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Watchdog Group: Some Recent Md. Voters Are Actually Dead

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A watchdog group claims to have found hundreds of people on Maryland's voter rolls who have one disturbing thing in common: they're all dead.

Political reporter Pat Warren has more on the group's research and the state election board's response.

The organization that did the research is an advocate for voter identification laws and says its research is the reason.

Finding Maryland voters--dead or alive.

"These are deceased voters that remain active on the voter rolls," said Kathy Kellerher.

Election Integrity Maryland says its research shows Rufus Harris of Silver Spring--who died in 2002--voted in 2008. George Zell of Hyattsville died in July of 2004, voted in the November general election that year, then registered in 2008. Other names registered after death are James Proctor of Laurel who died in 1988 and registered in 1992 and Virginia Given of Upper Marlboro who died in 1991 and registered in 1992.

"Out of 11,000 challenges that we filed, 1,500 plus were of deceased voters that have been allowed to stay on the voter rolls" said Kellerher.

EIM also says it found a woman in a nursing home with two voter registrations and doesn't remember voting since 2006.

"And yet her voter registrations have been used consecutively in all even year elections, primary and general elections," Kellerher said.

And here's where the state Board of Elections weighs in.

"They did say that there was one 67-year-old voter who's residing in a nursing home they said has registered twice, has been voting multiple times in different elections and there's no evidence to support that claim so we do have to be very careful with this information and we do check everything to make sure it's accurate," said Deputy Administrator Ross Goldstein.

The Board of Elections intends to check the other names in EIM's report, emphasizing that it needs stronger verification than what the watchdog may have found.

There have been no official allegations of fraud.

Voter rolls are not likely to be affected by the group's findings in the upcoming election.

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