In California, willfully registering an ineligible voter is a crime. See Elections Code ยง 18100. On the other hand, negligently registering ineligible voters by the thousands is done by the government itself.
Bryan Anderson reports for the Sacramento Bee that the state's motor voter program is such a wreck that an emergency halt is being considered:
California launched the Motor Voter program on April 23, which automatically registers and pre-registers eligible voters when they go into a DMV office to complete a driver's license, state ID or address change transaction.
The DMV reported last month that it made 23,000 voter registration errors resulting from technicians toggling between multiple screens and having registration information improperly merged. In May, the Los Angeles Times reported that a software error affected 77,000 voter records generated at the DMV.
On Monday, the DMV said about 1,500 people were improperly registered to vote, some of whom may not be citizens. Padilla said his office immediately removed all 1,500 people from the voter rolls. In a letter to the DMV, he called for the agency to hire an independent third-party to conduct an audit.
Leave a comment