For all of those who argue that fraudulent voter registrations, like registration forms with false addresses, don’t lead to voter fraud, the Election Journal report ^[1] on an Obama field organizer in North Carolina who is registered in three states and has voted in two. Farah Minwalla is apparently registered to vote in North Carolina, New York, and Nevada.

According to Election Journal, Ms. Minwalla registered and voted in the Nevada Caucus (through same day registration); two weeks later, she voted in the New York Presidential primary. Election Journal also reports that according to her online biography, “she is currently pursuing a degree in English and Journalism in New York City.” I guess she wanted to make sure that Barack Obama got her vote wherever he might need it in the primaries. Since Barack Obama and John McCain are in a very close battle in North Carolina, one wonders whether Ms. Minwalla will cast a vote there to ensure that her candidate wins the general election, rather than in Nevada or New York where her vote is probably not needed. On the other hand, she may want to take advantage of all of her registrations and cast votes in all three states just to make sure he gets elected.

What is important to realize about this situation is that it has only come to light because of the investigation being done by private parties – not state election officials. The way our current voter registration system works, there is almost no chance of individuals who register and vote illegally in more than one state being caught since states do not run comparisons between their voter registration lists. So there are really no security mechanisms in place in our registration honor system to prevent double or triple votes by individuals like Ms. Minwalla who want to abuse the system.