Former President Ronald Reagan once said, “Democracy is worth dying for because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.” A democracy is a system of governance where all citizens are allowed to participate in elections in which they elect representatives, decide on legislation, repeal unruly politicians, etc. The critical piece here is that only the citizens of the said nation are allowed to vote.
California’s motor voter program seems as if it was designed to impede this section of California’s democratic system.
In 2015, legislation was passed allowing the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to electronically send records of those eligible to vote to the California Secretary of State. The idea behind this legislation was to allow eligible voters to be quickly and efficiently registered.
Unfortunately, it has been far too successful; not only does it enable eligible voters to register promptly and efficiently, but its complete lack of oversight allows even non-eligible voters to register easily. The nice men and women over at the Department of Finance decided to allocate your tax dollars, $417,000 to be exact, to Ernst & Young. Ernst & Young had been charged with the duty of vetting the Motor Voter system.
They used four criteria to evaluate the system. The first criterion is that those being registered are also verified as citizens of the United States. The second is ensuring that those registered have California residency. The third is that they will be 18 years of age or older on election day. The final criterion is that individuals being registered are not felons.
The good news is that the Department of Corrections ensures monthly that the data on felons is up to date. The bad news is that of the four criteria, the non-felon status verification is the only one shown to be validated in any significant way.
The free market is generally good at self-auditing as a result of competition and incentives. The same can’t be said for government bureaucracies, which lack both competition and meaningful incentives. When audited by Ernest & Young, the Motor Voter System failed miserably in three out of four categories of evaluation.
This piece began with Reagan’s words, and in them, there is wisdom. It is prudent to fight and safeguard the cornerstones of our democracy. The government of California should not be allowed—through any means—to undermine our democracy, but the Motor Voter program does just that.
