Title: Cracking down on people who vote twice.
Headings: People Who Vote Twice
People Who Vote Twice
A sudden crackdown on an old trick.
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Content: Florida 2000 “proved” to voters, particularly in the swing states, that every ballot is vitally important. More than ever, you’re reminded that if you register and vote, you could choose the next president. This message may subtly encourage cheating: Your extra vote, like Joe Moschella’s in Florida, may help alter the course of history. Advertisement
At the same time, the Florida fiasco also made it clear how imperfect the vote counting process is—like “measuring bacteria with a yardstick,” in mathematician John Allen Paulos’ phrase —and sends the signal that your vote probably won’t matter after all. So, Democrats try to register every warm body, since new registrants tend to vote Democratic; for the same reason, Republicans are sorting through voter-registration forms one by one, looking for signs of fraud. Some people might justifiably worry that their precious vote won’t be counted—and vote twice. For all the new concern about double voting, though, the odds of getting caught remain minuscule. Comparing voter databases county by county and state by state is a needle-in-haystack undertaking, even with the aid of computers.