Ohio Registration Drive Counters Accusation of Voter Fraud

OBERLIN, Ohio, Nov. 1 - Oberlin Votes, a non-partisan voter registration effort, has evidence disproving allegations of fraud made by Robert Rousseau, Lorain County Republican Party Chairman, and member of the Lorain County Board of Elections.

Juanita Smith, who was declared to be a dead registrant, is very much alive. Last week an Ohio newspaper reported that "Juanita Smith died more than four years ago, but somehow a voter registration card with her name on it showed up at the Lorain County Board of Elections office this year." (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 10/23/2004 Link 1, below) However, Ms. Smith is quite well. "When I read that article saying I was dead," Ms. Smith recounted, "I said to myself, 'I'd better go find my voter card.' " Smith, who is the secretary at a local church, has been registered to vote since 1978. She turned in a new voter registration card to update her address, part of an effort by a local registration drive called Oberlin Votes!

There are two Juanita Smiths in the Board of Elections database, and the only person who seems confused about the difference between them is Republican Party Chairman Robert Rousseau, who also sits on the Lorain County Board of Elections. In fact, when the Board of Elections received the registration card from Ms. Smith this year, they updated her address correctly and sent her a new card. Only the Board knows how the dead Mrs. Smith was added to the database---and at a youthful 22 years of age---but data entry errors seem the most likely culprit.

The success of this year's registration campaigns has placed a huge data entry job on local Boards of Election, and mistakes are consequently more frequent. An analysis of Oberlin's registered voters shows that about 3% of all recent registrations misspell the voter's name, some so seriously that the registration is essentially lost. For example, one Oberlin resident's first registration was recorded by the Board of Elections as "LROSTOMA [FEOFER". Fortunately, she re-registered. Now she's registered twice---once under her actual name, and once under an indecipherable typo. It's a duplicate registration, but it's not fraud; without the duplicate, she would not be able vote at all.

Mr. Rousseau has made other unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. Rousseau (who claims the Board's data contains "no duplicates") compared Oberlin's 8,162 registered voters with its 2000 census population of 8,195 and concluded that "the remaining possibility is fraud" (Lorain Morning Journal, 10/26/2004 -Link 2). Similar allegations have been made about Franklin County, home of Ohio State University. (link 3) The true explanation is simple; Oberlin is a college town, and every year students graduate and move away. Analysis by Oberlin Votes! suggests that about 970 former Oberlin students have left town but are still on the rolls, along with a similar number of non-college former residents.

Consider Oberlin College dormitory South Hall. The Board of Elections database shows 274 registered voters living at South, which only houses 224 students. A quick check indicates that of those voters, 32 registered in 2000, and 80 more registered in 1998 or earlier. Thus, more than 40% of these registered students have graduated and moved away. One former resident now lives in Chicago. When told he was still registered in Oberlin, he was surprised. "I registered to vote in Illinois when I moved here," he explained. "The Illinois form asked 'Do you have a previous voter registration elsewhere?' so I put down my registration in Oberlin, and I thought that would be sufficient to remove me from the rolls there."

In fact, many states do not effectively coordinate their voter registrations. It is neither illegal, nor fraudulent, to be registered in two places. It is only illegal to vote in two places. James Kenler, who graduated in 2000, was also surprised to learn he was still on the Oberlin rolls. "I sent a letter to the Board of Elections in 1998 or 1999, asking to be removed," he said. "I guess I'd better send them another one." Adam Stenftenagel, who graduated in 1998, said "It's a complete surprise to me. This seems like a nationwide problem which should be addressed, because if I'm still registered in Oberlin, then I'm probably still registered in 6 other cities as well." He explained "I move a lot."

The goal of Oberlin Votes! was to register every citizen of voting age residing in Oberlin. By all accounts the organization was tremendously successful. "While it's unfortunate that there are former residents on the rolls," said Oberlin Votes! organizer Ken Stanley, "there is great harm in dissuading an active, registered voter from voting with baseless accusations of fraud. Oberlin's high registration rate is something for the community to be proud of."

Contact information: Ken Stanley, Oberlin Votes!, 440-774-4322.

Oberlin Votes is a non-partisan coalition whose goal is to register every single unregistered voter in the city of Oberlin before this year's general election.

Link 1:

"Vote challengers line up"

http://www.chronicletelegram.com/Archive/Html/2004/October/10-23/Daily%20Pages/Front/Html/Head1.html

Link 2:

"Oberlin may have more registered voters than it should"

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm? newsid=13222547&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=8

Link 3:

"Some Fear Ohio Will Be Florida of 2004"
By Paul Farhi and Jo Becker, Page A01, October 26, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 25 -- Democrats and Republicans here traded accusations of voter fraud, obstruction and intimidation Monday as officials grappled...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62645-2004Oct25.html