The Fraud Of Voter Fraud
Click here for reuse options!Voter ID laws are back in the news this week after a group of college students joined a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s new restrictive rules. And as Catherine Rampell pointed out earlier this week, it’s not just ID laws – Republican state legislatures have been busy devising all manner of creative ways to make voting more difficult for traditionally Democratic-leaning groups.
All of these restrictive measures take their justification from a perceived need to prevent “voter fraud.” But there is overwhelming scholarly and legal consensus that voter fraud is vanishingly rare, and in fact non-existent at the levels imagined by voter ID proponents. That hasn’t stopped many Republican lawmakers from crying “fraud” every time they’re faced with an unfavorable election outcome…
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Cheston Catalano
Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.
20 responses to The Fraud Of Voter Fraud
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m2old4bs July 9th, 2014 at 14:49
Voter fraud is what the Republican legislatures are doing by imposing restrictive voting laws, voter ID laws, and by gerrymandering districts. It’s high time to by-pass the local legislative shenanigans and institute a national voter law.
m2old4bs July 9th, 2014 at 14:49
Voter fraud is what the Republican legislatures are doing by imposing restrictive voting laws, voter ID laws, and by gerrymandering districts. It’s high time to by-pass the local legislative shenanigans and institute a national voter law.
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker July 9th, 2014 at 15:32
Not only are republicans against the democracy that made our country great, they are down right un-American.
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker July 9th, 2014 at 15:32
Not only are republicans against the democracy that made our country great, they are down right un-American.
wpadon July 9th, 2014 at 15:47
The only real voter fraud is with absentee ballots, but too many Republicans vote that way to eliminate that source of votes.
Gabby Parsons July 9th, 2014 at 16:48
Where did you get that fact?
wpadon July 9th, 2014 at 17:19
How about this one.
http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/11/13236464-new-database-of-us-voter-fraud-finds-no-evidence-that-photo-id-laws-are-needed
Shades July 9th, 2014 at 17:52
I didn’t read the link but I’ve read there are problems when unscrupulous people volunteer to help the elderly or disabled fill theirs out. I don’t think it’s a big problem, however.
wpadon July 9th, 2014 at 15:47
The only real voter fraud is with absentee ballots, but too many Republicans vote that way to eliminate that source of votes.
Gabby Parsons July 9th, 2014 at 16:48
Where did you get that fact? I haven’t read that there is voter fraud with absentee ballots.
wpadon July 9th, 2014 at 17:19
How about this one.
http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/11/13236464-new-database-of-us-voter-fraud-finds-no-evidence-that-photo-id-laws-are-needed
Shades July 9th, 2014 at 17:52
I didn’t read the link but I’ve read there are problems when unscrupulous people volunteer to help the elderly or disabled fill theirs out. I don’t think it’s a big problem, however.
ChrisVosburg July 9th, 2014 at 16:48
The “Cemetery Voting” trope is floated from time to time as an example of vote fraud, and it’s nonsense, of course, but nevertheless I smiled when I recently was advised of my new polling place:
mea_mark July 9th, 2014 at 16:51
You say that now, but just wait till you are standing in line to vote with dead people.
ChrisVosburg July 9th, 2014 at 17:02
“Here’s your ballot, Mr DeMille.”
Hollywood Forever is putting the fun back in funeral with a number of community outreach (from the grave!) efforts. Horror movies are shown on the side of a wall on warm Saturday nights during the summer, as patrons picnic on the grass, and they put on a big Dia de Los Muertes wingding in November.
Last fall, they hosted a premiere showing of the final ep of Breaking Bad with plenty of cast and crew. Big fun, everybody dies!
ChrisVosburg July 9th, 2014 at 16:48
The “Cemetery Voting” trope is floated from time to time as an example of vote fraud, and it’s nonsense, of course, but nevertheless I smiled when I recently was advised of my new polling place:
mea_mark July 9th, 2014 at 16:51
You say that now, but just wait till you are standing in line to vote with dead people.
ChrisVosburg July 9th, 2014 at 17:02
“Here’s your ballot, Mr DeMille.”
Hollywood Forever is putting the fun back in funeral with a number of community outreach (from the grave!) efforts. Horror movies are shown on the side of a wall on warm Saturday nights during the summer, as patrons picnic on the grass, and they put on a big Dia de Los Muertos wingding in November.
Last fall, they hosted a premiere showing of the final ep of Breaking Bad with plenty of cast and crew. Big fun, everybody dies!
labman57 July 9th, 2014 at 18:35
Social conservatives created the original Jim Crow laws, and people who embraced this self-serving ideology of intolerance switched political parties as a RESULT of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts legislation.
Ever since Obama was elected POTUS in 2008, Republican legislators have not even attempted to hide their contempt for the democratic process. In true Machiavellian fashion, they have displayed a willingness to take an ideological dump on the fundamental principles of our democratic right to vote in order to further their political agenda.
Since Republicans have not been able to garner significant percentages of the votes from key demographic sectors of the electorate, they have opted for a different approach — reduce the number of these citizens who are able to vote.
To that end, we have already seen — and expect to continue to see — Republican-controlled state legislatures renew their efforts to create voter eligibility roadblocks in the form of “Jim Crow 2.0” laws.
Bottom line: the two most powerful players in the GOP’s strategic planning for state and national elections continue to be … Gerry Mander and Jim Crow II.
labman57 July 9th, 2014 at 18:35
Social conservatives created the original Jim Crow laws, and people who embraced this self-serving ideology of intolerance switched political parties as a RESULT of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts legislation.
Ever since Obama was elected POTUS in 2008, Republican legislators have not even attempted to hide their contempt for the democratic process. In true Machiavellian fashion, they have displayed a willingness to take an ideological dump on the fundamental principles of our democratic right to vote in order to further their political agenda.
Since Republicans have not been able to garner significant percentages of the votes from key demographic sectors of the electorate, they have opted for a different approach — reduce the number of these citizens who are able to vote.
To that end, we have already seen — and expect to continue to see — Republican-controlled state legislatures renew their efforts to create voter eligibility roadblocks in the form of “Jim Crow 2.0” laws.
Bottom line: the two most powerful players in the GOP’s strategic planning for state and national elections continue to be … Gerry Mander and Jim Crow II.