The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics removed the registration of Benjamin Sittis from the voter rolls after Benjamin Wittes did not show cause.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 20%
The Lawfare PodcastOct 8, 2026
The claim departs from the passage: the post names the removed registrant as "Benjamin Sidis", not "Benjamin Sittis", and the sources do not address any DC Board of Elections removal of either person.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
What was said
… But here's the thing: Benjamin Sidis never voted. We've actually checked this, and eventually the system corrected itself, and some staffer at the Board of Election and Ethics said, "Hey, I'm not sure this person really exists," and I never showed cause why, or Benjamin Sidis shouldn't be stricken from the rolls, and he was. And so I think you can also look at it as an example of there really isn't a public policy problem beyond the one that the system itself corrects every day. Now, it took five or six years, but again, what's the problem? …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Context. The post itself names the registrant "Benjamin Sidis" and describes a DC Board of Elections letter saying he would be stricken from the rolls unless he showed cause. The extracted claim renames him "Sittis", a change the passage does not support.
Context. The DC Board of Elections FAQ explains how a registrant may cancel their own registration, which does not address whether the Board removed anyone after a show-cause notice.[3]
Context. The NVRA list-maintenance guidance describes the federal limits on removing registrants, but it does not mention this DC case or any specific removal.[1]
Context. The DC Code section on Board of Elections qualifications and removal concerns removing board members, not voter registrations, so it does not bear on the claim.[2]
Sources
3 sources: 2 primary, 1 not rated
- 1Civil Rights Division | NVRA List Maintenance Guidancejustice.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 21–1001.04. Board of Elections — Qualifications; prohibited ...code.dccouncil.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 3FAQSdcboe.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics sent Benjamin Wittes a letter stating he was suspected of voter fraud regarding the registration of Benjamin Sittis.Can’t tell
- Benjamin Wittes appeared twice on the District of Columbia voter rolls, once as Benjamin Wittes and once as Benjamin Sittis.Can’t tell
- The District of Columbia Board of Elections mails ballots to every voter.True
- Federal law prohibits removing people from voter rolls within 90 days of an election.True
- The Department of Justice identified 405 non-citizens who are registered to vote in Washington state.Mixed