Maryland Voting - Fraud or Fiction?

With Maryland's Election Day right around the corner, it's no surprise that we're hearing about voting controversies already. The biggest news this year centers around electronic voting machines where several voters have reported that their Republican votes were being changed to Democrat. We've been told that that this "glitch" is being investigated. Call me skeptical, but when I hear that it's being "investigated", it sounds more like, "Ok, you caught us. Now, we'll fix it."

Although we're in the age of modern technology, I have always been a bit suspicious of electronic voting devices. We regularly hear about cyber-security breaches involving credit cards and identity theft. So, how hard would it be for a high-level hacker to manipulate an electronic voter database? Hanging chads and all, maybe the old traditional paper ballots might be our best bet to keep things on the up and up.

Maryland, who is no stranger to voter fraud allegations, certainly hasn't helped it's reputation. For instance, a recent law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain a Maryland driver's license paves the way for these law-breaking folks to vote. The Maryland Highway Safety Act*, as it's called, is much more likely about securing the Hispanic vote for Democrats than it is about safety. According to a recent study conducted by two Old Dominion University professors, 80% of "non-citizens" vote for Democrats**. So, is there any wonder why Maryland Democrats would feel compelled to cozy up to illegal immigrants (or "new Americans" as Maryland's Governor Martin Owe'Malley likes to call them)?

Although it's a federal crime to vote if you are not legally eligible to do so, I believe that it's also a crime to enter our country illegally. But when does that that ever stop anyone? If our "new American" neighbors want to vote, do you really think that there will be any real effort to stop it?

And here's something that I don't quite understand. Maryland will casually hand over driver's licenses and ID cards to illegal immigrants. However, it doesn't require you to show an ID when you go to the voting booth. We are often told that a Voter ID law would be discriminatory against minorities, especially to those in the lower income group. Really? Unless you're trying to hide something, why would producing a valid ID at the polling place be an issue?

There are also roughly 12,000 dead voters registered to vote in Maryland***. Yes, that's right, dead as in no longer living. I wonder how many of these corpses will make their way to the Maryland polls this year?

While I'm not saying that Democrats are the only culprits when it comes to voter fraud, they certainly seem to have the upper hand in Maryland. In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans roughly 2-to-1, it would seem that the GOP would actually be more inclined to find a way to get an "unconventional" edge. But dead voters, electronic glitches and illegal immigrants.....yeah, they seem to lean a certain way here.

While voter fraud should not be tolerated under any circumstances, we can expect to hear more allegations as the election draws nearer. In what's shaping up to be an unexpected tight race between Gubernatorial candidates Anthony Brown (D) and Larry Hogan (R), it would be a shame to see this one come down to the wire only to be scrutinized over alleged voter fraud. Hold onto your hats Maryland, we might be in for a wild ride.......

kw

*http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/maryland-law-expanding-drivers-licenses-for-illegal-immigrants-takes-effect-on-wednesday/2013/12/31/81cf605c-7245-11e3-8def-a33011492df2_story.html

**http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/10/24/could-non-citizens-decide-the-november-election/

*** http://townhall.com/tipsheet/heatherginsberg/2014/04/23/cantor-goes-negative-in-ad-against-primary-opponent-n1828238