Monday, January 12, 2009

Allowing No Excuse Absentee Voting = More Voter Fraud in the Future

Governor Tim Kaine (and the chosen one to lead the DNC) is pushing for legislation that would allow people to vote absentee without an excuse. According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, Kaine mentioned that this legislation would allow voters to cast a ballot 45 days in advance up until the election at their local registrar's office. Kaine said:

"By allowing all voters to cast an absentee ballot in person, we can remove some of the practical barriers that prevent people from participating in the democratic process."

However, the most shocking aside to this legislation is the rise of vote fraud that could come with passage. There are 23 other states that allow voting absentee without an excuse. For example, Florida is a no-excuses absentee ballot state that produced the overwhelming vote count in 2000, due to vote fraud. According to a AEI publication by Norman Ornstein, Florida has had a high rate of vote fraud since passage of no excuses absentee ballot voting.

"In Florida, long before the 2000 election, the history of absentee voting is larded with examples of stunning corruption: a mayoral election in Miami judicially overturned because of absentee-ballot fraud, for instance, as well as other local elections being suspended or changed."

Kaine's proposal is going to create many potential problems down the road, if enacted. Maybe, Kaine wants Virginia to become the next Florida with a rise of vote fraud, as it would make his tenure as DNC Chair more exciting.

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