Montgomery County, Maryland, is one of the wealthiest and most liberal counties in America. If there’s a dumb progressive idea that didn’t start there, it will get there sooner or later.
Along those lines, the powers that be in Montgomery County are very concerned about low voter turnout. So concerned, in fact, the all Democrat County Council formed a “Right to Vote” Task Force to come up with ways to encourage more people to vote. The task force produced a 76-page report with more than a few suggestions that could raise a few eyebrows.
Recommendations 1-3 are:
1. The Task Force recommends that Maryland modify the online voter registration system to allow individuals without IDs from the Motor Vehicle Administration to register online by providing a signature through an electronically captured image.
2. The Task Force recommends that Maryland revise the laws regarding its online registration system so that individuals who have neither a driver’s license, state ID, nor touchscreen/signature capture technology are sent a postcard to provide a signature to mail back and complete their applications.
3. If Recommendation #2 is not implemented, the Task Force recommends that Maryland add the capability to accept online registration information from applicants who must then print, sign, and mail their completed applications, so that when the application is eventually mailed in, the information is already in the system waiting to be reviewed. The information could be kept for a set number of days, such as 45 (this is the current practice in Virginia).
Voter fraud, anyone?
Those who argue against requiring photo IDs at polling places make the argument that people are forced to show their ID when they register to vote, so that box is already checked. That, of course, doesn’t stop anyone from simply claiming to be someone else at the polls, but put that aside for a moment. Not requiring someone prove who they are when they register to vote would mean anyone could claim to be anyone else and register to vote on their behalf. This is an engraved invitation to fraud.
Recommendation 5 is:
5. The Task Force recommends that the County Council encourage the Maryland General Assembly to pass a state constitutional amendment to establish Election Day registration.
Same day registration is another invitation to fraud, especially once you remove the ID requirement. There would be no way to verify is someone were registered and already voted absentee in another state, or even if they were a resident of Maryland, if recommendations 1-3 and 5 were implemented. And once a ballot goes into the machine, it’s there for good. There is no way to find a ballot once it is cast, so it would count even if fraud were proven later. Out of state college students are a huge targets for political parties in same day registration states.
Recommendations 52-53 are:
52.The Task Force recommends that Montgomery County request the State of Maryland to allow each county to determine its own public policy with respect to the voting rights of non-citizens with permanent resident visas in county elections.
53.The Task Force recommends that Montgomery County allow non-citizens with permanent resident visas to vote in county elections if state law is changed to allow noncitizens to vote.
You read that right, non-American citizens should be allowed to vote in county elections. Not illegal aliens, mind you, at least not yet, but those here legally. One has to wonder what the point of citizenship would be at this point, but if Montgomery County Democrats are content to have the votes of their citizens cancelled out by the fraud they’d already like to enable, why not cut it some more by having non-citizens vote too?
Recommendation 58 is:
58. The Task Force recommends that the County Council and Executive propose to the Maryland General Assembly reducing the voting age from 18 to 16 years old for county elections.
Do elections really need more people with no vested interest in the outcome, no financial stake, no “skin in the game,” voting? No one knows the impact of government and its consequences like someone who’s never been impacted by it before.
Oddly, given recommendations 52, 53, and 58, Montgomery County’s “Right to Vote” Task Force seems to think the way to increase the percentage of people voting in elections is to increase the number of people who can vote. That’s not really how math works. Better, more inspiring candidates and competitive races get people to turn out, not changing the laws.
It’s already incredibly easy to register and vote. How much easier must it be made? Not voting is as valid a choice as voting is, and is sometimes a more powerful statement than voting is. You should vote, especially if you vote the way I would like to you, but you’re free to choose for yourself.
But if the right to vote is so sacrosanct, so important, why is any attempt to protect its integrity met with such outrage? Could there be something else afoot, perhaps?
If the integrity of the vote is brought into question, if a government makes fraud easier than it already is, and it sprinkles in people who should not be voting in the first place, turnout will only shrink further. Then again, considering just how dominant they are in this area, that may be what the Montgomery County Democrats really want in the first place.