Thousands of Voters Challenged After Ballots Were Counted
Minnesota Majority today released a report on voters flagged for challenge in the statewide voter registration system (SVRS) because of official election mailings to their listed addresses being returned as undeliverable by the United States Postal Service. The mailings, commonly known as postal verification cards (PVCs) are sent to newly registered voters as a means of confirming their provided address and residence at that address. Thousands of voters were flagged for challenge following the 2008 and 2010 general election in Minnesota.
“The PVC is the only real test we have for confirming a voter’s residence, and we often don’t perform that verification until after a person has voted,” said Minnesota Majority president Jeff Davis. “After the 2008 election, over 6,000 Election Day registrants were found to have provided addresses that were undeliverable and after 2010 there were over 1,200 more that remain unexplained even after accounting for voters who moved shortly after voting. This is a strong indicator of the possibility of voter fraud.”
A 2009 law change now requires election officials to investigate the reasons for PVC card returns and refer suspicious cases to county attorneys for investigation. Under that new law, 399 suspicious returned PVC cards have thus-far been referred to county attorneys, according to a March 2011 report issued by the secretary of state’s office.
The problem, said Davis, is that be believes prosecution of any voter fraud discovered in the course of those investigations is next to impossible. “If the voter registration says John Doe at 123 Main Street, that’s all the prosecutors have to go on. If that’s a false identity, there’s no way to tie that to the real person who committed the fraud.”
PVC cards may be undeliverable for a number of reasons, including no such person at the address; no such address; the address isn’t residential; the address is a vacant lot or vacant property; the address is condemned and other reasons.
Minnesota law requires voters to register at least 20 days before an election so that the information they provide and their eligibility to vote can be verified by election workers before they vote on Election Day. However, Election Day registration creates an exception. People who register at the polling place are given a ballot without first being subject to the same scrutiny.
Election Day registrants can account for as many as 25% of all votes cast in a typical election. For those voters, the postal verification card isn’t mailed until after their ballots have been accepted and counted. Voters whose PVCs are returned as undeliverable will be flagged for challenge if they show up at the next election, but meanwhile, their ballots have already been accepted.
“This is an example of why creating two classes of voters is unacceptable,” said Davis. “You shouldn’t be subject to less scrutiny than everyone else, just because you waited until the last minute to register. Less responsible voters are allowed to cut in line and cast a ballot without being validated and this is what happens.”
Read the full report here.
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