 Jan. 7, 2005 County officials respond to report of deceased votersCorrectionKing County officials today announced they will forward to the Prosecuting Attorney's office the names and information of two people who allegedly admitted to reporters they cast an absentee ballot under their deceased spouse's name in the Nov. 2 General Election.
Similarly, election staff are investigating other reports of alleged fraudulent voter registration.
"Knowingly casting a ballot under another person's name is a crime," said Dean Logan, director of Records, Elections, and Licensing Services. "There has to be a zero tolerance for violation of election law and we will ask the Prosecuting Attorney to investigate these reports and file charges in all cases where warranted."
County election officials receive notices three times a year from the State Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics of residents who have died. These lists are compared to the voter registration records to remove deceased voters from the rolls. The county also receives notices when a registered voter completes a form stating, subject to perjury, that another registered voter has died.
Logan cautioned that while these reports indicate a small number of voters who have acknowledged voting ballots issued to their now deceased spouses, there has been no indication of calculated voter fraud or organized attempts to impact the outcome of the election.
"If, in fact, these voters violated our election laws, this is a serious offense. We need to send a strong message about citizens' responsibility to adhere to the law," said Logan. "At the same time, these isolated situations need to be put in to perspective. There is a clear difference between an individual act and organized fraud intended to skew an election. In this case, there is no evidence this was done for purposes of benefiting a particular candidate or political party; nor does it appear to be widespread."
Tracking death records statewide and ensuring their timely removal from the voter rolls will be streamlined when Washington implements a statewide voter registration database in 2006 -- a requirement of the federal Help America Vote Act. Currently, voter records are maintained separately in each of the state's 39 counties. |
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Updated: Jan. 7, 2005 at 5:30 p.m. King County | Elections | News | Services | Comments | Search
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