Title: Voter Fraud, Explained – BillMoyers.com
Headings: Voter Fraud, Explained
Democracy & Government
Voter Fraud, Explained
While voter fraud is rare, voter suppression is not.
Gail Ablow
Producer
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Content: You’ve heard the fears: people will vote using a fake identity, vote more than once, sell their votes or vote when they’re actually ineligible. Voter mistakes, however, are not fraud. Even bad judgment and pranks — such as when a Florida woman registered her poodle, Cocoa Fernandez, as a Republican — aren’t fraud if they aren’t part of an effort to sway the vote. Election Fraud: This is the most broadly defined of the three terms, and actually includes both voter fraud and voter suppression. The Department of Justice identifies 12 ways an election can be corrupted — but it’s extremely rare that this fraud is committed by the voter who lines up at the polls. It is much more likely to be at the hands of election officials, campaign workers, advocacy groups or the candidates themselves. Tactics include stuffing the ballot box, forging absentee ballots, falsifying tallies or conspiring to prevent people from voting by intimidation or other means. And that brings us to…
Overzealous efforts to fight voter fraud can also lead to voter suppression.