Dead People Not Only Vote, But Drive

9/6/18 WDHD:

BOSTON (WHDH) - State Auditor Suzanne bump is blasting the oversight process at the Registry of Motor Vehicles after an audit found that the agency issued 1,905 driver’s licenses to state residents after they had died — 97 percent of which were still active — stressing that addressing the issue must be its “top priority.”

“The failure to prevent individuals from obtaining identification under the names of deceased people creates a significant public safety risk to the Commonwealth,” Bump said in a statement. “Fixing this problem must be a top priority for the RMV. Recent upgrades to the computer systems at the RMV provide it with more tools; now the agency must use them in conjunction with the data sources at its disposal to address this problem.”

According to the audit, which was announced by Bump’s office Thursday morning, 97 percent of the incorrectly issued licenses were still listed as active as of January 2018. Bump said the audit blames the RMV’s failure to properly use databases, such as the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File, to identify and deactivate licenses of dead people and to ensure new licenses are not issued in the name of a dead person.