Two States Find Ballot Mischief
These cases don’t fit Trump’s narrative, but they’re not a myth.
In the eyes of many Democrats, any push to ensure ballot integrity amounts to voter suppression, while Georgia’s inquiry into Atlanta’s elections is nothing more than a prelude to a power grab. Yet last week two Georgia election workers were fired for shredding voter registration forms, and this week three Michigan women were charged with fraud.
Georgia’s performance review of elections in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, has largely been painted as a GOP plot to take over the handling of ballots in a blue area. Yes, the state’s new voting law theoretically gives it the power to suspend local election boards. But that’s only after a lengthy process, which must include a finding of malfeasance, gross negligence, or the like. And Fulton County has a long record of screw-ups.
Add this to the list: Fulton County said Monday it terminated two employees who “allegedly shredded a number of paper voter registration applications received within the last two weeks.” Fellow workers reported this on Friday, and the perpetrators were fired the same day. According to the state, about 300 applications were destroyed. The context is that early voting in the next local elections began Tuesday.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has called on the Justice Department to investigate. “After 20 years of documented failure in Fulton County elections, Georgians are tired of waiting to see what the next embarrassing revelation will be,” he said. Democrats should admit he has a point, but don’t hold your breath.
The Michigan cases are also instructive. One woman, the state Attorney General’s office says, “implemented a plan to obtain and control absentee ballots for legally incapacitated persons under her care by fraudulently submitting 26 absentee ballot applications.” Another woman, who worked at a nursing home, allegedly filled out absentee applications for residents without their knowledge, while forging their signatures.
The fraudulent paperwork was caught when election workers compared the bad signature to the voter’s real one. But the state’s news release is less clear about the third woman, who “admitted to signing her grandson’s absentee ballot because she was concerned he would not have time to vote on Election Day.” The grandson voted in person, so investigators were called in April to look into “a case of double voting.”
Democrats say voter fraud is mythical. That isn’t true, and it’s reckless to pretend otherwise. On the other hand, President Trump says fraud is everywhere and the hard evidence is always one more audit away. That isn’t true either, and it’s corrosive to public trust to say it. Between these two positions is plenty of middle ground, and that’s where state Legislatures ought to be as they balance ballot access and security.
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