New automatic voter registration law fraudulently registering minors to vote

Beginning last month, Maryland became the 10th state in the nation, along with the District of Columbia, to enact a voter registration system that automatically puts residents on the voter rolls when using a social service agency, obtaining a driver’s license or even getting a new state identification card. Passed largely along party lines, with Democrats helping to pass this new law earlier this year during the Maryland General Assembly; the party of Andrew Jackson and Barack Obama touted this as being a tool that would help increase voter turnout and participation in local elections.

Problem is, it seems to be increasing turnout too much, enabling minors to become a part of a system that legally they are not allowed to participate.

Earlier this month, Kalil Jaymar Jones – a sixteen-year old Howard County resident – went to the Motor Vehicle Administration with his mother in order to obtain a new state ID. An excited Jones had just had a birthday two weeks prior and was ready to begin the process of finally being able to obtain a driver’s license. But instead of taking the learners permit right away, he decided to get the MVA booklet and study some more before taking the multiple-choice exam. But he did finally get a state-issued identification while he was there, and that enabled state employees to fraudulently issue him a voter registration card.

Asked whether he would like to become a voter in the future, he agreed, after asking his politically-conscious mother what party affiliation he should select. They thought nothing of the question asked by the MVA employee, since young Mr. Jones wouldn’t turn eighteen – the legal age to participate in federal, state and local elections – until August 2021.

More