Ballot Signature Verification: Court Debates Use of Registration Records

In a current trial court case, the question of verifying ballot signatures is considered. Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes says the case should be dismissed since the current procedures for verifying signatures are sufficient. The judge refused, saying the law states that ballot signatures can be compared to the signature on the voter’s registration record only. Any other signature specimens are not allowed for comparison.

The registration record is signed when a voter first registers to vote. It is possible the registration record could be decades old. Mr. Fontes points out that only using the registration record is ridiculous, since signatures certainly change over time. The trial court has yet to issue a ruling.