Don’t believe lies about widespread voter fraud

By Ken Hamm, Las Vegas

Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016 | 2 a.m.

As every major election nears, you see letters to the editor telling everyone that we need to ask for identification on Election Day to prevent voter fraud.

To vote on Election Day, you have to be a registered voter. If you are not, you will not be allowed to vote under any circumstances.

There are several ways to register. You can go the Election Department, fill out a form and hand them your ID. You can do it when you register your car at the Department of Motor Vehicles. You can register with the many people who are authorized to canvass locations around the city. And you can go to clarkcountynv.gov/election.

Filling out a registration form does not make a person a registered voter. All of the information he or she enters is put into a database, then is verified using other databases. If there are any discrepancies, the voter is sent a letter telling what he or she needs to do to get registered.

You have to be a U.S. citizen to vote. There is no way around this. You have to have a valid ID. This information is checked and verified before Election Day. On Election Day, instead of asking again for your ID, we ask you to sign your name. Your signature then becomes the way we identify you. If your signature does not match, a supervisor will be called over to ask for your ID.

There are a lot of checks and balances in place to make sure those who are not allowed to cast a ballot do not get the opportunity to do so. There have been many studies done on voter fraud, and there is no evidence that it is a serious problem anywhere in this country. Stop believing in all the anger and hatred out there. Our voting system is safe. Go vote; that is how you can be heard.