Vote illegally, get caught: What happens? Very little

[Rose Siding]

Florida has spent millions in unsuccessful attempts to remove felons from voter rolls, and it waves a big stick at those who vote illegally: up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines.

Yet felons who vote have little to fear.

Since the 1970s, fewer than 40 people have been convicted of casting an illegal vote, and only two have been sentenced to prison. Most receive probation for voting as felons, nonresidents or noncitizens.

While prosecutors and elections officers say state records do not reflect all voter fraud cases because many of them go through pretrial intervention programs that wipe records clean, they agree voter fraud exists in much larger numbers.

It is generally not considered a serious crime or one that merits a lot of attention. Voter fraud is largely ignored unless an election is questioned, someone complains or a voter is investigated on other charges.

"It's hard to prove they actually voted illegally, because they go into the voting booth and it's completely private," said Buddy Johnson, Hillsborough County supervisor of elections, who has referred a handful of potential illegal voters to prosecutors. "The best part of that action is on the front end, not allowing that to happen. That's what we're all trying to work toward."

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/18/State/Vote_illegally__get_c.shtml

[kimchi]

1. "That's why the voter purge lists are NEEDED.

Those darn crazy illegal voters are trying to disrupt our democratic process! Terrorists, the lot! We need our lists and votes to be verified by a nonpartial party. And so, I present the savior of democracy: the black box..."

Yeah, bud, it is hard to prove illegalities in elections. And even easier when everything is in zeros and ones.

[Amarant]

3. Voting lists

have been purged for DECADES in this country.

State laws define who can and can not vote.

Dead people can't vote - they need to have their names removed. Felons can't vote - they need to have their names removed. If not, then they can vote - and the law can not be enforced.

The problem is not purging the lists - the problem is purging the list in a manner NOT consistant with law. Purging eligible voters is not consistant.

What needs to be done resolve this problem is finding a way to make sure those purged are not actually eligible to vote. Unofortunately I am not entirely sure of how this could be done.

I suppose there could be a specific organization in each state created for this purpose. Whenever someone is comitted to a mental hospital, becomes a felon, or dies the proper organization (mental hospital, prison, etc.) should by law be required to send the names to the organization created for purging. They should then send those specific names to the correct precint and they by law IMMEDIATLY and ONLY strike those names. Also - some kind of notice should be sent of the names struck, and there should be a confirmation of rather or not those names indeed should have been struck.

Right now it's a huge fucking mess. Just before voting time many states (as they have done for decades) go "oh shit! we need to purge the rolls!" and they go around trying to get a huge list of felons and others no longer eligible to vote. This means they 1. Have to purge tons of names within a short period of time and 2. There is little time to correct or realize any mistakes made.

Anyway - the problem is not purging the lists, the problem is doing it in an organized and reliable fashion.

[kimchi]

5. Satire, dude/tte.

I completely agree; just making a point about where the spin is pointing these days. A "look over there" distraction.

[denverbill]

6. Oh, comeon. How big of a problem is it in reality?

You've got a handful of felons and non-eligible immigrants voting.

Are they trying to vote twice? 3 times? 10 times?

Have you ever known anyone who deliberately voted illegally? Personally, I haven't. As a matter of fact, it's all I can do to get the eligible ones to vote.

My guess is that out of a nation of 300 million, there probably aren't 100,000 illegal votes, and most of those are from people who thought they were elibigle but who weren't. The often-claimed, never-proven assertion by Republicans that voter fraud is widespread among Democrats is just stupid. Nobody in their right mind would attempt to walk into the same polling place multiple times to vote. And the logistics involved in voting in multiple precincts (register in advance, knowing the polling place and driving between them) make that a rather silly choice.

Your solution to this rather overblown problem is OK, but it's a patchwork solution. Why do it state by state? You'd still end up with people like Michael Moore (and probably me) who are legally registered in two different states because they neglect to cancel their previous registration when they move to a new location.

[moof]

2. Voter Lists!!!! They don't need no stinkin voters purged,

It's just a ruse to keep people occupied while
they steal/rig another election with the BBV.

Haven't you heard they had a war and nobody was told and
now it's over the slaves lost and the masters won.

But you already suspected as much didn't you.

[bluestateguy]

4. I can fix that problem

Just restore voting rights automatically upon release from prison the way 44 other states do (including Texas).