Florida has a lot of snowbirds.
They spend winters there and summers up north.
Wendy Rosen is one of them. The Democratic “candidate” in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District lives in Cockeysville and St. Petersburg, Florida.
She has voted in both places.
When this story broke, I knew that my Republican friends would use this incident to try to make the case for their voter ID laws.
But those statutes aren’t directed at snowbirds. They’re targeted at individuals who don’t have government-issued IDs.
They’re overwhelmingly elderly, students, or people of color. They can’t afford two residences.
“What steps can be taken, by statutory, administrative, or software change, to prevent an individual from voting in state or federal elections in Maryland and another state, as Ms. Rosen did?” I emailed the Maryland State Administrative Board of Election Laws, on the morning that the story broke about Ms. Rosen’s dual voting.
There is a database that matches information from voter registration files, motor vehicle administrations, and vital statistics from participating state, I was told. Maryland participates, but Florida does not.
If Florida did share its records, both states would have been alerted to Ms. Rosen’s dual registration. If Maryland deemed her active registration to be Florida, her registration in Maryland would have been cancelled.
This wasn’t my only encounter with voting rights this week.
Former Governor Robert Ehrlich supported voter-ID laws in his Baltimore Sun op-ed column on Sunday.
“For anyone interested in visiting Washington to discuss this highly controversial issue with the Attorney General Holder,” wrote Mr. Ehrlich, “be aware. You will need to produce proper photo identification in order to board the plane, secure your room at the hotel, rent a car, and enter the Justice Department.”
How have we addressed this issue in Maryland?
If your right to vote is challenged, you can use the following forms of identification:
* your voter’s card, Social Security card, or Maryland driver’s license;
* any identification card issued by the federal, state, or local government; and
* an employer-issued photo-ID; or a copy of a current bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name or current address.
Where did we come up with this list? It’s copied from the Help America Vote Act, passed with bipartisan support by the Congress in the wake of the Florida election debacle in 2000.
Our law strikes the proper balance between preventing voter fraud and denying people their fundamental right to vote.
