Anybody willing to lie can vote – and steal your ID

October 26, 2010 – 10:49 am

Anyone with a North Carolina driver’s license, a Social Security card and/or a utility bill can establish proof of citizenship and be allowed to vote in North Carolina – as long as he or she is willing to lie on a voter registration form.

The state’s system of allowing voter registration by mail and same-day registration at early voting sites operates on the honor system. The registration form requires each applicant sign an affidavit, confirming he or she is a U.S. citizen.

The penalty for knowingly providing a false statement on the form is a felony, but critics say the process for checking citizenship is so lax that anyone with phony documents and no qualms about lying has a good chance of beating the system.

The states’ efforts at verifying the accuracy of voter rolls have concentrated largely on making sure the lists have been purged of people who have died, moved or have been convicted of felonies, do not vote over several election cycles or change their legal names.

As for citizenship status, it’s difficult to prove that someone has committed voter fraud, and there is plenty of opportunity for people who are not in the U.S. legally to vote.

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