Vote Fraud4

Gerrymandering is not the only way to gain electoral advantage. There are reports of votes cast in the name of deceased voters in almost every election. Absentee ballots are a perpetual problem in many states.

Immigrants register before obtaining citizenship, and efforts to clear the voter rolls of them in Florida led to the federal government suing the state and the state suing the federal government in 2012. Voter fraud in the 1960 West Virginia presidential primary probably gave the nomination for president to John Kennedy. Later the same year, fraud in Chicago may have turned the entire election to Kennedy. Nixon chose not to contest the result rather than put the country through the turmoil that would have resulted—and did result when Al Gore unsuccessfully contested the 2000 presidential vote in Florida. Felons voting illegally in the 2008 Minnesota senate race probably gave Al Franken the margin of victory in his senate race—and the Democrats the vote they needed to insure passage of President Obama’s health care bill.

Despite these cases and many others like them, requiring voter identification remains controversial. Some claim it imposes undue hardship on the poor or worse is an effort to reduce the minority vote. Others say the hardship is exaggerated and point to cases such as those above where fraud has been serious.