As a Chicagoan and chief election authority for Cook County, I encountered more than a few snickers this past summer after being asked to moderate an election fraud prevention panel at a national conference for county officials.
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Considering our storied history of the living voting “early and often” and the dead casting votes on Election Day, the response was understandable.
Despite the steps taken by my office and the Chicago Board of Elections to prevent election fraud and to punish those who deny others the right to vote, the stigma of ballot manipulation still persists here.
But Cook County voters can take an active role in helping to shed this image as my office begins its pre-election ritual of purging the names of ineligible and inactive voters from the county rolls through a comprehensive voter canvass. Eliminating the “deadwood,” or outdated registrations, will result in cleaner, more accurate voter rolls that will ultimately reduce the opportunity to commit election fraud.
In the coming days, voters in suburban Cook will start receiving registration cards in the mail. A stop sign adorns the front of each card to help voters distinguish it from other mail.
We ask residents who receive the cards issued to people who no longer live at that address–particularly family members who have passed on or children who have moved out–to just write “return to sender” on the card and drop it back in the mail. We take care of the postage and remove the record from our files.
We’ve instructed the post office not to forward the cards of voters who have moved since the last election. Instead the card will return to our office and a follow-up letter will then be forwarded to each new address. Upon receiving the forwarded letter, a voter can explain why the registration should not be purged or confirm that he or she has moved. If the voter has relocated to an address within suburban Cook County, the registration will then transfer automatically to the new residence.
Along with reducing the possibility of others fraudulently using the name of an unqualified voter as a means to cast a ballot, a successful voter purge will save tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars earmarked for printing ballots and election-related materials for each registered voter.
With your participation, we can save money and help ensure the honesty and integrity of the electoral process by making sure the dead take a pass on Election Day.