On Wednesday President Donald Trump tweeted he will be asking for an investigation into voter fraud. He tweeted that the investigation will focus on people voting in two states and dead people still being registered to vote.
I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
"I think we could probably do a better job of knowing who we are registering to vote." said director of the Jackson County Election Board, Tammy Brown.
Brown says workers do their best to make sure voter fraud does not happen, however Brown says it's tricky for them to do.
"I won’t say it doesn't happen I mean you could have, you could be registered here and you can be a snow bird and live in Arizona and Florida and be registered there and we wouldn't know because we do not do cross state matches with them,” said Brown.
The Jackson County Election Board says they look through local obituaries to see if someone has passed and then will update their system. The Johnson and Wyandotte County Election Board also say they do the same thing, however it isn’t always foolproof.
"If a voter dies out of state, we don't get any notification unless there is an obit in the newspaper,” said Brown.
Another challenge Jackson County faces is properly identifying voters. Last election 67 percent of voters approved Amendment 6, requiring voters to show a photo ID. Those opposed to the amendment say requiring an ID will make it harder for disenfranchised people to vote, taking away their rights.
41 Action News spoke with the current Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft on the amendment before the election.
"I think it's a simple, common sense way to make sure every eligible voter has the right opportunity to vote but only once per election,” said Ashcroft.
Brown says the measure will help them better keep track of voters.
"You can bring in a utility bill and it may not even be your utility bill and we actually had that happen back in 2010,” said Brown. "Having a utility bill be an ID to vote I don’t think is strict enough."
The Missouri Secretary of State told 41 Action News Amendment six will be effective for the August election, If you do not show an ID when you register to vote you will be asked for one when you do vote.
When you go to vote, and still do not have an ID, you have to find two election judges who know you, one Republican and one Democrat to be given a ballot.
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Ali Hoxie can be reached at ali.hoxie@kshb.com
