To the editor:
There has been a lot of preoccupation with voter fraud this year.
States have enacted legislation requiring photo identification, shorter
early voting days and hours yet the possible easiest method for voter
fraud remains unchecked. Here in the Sunshine State of Florida, thousands
if not millions of snow birds and vacation home owners, flock in and out of
our state. They apply for drivers licenses, homestead exemptions, and all
kinds of identifications accepted by the State Election Boards as legitimate
identification. I suspect there is a lot of double voting going on in this
state and in other places like Florida with large transient population
shifts and nobody cares. It is very easy for a so-called dual resident to
obtain a mail-in ballot at either state of residency and vote again in the
other state.
Our very own Gov. Scott jumped into the free-for-all voter fraud issue
earlier this year and made local election boards check their registers and
purge would be suspect voters. "Hispanic-sounding" names were targeted, but
not vacation homeowners or part-time residents. A handful of non citizens
were found by the news media and a few dead folks were still on the books.
I wonder if the intent for all this concern was to suppress voters or
really identify voter fraud? Double voting was not targeted by our governor
or the local election boards and I wonder why not since it is so easy to
check out. Each state has the ability to check their computerized records
and recover information as it relates to a particular voter by name with a
date of birth, a Social Security number, home address, etc. They can tell
what elections you voted in and if you voted on election day, early voted,
or by mail in ballot.
If you really wanted to identify voter fraud, all you have to do is cross
check with the other state computer records and you will get the answer and
identify who is fraudulently voting twice. I wonder when our State of
Florida and or our federal government will get serious about voter fraud
and start doing something about it.
Voting twice is a felony punishable by incarceration and or a fine. I
wonder if looking the other way would also be consider a crime by our state
and elected officials charged with the responsibility managing our
elections.
George Hopgood
Cape Coral
