Extra ballots cause worry

Posted on Tue, Oct. 21, 2003

ELECTIONS
Extra ballots cause worry
Mail-in ballots have been sent to people who moved, raising questions about fraudulent votes in mail-in elections in four Broward communities.
BY ERIKA BOLSTAD
ebolstad@herald.com

Extra ballots spark fears of fraud

People who have moved but who remain on Broward County's voter rolls have been sent ballots in an ongoing mail-in election, underscoring the county's problems in purging its list of voters who have died, moved or who just don't vote.

Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood is investigating the matter and has sent it to her legal department for review, said Broward County Mayor Diana Wasserman-Rubin, who received three extra ballots at her Southwest Ranches home over the weekend.

Ballots for the special mail-in election came for Wasserman-Rubin, her husband and three of the previous occupants of the house. The last owners moved out in July 1999, Wasserman-Rubin said.

The extra ballots raise concerns about a fraudulent election, the mayor said.

''I don't know how many people this has happened to,'' Wasserman-Rubin said. ``How do we make sure the right vote from the right voters gets counted? It's a matter of concern for the integrity of the election.'' (snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/7062762.htm



As a quick grab from google shows, election fraud, and especially fraudulent absentee ballots are not new problems in Florida:


(snip) BOSTON - MONDAY, MAY 4, 1998
Florida Makes a Move to Rein in Voter Fraud
Latest move comes in wake of widespread absentee-ballot fraud in Miami election.

Warren Richey
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

MIAMI

Nothing says election fraud like a ballot cast from a cemetery.

On paper, Manuel Yip seemed an active and regular voter in Miami, casting ballots four times between 1993 and 1997.

There was just one problem: He passed away five years ago.

The illegal vote made under Mr. Yip's name in 1997 is perhaps the most obvious example of what prosecutors and election officials say was a massive, well-orchestrated attempt to illegally influence the outcome of last fall's mayoral election in Miami.

Last week the Florida legislature passed an election-reform package that supporters say will make it more difficult to attempt to undermine the election process. But critics of the bill say it doesn't go far enough in outlawing the kind of partisan vote-brokering of absentee ballots that led to Miami's large-scale fraud.
(snip/...)

http://search.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/05/04/p4s1.htm

Another pretext for purging more voters from the polls just in time for Nov. 2004.

If it was up to me voting rights organizations would station observers at polling places all over the state to monitor the election, as well as international observers (suck it up you arrogant Americans!)and lawyers on-call to report to polling places that harass or intimidate voters.

Of course, if it were up to me voting would be mandatory anyway.

it's the florida way!

Did these people request them? This year?

Maybe this is very simplistic but wouldn't someone have to request the ballot?

On re-reading the article it almost seems like the whole election is being done through mail-in ballots. Does FL think that this may be the problem in itself? Duhhhh.

I understand the ease with which someone moves and reregisters. THe link needs to be there to notify the previous community when that happens. A voter data base is needed state-wide. We're working on one here but it's a lot harder work than it seems. I'm sure in a place like FL it would be way worse.