Purge the rolls and start over at square one.
Hyo Suk George lived legally in the United States for nearly 20 years before she voted in her first election, coaxed to cast her ballot by an enthusiastic town council member at church.
To register, she presented a green card, Social Security number and driver’s license — proof enough for the elections officials in Columbus County — then voted in 2008, 2010 and 2016.
But on Thursday, George, 70, faced charges of illegal voting from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, for which she might have spent six months in prison. Instead, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle chastised the elections board in Whiteville, letting George go with a $100 fine.
“So they see a green card and say, ‘That’s OK’ because they don’t know what they’re doing,” said Boyle, chief judge of the eastern district of North Carolina. “They ought to be a little smarter than that.”
Boyle added “maybe as much attention as is focused on illegal voting” could be placed on educating election workers.”
Only U.S. citizens can vote, and a green card grants permanent residency without citizenship.
The judge’s comments came as controversy continues to swirl around the state’s 9th Congressional district, where November results are thought to have been marred by fraudulent absentee ballots.
In 2016, an investigation by the N.C. Board of Elections found that out of 4.8 million people who cast ballots, 508 were ineligible to vote. Most of them were felons on active sentences. One of those, the report said, would have been caught by a Voter ID law.
via Weasel Zippers
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