Let the Voting Fraud Begin!

New Hampshire’s first in the nation primary will be happening early than it ever has in the past, and this has caused a quagmire for many college campuses:

Home for the Holidays

Many of New Hampshire’s campuses will be empty because students will be away for Winter Break. The question begs to be asked - “Where will many of the students be?” The answer, they will be “home” for the holidays. Granted many of these students are in fact year round residents of New Hampshire, but what about the thousands that aren’t New Hampshire residents, nor have any real indention at remaining in New Hampshire upon their graduation?

Many of these out of state students are being told that they have the right to vote in the upcoming primary. This statement couldn’t be further from the truth, and frankly is an on-going fraud that is not just perpetrated against the citizens of New Hampshire, but all Americans. There are several NH laws that intersect when determining New Hampshire residency:

RSA 654 states: (NH Voting Laws)

(a) Any one of the following documents is presumptive evidence that the individual seeking to vote meets the domicile requirement, provided the document is currently valid, was issued to or in the name of the applicant, and shows the address the applicant claims as a domicile:
(1)New Hampshire driver’s license.
(2) New Hampshire vehicle registration
(3) Armed services identification, or other photo identification issued by the United States government.
(b) Any one of the following is presumptive evidence of the identity of an applicant sufficient to satisfy the identity requirement for an official authorized by RSA 659:30 to take the oath of an applicant swearing to a citizenship, domicile, or election day affidavit:
(1) Photo driver’s license issued by any state or the federal government.
(2) United States passport, armed services identification, or other photo- identification issued by the United States government.
(3) Photo identification issued by local or state government.
Addendum A grants voting rights without requiring any further affirmation. Addendum B requires the person to swear to their Citizenship of the United States and declaring their domicile as NH.

But there is another factor involved in this matter. NH Law requires that everyone claiming NH to be their domicile has 60 days from the time of moving into the State of obtaining a NH license. The same amount of time is granted to register and inspect your vehicle. Additionally, the requirements for Addendum B cannot be used when trying to reduce your tuition to “in-state” status. Why is that? Is it because the State University System realizes that suddenly everyone would declare themselves to be New Hampshire Citizens in an effort to save money?

But why would anyone commit fraud during the primary? It is not like they are actual voting for the next president….right? Wrong! The winners of the New Hampshire Primary have historically gone on to win their parties nomination (NH has correctly picked the Democratic and Republican nominee with over 90% accuracy). Winning the first primary gives that candidate momentum going into the other primaries.

The stakes are high and the first in the nation primary holds a great deal of importance. Important enough for some to commit fraud. America is rare in its ability to maintain the integrity of the voting booth, but no system is perfect. Voting is not just a right, but also an essential civic duty, one that requires us to be vigilant. We should do everything possible to make voting registration and casting a ballot as easy as possible. But we must put more emphasis on the personal responsibility of the voter to ensure that they properly register and can prove their identity before receiving a ballot. Voting fraud, whether in a primary or the general election, is a danger to democracy because it takes a process dedicated to equality and reduces it mob rule.