That Evil Voter Fraud Meme

For John, BLUF:  .  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Today on City Life there was some discussion of voter fraud and the need for Voter ID.

This is an issue where Republicans tend to say we need to tighten the voter process and Democrats claim (scurrilously) that it is racist to check up on a person's citizenship for voter registration and their ID to vote.

Here is a video from 5 March of this year from a local NBC TV Station down in Florida where the report claims to have found a number of Illegal Aliens, Non-Citizens voting In Florida.

I found this, via Instapundit, at this location.  The lede starts out:

It is an article of faith on the Left that voter fraud does not exist beyond the imaginations of racist right-wingers, hellbent on imposing "unconstitutional" voter ID laws fashioned to "suppress" minority turnout in elections. These objections are race-baiting nonsense; they're unsupported by both empirical evidence and Supreme Court precedent.

Let us be clear.  There is a difference between fraudulent registration and illegal voting, where someone comes in and votes for someone else, perhaps someone who has passed beyond this vale of tears or hasn't recently voted and thus will not likely being their ballot.  Neither is good for the process.

This eventually leads to this item from the Commonwealth (950 CMR 54.04):

(6B)  Identification.  If so authorized by the city or town clerk or registrars of voters, an election officer may request any voter to present written identification.  Such requests shall not discriminate in any way, but shall be entirely random, consistent, or based on reasonable suspicion.  For the purpose of 950 CMR 54.04(6B), of M.G.L. c. 54, § 76B, and of 950 CMR 54.04(6)(b), suitable written identification includes a driver's license, recent utility bill, rent receipt on a landlord's printed letterhead, lease, duplicate copy of a voter registration affidavit, or any other printed identification which contains the voter's name and address.  If voters fail to present suitable written identification when so requested, they must still be allowed to vote, but an election officer or any other person may challenge their right to vote under M.G.L. c. 54, § 85 and 950 CMR 54.04(23).

How do citizens not know this.

Regards  —  Cliff