The Danger of Database Mining in Cleaning Up “Dirty” Voter Files

(Chuck Muth) – When it comes to problems with Nevada’s “dirty” voter files, Gov. Joe Lombardo gets it…

“We know, and I guarantee you’ll agree, the voter rolls are not clean. You can ask the person next to you if they’re aware of somebody [that] moved out of the house two years ago and they’re still getting their ballots, and that ballot’s still available for anybody to grab and take the chance of filling it out.”

One such Nevadan recently wrote me and confirmed the governor’s point…

“I have tried to get my daughter removed from the active list.  She has not lived in Nevada nor voted for over ten years. Yet every election we get something for her, and in the last four elections, primary and general, have gotten a ballot.”

Got the same situation at our house.

One of my daughters’ friends stayed with us in the summer of 2019 and registered to vote at our address.  She moved out a few months later but never changed her address with the post office or Election Department.

So we keep getting the mail-in ballot she never requested at an address where she no longer lives and hasn’t for years.

“The voter rolls are a problem in every jurisdiction in America,” notes the Election Integrity Network, “due to the difficulty of removing and updating the rolls because of threats by ideological groups to sue if and when a jurisdiction tries to update voter rolls and remove those who have died, or moved, or stopped voting for some reason and are no longer active.”

Now…

When someone moves and notifies the post office of their new address, their name goes into a database known as “National Change of Address” (NCOA).  At that point, mail sent to the old address is automatically forwarded to the new address for twelve (12) months.

After that, mail sent to your old address will be returned to the sender.  And this is how most election departments “clean” their voter lists.  If they mail something to the voter, and it’s returned by the post office, the voter’s classification is changed from “Active” to “Inactive.”

And Inactive voters in Nevada are NOT mailed a ballot, nor should they be, which reduces the potential for voting fraud.  But here’s the problem…

If a voter moves but fails to notify the election department or the post office, they remain on the Active voter list and are automatically mailed a ballot – a ballot the unscrupulous can then cast illegally.

Many do.  The temptation is just too great, especially in lieu of the fact that getting caught doing so is highly unlikely and the odds of actually being prosecuted are even higher.

As such, the key to better securing our elections is to assure the cleanest possible voter lists so that dead people, people who have moved, and people unlawfully registered to vote at PO boxes and vacant lots, aren’t mailed a ballot in the first place.

The NCOA database, when cross-matched to a voter file, can generate “red flags” of voters who no longer live where they’re registered.  The challenge is the fact that simply cross-referencing the NCOA list with the voter file does not necessarily mean the registered voter is voting illegally.

Again, there are legitimate reasons why a person has temporarily changed their mailing address – military service, college, temporary work assignment – without giving up their right to vote from the address where they’re registered.

Still, database technology today can be used like never before to red flag voter registrations that are suspicious.  For example…

Omega4America reports that it checked every phone number in multiple government databases “that were used by more than one voting identity.”  In one case, the result “came up with 23,000 identities over 15 years for a single phone number.”

That’s a serious red flag anomaly calling for deeper investigation.

In addition, databases exist that indicate when someone has died which can be cross-matched to the vote file.

However, again, you have to dig deeper.  You have to make sure that, for example, the voter who died was Joe Smith Sr. and you’re not trying to remove his son, Joe Smith Jr., who lives at the same address.

Here’s another example of why you can’t simply run a database search and allege voting fraud has taken place.  A Muth’s Truths reader wrote a couple days ago…

“The website www.voterrecords.com indicates that it procures current voter records via the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). If accurate, the current Las Vegas record lists 40 registered voters between the ages of 115 and 122. Of those, 37 are registered as ‘active’.”

The key words here are “if accurate.”

Our data guru, Dan Burdish, took a look at the 100+ aged voters found at VoterRecords.com.  And we picked one of the entries that indicated the voter was on the “Active” file even though he was supposedly 122 years old (see below).

But when Dan checked the official voter list in Clark County, he’s not on it.

So you can’t use databases such as Voter Records or NCOA on anything else without verifying their information.  Because if you make an allegation of voter fraud without doing your homework, you’ll end up hurting the credibility of election integrity efforts in the eyes of the public (see: Nevada Republican Party).

You need iron-clad proof, not just suspicion.  You need to show the fire, not just point out the smoke.  Only then will claims of voting fraud be taken seriously, reported on by the media, and acted upon.

I’m gonna wrap up this series on election integrity tomorrow with an announcement.  If this is an issue of importance to you, get ready to suit up.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“I want to make sure that everyone believes that the elections are run fairly and securely and timely.  All the ballots to be counted are in on Election Day by 5 p.m. They’re there, then that’s what you count.” – Assemblyman Rich DeLong (R-Washoe)

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com.  You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com.  His views are his own.