Voter fraud in Virginia, a recipe for further voter political apathy and disengagement

If you want a cause of America’s collective political apathy, you needn’t look further than a trash bin. On Tuesday morning, a manager of a local store in Harrisonburg reported that he found a folder with eight voter-registration forms that had already been filled out in the trash.[1] The incident occurred just before Monday’s 5 p.m. registration deadline in the Shenandoah Valley.

Luckily, the eight forms were handed over the registrar’s office before the deadline. The county’s sheriff’s office is currently investigating the incident and any possible criminality.

Add this incident to the ‘vote-by-phone’ calls in Virginia, among others[2], and you have a recipe for a gradually increasing distrust in the voting process altogether.

The fraudulent ‘vote-by-phone’ calls that recently occurred informed recipients that they could vote by phone. There is no state in the U.S. that allows voters to vote by phone. According to Darden Rice of the Pinellas County League of Women Voters, “The purpose of these calls is to confuse voters.”[3]

Rice further stated, “Voters cannot vote by phone, not in any state, so if you get a call like this, it’s fraudulent and please report it immediately.”[4]

And the political season is far from over. Who knows what new allegation of voter fraud will arise from now until Election Day in Virginia?

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[1] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/17/discarded-filled-out-voter-forms-in-virginia-spur-/

[2] http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/07/25/585131/romney-uses-false-voter-fraud-allegations-to-threaten-15000-virginia-voters/?mobile=nc

[3] http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_pinellas/fraudulent-vote-by-phone-calls-reported-in-florida-virginia

[4] http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_pinellas/fraudulent-vote-by-phone-calls-reported-in-florida-virginia