Double Voting

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that more than 27,000 people are registered in both Ohio and Florida, allowing them to vote in both locations. Moreover, they could double vote without being detected.

These people are among more than 27,000 listed as active voters in both Ohio and Florida who could cast ballots in either of the two states, both among the most closely contested in the presidential race.

Despite increased scrutiny of voting procedures following the 2000 election - and a federal reform law aimed at shoring up the patchwork system - virtually nothing prevents transient voters from casting ballots in multiple states, testing a system that relies more on the honesty of individual voters than on any checks and balances.

As many as 400 people voted in Ohio and Florida in the same election over the past four years, records show. In the 2000 presidential election, about 100 Ohio voters also cast ballots in Florida - where the presidential race was decided by just 537 votes.

Three things need to be reiterated about double voting: 1) nothing prevents it from occurring, 2) the system relies on trust that voters won't do it, and 3) it can easily change the outcome of an election.

After the problem of double voting was identified in other newspapers, Florida's Secretary of State, Glenda Hood, asked the Justice Department to initiate an investigation.