“WE HAVE LAWS TO PREVENT VOTER FRAUD…but do they work?”

A couple of weeks ago, I had an old High School friend accuse me of “gaslighting” the issue of voter fraud, because “no such thing exists – WE HAVE LAWS THAT PREVENT SUCH THINGS!” 

Really?

Venezuela also has laws and look what happened there! But rather than humiliating my old friend publicly, I thought I’d provide some insight about our voting process. More specifically, for those who think what happened in Venezuela couldn’t POSSIBLY happen here.

With that in mind, let’s dig into how people can vote WITHOUT proof of citizenship.  

Method 1

Let’s first discuss the Legal Non-Citizen, a Resident Green Card Holder:

They can get a driver’s license, a Florida Identification Card, and in fact, they can even get a Social Security number, all of which is legal and all of which is above board. But here’s what most people DON’T know…

Both the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV) will ask for proof of Citizenship. If citizenship can be proven, that’s wonderful, but if not, there’s nothing to exempt them from receiving a card if they are otherwise qualified. But here’s the kicker, whether a citizen or not, neither the driver’s license, the Identification card, nor the Social Security card prove citizenship status. However, once this individual has these items, they can register to vote. Why? Because the voter registration process never asks for proof of citizenship, nor does it check the available databases for this information. Would this individual have been offered the opportunity to register to vote at the DMV while getting their DL or State ID? Probably not, because the DMV knew their status as part of the overall transaction, but this is by policy and not by law.

There are other authorized agencies (called Third Party Voter Registration Organizations or “3PVROs”) who will offer people the opportunity the opportunity to register to vote. For example, let’s assume this individual fills out the Florida Voter Registration Application form using their Driver’s License or State Identification. There is a check box they can tick to affirm they are a US Citizen, and there is a fine print warning, well above, and well below this tick box that describes the penalties for a false statement. However, rarely is this pointed out, and certainly not by nefarious 3PVROs. Nevertheless, when the form is received by the Supervisor of Elections (SOE), the SOE only verifies the citizenship box is checked, the form is completed with a valid address and that the form is signed. THEY then forward the form to the Division of Elections (DOE) who validates the authenticity of the (in this case, the Driver’s License) provided, but NOT the citizenship status.

And there you have it – another person added to the voting roles based solely on verification of their Driver’s License, but without ANY KIND of verification having to do with citizenship.

Method 2

What if the non-citizen does not have a DL or ID, but does have a Social Security Number?

This could represent both legal and illegal non-citizens and the basis of their citizenship is the basis of the kind of Social Security Card they receive.

Most people don’t know this but there are 3 types of SS cards:

1.      Type 1 is for Citizens and Green Card holders.

2.      Type2 is for non-citizens who are authorized to work.

3.      Type 3 is for non-citizens NOT authorized to work.

If these individuals are solicited to register, or they decide on their own to register, when they complete the application, they are only required to provide the LAST 4 digits of their SSN and of course, they must tick “yes” next to the “Are you a citizen of the United States of America” question.

The county SOE then receives the form, checks to see if “Yes” is checked on the citizen question, checks the address to make sure it is valid, checks if the form is complete and signed, and then forwards it to the DOE. The DOE then authenticates the last 4 digits of the SSN, using the HAVV (Help Americans Vote Verification). Remember, this is just for those individuals attempting to register to vote with NO ID and just their last 4 numbers of their SSN. If a match is found, they are “verified”, with no citizenship check other than the honor system, and are added to the voter roll.

So, what happens when they go to vote, and they have no DL or ID? How do we identify them at the polls? Well incredibly, Florida statutes allow for the following forms of ID to be used as identification to vote:

1.      Florida driver license.

2.      Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

3.      United States passport. – Shows Citizenship

4.      Debit or credit card.

5.      Military identification.

6.      Student identification.

7.      Retirement center identification.

8.      Neighborhood association identification. REALLY???

9.      Public assistance identification.

10.   Veteran health identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

11.   A license to carry a concealed weapon or firearm issued pursuant to s. 790.06.

1.      Employee identification cards issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the Federal Government, the state, a county, or a municipality.

How is the Inspector at the polling place able to identify the authenticity of these forms or the citizenship of the individual? The truth is, with very few exceptions, they CANNOT do so! But fear not – we’ve done our best, right?

Method 3

What about an applicant that has no ID? Yes, I said it, NO IDENTIFICATION, NO DRIVER’S LICENSE, NO FLORIDA ID CARD AND NO SOCIAL SECURITY CARD? Can they register to vote? Well yes, OF COURSE they can.

On line 4 of the Voter Registration Application, the last tick box states, “I have never been issued a FL DL/ID or SSN.” 

This presents additional issues and opens the door for both non-citizens and/or fictitious voters to register. But surely when they come to vote they will have to show some sort of identification, correct? Well, that actually depends.

Most voters will have to provide one of the same IDs from the list above (per FL Statute 97-0535).

But what if they happen to “identify” as someone covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), or are over age 65, or are permanently or temporarily disabled?

There are boxes that can be checked on the application to designate yourself as one or more of these 3 categories, all based on the honor system.

When the SOE receives the application, they look for the citizenship check box, check address validity, check that the form is complete, and then forwards it to the DOE. What the DOE does at this point is unclear. What we do know is that per Florida Statute 97.0535(4), they are exempt from providing ID when they come to vote. So, these people are able to register with no ID, and they are able to vote without ID.

Yup, there’s no possibility for fraud here, right?

Method 4

Then there is the Federal Postcard for Voter Registration.

It is designed specifically for UOCAVA, military and citizens living overseas. It can be used with or without any ID. Once received, the SOE and DOE check the form as they have done previously but no citizenship or residency check is done. Once added to the voter rolls, using an absentee ballot, this person can vote by mail with no ID required. It's hard to understand how someone could be allowed to register with no ID, and then allowed to vote with no ID. Can’t we do better?

At the end of the day, it’s true – we have laws. But let’s be honest, there’s very little to keep non-citizens from voting if they really want to do so.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that we know what’s wrong with the system and the only thing required to make it better is to have an appetite to do so.