Los Angeles TV station uncovers poll vault containing hundreds of ballots cast by the deceased

Brett T. | 7:54 PM on May 24, 2016

It seems any attempt to pass voter ID legislation is met with the same claims: it’s racist, it’s expensive and inconvenient, it disproportionately disenfranchises Democrat voters and the deceased, and it addresses a problem that does not exist. That is, there is no voter fraud, and claims to the contrary serve only as cover for other less noble motives.

A two-part investigation by CBS2 in Los Angeles, though, suggests otherwise.

Tonight on CBS2 News at 11 dead people voting. We found hundreds of votes attributed to people who died. How can it happen? Watch tonight

— David Goldstein (@CBSLAdavid) May 24, 2016

https://twitter.com/Yeeeeeech/status/735112748611182593

Government assistance, cradle to grave and beyond.

Not only are those hundreds of deceased voters casting their ballots from the afterlife — they’re persistent, often voting in multiple consecutive elections.

CBS2 Investigation Uncovers Votes Being Cast From Grave Year After Year https://t.co/rOSDFYyCRP

— Phil Willon (@philwillon) May 24, 2016

Investigative reporter David Goldstein compared voting records from the California Secretary of State’s office with death records from the Social Security Administration and turned up 265 matches in Southern California.

Across all counties, Goldstein uncovered 32 dead voters who cast ballots in eight elections apiece, including a woman who died in 1988. Records show she somehow voted in 2014, 26 years after she passed away.

…

Records show [Julita Abutin] voted in Norwalk in 2014, 2012, 2010 and 2008 though she died in 2006.

Abutin’s daughter, Marivic, says it’s impossible that her mother voted.

But the Los Angeles County Registrar confirms they have signed vote-by-mail envelopes with her mother’s name for the 2014 and 2012 election, though she died 10 years ago.