID law.
With respect to the 1946 Talmadge case, Stephens mischaracterized the facts to suggest that voters were impersonating dead people at the polls. Stephens wrongly cited the 1997 Dodge County case to justify the new voter ID law. Through his description of the facts in the Huggins/Mullis state senatorial race, Stephens suggested that votes were fraudulently created. Last, Stephens mischaracterized the facts of the AJC/WSB-TV report to suggest that voters have been impersonating dead people at the polls on a regular basis since 1980.
The Talmadge case involved write-in ballots in the same handwriting that had been cast in alphabetical order. The evidence suggests that an “insider” obtained multiple ballots and wrote Talmadge’s name in. In essence, requiring a photo ID would not have prevented the Talmadge fraud from occurring. The Dodge County case involved government corruption. According to the state’s submission to the DOJ, the sole commissioner and the sheriff of Dodge County were prosecuted for actions related to vote buying, vote selling, multiple votes by the same individuals and votes cast by felons and deceased voters. The new voter ID law would not have prevented the misconduct of these county officials from occurring.
Stephens would also have you believe that ballots cast in the Huggins/Mullis state senatorial race were fraudulently created just because they were counted late, rather than believe that such ballots were validly cast and not included in the initial tally as they should have been. In fact, counting every validly cast ballot is not voter fraud.
Lastly the facts related to the AJC/WSB-TV report were mischaracterized because it is not clear whether the ballots cast by the “dead” were in person or by absentee ballot. No evidence has been offered to suggest that individuals went to the polls, impersonated someone else and cast a ballot. Assuming the AJC/WSB-TV report is 100% accurate, it is highly likely that a vast majority, if not all, of the votes were cast via absentee ballot, the source of most fraud. Nonetheless, the new law doesn’t require certified identification when casting an absentee ballot.
None of these examples justify the new photo ID law. If proponents of the legislation really wanted to prevent fraud by impersonation, without disenfranchising thousands of registered Georgia voters, then they would have promoted fair voter ID reform. Instead, they advocated the new voter ID law to increase the strength of their voter base.
We could have reformed Georgia’s voter ID requirements by strengthening the law rather than eviscerating it and disenfranchising Georgians in the process. We could have prevented impersonation by requiring voters to provide two forms of ID at the polls and two forms of ID to cast an absentee ballot, which the new law does not require. In Georgia, residents may obtain a driver’s license by providing a utility bill showing a Georgia residence and a copy of a certified birth certificate. If these documents are acceptable when obtaining a driver’s license (an acceptable form of identification under the new voter ID law), why aren’t they acceptable when voting?
By adopting a less restrictive comprehensive approach, such as requiring two forms of the old voter ID law’s acceptable forms of identification, we could have accomplished the same goal—preventing identity theft for purposes of voting—without disenfranchising thousands of registered voters. Our right to vote is just as sacred as our right to speak freely and practice our respective religions and is considered one of the cornerstones of our democracy. The new voter ID law is un-American. On top of that, it is unfair because it has a deleterious effect on minorities, poor people, and rural and elderly Georgians.
I believe our voter identification laws can be strengthened. It is imperative that we make sure our elections are fair and not misleading. Mischaracterizing facts to support the advocacy of retrogressive and disenfranchising legislation is unfair and misleading indeed. That is the real fraud.
Shyam Reddy
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