It is sad to see the League of Women Voters squander its credibility by echoing partisan myths about voter ID law [“Is Voter ID Really Worth All These Burdens?" Feb. 6 Xpress]. The League’s defensiveness on the issue suggest a preference for facilitating voter fraud over restoring any confidence in our poorly managed electoral process.
The letter cited some ham-handed “research” announced by Gary Bartlett, the outgoing N.C. State Board of Elections Director. In an attempt to scare legislators away from voter ID, Mr. Bartlett compared the state’s DMV records to his BOE voter registrations and breathlessly concluded that 600,000 people will need N.C. voter ID cards at a cost of zillions!
But grownups might conclude that more than half a million people no longer belong on the voter rolls for any of several plausible reasons.
First, people move out of state and exchange their NCDL for a new license in their new state. While our DMV gets back the old license, there is no law to make DMV share that information. As a result, quite a few former N.C. voters remain on the rolls for years. Second, while many deceased voters get quickly removed, a surprisingly high number do not. And third, non-N.C.-resident college students have exploited our lax election laws by registering and voting from their school address without bothering to obtain an NCDL. All three of these scenarios erode the claim that 600,000 N.C. voters will need an ID card.
And not that our current Justice Department cares, but in both Georgia and Indiana — two states with real voter ID laws — minority participation rose significantly over their demographically similar neighbors: Mississippi and Illinois. Researchers grudgingly surmised that ballot box security can enhance public trust by drawing people back into an electoral process after such obvious flaws are corrected.
So, rather than defending our state’s fraud-friendly election laws, we hope groups like the League of Women Voters would stand beside us to help re-enfranchise voters by supporting solid election law reform.
— Jay N. DeLancy
Voter Integrity Project of N.C.
Raleigh
I’d like to clear up a few things.
First, Mr. DeLancy’s organization, last I looked, was not registered as a non-profit in NC; as a matter of fact, it’s listed as a business. Despite that fact, on their website’s ‘about’ page, the Voter Integrity Project states they are a non-profit. How can we trust an organization that is not forthcoming about its own status? Or maybe Mr. DeLancy has applied for 501(c)3 status since being outed in the media?
Second, grownups who watch national news might have heard a handful of Republican operatives admit that voter ID is a political tactic, and that voter fraud is not actually a problem. As a matter of fact, NC Speaker of the House Tillis himself said, on national television, that voter fraud was not a primary reason for voter ID. So why is Mr. DeLancy repeating this tired, old line?
Our current election system has safeguards against fraud. It requires a photo ID when registering or the last 4 of a social security number. On top of that, the registrant must sign and attest that they are who they say they are (just as when they vote). Lying when registering or voting is a felony, despite what many believe. So I ask you, who would risk committing a felony to fake ONE vote in a state with over 4.5 million voters? What’s to be gained?
If Mr. DeLancy’s organization was serious about preventing fraud, then they would be pushing for reforming the absentee ballot system. Absentee fraud accounts for more cases prosecuted than any other type of fraud. Yet, VIP does not mention absentee ballot fraud as a problem. It should be pointed out that the Republican Party is guilty of the same. But I digress.
How about fully-funding our Board of Elections so they can get proper equipment and so that poll workers can get properly trained? Last year, the NC General Assembly shorted the SBOE budget by $660,000, but now they want to spend millions on a new, unnecessary voter ID law.
I could go on, but I won’t. Just one last point. Mr. DeLancy, if you’re reading this, you might consider saving the masthead image for your website in .PNG format so it doesn’t look all jagged like that. It’s just unprofessional-looking right now.
Absolutely agree!
I’ll move out of state and before I go, i’ll line up someone to vote in my place. Yeah, right.
If I’m still here when I croak, I’ll be sure to have someone else ready to vote in my name. Sure I will.
So one can’t become a citizen of this state without getting a driver’s license? I’ll be certain to remind my aged father that he needs to get one so he can be counted as a resident now. Since his presence in the state isn’t sufficient to establish residency. What are you smoking, fella?
I’ve worked in the voting process and I can tell that you know nothing about it but you do accept the malarkey of the party that wants to dis-enfranchise the people likely to vote Democratic. There’s more integrity out here in the hinterlands than you can imagine.
When some people can’t get elected based on their ideas and philosophy they will do whatever else it takes to get into office.
To the regret of the people they profess to want to serve.
In a real democracy, the system works to encourage people to vote. After all, the more people who vote, the greater the accuracy of the election. “The people have spoken” only works if all the people get to speak.
Here’s what the Media Matters website (http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/09/06/what-the-media-failed-to-tell-you-about-claims/189774) had to say about Mr. Delancy and his organization: “The group, led by recently retired Air Force officer and Tea Party darling Jay DeLancy, calls itself the Voter Integrity Project of North Carolina (VIP-NC). In yet another Fox News attempt to fear-monger about post-mortem voter fraud, DeLancy was invited to appear on the September 5th edition of Fox & Friends to hype his group’s findings. During the interview, he admitted that so far, his group has only found a handful of allegedly deceased individuals actually voting, and that they’re not ready to release an exact number on their findings. To put that tentative “handful” in context, over 2.5 million votes were cast in the 2010 general election in North Carolina.”
The mostly Libertarian Tea Partiers have been persuaded to fall into lockstep with the Republican Party’s desire to suppress the vote of the elderly, poor, and minorities — groups that tend to vote Democratic. It’s an old trick that has been successful in Florida.
Here’s what the Village Voice printed last year about Mr. DeLancy: “Jay is originally from Raleigh, but spent more than 22 years all over the world, while serving in the Army and Air Force. In February of 2011, he started the Voter Integrity Project of North Carolina with encouragement from the Texas-based True the Vote and with the collaborative help from other statewide voter integrity organizations from across the US.”
So you tell me: Is Mr. DeLancy a patriot protecting the Constitution, or is he simply a shill for the powers who want to disenfranchise huge segments of the legal electorate. Before you answer, remember that Florida purged thousands from its voter polls, claiming they were felons, but after the election, many ordinary citizens were prevented from voting because their names “somehow” made the list.
Is this the kind of country YOU want to live in?
the long overdue VOTER ID requirement will bring more integrity to our electoral system…and YES, there is more voter fraud that never gets publicized nor investigated…it’s a fact.
NC will have the VOTER ID requirement soon! Now, abolish the income tax!