Say no to expanded absentee ballots

CT voter database corrupted by not having only verified legal voters on list

“One Vote for One Legal Voter” is the motto of Fight Voter Fraud Inc., a 501 (c) 4 nonprofit. Sounds simple, right? Not by a long shot. Here in Connecticut, our voting and registration system is antiquated, full of ambiguity, and is in violation of the federal law, 1993 National Voter Registration Act — commonly known as the “Motor Voter Law.”

Secretary of State Denise Merrill has proposed sending absentee ballot request forms to every registered voter in the state of Connecticut for the Democratic and Republican primaries and Election Day Nov. 3. If we had a “clean” database, that would not be a problem, but we don’t, so it is.

Fix the problems first, before expanding voting, by having a “clean” database of legal voters. Based on our investigations, we have identified voters registered in multiple towns, deceased people still on active voter lists and inactive lists, rampant misuse of absentee ballot request forms, ballot harvesters, illegal immigrants being registered through the state Department of Motor Vehicles and the preregistration of 16- and 17-year-olds, enabling them to potentially vote before they are legally allowed.

Since people that have passed away are still on the voter list, inactive and/or active, when someone gets the application, they can just fill it out and are able to vote in the name of the deceased person. It would be that simple. We determined that Connecticut has had, on average, 190,000 inactive voters each year for the past five years.

They would all get the absentee ballot request forms, then absentee ballots, even though their status has never been verified.

The registration rate of voters in Connecticut 2018 is over 90 percent, when the average across the nation is only 66.9 percent. In Middlesex County in 2016, they had a 113 percent of the voters registered. It’s not because we’re great at registering people to vote, it’s because of duplicate voters and

“ghost voters” — people that do not even exist. How do we trust a voting system when we have counties with 113 percent registered voters?

Our Connecticut voter database is corrupted by not having only verified legal voters on the list. It doesn’t matter what party you belong to: This is a massive denial of public trust and truly fair elections.

Don’t allow expanded absentee ballots to be implemented in Connecticut. We can have a “clean” database. Then, and only then, can we have an intelligent conversation of how to maintain the integrity of the Connecticut voter registration.

Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Officials at Middletown City Hall prepare to run absentee ballots through the tabulator during November’s mandatory municipial election recount.