Dakota County investigates alleged voter fraud

During a briefing with reporters Thursday Secretary of State Mark Ritchie mentioned that some counties are looking at alleged cases of voter fraud, particularly by felons voting before they've had their rights restored.

When pressed for details he suggested it may be worth checking with Dakota County. So we did.

The Dakota County attorney's office, as it turns out, is in the process of reviewing 95 reports of possible voter fraud. Documents released Thursday night indicate 46 of those were either turned down for prosecution, or were closed without filing of charges.

In a memo to the Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom, assistant County Attorney Amy Schaffer said 49 of the cases are still in the investigation stage, with information being sought from local police agencies that could fill in the blank.

In a note to Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann Backstrom said it's standard procedure to give warnings in cases where it's apparent the voters didn't realize their crimes were felonies, for instance if the sentence was stayed.

And there were cases in which the felons didn't realize the ban on voting extends through the end of probation. An element of the crime, when it comes to obtaining a conviction, is that the felon "knowingly" voted despite losing that right.

Backstrom attached a letter he wrote to one of those voters, Steven Northbird. The veteran prosecutor reminded Northbird he was convicted of a felony level charge of fleeing a peace officer in 2005 and yet voted in the November 2006 election.

Backstrom noted Northbird signed a voter registration card and the voting roster with the standard warning that those convicted of felonies can't vote until they're off probation and had their civil rights restored.

But he goes on to tell Northbird that, although he could charge him with a felony, he won't pursue criminal charges "in the interest of justice and because you may have been confused regarding whether you could vote."

He cautioned him not to vote again until his rights are restored.

During Thursday's meeting with reporters Ritchie reiterated that cases of felons voting when they shouldn't are still extremely rare, especially in the context of 2.9 million legally cast ballots in the 2008 election.

He referenced the high profile case of Eric Willems, a convicted sex offender who registered in Roseau County on Election Day in November and voted despite the fact his civil rights won't be fully restored until he's "off paper" -- finished with the community portion of his sentence -- in 2011.

Willems told the Grand Forks Herald he had no idea he couldn't vote once he left prison, but he pled guilty anyway to voting illegally. His vote still counts -- in his case he voted for former Senator Norm Coleman -- because once the ballot enters the ocean of other anonymous votes it can't be retrieved and cancelled.

That type of situation was addressed in one of the Ritchie's election reform bills that passed the legislature in 2009 but didn't get past Governor Pawlenty's desk.

It would've required judges to tell newly convicted felons they've lost their voting rights at least temporarily. On the back end it would've mandated that parole officers inform those ex-convicts that they're eligible to vote again.

Ritchie admitted that veto surprised him more than the others did.

Check out our KARE family of Web sites:
	takeKARE		Metromix
	Moms Like Me		Minnesota Bound
	Showcase Minnesota