State elections board finds 10,000 dead people on voter rolls
Virginia election officials said today that they are taking steps to cancel the names of about 10,000 dead people who remain on the state’s voter rolls.
The state board of elections identified the deceased individuals while comparing the comprehensive Social Security Administration’s Death Master File obtained from the National Technical Information Service to the current list of registered voters in Virginia. Local registrars will take steps to cancel the names of the deceased voters from the rolls, the state board said.
In a news release, the state board said that 15 million records out of 60 million records in the NTIS master death file have been matched against the registered voter list. The board is reviewing the remaining 45 million records to identify potential additional matches. Virginia has 5.2 million registered voters.
Before conducting a comprehensive records match, the state board had matched monthly updates of records obtained from NTIS.
“Virginia is committed to ensuring only eligible voters are registered to vote,” said Donald Palmer, the secretary the the state board of elections. “The state board of elections’ efforts in utilizing the death master file has yielded significant results with the identification of over 10,000 deceased individuals contained in the voter rolls. Virginia will continue to work to ensure those deceased or ineligible to vote are removed timely from the voter rolls.”
Earlier this week, the state board declined to request an investigation of an organization that mailed voter registration forms to individuals who are ineligible to vote, including deceased people. Republican Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign had asked the board to investigate the matter, but board members said that local registrars have the capacity to identify ineligible voters.
– Michael Sluss
August 9, 2012 - 1:44 PM
And this proves what?
I am pretty sure there are dead people still in the phone book too, better get on that.
Have they voted since they died? What is the point of this. My dads been dead for almost 10 years and still gets credit card applications.
Dead folks on voting rolls allows fraudulent votes to be cast. There’s a history of this thst cannot be denied. Dead folks in the phone book gets a wrong number called. Dead folks getting junk mail gets our trash cans filled. See the difference?
“The state board of elections’ efforts in utilizing the death master file…”
That blast came from the Death Master File! That thing’s operational!
It looks like they’re issuing a press release to say that they’re following their normal business process.
Well, after reading the article I guess it would prove that dead people are still on the books to vote. Glad to see that someone is finally taking the steps to clear the list.
I have no objection whatsoever to clearing the rolls of people who are no longer alive.
Yes well Joe McCarthy, being on a list does not make one a voter and neither does it prove it “allows fraudulent votes to be cast”. That is far more easily accomplished by absentee ballots which none of you seem to care about…or by lying on the petitions to run for office, again which no one ever even mentions. Prove even one of them “voted” after their death. That registrars are too lazy to do their job is the problem, not that dead people don’t notify them. How the hell does anyone know that the poll workers (who are from the community) won’t “know” the person they are claiming to be and catch them in the act of a felony, all for one vote? You people simply do not make sense. Nothing new there.
“Dead folks on voting rolls allows fraudulent votes to be cast.”
It also allows the gullible to believe that’s actually happening. Proof, please.
Of course I do think it’s wonderful that Republicans across the country have spent so much time and money solving a “problem” that doesn’t exist (fake voters without IDs showing up at polls) while ignoring one that does exist (absentee ballot abuse).
Why are liberals afraid of fixing this? Why are they afraid of everyone being required to show a ID or voter card proving you are registered to vote and a US citizen?
Me either, Gdad….that should be standard operation. But being on the rolls and votes being cast in their names is completely different. The piece above reads like some major corruption has been uncovered in voter fraud. That’s not even close to what happened.
People die on a regular basis. Maybe they need to match up the SS lists and registered voter lists more often.
Maloof, liberals happen to believe in the right to vote. It is really that simple. It is so uniquely American. You know that thing they call a “representative government”? If even one person has to jump through some extra hoop to exercise their right to vote, that is an effort at a poll tax and voter disenfranchisement. Accept more than one form of ID (something most any voter would have) and stop picking on mainly the poor, elderly and urban voters without a DMV issued Photo ID (not to mention fighting a problem that does not exist), and we will be happy to accept that people need to identify themselves to the election board staff to vote. We are “afraid” of people not getting to vote who have every right to. You should be afraid of the same thing. Someday it might be you.
GOD, guns, abortions, and now we have vaginal probes and dead voters to add to the list of Republican fears. And what do they offer Virginians, Macaca!
#12 Fixing what, Maloof? Please show evidence of all the fraud this will fix. Repubs in Pa. couldn’t present one shred of proof anything at all was being fixed.
Now, you tell us why Repuibs aren’t busy fixing the absentee voter fraud, which without question is a MUCH larger problem. Oh, that’s right, Repubs benefit from absentee voting, that’s why.
Nobody’s “afraid” of fixing the voter registration rolls by removing deceased individuals. The purpose of this press release, in my opinion, is a sotto voce attempt by a Republican official to say he’s cracking down on voter fraud when he’s in fact just following his office’s standard procedures. No evidence was presented that any votes were cast in the names of these individuals after their deaths, because there almost certainly is none.
@Sandi Saunders….are you kidding me? Where were you for the last election? Obama won Florida because over 200,000 dead people voted! Did you ever here of ACORN….there are people serving time for that voter fraud. And yes, it was proven…one man voted 18 times for Obama!!! And why the hell do you think he is bringing 1.7 million illegal immigrants across the border…because he cares about their welfare?? Give me a break!! Being guilty of voter fraud; however, is the least of Obama’s lows but we will leave it at that!!
#18 “And yes, it was proven”
Please provide us that proof, Christine. A real, official, first-hand source, please, not the World Nut Daily or some obscure blog.
And please point out to me the concern from Repubs over the proven fraud in absentee voting, which favors Repub candidates. I’m looking for all the bills thy’ve filed to control that, but just can’t seem to find them. I’m sure you know about them.