Block's Voter Fraud Allegations Spark Controversy in Rhode Island

Block's Voter Fraud Allegations Spark Controversy in Rhode Island

Moderate Party founder and former gubernatorial candidate Ken Block filed a complaint with the DOJ this week alleging that Rhode Island violated federal election laws -- and now some in Rhode Island are firing back.

"In short, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires states to only register voters who provide either driver’s licenses or Social Security numbers (PII) on their voter registration forms. Only if a voter has not been issued either form of documentation is a state then allowed to accept other forms of identification.  States are required to verify the data collected above with either the DMV or Social Security Administration prior to allowing the registration to be finalized. Rhode Island only performs the mandated requirements above for voters who register by mail," stated Block.

"Rhode Island was in compliance with HAVA until August, 2008, when the Board of Elections promulgated modified voter registration rules that were in violation of HAVA," Block continued. "As a result of the rules change, a large number of new voters registered to vote without presenting PII ahead of the 2008 election and then voted in that election."

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John Marion with Common Cause Rhode Island, however, took affront with Block's findings - and presumptions.

Common Cause on Record

"Today two-time former gubernatorial candidate Ken Block sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice asserting that current regulations of the Rhode Island Board of Elections, as they are worded, do not comport with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)," said Marion. "Common Cause Rhode Island is closely examining his letter and will provide a more detailed response after a thorough review. If true, in any part, Common Cause Rhode Island will call on the Board of Elections to amend their regulations and bring them into compliance with the HAVA."

"An initial review of Mr. Block’s letter, however, reveals several misleading omissions and suggestions. Mr. Block’s main accusation is that the state is only requiring personally identifying information (PII) from first-time registrants who apply by mail. This ignores the language in the very regulations he is attacking that make clear the state must also collect this information when registrations are completed by third-party registrants. Third-party registrants are significant, and this is no small oversight on Mr. Block’s part," continued Marion. "Furthermore, Mr. Block again points out that there were 143,000 voters in the 2016 election for whom the state does not possess the PII. In raising this number Mr. Block willfully ignores the fact that prior to 2003 it was perfectly legal for anyone to register to vote without providing the PII. His insinuation that these are possibly fraudulent votes is an irresponsible attack on the legitimacy of our elections."

Marion ended with the following:

Mr. Block also suggests that Rhode Island’s recently passed automatic voter registration law may violate the HAVA requirements for collecting PII. This displays complete ignorance of the publicly stated purpose of automatic voter registration, which is to make the voter registration system more modern and secure. Automatic voter registration, by design, ensures that the voter file contains a more complete record for each registrant, including the PII. Mr. Block also completely ignores last year’s passage and implementation of online voter registration which is also designed to only allow for registrations and updates when the PII is part of the registration file. It appears that in ignoring and misrepresenting these reforms, Mr. Block is trying to distract from efforts to improve elections and is instead engaged in an ongoing effort to use gotcha tactics and the politics of innuendo to advance his personal agenda.
 
Finally, by providing all this information in the form of a letter to the Department of Justice that was shared with the media on an embargoed basis, Mr. Block demonstrates his primary goal is not to improve elections in Rhode Island, but rather to seek sensationalistic and possibly misleading headlines. This stands in sharp relief to Common Cause Rhode Island and our allies who are working constantly to improve our elections.

Latest in Back-in-Forth

Following Block's release, the Chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, Representative Joe McNamara, released the following statement on Thursday. 

“It is outrageous that Ken Block and his alt-Right, Bannon-founded Government Accountability Institute continue to question the integrity of Rhode Island’s voting system, given the extraordinary and nationally-recognized work Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea has done to clean up our voting rolls, and the questions behind Russia’s involvement on Trump’s behalf in our presidential election,” said McNamara.
 
“Nellie Gorbea has been a national leader in voter reform cleaning up the state's voter files, implementing online voter registration, passing Automatic Voter Registration, and increased transparency and public access to voting," said McNamara. "We know Mr. Block’s intentions: he's following the President's lead conflating issues to create fear and distrust among voters about the legitimacy of their vote. This is classic fake news at its worst, and Ken Block is doing Rhode Island and its voters a grave disservice by his comments,” he said.

Block weighed in on Thursday on Facebook, following the reception to his announcement. 

"Crazy day today. RI's Secretary of State kind of, sort of, admits there are problems with RI voter registration data. RI Board of Elections member Stephen Erickson spends a big chunk of his day attacking me on Twitter and then goes on the radio to attack me some more. How can he act in an unbiased way when inevitably I will be in front of him? And the good old RI Democratic Party, AFTER Gorbea issued the statement below, engages in a round of attacking the messenger. Hey guys - you usually attack when the messenger is wrong, not right. LOL," wrote Block. 

Center Defends Block

Following the release today of city-by-city and district-by-district voter registration and 2016 election voting research by Ken Block, via his Simpatico Software Systems data analysis company, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity calls on the Governor and/or the Attorney General to initiate an independent investigation.

"Claims that the State of Rhode Island is violating federal elections law, specifically the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), must be formally investigated and addressed," urged the Center's CEO, Mike Stenhouse."This shocking data means our current registration practices may need to be amended, with individuals appropriately held accountable, if voters are to maintain confidence in our State's elections integrity. Today, our Center calls on the Governor to publicly respond. The magnitude of these findings potentially shake the very foundation of our state's democracy."

The Center wrote the following;

The Center also demands a public statement from the Office of the Secretary of State and from the Board Of Elections, specifically declaring whether or not current voter registration practices are in compliance with federal law.

According to Block's research, results from the 2016 General Election show that more than thirty percent (over 143,000 votes) of the total votes cast were from voters who did not have a validating drivers license or social security number on file in Rhode Island's voter registration system. In every city and town in the Ocean State at least 20% of all votes cast last November, were by individuals without such personally identifying information (PII) on record. In five towns, over 40% of voters had no listed PII.

"That the voter registration process in Rhode Island may have been corrupted is a very serious issue. Whether or not this has led to actual voter fraud is one of the reasons a thorough and nonpartisan investigation is required," continued Stenhouse. "For starters, any public official knowingly involved in any unlawful registration process, should resign immediately.