Below is the editorial that Election Integrity Maryland President Cathy Kelleher wrote to the Baltimore Sun in response to Question 2 on the Maryland Ballot:

 

Dear Editor,

As early voting is upon us, officially ushering in the election season, related issues, such as non-citizen voting, and now, particularly, the question of mail-in ballots, enter phases of critical, tantamount importance.

For example, question #2 on every voter’s ballot in the state of Maryland, while seemingly innocent and simple, actually presents a sinister, very real threat to the future of free and fair elections – as well as dark consequences for the outcomes and processes of our elections, the future of our nation, and the rights upon which it was founded as-stated in the U.S. Constitution.

      I implore you and all readers to join us in our strong opposition of mail-only ballots.

With the large number of non-citizen voters already successfully casting ballots in elections due to the lack of physical face-to-face voting procedures, as well as the lack of the requirement to present a government-issued ID to vote in Maryland, the passage of mail-only ballots would only amplify and expand our current problems and discrepancies.

The question, supported by the all-new Election Law §9-501, asks county voters to cast their ballots for a new County Executive as opposed to having them appointed by the local County Council, as is currently done under Maryland law. This law would also make it possible for the vote to be conducted by mail ONLY, making it only accessible to those who receive their ballots by mail vs. walking into a polling place on Election Day. This new provision seeks to allow new County Councilmen and Executives to be elected by mail alone, and also opens the door to the selection of members of Congress as well. Many officials also share the concern that should this be allowed to pass, it may also open the door to potential email voting in the future, with even more grave and drastic consequences.

      While we do agree that the County Executive should be elected, we also feel the appointment method may prove to be the most effective way to circumvent the documented, prevalent cases of corruption and fraudulent activity among these individuals, the policymakers themselves.

As anyone scratching the surface of this issue will see, this is not only appalling, but, as it appears an innocent ‘box to check’ on the current ballot, reveals a disturbing agenda by policymakers that seeks to threaten our tradition of electoral freedoms and transparency. Several scenarios pose threats to the success and legality of mail-only ballots, including:

  • The Maryland voter rolls have thousands of bad, incorrect, and/or false addresses. This would make it nearly impossible to ensure that ballots are distributed accurately and fairly and sent back;
  • Per Maryland law, there is only one voter list, which includes both active and inactive voters. This means that all on this list would receive ballots, including those who are ‘inactive’ due to death, out of state relocation, or criminal activity/felony incarceration;
  • Duplicate voting is also very common as a result of provisional ballots. It is a proven fact , despite claims made by the State Boards of Elections, that several voters cast both absentee ballots and vote provisionally in-person at the polls- this has been allowed to continue due to lack of appropriate voter verification systems and capabilities, in an effort to simplify the voting process and attract greater numbers of voters;
  • Mail-only could be lost in the mail, or arrive late, which would render the voter unable to participate and negate the entire process;
  • The significant potential for malicious interception of ballots while in transit to allow fraudulent voting activity to take place in others’ names (i.e. family members, friends, neighbors, strangers even who are able to gain access to another’s mailbox), without them ever being aware; and
  • There is a serious lack of ability and/or systems to monitor and verify the mail-only ballots being cast, to ensure they are submitted by the individuals whose names appear on the address labels.

This issue of mail-in ballots, and the significant potential for fraud they introduce into our electoral system, though of local significance to us in the Washington, DC region, is, sadly, not uncommon, with many other instances of illegal activity stemming from them taking place in other states, particularly Colorado. For example:

  • In Colorado, anyone can print a ballot online and mail it in, resulting in such alarming incidences of fraud the activities have been termed “Franken-Fraud;”
  • James O’Keefe, from the Project VERITAS Action Fund, went undercover in Colorado and shot a video, titled “Colorado Voter Fraud – “Ghetto” Politics” that shows exactly what we should fear;
  • Reliance on the post office to deliver ballots in a timely fashion is a concern, and the recycle centers being a pick-up point for discarded ballots, as is currently happening in Colorado, could become a cottage industry; and
  • The overwhelming lack of control in nursing facilities, hospitals and retirement centers is going to skyrocket, which opens the door ever-wider to ongoing, voter fraud.

These are issues every American citizen, regardless of age, creed, ethnicity, or belief system, should stand up and take notice of – don’t allow a seemingly-benign box on a ballot allow you to unknowingly surrender your essential freedoms.

 

-Cathy A. Kelleher, President, Election Integrity Maryland

realtorcak@aol.com