Feb 03 How can you find voter fraud if you refuse to look for it?

Progressives have argued for years that voter fraud doesn’t exist, especially in Minnesota. The truth is that it exists. It’s that they refuse to look for it. Yesterday, a progressive named Adam argued in the comments that the PVC cards that got returned weren’t the result of voter fraud. He argued that they happened because of the biggest data entry problem in government history:

Perhaps the Big E understands that Atur Davis has never lived or worked in politics in Minnesota?

Also, errors in data entry in the SVRS are evidence of fraud? How?

Wouldn’t someone trying to commit fraud use an actual address? It’s not exactly hard to do, you know.

Think of what Adam said. First, he said that the data entry people were the most incompetent data entry people in government. Next, he admitted that SecState Ritchie’s system doesn’t have safeguards to catch typos. Third, he admitted that it isn’t difficult to commit fraud using a real address.

That’s quite a mouthful in a paragraph.

When Joe Mansky insisted that the compliance rate was fantastic, he was either spinning the truth or he’s just that intellectually incompetent. Here’s what he said:

ESME: We just heard from Rep. Kiffmeyer, who said the system needs voter ID. How do you feel about that?
JOE MANSKY: I don’t think that’s the case. If you just look at the numbers and the business of the people under felony sentences voting that’s been in the news. But let’s take a look at that a minute. Our compliance rate, the rate at which voters comply with our law, is 99.99 percent. In Ramsey County, we had 28 people charged out of 278,000 people voting. I don’t think that there is a problem. There will always be a small number of people who won’t comply with the law. But again, 99.99 percent is probably not a bad place to be at.

Mansky can’t know what the compliance rate is because they can’t verify that the people getting ballots are who they say they are. Mr. Mansky, like all faithful DFL operatives, refuses to look for voter fraud.

You can’t find what you refuse to look for. Minnesotans have rejected the notion that Minnesotans are too honest to commit voter fraud. That’s why 75-80% of Minnesotans support a constitutional amendment requiring a photo ID. That figure isn’t from Minnesota Majority, either. Whether it’s the KSTP-SurveyUSA poll or the Minnesota poll, the numbers are the same. Here are some demographic breakdowns:

• Age demographics – The lowest level of support in age groups comes from seniors, who back voter ID 69/23. The best support comes, surprisingly, from the youngest voters (18-34YOs) at 82/12.
• Party affiliation – Yes, 92% of Republicans support voter ID. So do 76% of independents … and 59% of those wingnutty Democrats in Minnesota, too. Among Tea Party “members,” voter ID enjoys 93% support. And for those who don’t identify with the Tea Party, support plummets all the way to … 74%. Along ideological lines, liberals were least likely to support it — at 67%, the second-lowest level of support among all demographics.
• Education – Surely, support must be coming from the mouthbreathers, right? High-school graduates give a 79% level of support, almost the same as the 78% among those with some college education. Those with degrees are a little more discerning … at 75%.
• Income level – It won’t be much of a surprise to know that those making six figures support voter ID 73/25. It will be a surprise to Dayton to find that those making less than $50K per year support it even more, 78/14.
• Region – Like all of the other demographics, there isn’t much difference between the Twin Cities demo (76/19) and the rural area of western Minnesota (81/15). In each region, support is at 75% or higher.

Whichever way you slice it, support for Photo ID is strong. The bottom line is that a)voter fraud really exists and b) there’s proof that photo ID doesn’t disenfranchise voters.

Comments welcome at Let Freedom Ring.