patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Election Commission Refutes Dead Voter Claim

Dead voters may not have voted after all

 

Apparently, dead men aren't actually voting.

The South Carolina Election Commission on Wednesday disputed claims that more than 900 dead voters cast ballots during the 2010 election.

Election Commission Director Marci Andino testified before the House Election Laws Subcommittee that her staff had confirmed a small sample of the dead voter claims to be false.

DMV Director Kevin Shwedo initially made the claim about the dead voters in early January, and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson then ordered an investigation.

Andino said the Election Commission received the names of six suspected dead voters in Abbeville County and confirmed that, in fact, none of the voters had cast a post-mortem ballot.

  • One of the voters cast an absentee ballot before dying
  • One voter, Samuel Ferguson Jr., was mistakenly marked as his deceased father, Samuel Ferguson III
  • Two of the voters were the result of stray marks on the voter registration list
  • Two of the voters were the result of poll managers incorrectly marking the the name of the dead voter instead of the name above it or below it on the list

"Charges of voter fraud are serious," Andino said in a release. "If even one fraudulent vote has been cast, that is one too many."

The Election Commission was not provided with the full list of suspected dead voters, so they could not confirm information about the other voters in question.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's office said no conclusions should be drawn about the small sample of suspected dead voters Andino examined.

"Andino is not operating off of the same list (950+ voters) that was given to SLED for investigation," Communications Director Mark Plowden said in an email to Patch. "Until SLED has completed its work, no one will know anything. It is incredibly premature to take a list of six random voters from a single county and proclaim the case is closed."

However, while Andino did not have access to the full list of suspected dead voters, the election commission confirmed that the few names they were provided came directly from the list provided to SLED.

Because of the claims, the election commission also investigated whether any of the 37,000 deceased voters listed in the DMVs database had requested absentee ballots for the 2012 South Carolina Primary.

They found that 10 of those voters had requested ballots, but confirmed that none of the voters in question were actually dead.

The allegations have resulted in further discussion of South Carolina's Voter ID law, which passed in 2011, but was rejected by the Justice Department in December.

Wilson's office announced in early January that it would appeal the decision.

Related Topics: Election Commission and voter fraud

Cold War Vet

1:38 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

So who and what do we believe? Has a name for name comparison of the presumably dead folks DMV thinks may have voted been compared to the Election Commissions voting registration records? If not, why not? If so, what were the results?

Reply
Comment_arrow

Reilly Moore

2:26 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Vet,

The election commission was only given a small sample of the folks that the DMV thought were 'dead voters.' Now that they have discovered those claims to be inaccurate, I'm sure they will look at the complete list, but it hasn't happened yet.

Comment_arrow

Mimi

3:31 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Feeling kinda dumb jumping on the Republican propganda wagon again cold??? You can accuse someone of a crime, but in this country it requires proof of quilt. Just like that drug test the unemployeed you vigorously defend. NOT ONE piece of evidence that people are unemployeed because of drug use, yet your willing to accuse them of it any way. I sure wish you would wake up to the propaganda attack you have invested in. The Republican party of today is nothing but a bunch of corporate puppetheads. The working class, the millitary, the middle class have made this country great and should reap the benefits of it, not just the hedgefund managers, wall street, big banks who have been permitted by the lack of regulations enancted by REPUBLICANs to destroy our economy for profits and greed.

Comment_arrow

stanley seigler

12:57 pm on Thursday, January 26, 2012

@Reilly Moore: I'm sure they will look at the complete list, but it hasn't happened yet.

"...sure they will look at complete list"...wanta bet...say $10,000.

voter ID laws are all smoke and mirrors to suppress BO voter turnout...they damn well know there is NO individual voter fraud at the ballot box...

the fraud is with electronic voting machines and political hacks serving as election officials...which was not addressed.

YMGONETOFAR

1:39 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Why is requiring an official ID such a problem. Though this argument may have had ground in the past due to inefficient birth records, restricted travel and cost, these issues have little concern in todays society. Without an ID it is almost impossible to conduct any legal business so everyone should have an ID. As long as the state informs the public of the requirement within let's use 6 months prior to the election why shouldn't a legal ID be required? Someone please explain how this will interfer with the voting process?

Reply
Comment_arrow

stanley seigler

3:45 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

@YMGONETOFAR: Why is requiring an official ID such a problem.

you might ask SC legislators...if they (SC) had not vehmently opposed the 2005 Real ID Act...all may have had IDs by now...

why was a voterID law which addresses an immiginary issue required only after BO was elected...

repeat post from another PATCH thread, (DeMint Wary to Enter Primary Circus January 18, 2012)

COMMENT
actually, the basic question is: Why would an American citizen be required to show a photo ID at the ballot box...

ANSWER: there is no reason except to kiss the koch bros "ring"... or some part of the anatomy...and reduce BO voter turn out...butbutt;

to answer your [Katana] 'basic question'..."Why would a person not have a photo ID?) suggest you read: "The Real ID Act: REAL Tyranny Against Americans!"
http://nvcca.net/docs/misc/NVCCA_Real_ID_Book_V-3.pdf

to repeat a clip: "much of the opposition to the Real ID Act [a photo ID] is coming from professed believers, and therefore it is meet that those in the American body politic be aware of both the rational principles held by these believers, and the level of passion they will encounter surrounding this subject."

Tammy Deese

2:19 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

YMGONETOFAR believe it or not but there are may elderly people who do not have id. They may never have had ID or may have chosen to let ID expire due to no longer driving. Poor folks may not be able to afford the cost. These are just two reasons there are more. So while it might not affect you, it does affect a signifcant number of voters and a larhe percent of those impacted are the poor and minorities.

Reply

salinum321

4:02 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Voter ID is a good idea. However whoever doesn't have an ID to vote should not be made to pay for it. Government should encourage every one eligible to vote to vote. So government should be responsible for all expenses in obtaining that ID including travel expenses for those who do not drive. Every one without an ID cannot be automatically assumed ineligible to vote until proven he/she is.

Reply
Comment_arrow

stanley seigler

11:57 am on Thursday, January 26, 2012

@salinum321: " Voter ID is a good idea..."

why...and why was it not needed until BO was elected...

is it good to waste tax payer money writing laws that address imaginary issues and correct none of the real problems (incompetent election officials)...

if you see a problem or can reference a case of voter fraud at the ballot box please advise.

SC legislators did not think IDs were a good idea...ie, opposed 2005 Real ID Act...

Tony

8:33 am on Thursday, January 26, 2012

I am amazed that people don't understand the problems that are associated with restrictive voter ID laws. 1. Election fraud in the U.S. is next to non-existent, our problem is that people DON'T vote. 2. Most elderly citizens do not have proper ID (those 65+). 3. Many people don't drive (ever notice public transportation in major cities?). 4. Many married women actually do not have proper ID (failure to change drivers license information). 5. Some costs associated with obtaining a proper ID are prohibitive for senior's and students or young people. 6. Many states have cut the number of locations where proper ID can be issued (Wisconsin as an example has cut over 15 locations) making for long distance travel to obtain ID, 7. Many people do not have the necessary documentation available (passport, certified birth certificate etc. ) to obtain the proper ID or the cost associated with obtain these documents is high. And then you have the problem of what is proper ID. It's so crazy that in Texas you can vote by showing a gun license, but a student ID issued at a state college is unacceptable.

Reply
Comment_arrow

stanley seigler

10:31 am on Thursday, January 26, 2012

@tony: I am amazed that people don't understand the problems that are associated with restrictive voter ID laws.

except for the sheep...they understand perfectly...

voter ID laws are to suppress the BO/DEM vote...all else is bs...individual voter fraud at the ballot box is non existent...except in the minds of BO haters...you waste your time with moral logic...try machiavellian logic...

too bad we arent privy to the conversation the kock bros and their ilk have over a few drinks...bet they get a big laugh over how they use the BO haters...to feed their greed...

Mary B

11:50 am on Thursday, January 26, 2012

It's not that these people don't have an ID, a lot of the time. they just don't have one that meets the super-restrictive new rules. Lots of people have a paper ID. Oklahoma voter registration cards, for instance, are paper, and have no photo. That's what the state has always issued. Even a social security card has no photo. Once my 90-year-old mother stopped driving, she probably wouldn't have been able to vote under these new rules, even though she had voted for 70 years in the same precinct. And getting a new photo ID has onerous, confusing requirements that she probably couldn't have handled. She had loads of ID, which worked very well in every other instance, but not for voting!
Seems to me that if someone walks in with a social security card, a medicare card, a student ID, a utility bill, etc.. even if you required more than one of the above or similar, then you should be accepted. Shoot, you can vote with a gun license in Texas!

Reply

Mary B

11:51 am on Thursday, January 26, 2012

It's not that these people don't have an ID, a lot of the time. They just don't have one that meets the super-restrictive new rules. Lots of people have a paper ID. Oklahoma voter registration cards, for instance, are paper, and have no photo. That's what the state has always issued. Even a social security card has no photo. Once my 90-year-old mother stopped driving, she probably wouldn't have been able to vote under these new rules, even though she had voted for 70 years in the same precinct. And getting a new photo ID has onerous, confusing requirements that she probably couldn't have handled. She had loads of ID, which worked very well in every other instance, but not for voting!
Seems to me that if someone walks in with a social security card, a medicare card, a student ID, a utility bill, a proof of income like a 1040 or 1099, a tax return, etc.. even if you required more than one of the above or similar, then you should be accepted.

Reply

Leave a comment