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: 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. Voter Suppression: Voter suppression can be a hard-knuckled, partisan ploy to prevent certain people from registering to vote or getting to the polls. For example, on Election Day 2010, some 112,000 voters in mostly African-American voting districts in Maryland received robocalls authorized by the campaign manager for the Republican candidate for governor. The Election Day calls claimed that the incumbent, Martin O’Malley, had won and there was no need to vote. “ Our goals have been met,” said a recorded voice, “We’re okay.