Follow up: Are dead people still voting

Back in August 2UrbanGirls was contacted about possible voter fraud throughout LA County.  Inquiries were sent to the County Recorders office and here is what they said.

Hello,

The most common and massive number of removals come from Cal Voter, a State mandated system (or liaison) between the Health Department and Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) which a quarterly file to the RR/CC with deceased names to be removed from the voter file.

 

Those names are matched and verified through voter registration and “canceled due to death.”  When a death certificate is presented to the RR/CC, it is verified through Cal Voter before registration is canceled.

 

Thanks,

Voter Info

 

What wasn’t clear was:

• purge schedule (does it occur before or after an election)
• why a non-profit is in this process

Cal Voter was contacted to find out why they became the state mandated system, given that the organization closed then reopened in 1994.  Doesn’t it appear to be too many “hands” involved in the purging of deceased persons from the voter roll.  Who designated Cal Voter a clearinghouse?

Who is benefitting from not ensuring the County Recorder is not solely responsible for this task?  They process both birth and death certificates.  It is understandable to verify with the health department to confirm doctors signature, but a non-profit that is sponsored by corporations and foundations?  How many of the “sponsors” are also funders of political campaigns?

If Cal Voter was refounded to advance responsible use of technology, in the democratic process, and is state mandated, why would the state remove electronic voting booth in 2006 in favor of a paper ballot?  In the 90’s Cal Voter advocated for electronic machines, what an about face once Kim Alexander came on board.  Reversing what CV already had in place?

Oh, Kim Alexander is the only staff member of CV.  Is she purging the rolls by herself?

What is clear is the strong political connection between elections, voter rolls and USC.

Something smells rotten.

About the California Voter Foundation

Originally founded in 1989 by California Secretary of State March Fong Eu, the California Voter Foundation (CVF) was re-founded in 1994 by Kim Alexander, to advance the responsible use of technology to improve the democratic process. CVF is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) supported by tax-deductible contributions from foundations and individuals.

The California Voter Foundation has worked to improve democracy through the responsible use of new technologies since its founding in 1994, providing Californians with nonpartisan election and government information on the Web, and raising awareness of emerging democracy and technology issues in California and beyond.

The scope of CVF’s work has expanded over the years to include advancing transparency of money in politics through online campaign finance disclosure; developing innovative voter education resources; and promoting verification of voting technology through a voter-verified paper audit trail requirement for electronic voting systems and mandatory public audits of vote-counting software.

CVF is governed by an eight-member board of directors and guided by its mission statement and program goals.  CVF has produced the nonpartisan California Online Voter Guide for every state election since 1994, providing a reliable resource for election information to California voters.