“Dead Man” Voting: Stolen Elections

Cliffhangers, suspense, political intrigue, and people rising from the dead. We all love a good roller coaster ride while reading the latest bestseller novel, but would we want it in our real lives, especially when the dead people are rising to…vote? Probably not, yet in the New Hampshire 2012 Presidential Primaries dead voters who were not purged off the voter rolls created abundant opportunity for voter fraud.[1]

Seeing how easy it is to get a ballot in New Hampshire, (even for voters who are no longer among the living), one has to wonder if this frightening scenario is being repeated in the 20 states that currently do not have voter ID requirements.[2] In addition, why would Eric Holder’s Department of Justice (DOJ) continue to bring suit against many states that try to pass voter ID laws or that try to clean up and purge their voter rolls for accuracy – especially when Holder himself was the “victim” of voter fraud?

Could it be that one of the most critical presidential elections in the course of our nation’s history is at stake? Could “dead men” voting steal this November 2012 election?

That is what many Americans and seasoned investigative journalists believed happened in the 1960 presidential election.

John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Richard Nixon competed fiercely against one another in an effort to become the 35th President of the United States. It was a nail biter of a night for both camps as the votes were counted. At times Kennedy led only to have Nixon pull ahead, leaving major TV networks scrambling and backtracking as they attempted to call one state after another, only to be wrong. In fact after the grueling last days of campaigning, with next to no sleep, Nixon finally went to bed at 4 AM still not knowing if he had won or lost.[3]

We all know that JFK was declared the winner but do we really know who won? Historical newspaper accounts at that time covered the Republicans’ accusations of voter fraud in several key states such as Illinois and Texas. Red flags such as major reporting delays of precincts in Chicago that suddenly took the lead away from Nixon were especially suspect.[4]

Earl Mazo, a Washington-based national political correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune during this turbulent time, began looking into allegations of voter fraud in Chicago. After obtaining voter lists in suspicious precincts to verify addresses he found a “cemetery where the names on the tombstones were registered and voted.”[5] Apparently, truth is stranger than fiction.

The Republicans last hope was to take their case to the Attorney General, but once John F. Kennedy appointed his own brother to that position, well…good luck with that. The fight was over.

It’s doubtful we’ll ever know the true results from this election, but surely our nation learned SOMETHING to prevent us from going through this turmoil again. Apparently not, since the largest voter fraud investigation in U.S. history occurred just over 20 years later in Illinois. The sheer magnitude of corruption involved in that extremely close 1982 governor’s race should have been a wake up call to every state in the nation, at least to those who wanted an honest election.

The U.S. Attorney in Chicago during that investigation, Daniel Webb, estimated that 100,000 fraudulent votes were cast in Chicago alone!  In addition, 63 of the 65 individuals who were indicted for federal election crimes were convicted! And yes, the dead did indeed vote in that election as well.[6] When will this nightmare end? The case of the Chicago tombstone voters is not the first incident – and certainly won’t be the last, unless we can get stricter voter ID laws in place.

As long as there are elections, especially elections with so much at stake, there will be cheaters. We must do all that we can to stop the corruption of our democratic process and the stealing of our votes. A step in the right direction would be to remove non-eligible voter names from the states’ voter lists (including dead people of course).

Florida, an important swing state in the upcoming election, has been trying to do just that since last September by asking for access to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) federal immigration database. This database would help the state more accurately identify illegal voters. So far the DHS has not cooperated, forcing Florida to file suit. In return, Obama’s Department of Justice filed suit against Florida to stop the purging of their voter rolls.[7]

Texas, a state with 38 important electoral votes,[8] was recently stopped by the DOJ from implementing a photo ID law to help ensure the integrity of their elections. Prior to that it was South Carolina that Attorney General Eric Holder prevented from instituting a voter ID law.[9]

Do we really want to go through another presidential election where the winner is possibly not the real winner, or the final results are contested in dragged-out recounts and court hearings (remember the Gore-Bush election and the Florida recount)? If states are being sued by our own Federal Government for trying to ensure accurate and fair elections, then one has to wonder what the results – not to mention the cost – of these endless lawsuits will be!

America is a nation that, by intention, is to be governed by its citizens and not by a “Ruling Class” that knows how to manipulate the system and steal our votes. One sure way to end voter fraud is to implement voter photo ID laws in every state.

National elections affect us all and the November 2012 election will literally change the course of our country, so this is serious! Having a stricter voter ID law will improve public confidence in elections, knowing there is no voter fraud occurring. This would ultimately improve the confidence in our government knowing citizens truly elected the officials in office.

Senators and Congressmen vote on laws that effect every area of our lives, with the biggest issues today being the economy and our soaring national debt. How do you feel about the power of your legitimate vote against the fiscal insanity possibly being wiped out by a “dead man” or another illegal voter?

Many people to this day believe that the 1960 election was stolen from Nixon. If Nixon were truly the winner, I would change their words slightly to say that the election was stolen from the people.

Let’s get informed and involved in this critical issue of voter fraud to make sure that no one from any party or special interest group steals our elections again. We can’t let cheaters rule or we’re all dead men.