A voting integrity story to amuse you while you wait in line to vote:
In the fall of 1997, I went to work for the @washingtonpost editorial page, which then had the slogan, "An Independent Newspaper." Some time after beginning my work as an editorial writer there, I decided to be a registered independent in keeping with the spirit of the masthead.
It took me a while to change my registration--maybe a few years. As I recall, I eventually did it under the DC motor voter law one day when I went to renew my driver's license.
It is not rational in DC to be registered as anything other than a Democrat, because most elections are decided in the Democratic primary. But it was a symbolic act of civic faith with the role I was playing.
And it didn't work.
Benjamin Wittes remained a Democrat.
And a new voter was born: registered independent Benjamin Sittes.
Benjamin Wittes remained a Democrat.
And a new voter was born: registered independent Benjamin Sittes.
Benjamin Sittes shared my address, my date of birth, and--save for one letter--the spelling of my name.
Every election cycle, he would receive a voter registration card at my house. I reported him serially to the DC government. He remained on the rolls.
One year--I believe it was 2004--I decided the time has come to out his voter fraud scheme. I hatched a plan to vote, get in line at my polling station again, present Mr. Sittes's card, receive a second ballot, spoil it, and then write an oped with the following lede:
"I voted twice today."
I checked with a lawyer friend before doing it. "It's a felony, Ben," I was told, "one of a type they really will prosecute." Benjamin Sittes remained unexposed.
When I came to Brookings, Benjamin Sittes made a friend: a young research assistant to my colleague Tom Mann named @mollyereynolds became very fond of my voting alter-ego. She used to check on him regularly to make sure he was still on the rolls.
@mollyereynolds later went to grad school, became a political scientist, and is now a senior fellow at @BrookingsInst and also writes frequently for @lawfareblog.
Benjamin Sittes, by contrast, did not progress in life. #failuretolaunch
Benjamin Sittes, by contrast, did not progress in life. #failuretolaunch
Eventually, the DC Board of Elections and Ethics did catch up with him. He received a letter politely explaining that he was suspected of not being a real voter and would be removed from the rolls unless he showed cause why he shouldn't.
He submitted to his fate and vanished.
Is there a moral to this story? I think there are a few.
(1) Voter registration errors happen. There are a lot of stray registrants out there.
(2) Nearly of them are harmless. After all, Benjamin Sittes never voted.
(3) The system eventually fixed itself without my pulling any kind of publicity stunt. Culling the rolls of fake voters is legitimate, as long as it is done in good faith and with due care to target actual errors, not real voters.
(4) It is far, far better for lots of Benjamin Sitteses to remain harmlessly on the rolls a long time than for excessive zeal to purge them to prevent one @benjaminwittes from voting.
Here's a confession: I miss Benjamin Sittes. Every election cycle, @mollyereynolds and I reminisce about the guy. He wasn't the most effective fantom voter. But he was OUR fantom voter. And he really wasn't doing any harm.
So go honor the memory of Benjamin Sittes and vote--once.
That's all I got.
