Voter Registration Fraud Investigation: The Bureau of Elections has been notified by several clerks and an investigator with the Ingham County Sheriff’s office that there have been numerous instances of falsified mail-in voter registration applications being submitted to clerks throughout the state.  This issue of “News You Can Use” provides guidance on handling mail-in registrations which appear to have been falsified.

After being contacted on the falsifications, we began looking at QVF records and examples of the applications to determine whether there were any apparent patterns which could be identified.  The following was observed:

·        The registration applications rarely show a driver’s license or personal identification card number.

·        The registration applications frequently include a telephone number – information which is often not provided on legitimate registration applications.

·        The registration applications often list actual voters already in the QVF – but list different birth dates and slight variations in the voter’s street address.

Given the applications we have reviewed, we have concluded that the individuals who are completing the forms may be using the web site “Search Bug” http://www.searchbug.com/ or some similar search engine which can be used to obtain names, addresses, telephone numbers and partial birth date information.

We have further concluded that many – if not all – of the falsified applications are being submitted by volunteers who are being paid by public interest organizations to register voters.  Given the cash incentives involved, it appears that those completing and submitting the falsified registration forms are seeking to boost their earnings with the organizations who are paying them.  Just as the use of paid petition circulators can create a fertile environment for petition fraud, the use of paid personnel to conduct voter registration drives appears to have created a similar environment for registration fraud.

Recommended Actions to Safeguard Registration Process

·         If you receive a batch of mail-in registration forms in the mail, date stamp the delivery envelope and retain the envelope with the registration batch.  If someone appears in your office to deliver a batch of registrations, obtain the name of the person delivering the forms and the name of the organization he or she represents (if any).  Record the information you obtain and keep it with the registration batch.

·         Keep the registration forms batched as submitted until you have had the opportunity to review the registrations as a group. This will help you to spot any patterns that suggest that the group contains falsified registrations.  Watch for the patterns identified above as well as similar handwriting.

·         If you identify any voter registrations in the batch which may have been falsified, enter the name of the individual and/or organization that submitted the voter registration and the submission date on each suspect form.  Retain the delivery envelope (if any) in your records.

·         When reviewing a batch of registrations, it may help to sort the forms alphabetically to identify similar names or multiples of the same name in the batch.  Review any duplicates that you find to determine if there are telltale variations in the addresses or birth dates.

·         If you find that the person listed on a suspect registration form is already registered in your jurisdiction, check the signature on the application against the signature maintained on file for the voter in your hard-copy master file.  If the signatures do not match, it is probable that the registration has been falsified.  (When making such comparisons, carefully check the birth dates to make sure the registrations were not executed by a father/son or mother/daughter living in the same household.  Of course, if the registrations show birth dates that are less than 18 years apart, a father/son or mother/daughter relationship is unlikely.)

·         Before you key enter any applications from the batch, isolate those that you believe may be falsified.  These should be clear falsifications that leave no doubt regarding the validity of the form. Michigan election law, MCL 168.519, provides:

"No township, city or village clerk or assistant clerk shall register any person whom such clerk shall know or have good reason to believe not to be a resident or so qualified..."

·         If you have good reason to believe that a mail-in registration form has been falsified, send the voter a rejection notice and refer the form and any related documentation (including the delivery envelope, if any) to your county prosecutor’s office.

·         Any registration applications which are not rejected should be entered into the QVF system as soon as possible.  (Note:  It is critical that you use “Mail Registration” as the registration location when entering the records into the QVF system.  This will ensure that the records are designated “Vote in Person” and indicate that ID is required of the applicant if the applicant appears to vote.)  Follow-up with the immediate issuance of Voter ID cards.  If an original Voter ID card sent to a voter is returned as “undeliverable,” Michigan election law permits you to reject the registration.  In such an instance, a rejection notice must be sent to the voter.

Important Reminder

All voter registrations applications that are delivered to your office through the mail or hand delivered by persons other than the voter are considered mail applications.  (As an exception, agency registration applications that are mailed to your office by an agency office are not regarded as mail-in registration applications.  Such registrations hold the same status as Secretary of State branch office registrations.)  Voters who register by mail and have not voted before in Michigan must vote in person in the first election in which they wish to participate and must have their identity verified.  (Certain exceptions apply as noted on the revised mail-in registration form.) 

Please do not hesitate to contact this office if you have any questions or need assistance with the recommendations outlined above.