Dead voters still registered

By Leisa Zigman, I-Team Reporter

KSDK -- The push to register voters for this year's presidential election is breaking records all over the country. A record-setting 4,205,774 registered voters are on the books in Missouri. That number includes over 340,000 first time voters. But are they all legal?

Using high tech computer software, the NewsChannel 5 worked with the National Institute of Computer Assisted Reporting to find the answers.

Nearly one million people are registered voters in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis. NewsChannel 5 obtained the electronic lists of all registered voters and merged them with the Social Security's Federal Death records dating from 1937 through September this year.

Each month, election officials are supposed to update their files and purge the names of deceased voters.

"In February we caught an individual using his deceased mother's identity to vote," said Scott Leiendecker, Republican Director of Elections for the City of St. Louis.

In the process to try to identify voter fraud, a match means the first, middle initial, last name and date of birth matched both databases.

In the City of St. Louis, the I-Team found more than 80 matches. In St. Louis County, nearly 300 matches were found. NewsChannel 5 also found 56 cases in which people could have voted from beyond the grave in the February Presidential Primary.

The I-Team shared its findings with absentee voters waiting in long lines outside the County Board of Election headquarters in Maplewood.

"Anytime you have dead people voting I think it's unacceptable," said voter Tonja Kirby.

Another voter, Eric Hunt, decried the situation as a result of sloppy work.

"Somebody could have an advantage over the other candidate and it wouldn't be a fair win," Hunt said.

The Social Security database is not 100 percent accurate. In fact, the I-Team found several dozen people listed as dead who were very much alive.

"If, in fact, we have deceased people on the roles and if, in fact, those people voted, that would concern me. If they're on the rolls and nobody voted, than I'm a whole lot less concerned," said Joe Goeke III, Republican Director of the St. Louis County Board of Elections.

But the I-Team found many voters who were very concerned. Some people said they've tried for years to get their loved ones removed from the rolls without success.

Geraldine Crist's name was never removed. She passed away 12 years ago. Roy Cummins also tried but was not successful. His wife, Phyllis, passed away more than two years ago. He informed election officials but before every election, reminder cards arrive in the mail informing Phyllis of her polling station.

"I think the system should be tougher since they're still sending me cards with her name on it," Cummins said.

Cummins said he's worried about the potential for voter fraud.

"There's always the potential, but what we've tried to do over the past three years, we've helped indict and convict 12 people of election fraud," Leiendecker said.

The voter who tried to use his dead mom's name in the February election was convicted as well.

"We had him prosecuted and he lost his right to vote," said Leiendecker.

Trent Siebert, editor of TexasWatchdog.org, found similar problems in Houston. His organization monitors government waste and fraud.

"Sounds like you got real problems in your backyard. That is disturbing," Siebert said.

Siebert does not believe the issue will impact the Presidential election. Instead, he worries about lower turnout elections.

"The off season city council race, the school board and county council; fraudulent votes could really make a difference," Siebert explained.

After checking the matches, the I-Team found by making phone calls and knocking on doors, we found the Missouri state database is far more accurate than the Federal government's death rolls.

Each week, the state sends out updated information about deceased voters to election officials. But the data is only as good as those inputting it at the local level. Officials have had three years to prepare for tomorrow's election.

What was clear from our investigation was that the registration rolls in the city of St. Louis were more current and accurate then St. Louis County. Ironically, St. Louis County officials tried to tell the I-Team the voter rolls were not public record. Ultimately, they turned them over.

Of the 56 matches of people who may have voted from beyond the grave in the February primary, the I-Team could not say with 100% confidence there was more than one case. But the I-Team did see the inaccuracies of the rolls.

Voter fraud is a felony and if convicted, a person could not only lose the right to vote, that person could also face up to five years in prison. Federal, state, and local election officials have vowed to aggressively prosecute anyone trying to commit voter fraud in Tuesday's general election.