Since before November’s election, many of us have been kicking and hollering about the widespread voter fraud reported, but to no avail.

First, we had complaints from voters in at least six states that their intended votes for Mitt Romney on electronic touchscreen voting machines came up as votes for President Barack Obama.

Next we had reports of noncitizens being pressured by unions to register and vote in Nevada.

Then we had a number of voters across the country in a bit of a shock when they were told by poll workers on Election Day they had already voted, even though they hadn’t. At the same time, others bragged about voting multiple times on Twitter.

Next, we had reports of Obama oddly getting over 99% of the vote in certain precincts on Election Day. In fact, there were a substantial number of precincts where Mitt Romney got exactly zero votes. This doesn’t make any sense.

In addition to all these reports, True the Vote also documented:

Yet despite all these reports, crickets still seem to be chirping at the Republican National Committee (RNC).

HERE’S WHY…

In the 1982 consent decree, the Republican Party made an agreement effectively barring the RNC from “engag[ing] and assist(ing) in voter fraud prevention unless the RNC obtains the court’s approval in advance.” They basically made an agreement with the Democratic Party NOT to ensure voting integrity and NOT to pursue suspected vote fraud.

The reason for the 1982 consent decree was because during the 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election,According to The Judicial View:

“The RNC allegedly created a voter challenge list by mailing sample ballots to individuals in precincts with a high percentage of racial or ethnic minority registered voters and, then, including individuals whose postcards were returned as undeliverable on a list of voters to challenge at the polls. The RNC also allegedly enlisted the help of off-duty sheriffs and police officers to intimidate voters by standing at polling places in minority precincts during voting with National Ballot Security Task Force armbands. Some of the officers allegedly wore firearms in a visible manner.”

To settle the lawsuit, the RNC and RSC entered into the 1982 consent decree. According to True the Vote, the decree roughly states today:

▪ The RNC may only be sued by the DNC for enforcement issues;

▪ Any activity to fight voter fraud must be submitted to the courts for a 10-day preclearance process (think Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act);

▪ Voter fraud prevention or “Ballot Security” is defined as “any program aimed at combating voter fraud by preventing potential voters from registering to vote or casting a ballot;”

▪ Poll watching is defined as “stationing individuals at polling stations to observe the voting process and report irregularities unrelated to voter fraud to duly-appointed state officials” (Emphasis ours);

▪ The Decree expires December 1, 2017 – with detailed caveats.

True the Vote continues:

“After the initial agreement, the RNC tried multiple attempts to get out of the deal, amid new evidence of fraudulent voting activities and new law. Each time, however, the federal courts denied the request and ceded little room for adjusting the agreement. Though this agreement only applies to the national parties, it effectively squashes any attempt at a coordinated effort for election integrity.”

True the Vote also explains the two glaring issues with this consent decree:

First, the decree effectively robs poll watchers (and the ballot stakeholders that put them there) of their most important function: spotting and neutralizing attempted voter fraud. Indeed, poll watchers will mostly make note of procedural errors that could have negative impacts on voters. However, poll watchers also improve overall faith in the system when electors know that ALL of the rules are being enforced.

Second, the definition of “Ballot Security” sets an unreasonably high, yet undefined bar for what are acceptable anti-voter fraud operations. If the RNC wanted to execute a plan that prevented non-citizens from registering and voting, the courts would basically tell them to not press their luck. The RNC is effectively jammed: choosing between developing a system that the federal court and the DNC agree would be flawless or spending time and energy on developing issue ideas or get out the vote efforts. Time and money being finite, the RNC picks GOTV over “Ballot Security.”

Quite frankly, the whole thing is a mess! The Democrats can basically commit voter fraud and get away with it — without the RNC ever stepping in to do anything about it.

However, in an e-mail interview with Catherine Engelbrecht from True the Vote, she said, “There are some important points that need to be made though — the main one being that the 1982 consent decree only effects actions of the national party, not state or local which is where elections and ballot security should be focused anyway.”-

In other words, the solution to this problem is YOU. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 in particular, empowers all of us to fight for clean registrations and fair elections in our own communities: