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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > March > 17 > Entry
Local elections director asks state to address duplicate registrations
Butler County Board of Elections Director Betty McGary spoke in Columbus last week on reforming the election process to eliminate duplicate registrations.
Here is the story (From the Dayton Daily News):
A southwest Ohio election official called for speedy action, by the end of the year, to resolve the problem of voter names appearing on registration roles in more than one county or state.
Speaking as a panelist Friday, March 13, at the Ohio Elections Conference, Butler County Board of Elections Director Betty McGary said the duplication problem is costly to taxpayers and needs fixed quickly.
She and others emphasized that the duplication issue is not one of registration fraud. The duplication happens when people move, register to vote at their new home and their names remain on the voter roles where they lived before.
Speakers and panelists called for a variety of fixes, including changes to the state-wide voter registration database kept by the Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner using data from the counties.
Currently counties use software made by a variety of vendors to produce voter registration lists and to perform a variety of board tasks. The software does not have uniform coding or language so counties have to rely on paper lists, phone calls, and faxes to communicate with other counties and states to determine where a voter is appropriately registered.
McGary said that duplication is one of the biggest problems facing boards and it results in a tremendous use of employee time, often in the midst of already-busy election seasons, and leads to over-ordering of election supplies for people who do not live in the county.
“It’s just a nightmare,” McGary said.
One audience member who spoke suggested that it be made easier for voters who move to electronically cancel their registration in their old community at the same time they register to vote, or when they fill out a change of address form at the post office.
Speakers also talked about the need to have “clean” data to verify registrations and said boards need to have more efficient access and more accurate information from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, which provides counties with residents names, addresses, birthdates and other identifying information.
Beverly A. King, supervisor of registration at the Montgomery County Board of Elections, said a simple change that could help is if every county’s registration system included a uniform field, recognized by every vendor’s system, that recorded the last date of the vote’s activity in that county.
She and others also emphasized the importance of making sure that voters are not improperly removed from the rolls.
“We do not want to disenfranchise any voter,” King said.
Speakers during a session on illegal voting emphasized how rare voter fraud is, despite all the attention the issue got because of questions about voter registration drives by groups like ACORN during the fall election season last year.
“(It is important to) not allow ourselves to be sucked into stories about fraud when it is not a rampant problem,” said Eleanor Speelman, general counsel and director of legal services for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
There are plenty of laws that make “gaming the system” illegal, she said.
“Jail can be an effective deterrent,” she said.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner called the two-day conference to collect ideas for a report her office will present to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio Legislature about changes needed in Ohio’s election laws.
Among the other issues raised during panel sessions:
- Unfunded mandates that have made it increasingly expensive to operate elections boards and run elections.
- Complex campaign finance laws that can discourage candidates from running for office.
- Outdated laws and procedures and conflicting technology that hinder statewide standardization and efficiency opportunities.
McGary said she would like to see Brunner form small working groups to address the various issues, particularly those involving voter registration lists, by the end of the year.
Jeff Ortega, Brunner spokesman, said he could not specifically address McGary’s idea but said Brunner “is committed to working with the counties on these and other issues.”
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Board of Elections
Comments
By dena queen
May 5, 2009 8:00 AM | Link to this
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By dena queen
May 5, 2009 8:00 AM | Link to this
i have this old house that i read ,its sent to my email,,the comments are allowed,, today was kiss my, and if you want a good time call 786 585 8679 my comment is what up with this..