Voter fraud

Voter fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Some groups argue that voter fraud is widespread. The Heritage Foundation has said that the "United States has a long and unfortunate history of election fraud," and that "[p]reventing, deterring, and prosecuting such fraud is essential to protecting the integrity of our voting process." Critics argue that these claims are overstated. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, "[a]llegations of widespread voter fraud, however, often prove greatly exaggerated [...] The allegations simply do not pan out." Critics also contend that policies designed to minimize voter fraud sometimes make it harder for minority populations to vote, thereby disenfranchising legitimate voters.^[1][2][3][4]

Types of voter fraud

The following are the common types of alleged voter fraud:^[1][5][6]

• Double voting (ballot stuffing): One individual casts more than one ballot in the same election.
• Dead voters: The name of a deceased person remains on a state's official list of registered voters and a living person fraudulently casts a ballot in that name.
• Felon voter fraud: The casting of a ballot by a convicted felon who is not eligible to vote as a result of being a felon.
• Voter suppression: A variety of tactics aimed at lowering or suppressing the number of voters who might otherwise vote in a particular election.
• Registration fraud: Filling out and submitting a voter registration card for a fictional person, or filling out a voter registration card with the name of a real person, but without that person's consent, and forging his or her signature on the card.
• Voter impersonation: A person claims to be someone else when casting a vote.
• Vote-buying: Agreements between voters and others to buy and sell votes, such as a candidate paying voters to vote for him or her.
• Fraud by election officials: Manipulation of ballots by officials administering the election, such as tossing out ballots or casting ballots in voters' names.

History

According to Slate Magazine, "[r]ampant voter fraud existed in the Colonial era." Candidates would promise land for votes, and officials would "manipulate poll locations, voting times, and voter qualification" or "'simply change election results unilaterally and intimidate various voters.'" Slate also notes that, "George Washington won his seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758 by spending 40 pounds on booze for his neighbors."^[7]

In the southern states, following the Civil War, "[v]igilantes, mobs, Klansmen, and law officers killed hundreds and probably thousands of African-Americans who voted or otherwise attempted to exercise their civic rights. Hundreds of thousands were brutalized and intimidated from voting." Various forms of voter fraud continued to occur throughout the 20th century.^[7]

“	New York City suppressed Jewish turnout in 1908 by holding voting registration on the Jewish Sabbath and Yom Kippur. In the deep South, poll taxes and bogus literacy tests kept blacks from voting when bullets and beatings didn't. In the last quarter of the 20th century, vote buying, vote tampering, and voter-registration shenanigans continued in places like Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida.[8]	”
—Slate Magazine

Studies

Statistics on voter fraud are controversial. The following studies reached different conclusions regarding the prevalence of voter fraud in the United States.

Studies finding significant voter fraud

According to the National Review, undercover agents with New York City Department of Investigations "showed up at 63 polling places [in the fall of 2013] and pretended to be voters who should have been turned away by election officials."

“	In 61 instances, or 97 percent of the time, the testers were allowed to vote. ... Given that someone who is dead, is in jail, or has moved isn’t likely to complain if someone votes in his name, how do we know that voter fraud at the polls isn’t a problem? An ounce of prevention — in the form of voter ID and better training of poll workers — should be among the minimum precautions taken to prevent an electoral miscarriage or meltdown in a close race.[8]	”
—National Review

In 2015, the Heritage Foundation compiled a list of convictions for voter fraud, broken down by the state in which the fraud occurred. The study claims that, "[t]he United States has a long and unfortunate history of election fraud," and that, "[p]reventing, deterring, and prosecuting such fraud is essential to protecting the integrity of our voting process."^[4]

Studies finding little voter fraud

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, " there are surprisingly few sources recounting specific incidents of alleged voter fraud." The Brennan Center further claims that "by any measure, voter fraud is extraordinarily rare," and that " fraud by individual voters is a singularly foolish and ineffective way to attempt to win an election. Each act of voter fraud in connection with a federal election risks five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, in addition to any state penalties. In return, it yields at most one incremental vote. That single extra vote is simply not worth the price."^[1]

In 2014, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman found that Wisconsin's voter identification law violated the United States Constitution. In her opinion, Adelman noted that "evidence at trial established that virtually no voter impersonation occurs in Wisconsin. The defendants could not point to a single instance of known voter impersonation occurring in Wisconsin at any time in the recent past." Adelman also argued that "the vast majority of these cases—approximately 10 each election—have innocent explanations, such as a poll worker’s placing an indication that a person has voted next to the wrong name in the poll book."^[9]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Voter fraud. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles; they are included to provide readers with the most recent news articles on the subject. Click here to learn more about this section.

See also

• Voting rights for convicted felons
• Voter identification laws by state

External links

Additional reading

• Brennan Center for Justice, "The Truth About Voter Fraud," accessed October 30, 2015
• National Review, "Voter Fraud: We've Got Proof it's Easy," January 12, 2014

Footnotes