Letter: Proof of voter fraud is bogus

Talk about it

I read your recent article about allegations of voter fraud. Think of all the time state and county governments will spend investigating an obviously politically motivated report from a right-wing organization.

As the Globe reported, Minnesota Majority obtained names and birth dates of paroled felons. They compared the names with a list of people who voted and recklessly issued a report claiming 2,803 felons illegally voted in the 2008 election. Your readers need to know a couple of things.

First: Minnesota Majority used incomplete information on felons and voters resulting in a list riddled with errors. The Nobles County Attorney’s office identification of inaccuracies is typical. For example, Ramsey County received a list of 480 names of which 270 were quickly eliminated. Minnesota Majority’s most common error is matching people with similar names who were born in the same year (public voter records do not list the day and month of birth, only the year). After considerable study, the list was whittled down to 28 names that require further investigation.

Second point: Over the lengthy senate recount and trial, no fraud was found. In the recount trial, a justice asked Norm Coleman’s attorney if there was any evidence of any fraud. The attorney answered: “Absolutely not, and there’s no voter fraud, there’s no election fraud.”

Third point: Dan McGrath of the Minnesota Majority acknowledged their list likely contained a large number of errors, but said they were more interested in a thorough investigation. If that was their intent, they did not need inflammatory press conferences claiming proof of extensive voter fraud. Minnesota Majority is knowingly misrepresenting facts to push a partisan agenda.

Fourth point: Minnesota Majority is a right-wing group that wants to discredit both Senator Franken and Secretary of State Ritchie. The group has strong ties to Mary Kiffmeyer, who lost her re-election bid to Mark Ritchie.

Final point: Only one case of felonious voting has been proven. A man in Warroad with felony conviction says he voted for Norm Coleman.

Minnesota Majority is attacking Minnesota’s stellar history of fair and open elections. The county attorneys will complete their investigations, as they should. When the investigations inevitably discount Minnesota Majority’s claims, the group should issue a public apology to Senator Franken and Secretary Ritchie. But they won’t, and despite them, Minnesota will continue to have one of the cleanest election systems in the nation.

Tags: opinion, letter, bauman