Washblog

The incumbent Republican Secretary of State has publicly taken credit for cancelling 400,000 voter registrations. He's being far too modest.

Between January 2006 and June 2008, the Republican has cancelled 900,000 voter registrations. For the same period, 500,000 new registrations have been added. That's a net loss of 400,000 voter registrations.

It's been very difficult to determine why all these voters have been cancelled. During our first debate, the incumbent brushes off criticism by saying these registrations were duplicates, people who've died, and felons. That accounts for 25% of the cancellations.

However, 75% of the cancellations have no explanation whatsoever. Not dead, not felons, not duplicate records.

I don't understand this. Washington State continues to grow. We're mounting record voter registration drives. And yet, we have fewer registered voters.

It seems to me the total number of voters should be going up, not down.

These cancellations may be legitimate. I just can't say, either way. In fact, no one can vouch for the VRDB. And that's the problem. The lack of oversight, the poor quality of the data, the reluctance to provide answers, etc. That is the problem.

Volunteer Opportunity

I have filed open records requests for the VRDB logs, among other things. Compelling our government to follow the law and provide this information is a full time job, requiring tenacity and effort.

I'd be very grateful if someone(s) stepped up and helped with this activity. Contact me via jason at jasonosgood.com.

Thank you!

Cheers, Jason Osgood

Democrat for Secretary of State