Demos Chrissos
Founder and President
NationalVotersAlliance.org
DEMOS CHRISSOS has been active writing and producing issue advocacy radio and television for a variety of clients and specializes in security-related issues through his company, RapidResponse Media. He has also testified before members of the Maryland Assembly opposing such groups as the ACLU and CASA of Maryland and has been frequently interviewed on both radio and television. For 18 years, Chrissos worked on a number of high-profile political campaigns including multiple Presidential campaigns and has written and produced radio and television for a variety of corporate clients and non-profit clients.
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NATIONAL VOTERS ALLIANCE was organized as a result of seeing the inherent danger of the elected officials in states like Maryland turning a blind eye to the consequences of providing an extremely easy path for undocumented people living in the U.S. to obtain a Maryland driver's license. Using this license these people were then offered the opportunity to obtain a voter registration card. Since Maryland still does not require proof of "legal presence" and is one of the few remaining states that allows a person to "self attest" to their citizenship status, there is clearly the potential in Maryland for illegal voting in U.S. elections. These concerns were further heightened by the openly aggressive actions of such Hispanic advocacy groups such as CASA of Maryland who, with the help from the ACLU, threatened Maryland officials with lawsuits unless the state provided special hours reserved for "out of country" citizens to obtain driver's licenses.
The state of Maryland capitulated, and using taxpayer money, opened its Motor Vehicle Administration offices before normal hours for "out of country" citizens who were shepherded through the process of obtaining a Maryland driver's license with the help of CASA officials. After obtaining a driver's license, these people were then walked to the motor-voter booth at the MVA and given the opportunity to register to vote with no further questioning or proof of citizenship. This loophole in the law turned Maryland into once of the country's prime sources for obtaining an official state driver's licenses and became a "breeder document" to register these people to vote and as a means to further muddy their citizenship status. On any given morning, hundreds of cars flooded the parking lot with cars bearing license plates from New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Michigan.
The goal of the National Voters Alliance is to educate and focus public and government attention on finding proactive solutions to ensure the integrity of U.S. elections. Finding solutions like this can help strengthen democracy by ensuring both the right to vote and integrity of the process are equally protected.
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COMMENTARY
INDIANA VOTER ID DECISION:
RIGHT DECISION, RIGHT TIME
Opens Door For Other States
 It seems common sense prevails when it comes to sorting out the Constitutionality of laws meant to ensure the integrity of U.S. elections--at least with 6 out of the 9 Supreme Court justices. The Supreme Court decision announced April 29, 2008 to uphold the Indiana voter ID requirement is the right decision at the right time. Just weeks before the Indiana Presidential primary, no law could be more appropriate at this time.
The judges clearly recognized the need to preserve the integrity of U.S. elections over the hand-wringing worries that people who have to show a picture ID to get a movie at BlockBuster, would somehow find it extremely inconvenient, if not downright burdensome, to show that same picture ID when voting for the elected leaders of this country. To these people, weeding out ineligible DVD watchers is far more important than weeding out illegal voters from casting illegal ballots and canceling out legal votes. But alas, six justices on the Supreme Court saw arguments like this as hollow obstacles to common sense.
Our hope is other states will now feel more compelled to follow Indiana’s lead and begin rid the electoral system of fraud and abuse. That may take an outcry from citizens, who should rightly amplify the debate within their state governments to prod recalcitrant politicians to close loopholes that encourage illegal and fraudulent voting. At least in Indiana, voting will more accurately reflect the preference of the legal citizens of Indiana who can prove who they are and have the right to vote--and the right not to have to worry about the integrity of an electoral system that is slowly improving its process, and the Supreme Court’s decision is a big step in the right direction.
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