Keep Our Elections Free of Fraud

Free and open elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. After all, democracy is what all the past generations have sacrificed their lives for over the history of our great country. A free and open election is one where every vote counts, and no vote is counted as less or more than another.

Some state lawmakers have proposed installing same-day registration in Connecticut. It’s a controversial concept that would allow an unregistered voter to walk into his polling place on Election Day, complete registration paperwork and then cast a vote for the candidate of his choice. This proposal threatens the integrity of our whole electoral process.

Proponents have always argued that EDR increases voter participation (from anywhere between 8 and 17%, depending on the source), but at what cost? What about the prospect of fraud?

EDR eliminates safeguards put in place so that registrars can verify voters – fails to provide adequate scrutiny of credentials. EDR offers no protection against last-minute fraudulent registration, double voting, voting by criminals, voting by non-citizens, or votes in the name of people who have died or moved.

The proponents say the practice of Election-Day Registration permits expediency that Connecticut residents may take advantage of in voting. Unfortunately it does not allow for the requisite time to ensure ballot integrity in the absence of stronger structural support.

Currently, registering to vote is straightforward and convenient. An individual may register to vote at many different locations, including any motor vehicle office and library. Additionally, registration forms may be printed from the Internet and mailed to or dropped off town halls. All that is required is that you registered to vote in the community you reside in seven days before the election.

If we are going to go down the EDR road, we should at the minimum require picture ID at the polls which is not current state law. Also those ballots that are cast on Election Day from the newly registered should not only be segregated and counted as absentee ballots but be refrained from being counted until the voter is verified as an actual resident of the town or city in which they have voted. Neither concept is in their same-day registration proposal.

Not only should those safeguards be implemented but we should also increase the fines for any and all election fraud to discourage people from stealing our vote. Right now some of the fraudulent registration fines are a little more than a speeding ticket.

The people of Connecticut must be confident in the integrity of our electoral process, and there must be structural assurances that their votes are not negated by votes cast fraudulently or in error. This requires a constantly-evolving assessment of the balance between ballot access and structural safeguards.

In the shadow of the Bridgeport 2010 election debacle where Connecticut’s gubernatorial race was thrown into chaos by a lack of ballot control why would we put more stress on our town and city election officials? These officials already have problems monitoring fraud that might be committed? States must first and foremost commit to stopping any and all possibilities of fraud.

If you would like to comment on this column or other issues of concern to you please do so by contacting my office at 1-800-842-1423 or visiting my website www.cthousegop.com. I would love to hear from you.
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