Updated: 2:50PM
A Republican man in New Mexico wanted to show how easy he thought it was to commit voter fraud. So the Albuquerque man did just that: committed voter registration fraud by registering his dog, Buddy, to vote.
Local news station KOB Eyewitness News 4 in New Mexico reported on the man’s stunt this week.
“They should verify. Somebody should have verified this information and somebody should have come out and took a look at exactly who it was,” the unidentified man told the news station. “But I made up a birth date, and I made up a social security number and I had a voter registration card in my hand for Buddy two weeks later.”
The news station interviewed the man on camera but granted the dog owner anonymity, and faded out any personal information, though it’s wasn’t clear why.
Danielle Todesco, the reporter who put the piece together, said in an email to TPM that she discussed the decision to grant the man anonymity with her news director.
“Yes, he gave them fraudulent information, but he also exposed the fact that maybe the system isn’t working if his dog was able to get registered,” Todesco told TPM in an email. “It shouldn’t have gone through, and I think the county clerk needs to address that.”
Liz Hamm of the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office told TPM that they had contacted their legal department and have been in touch with the sheriff’s department about the false voter registration. They have identified the registration card in question. Hamm wasn’t sure if she could identify the last name or address on the registration card but said she would email a copy to TPM this afternoon.
Here’s the video:
