Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez of Grand Island, N.Y., died Friday. According to Robert Young, the gerontology consultant with the Guinness Book of World Records, Sanchez-Blazquez was the world’s oldest man. He inherited the title when 116-year-old Jiroemon Kimura of Japan died June 12 at age 116 — or — 117. Sources differ.
I mention this man for a reason: a Civitas report on early voting during the 2012 elections contended at least a thousand 112-year-olds voted in North Carolina’s election. Anyone with half a brain knows that North Carolina does not have one voter who is 112 — much less a thousand.
So we can draw only one of three conclusions: 1) the Fountain of Youth is located somewhere in the Tar Heel state; 2) voter fraud using the credentials of the elderly is rampant; 3) the voting records have some serious birthdate issues.
If the Fountain of Youth is in this state, probably hiding somewhere in the mountains, please email me the address so I can make a visit. If voter fraud is the problem, we need to fix it quick.
However, the real issue surrounds voters who are labeled “legacy voters.” In 1993, Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). One of the requirements of that act demanded voters furnish a birthdate when registering to vote. Until that time, North Carolina did not require a voter to give date of birth when registering to vote. Keep in mind, the NVRA is only 20 years old.
According to a publication from the North Carolina Board of Elections, while many voters had provided their full dates of birthday when they registered to vote, a significant number of voters had not. So, as a stop-gap measure, the State Board of Elections instructed county boards to use the “legacy birthdate” for these voters. That legacy birthdate was 01/01/1900.
By using this date, a county board of elections worker would know to ask for an accurate birthdate and replace the “legacy date” with the real birthdate each time they saw a voter whose birthday was listed as 01/01/1900.
Since that time, the state and local boards of elections have tried to correct as many birthdates as possible, the state board contends. The state board also cross-checks voter registration lists against Division of Motor Vehicle records. When “legacy voters” make changes in their registration, such as updating their address or changing political party, local election workers update their records.
If a person shows up to vote and poll workers notice a discrepancy between the age on the voting record and the age of the person standing before them, they ask for clarification and update the record. Of course, some of the “legacy voters” are removed from voter rolls during voter registration maintenance.
Since voting is one of our most basic and sacred rights, we need to do all we can to protect the integrity of the process. When I first heard the report of a thousand 112-year-olds voting in North Carolina’s 2012 election, I was concerned. I suspected rampant voter fraud, led by hundreds of “tombstone” voters. I could hear Ray Stevens singing about his grandpa in the back of my mind.
Once I found out about the “legacy voters,” I felt some relief. I can even understand using a specific and easily recognizable date to flag these “legacy voters.” I hope during this election cycle, the state and local boards of elections will make every effort to clean up the registration information for all the remaining legacy voters.
Getting accurate information is required by the NVRA, and obtaining that information is an important step toward ensuring the integrity of the election process by making sure every voter is who he or she claims to be.
Remember: Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez lived in Grand Island, NY — not North Carolina.
I wonder if he voted in the 2012 election.
I hope so.
Mike Parker is a columnist for The Free Press. You can reach him at mparker16@suddenlink.net or in care of this newspaper.