Purging the Rolls

Via Ta-Nehisi Coates, it looks like we’re seeing some more of the only kind of voter fraud that there’s ever any evidence occurs in substantial numbers — illegal efforts to prevent people from voting:

The six swing states seem to be in violation of federal law in two ways. Michigan and Colorado are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or have been declared unfit to vote.

Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio seem to be improperly using Social Security data to verify registration applications for new voters.

In addition to the six swing states, three more states appear to be violating federal law. Alabama and Georgia seem to be improperly using Social Security information to screen registration applications from new voters. And Louisiana appears to have removed thousands of voters after the federal deadline for taking such action.

Every fall you see these kind of stories, plus stories about registration drives, plus stories about allegations of fraud, etc. It’s worth recalling that it’s nowhere written in the heavens that a country must use such a hodge-podge system of conducting elections. It would make a lot more sense to have a uniform national system for these procedural issues, complete with some kind of national database of who’s registered where. Under the existing system I was, at one point, simultaneously registered to vote in two states and one “District” completely by mistake.