BEDFORD, Va (WTVR) – A Virginia man was shocked when he received voter registration forms addressed to his dead dog in the mail last week.
Tim Morris told a WSLS reporter that his dog Mozart has been dead since 2010, but if he were still alive he’d be eligible to vote in this year’s presidential election.
The letter was addressed to Mo Morris, the family’s nickname for the dog.
“I opened it up and looked at it and I just laughed. I thought it was a joke at first, and it turns out it’s real,” Morris said. “He would have been 19 years old this year and he passed away two years ago. I still have no earthly idea how they got his information.”
The registration form was sent by the Voter Participation Center, a private non-profit group that’s attempting to register new voters. The group told WSLS they purchase mailing lists from vendors, and while they do try to check every name, some slip through the cracks.
The State Board of Elections said they have received similar complaints, but since the Voter Participation Center is a private organization, they have can’t stop them from sending out registration forms.
Some point out this offers evidence supporting the need for the controversial new voter id law.
Earlier this year Governor Bob McDonnell signed the law requiring all Virginians show proper identification when voting.
