On August 25th, the Providence Journal posted an article and a video (the video is also on YouTube) showing the promise of absentee ballots in exchange for a weekly paycheck.

The article reports:

The recording, obtained by The Providence Journal, captures a meeting secretly recorded by investigators working for Gemma in which the man promises hundreds of such absentee ballot votes for the congressional candidate in exchange for a weekly paycheck of $500.

The man, Erasmo Ramirez, also is recorded saying that he has prior experience working for Rep. David N. Cicilline, whom Gemma is challenging. Eric Hyers, Cicilline’s campaign manager, said Ramirez worked as an unpaid volunteer for Cicilline when he first ran for mayor of Providence in 2002 and has not worked for Cicilline since then.

This is the video:

It is a long video, but it is worth watching. There is no clearer argument for voter identification laws. I have no idea how to enforce those laws with absentee ballots, but it seems as though a thorough check of addresses might solve that problem.