Lancaster County election workers recently rejected a dozen suspicious voter registration forms submitted by one man, who police suspect may have a mental health issue.
Detection of the fraud demonstrates the election commission’s procedures are working, Commissioner Todd Wiltgen said.
“I would advise individuals not to test the system,” he said.
People legally may submit a voter registration form for a number of reasons (there’s only one form) — if they’ve never voted before, they’ve moved or they want to change their political party affiliation.
Election workers review every single online and physical registration form they receive and when the fraudulent forms started arriving in July, there was cause for concern.
“When we get a form from someone that has been dead for five years, that’s an alarm,” Wiltgen said.
But it became pretty apparent they were coming from the same person.
They were in the same handwriting. Half were not filled out completely. Some included a 62-year-old Lincoln man’s name. Some included his email address. He didn’t sign the forms, instead just making a mark.
Three of the fraudulent forms included the man’s name. One included the word “resident” on the name line, and another had the word “occupant.” Five were for registered Lancaster County voters, one was a dead person and one was a person who had moved away from the county.
Wiltgen suspected the man was obtaining the physical forms from a library or a post office, but they’re also available at banks. The man’s choice of political party was sporadic.
Wiltgen called Lincoln police about the man’s fraudulent forms three times, once in early August and twice in early September.
A police spokesperson said police have not cited the man, since they believe he is submitting the forms due to a mental health issue.
A conviction for providing false information on a voter registration form can result in a fine of up to $10,000 and up to two years in prison along with 12 months of post-release supervision.
Reach the reporter at pbreen@journalstar.com or 216-287-8623.
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