Latest Study: More Proof There's No Voter Fraud

The only fraud in elections is the claim of voter fraud, made pretty much exclusively by the Republicans in order to try to justify voter suppression and to legalize election tampering by Republicans.

I am particularly pleased with the timing of this study, because it addresses the crazy extremist nut jobs who have made unfounded claims about 200 convictions for voter fraud in Minnesota elections, saving me from having to fact check them AGAIN.  They have not ever delivered on their fraud claims; this proves that their failure record remains unbroken. (The claim by Minnesota Majority/Election Integrity of 200 convictions for voter fraud in Minnesota is a giant load of dung.)

The report below comes on top of the state of Pennsylvania, going into court over Voter ID stipulating there was no voter fraud, there is no voter fraud, and there is no expected voter fraud.  Wherever voter ID has been enacted, a Republican campaign claiming voter fraud or the dangerous potential for voter fraud, has been used to justify the change to Voter ID - the EXPENSIVE change that disenfranchises voters and makes voting less efficient by adding an additional step and requirement.

In case you can't read the small print, depending on what size screen you're reading this on, it reflects a study done in WISCONSIN, by the Republican Attorney General, as well as the Brennan Center. I don't believe anyone in Wisconsin, on either side of the political aisle, would consider their AG a moderate Republican.

It is not just Pennsylvania; it is EVERY state that does that bait and switch, EVERY state where conservatives have used that propaganda to lie, to cause fear, and pretty much to justify the UnAmerican action of denying legal voters the right to vote in ways which are racist in their effects.  In every case Voter ID is used to prevent voters from minorities from voting as a group because they tend to vote Democratic.  There is NO justification for taking, in the case of Minnesota, an estimated 20 million dollars away from better use, like repairing falling down bridges.

This was true under the Bush administration where the distinctly right wing Ashcroft tried to find voter fraud - but didn't. This has been true of the Brennan Law Center which has done exemplary studies on voter fraud over many years.  NO ONE finds any voter fraud; the only groups making those claims from crazy incompetent fringies who can't back up their claims, and the GOP and Tea Party ONLY during their campaigns to enact disenfranchising voter ID, to try to win elections through voter suppression.  No one finds voter fraud, not conservative attempts to do so, not bipartisan attempts to do so, not NON-partisan attempts to do so  (including academic research),  and not investigation by more liberal entities.  Only crazy amateur extreme fringies claim to find it, and they can't produce any credible proof when held to account, (certainly our Minnesota version of the nutjobs can't).

News21 appears to fall squarely into the non-partisan academic category of research.  If anything, the University of Arizona can be considered a conservative leaning academic institution.

News21 is a program of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that is helping to change the way journalism is taught in the U.S. and train a new generation of journalists capable of reshaping the news industry. It is headquartered at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Since 2006, nearly 500 top journalism students in the U.S. have participated in the landmark national initiative

I would point out that this study precedes and includes our contested Minnesota 2008 elections.  I couldn't help but notice that they make note of yet one more in-person-with-ID case of REPUBLICAN voter fraud, in addition to our 2008 case of a Coleman/McCain voter, and the Secretary of State of Indiana.  Now we have this one as well, which suggests a certain projection by Republicans of voter fraud onto others.

The News21 database shows one of the rare instances of voter-impersonation fraud occurred in Londonderry, N. H., in 2004 when 17-year-old Mark Lacasse used his father’s name to vote for George W. Bush in the Republican presidential primary. The case was dismissed after Lacasse performed community service.

And that there are some interesting questions about the GOP presidential candidate's voting integrity. Somehow I just don't see Mittens as the unfinished basement living kind of guy.... do you?

The crazy fringe groups are notorious for just plain making stuff up. The   far right wing media and blogosphere claim it, regularly and often, but they can't show it they just know it in their gut.  In other words, these are the same conspiracy crazies who like to embrace the birthers, truthers, tenthers, deathers  and secessionists, and a lot of the other right wing hate groups.  This is really just a thinly disguised hate bias for trying to legalize discrimination.  Hate movements always claim patriotism and saving the country, as we have seen from the white supremacist rhetoric connected to the Sikh temple domestic terrorist attack.  The uglier the position or the act, the more often you can expect to see claims of nobility and high mindedness used to try to disguise the reality.  Protecting elections from non-existent voter fraud is a classic example of fake claims of patriotism to undermine the premise of we the people representative government and one person / one vote.

It is singularly ugly, UnAmerican and profoundly dishonest.  It is deliberate and calculated, and it is profoundly conservative in its racist intent to only allow people to participate who are perceived to be 'us' and not 'them'.

A classic example is the attempt in Ohio to restrict voting days and hours for Democratic leaning precincts, but expand voting in Republican leaning precincts.  The political right has become tragically dirty and corrupt and ugly in their desperation, giving the lie to their claims of representing ethics and values.  The right should be ashamed of being this desperate to win, and of being this morally and ethically bankupt.

The study was done from all 50 states, and the elections officials responding included those REPUBLICAN election officials in the 37 states which enacted voter ID claiming voter fraud when they knew it did not exist.  This is further proof the GOP and Tea party LIED to constituents about voter fraud to sell voter ID, and knew all along there was no voter fraud.

Here is the latest evidence that there is absolutely no need whatsoever for voter ID.

From News21:
New database of US voter fraud finds no evidence that photo ID laws are needed

By Natasha Khan and Corbin Carson, News21

A new nationwide analysis of 2,068 alleged election-fraud cases since 2000 shows that while fraud has occurred, the rate is infinitesimal, and in-person voter impersonation on Election Day, which prompted 37 state legislatures to enact or consider tough voter ID laws, is virtually non-existent.

In an exhaustive public records search, reporters from the investigative reporting projecdt News21 sent thousands of requests to elections officers in all 50 states, asking for every case of fraudulent activity including registration fraud, absentee ballot fraud, vote buying, false election counts, campaign fraud, casting an ineligible vote, voting twice, voter impersonation fraud and intimidation.

Analysis of the resulting comprehensive News21 election fraud database turned up 10 cases of voter impersonation. With 146 million registered voters in the United States during that time, those 10 cases represent one out of about every 15 million prospective voters.
“Voter fraud at the polls is an insignificant aspect of American elections,” said elections expert David Schultz, professor of public policy at Hamline University School of Business in St. Paul, Minn.
“There is absolutely no evidence," Schultz said, that voter impersonation fraud "has affected the outcome of any election in the United States, at least any recent election in the United States."

The News21 analysis of its election fraud database shows:

• In-person voter-impersonation fraud is rare. The database shows 207 cases of other types of fraud for every case of voter impersonation. “The fraud that matters is the fraud that is organized. That's why voter impersonation is practically non-existent because it is difficult to do and it is difficult to pull people into conspiracies to do it,” said Lorraine Minnite, professor of public policy and administration at Rutgers University.
• There is more fraud in absentee ballots and voter registration than any other categories. The analysis shows 491 cases of absentee ballot fraud and 400 cases of registration fraud. A required photo ID at the polls would not have prevented these cases. “The one issue I think is potentially important, though more or less ignored, is the overuse of absentee balloting, which provides far more opportunity for fraud and intimidation than on-site voter fraud,” said Daniel Lowenstein, a UCLA School of Law professor.
• Of reported election-fraud allegations in the database whose resolution could be determined, 46 percent resulted in acquittals, dropped charges or decisions not to bring charges. Minnite says prosecutions are rare. “You have to be able to show that people knew what they were doing and they knew it was wrong and they did it anyway,” she said. “It may be in the end" that prosecutors "can't really show that the people who have cast technically illegal ballots did it on purpose.”
• Felons or noncitizens sometimes register to vote or cast votes because they are confused about their eligibility. The database shows 74 cases of felons voting and 56 cases of noncitizens voting.
• Voters make a lot of mistakes, from accidentally voting twice to voting in the wrong precinct.
• Election officials make a lot mistakes, from clerical errors — giving voters ballots when they’ve already voted — to election workers confused about voters’ eligibility requirements.

In Anticipation of the August 14th Primary, my election judge training

I recently signed up for and attended the election official training in our county so that I could serve as an election judge in the upcoming primary and general elections this year.
The training was incredibly well organized, well conducted, well staffed.  We had hands on time with not only using the required election equipment, but trouble shooting it as well for any of the usual problems. (The automark voting machine is particularly impressive.)
We were familiarized with all the possible forms for voter registration, precinct finding practice, and were familiarized with all of the various oaths that go with the different forms and their function.  It was very interesting stuff; it was fun to see that a couple of the other people in the class also had been volunteers for the 2010 Governor's race recount.
That experience - the recount - started out as a somewhat tense experience, but by lunch, volunteers from both parties observing the recount had come together.  There was a lot of hard work put in, but also a more pleasant give and take, laughing, joking and pleasant banter that grew as the day went on, as people could see that neither side was trying to pull anything or do anything underhanded.  The GOP volunteers early on DID, as was reported elsewhere, try to challenge ballots that really were not even remotely challenge worthy in the count.  But as the scrutiny made them look foolish and unreasonable, that tapered off rapidly. 
As partisan polarization and partisan politics, particularly dirty politics, causes more and more division, and as I see the right wing media and blogosphere, and especially the parties and their politicians try to generate fear, distrust and suspicion, and in particular as I see them circulate misinformation (unintentionally erroneous content) and disinformation (deliberately erroneous content), I hope to see the same pleasant and happy polling places in my county that has always characterized elections.  In that vein, one of the subjects of our election training included some of the stories from the LAST election that received a lot of public attention - but that were FALSE.  Unfortunately the false accusation fuss gets a lot more attention than the outcome of investigations and the truth does.
I am very impressed by our county auditor; and I have no idea what his politics are - nor do I care.  He clearly knows his job, is used to dealing with difficult people, and with actions that could result in his finding himself part of a court case over an election.  He is down to earth, and intensely factual, both qualities I admire and respect.  One of the topics of interest covered was the enforcement of not having campaign materials inside the polling place; apparently wearing political buttons or clothing while voting is something currently involved in a court case.
I was particularly intrigued when we were covering the topic of challenges to a voter having the right to vote - a challenge can be because someone known to the challenger is not 18, or is not a citizen, or not a resident of a precinct where they are attempting to vote,  or because of their status as a felon, or because they are not eligible to vote because their right to vote was taken away as part of being placed under a guardianship because of some form of incapacity.  Voter roll purging - it is automatic if you haven't voted in the last four years for example - was another topic.  We have a much more fair, honest, and accurate method than some southern states like Florida where their purges appear to be intended to alter the outcome of electiosn by disenfranchising legal voters who would likely vote for democratic candidates and initiatives.
In light of the pending Minnesota Constitutional amendments - we received copies - which would change our practice of voting, one of the instances of a voter being challenged in a previous election was brought up for educational purposes.  In that case, one of the election judges knew the person, and knew they were voting fraudulently.  The judge specifically knew that the voter owned property in the precinct but did not live in the precinct; however the voter had a utility bill for that property in the voter's name, which entitled the voter - with photo ID required by MN law to do so - to vote.  The voter was given the benefit of the doubt, and allowed to vote --- BUT the case was submitted to the county attorney's office.  The outcome of the county attorney's investigation was not clarified in the class, nor was it clarified if the person who made the challenged vote ALSO voted or not in the precinct where they actually resided.
What it did clarify for me was one more case where photo ID is ineffective in preventing voter fraud. We covered examples of where someone's ID would not reflect a change of address for voting purposes, such as a voter having moved into hospice for the final days of a terminal illness.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming elections, and I hope that we have our usual good Minnesota turnouts.   What I took away from my election judge training was not only more in-depth information on top of what I had learned about our election process from previous elections, but also a deep faith from what I learned about how we hold those elections that our elections ARE honest, that we DO have more than adequate safeguards in place, more than the average voter is aware of -- and that's too bad in a way.  Because there is a lot of unfounded suspicion about our elections that is not warranted.  There were a lot of people in my class session - and that class session was only one of eighteen sessions training people over a period of a month or so. 
If you are concerned about election fraud - go vote, but more than that, go take the training to be an election judge, and go serve your community.  One of the aspects of the 2010 recount that I found so striking was the difference in how the experience was described by the Republican election judges, versus the right wing fanatics who insisted on believing without any evidence to support them that fraud was taking place.  Same politics, same facts...........but facts did not make a difference to the conspiracy fantasy crowd.
Fight the fantasy with facts. Fight the conspiracy theories with volunteering.  Our democracy is participatory --- PARTICIPATE!  Don't sit on your behind, don't expect someone else to do it for you, and don't whine, accuse - or make up shit.  Participate!

And a little appreciation for whomever your county auditor/treasurer isn't a bad idea; whatever their political party, if they do a good job they put up with some incredibly long hours, tedious and meticulous accuracy, and a lot of unpleasant people.  I think some of them should qualify for a sort of secular sainthood for what they are put through by our citizens.

What Voter Fraud? Where? Oh, yeah OK GOP ADMITS THERE ISN'T ANY

Republican claims of voter fraud are a hoax, a fraud, a fake, a deception; it is nothing but manipulative, propaganda that only the gullible and low information conspiracy-theory fools believe.  No one who honestly looks at the information could believe it occurs.
Only people who deeply disrespect the core principles of the founding fathers in creating our Constitution would assault so very dishonestly the premise of one person / one vote.  Only Un-American greedy bastards trying to gain power for themselves at any cost would deny legal voters the right to vote, on such a massive scale.
They should be ashamed, but they lack sufficient conscience to manage shame.  They're too busy taking corporate money, too interested in being the step-n-fetchits for the rich.  The right has sold their integrity, and the big money got a bargain, because they sold it so cheaply.
From TPM:  Ahead Of Voter ID Trial, Pennsylvania Admits There’s No In-Person Voter Fraud

Ryan J. ReillyJuly 24, 2012, 6:25 AM23366As the Justice Department investigates Pennsylvania’s voter ID law on the federal level, a coalition of civil rights groups is gearing up for a state trial starting Wednesday examining whether the law is allowable under Pennsylvania’s constitution.
In that case, Pennsylvania might have handed those groups and their clients (including 93-year-old Viviette Applewhite) a bit of an advantage: They’ve formally acknowledged that there’s been no reported in-person voter fraud in Pennsylvania and there isn’t likely to be in November.
The state signed a stipulation agreement with lawyers for the plaintiffs which acknowledges there “have been no investigations or prosecutions of in-person voter fraud in Pennsylvania; and the parties do not have direct personal knowledge of any such investigations or prosecutions in other states.”
Additionally, the agreement states Pennsylvania “will not offer any evidence in this action that in-person voter fraud has in fact occurred in Pennsylvania and elsewhere” or even argue “that in person voter fraud is likely to occur in November 2012 in the absense of the Photo ID law.”
Pennsylvania has said that over 750,000 registered voters do not have ID from the Transportation Department, a problem more concentrated in urban centers like Philadelphia. One top state Republican has claimed the voter ID law would help Mitt Romney win the Keystone state and Democrats have already altered their campaign plans should the law survives legal challenges.
Judge Robert Simpson will hear the case, Applewhite et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al., in Harrisburg starting on Wednesday. The ACLU expects the trial to last five to seven days.