voter fraud

Extracted Attributes

• Aliases

  Electoral fraud, election manipulation, vote rigging

• Definition

  Illegal interference with the process of an election to benefit a favored candidate or harm a rival.

• Legal Status

  Outlawed by specific legislation; can also violate general laws against assault, harassment, or libel.

• Broader Usage

  Sometimes used to describe legal but morally unacceptable acts, such as 'show elections' with only one candidate.

• Prevention Methods

  Maintaining accurate voter lists, state election departments overseeing elections, state attorney general offices investigating allegations, U.S. Department of Justice investigations.

• Common Types of Fraud

  Ballot stuffing, voter registration fraud, absentee/mail-in ballot vote fraud, using fraudulent signatures, false registrations, duplicate voting, voter impersonation, pressure on voters, collection of ballots by dishonest collectors, insiders changing/challenging/destroying ballots, invalid disenfranchisement.

• Consequence of Exposure

  Can erode public confidence in democratic processes, regardless of impact on final result.

• Rarity in US (Wikipedia)

  Extremely rare and often accidental; fraud is more likely to occur in and affect the outcome of local elections.

• Relationship to Voter Suppression

  Differs from but often goes hand-in-hand with voter suppression.

• Potential Impact in National Elections

  Can function as a coup d'état, a form of protest, or a corruption of democracy; can alter outcomes in close elections.

Timeline

• Pro-slavery forces carried out voter fraud on multiple occasions by importing people from Missouri to cast ballots in Kansas Territory elections, seeking to ratify the Lecompton Constitution. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1850s

• Widespread voter fraud occurred in the United States presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden, with South Carolina reporting an impossible 101 percent turnout. Violence and intimidation against Black Republican voters also occurred. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1876

• An estimated 100,000 fraudulent ballots were cast in a Chicago election, leading to 63 individuals being convicted of voter fraud, including vote buying, impersonation fraud, fictitious voter registrations, phony absentee ballots, and voting by non-citizens, following a Justice Department investigation. (Source: The Heritage Foundation / Web Search Results)

  1982

• Peter Canova and Gina Thai Canova of Scottsdale, Arizona, were charged with 15 counts of voter fraud, including voter registration fraud and illegal voting, for voting more than once in a single election. Peter Canova pleaded guilty and was sentenced. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2012

• Olivia Lee Reynolds committed voter fraud while working on her boyfriend's (Dothan City Commissioner Amos Newsome) campaign, filling out voters' ballots and telling others for whom to vote. She was later convicted in 2015. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2013

• Richard Alarcon, a Los Angeles City Councilman, was convicted of three charges of voter fraud for lying about where he lived to run for office and vote in a different jurisdiction. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2015

• Antonio Gracias alleges thousands of instances of voter fraud linked to a dramatic increase in Social Security Numbers for non-citizens via the Enumeration Beyond Entry (EB) program, a claim that contrasts with historical data from the Heritage Foundation. (Source: Document 68bb6bb7-c6bf-412f-a606-9d5f4d04d37e)

  Recent (undated)

Electoral fraud

Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of rival candidates, or both. It differs from but often goes hand-in-hand with voter suppression. What exactly constitutes electoral fraud varies from country to country, though the goal is often election subversion. Electoral legislation outlaws many kinds of election fraud, but other practices violate general laws, such as those banning assault, harassment or libel. Although technically the term "electoral fraud" covers only those acts which are illegal, the term is sometimes used to describe acts which are legal, but considered morally unacceptable, outside the spirit of an election or in violation of the principles of democracy. Show elections, featuring only one candidate, are sometimes classified as electoral fraud, although they may comply with the law and are presented more as referendums/plebiscites. In national elections, successful electoral fraud on a sufficient scale can have the effect of a coup d'état, protest or corruption of democracy. In a narrow election, a small amount of fraud may suffice to change the result. Even if the outcome is not affected, the revelation of fraud can reduce voters' confidence in democracy.

Web Search Results

• What methods do states use to prevent election fraud? (2020)

  Help desk logo notext.png Election fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Election fraud can take place around in-person voting and absentee/mail-in voting. It can occur at different points of the election process, from registration to the tallying of ballots. Types of election fraud include ballot stuffing, voter registration fraud, absentee/mail-in ballot vote fraud, and using fraudulent signatures. [...] According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), maintaining accurate voter lists is one way that states try to prevent election fraud. NCSL says: "The goal of maintaining an accurate voter list is to ensure that eligible voters are able to cast a ballot, to keep track of who has voted to prevent anyone from voting twice and, by reducing inaccuracies, speed up the voter check-in process at polling places. Voter registration lists are the foundation of everything else in [...] States attempt to address election fraud in a variety of ways. Each state has a chief official (usually the secretary of state) in charge of overseeing an elections department, which is tasked with maintaining voter registration rolls and carrying out the election. Each state also has a department, typically under the attorney general's office, tasked with investigating allegations of election fraud and enforcing the state's laws. The U.S. Department of Justice is responsible for investigating

• Voter Fraud | The Heritage Foundation

  An estimated 100,000 fraudulent ballots were cast in a 1982 Chicago election. After a Justice Department investigation, 63 individuals were convicted of voter fraud, including vote buying, impersonation fraud, fictitious voter registrations, phony absentee ballots, and voting by non-citizens. 1994 [...] False registrations:Voting under fraudulent voter registrations that either use a phony name and a real or fake address or claim residence in a particular jurisdiction where the registered voter does not actually live and is not entitled to vote. Duplicate voting:Registering in multiple locations and voting in the same election in more than one jurisdiction or state. [...] The right to vote in a free and fair election is the most basic civil right, one on which many other rights of the American people depend. Congress and the states should guarantee that every eligible individual is able to vote and that no one’s vote is stolen or diluted. Voter fraud is real and hundreds of convictions have been made and documented.

• Electoral fraud in the United States - Wikipedia

  Voter fraud is extremely rare in the United States,( and it is often accidental when it occurs.( The term fraud is often used to describe all illegal voting cases even where there was no intent.( As a result, professor Lorraine Minnette prefers the term 'illegal votes' while Professor Benji Cover prefers the term 'voter mistake,' but acknowledges that it is rarely used.( Fraud is more likely to occur in and affect the outcome of local elections, where the potential impact of a small number of [...] Voter impersonation, or in-person voter fraud, is extremely rare.( Between 1978 and 2018, no elections were overturned by courts due to voter impersonation fraud.( Cases of voter impersonation are often difficult to prove.( professor Lorraine Minnite has maintained that voter impersonation is illogical from the perspective of the perpetrator due to the high risk and limited upside of casting one vote.( If caught, perpetrators of voter impersonation can face up to 5 years in prison and a fine of [...] In the 1850s Kansas Territory elections, pro-slavery forces seeking to ratify the Lecompton Constitution carried out voter fraud on multiple occasions by importing pro-slavery people from Missouri to cast ballots.( In the 1876 United States presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, voter fraud was widespread, with South Carolina reporting an impossible 101 percent turnout. Violence and intimidation against Black Republican voters also occurred.

• Electoral fraud - Wikipedia

  Types of fraud have included pressure on voters from family or others, since the ballot is not always cast in secret; collection of ballots by dishonest collectors who mark votes or fail to deliver ballots; and insiders changing, challenging or destroying ballots after they arrive. [...] In some cases, voters may be invalidly disenfranchised, which is true electoral fraud. For example, a legitimate voter may be "accidentally" removed from the electoral roll, making it difficult or impossible for the person to vote.[citation needed] [...] In this case, voters will be made to believe, accurately or otherwise, that they are not legally entitled to vote, or that they are legally obliged to vote a particular way. Voters who are not confident about their entitlement to vote may also be intimidated by real or implied authority figures who suggest that those who vote when they are not entitled to will be imprisoned, deported or otherwise punished.

• [PDF] A SAMPLING OF ELECTION FRAUD CASES FROM ACROSS THE ...

  SOURCES bit.ly/2ezZMf0 heritage.org DISPOSITION: 2012 ARIZONA Peter Canova and Gina Thai Canova OUTCOME: CRIMINAL CONVICTION False Registrations Peter Canova and Gina Thai Canova of Scottsdale were charged with 15 counts of voter fraud, including voter registration fraud and illegal voting. Both voted more than once in a single election. Peter Canova pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation, a $9,200 fine, and 200 hours of community service. Gina Thai Canova received 300 hours of community [...] SOURCES bit.ly/2fddq98 heritage.org DISPOSITION: 2015 CALIFORNIA Richard Alarcon OUTCOME: CRIMINAL CONVICTION False Registrations Richard Alarcon, a Los Angeles City Councilman, was convicted of three charges of voter fraud following a jury trial. He lied about where he lived in order to run for office and vote in a different jurisdiction than the place where he actually lived. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail, 600 hours of community service, and five years’ probation. He is also banned [...] SOURCES bit.ly/2fegulR bit.ly/2fb7qQO heritage.org DISPOSITION: 2015 ALABAMA Olivia Lee Reynolds OUTCOME: CRIMINAL CONVICTION Fraudulent Use of Absentee Ballots Olivia Lee Reynolds was convicted of 24 counts of voter fraud. While working on the 2013 campaign for her boyfriend, Dothan City Commissioner Amos Newsome, Reynolds filled out voters’ ballots for them and told others for whom to vote. Her fraud had definite consequences: Commissioner Newsome won reelection by a mere 14 votes, losing the