Baldwin Township, a small jurisdiction in Michigan, recently faced a peculiar incident involving a fake voter registration. With only 1,600 residents and a limited number of voters, Clerk Cathy Pittsley noticed that a registration submitted by a Canadian citizen for the 2020 elections was fraudulent. This allowed Pittsley the time to thoroughly investigate and ascertain the authenticity of the voter.
According to Pittsley, several red flags were raised during the initial evaluation of the registration. The individual could not be reached by phone or mail, had no proper identification, and failed to provide substantial evidence of residing within the district or meeting the legal requirements to vote. Pittsley told the Gateway Pundit, “There were all these red flags, but they were responding over email.”
Further investigation revealed that the address provided by the prospective voter did not exist in tax records, utility records, or any official documentation. Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, Pittsley personally visited the address and discovered an empty field. The only structure present was a dilapidated storage building that had been abandoned for the past three decades. It was evident that nobody could feasibly live there. “There wasn’t even a driveway. I can’t find any record of anyone paying taxes at this address. No signature provided so there’s nothing to check their ballot against, and no ID,” Pittsley explained.
In light of these findings, Pittsley informed the individual that, according to state law, she couldn’t proceed with the registration without proof of residence or proper identification. However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Pittsley received a threatening call from Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office within an hour. The far-left Secretary of State, responsible for overseeing Michigan’s elections, had her deputies from the Bureau of Elections pressure Pittsley to immediately register the voter. Faced with this ultimatum, Pittsley reluctantly complied.
The Secretary of State’s office cited the UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) and the LEAVE Act, which grant certain privileges and considerations to military ballots and American citizens residing abroad. According to these acts, individuals can cast their votes based on their “last known address” in America. However, in this case, the voter in question had not resided in the country for over 30 years and even requested her absentee ballot be sent to British Columbia.
Loopholes in election laws further complicated the matter, leading to debates about the legality of the request. Military and citizens abroad voting laws allow individuals to register for absentee ballots for any reason and submit them via email. Clerks commonly refer to these voters as UOCAVA voters. Pittsley emphasized the repercussions of such loopholes, stating, “If this is happening here, in our small jurisdiction, and I just happened to catch this one because it was so obvious, imagine how many thousands of other illegal voters there might be across the country.”
Although Pittsley was unable to authenticate the existence of the voter, they were still permitted to cast an absentee ballot in the 2020 elections. This incident highlights the pressing need for stronger scrutiny and legislation to prevent fraudulent voter registrations and protect the integrity of elections.
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