Today the Legislative Elections Oversight Committee, which I have the privilege of serving on, met to hear a report from the State Board of Elections. The report was presented by officials from the SBOE, including Kim Strach, who is the Executive Director. Much of the report explained procedures that are being used by the SBOE, including how voter ID laws are being implemented and how voter registration is tracked.
There is one portion of the report that is very alarming. The SBOE has discovered evidence indicating that there have been numerous cases of voter fraud in North Carolina.
According to the SBOE, North Carolina recently began participating in an "Interstate Crosscheck" with 27 other states. This crosscheck allows participating states to compile and share information related to voter registration.
According to the information compiled in the crosscheck, the SBOE has identified 765 cases where there is an exact match of a voter's first and last name, date of birth, and last four digits of the Social Security number -- registered in North Carolina and another state, and voted in North Carolina and the other state in the 2012 general election.
The SBOE has identified 35,750 other cases where there is an exact match of a voter's first and last name and date of birth -- registered in North Carolina and another state, and voted in North Carolina and the other state in the 2012 general election -- but the Social Security numbers have yet to be verified.
Also, the SBOE has identified 155,692 cases where there is an exact match of the voter's first and last name, date of birth, and last four digits of the Social Security number -- registered in both North Carolina and another state, but has not voted in North Carolina in a recent election.
Obviously these are very alarming numbers. It appears likely that there have been thousands of cases of voter fraud in North Carolina. This means that people's vote may have been disenfranchised by people who committed voter fraud by casting multiple ballots, distorting the outcome of an election.
Moreover, there are currently only 28 states that are participating in the Interstate Crosscheck system. If we were to factor in all of the other states that are not participating, such as California, New York, and Texas, chances are good that the numbers of possible voter fraud would be much higher.
All of this is still being investigated by the SBOE. I am hopeful that we will have more detailed information soon. Besides the bad news of potential voter fraud, it is great to see the SBOE working to promote integrity within our elections system.
This news highlights the reasons why we moved forward with voter ID and other election-related reforms in the 2013 legislative session. Our goal is to increase the integrity of our elections system by making the process as fair, efficient, and honest as possible.
Voter fraud doesn't exist if you don't look for it. I have thought for a long time that the reason why there aren't widespread cases of voter fraud is because there has not been proper oversight. This report from the SBOE may prove that theory to be correct.
Also, to make matters more interesting, the SBOE has identified at least 81 people who appear to have voted after becoming deceased. This indicates that there is either voter fraud or technical errors within the elections system. The SBOE is in the process of investigated this matter as well.
We owe it to our citizens to get to the bottom of this situation as soon as possible. Additional information will be provided when it becomes available. This matter will continue to be monitored very closely by the SBOE and members of the General Assembly.
Below are screenshots from the SBOE report that was presented today.
