The Voter Fraud Fraud
Yesterday, I posted on the alteration of a commission report on voter fraud. Today's NY Times contains an article that follows up on the issue of "pervasive" voter fraud and what the GOP dominated Department of Justice did about it.
Five years after the Bush administration began a crackdown on voter fraud, the Justice Department has turned up virtually no evidence of any organized effort to skew federal elections, according to court records and interviews.
Although Republican activists have repeatedly said fraud is so widespread that it has corrupted the political process and, possibly, cost the party election victories, about 120 people have been charged and 86 convicted as of last year.
Most of those charged have been Democrats, voting records show. Many of those charged by the Justice Department appear to have mistakenly filled out registration forms or misunderstood eligibility rules, a review of court records and interviews with prosecutors and defense lawyers show.
In Miami, an assistant United States attorney said many cases there involved what were apparently mistakes by immigrants, not fraud. [Emphasis added]
Ironically, the big GOP push against "voter fraud" came after the 2000 election in which many Democrats believe the Florida election was fraudulent. Several of the Republicans involved in the Florida recount and subsequent law suits went on to the DOJ. It wasn't accidental that, as the article pointed out, most of those charged in the voter fraud cases since 2000 were people who voted for the Democratic candidate. Nor is it accidental that many of those charged were black, poor, or immigrants confused by election rules.
Several US Attorneys were troubled by the new emphasis on prosecuting voter fraud, and their lukewarm response cost them their jobs. Those who weren't so particular managed only to get 86 convictions in the entire country, and none of those convictions showed any kind of conspiracy. At least one of those convictions have been overturned on appeal.
It seems to me that the real fraud is being committed by those who insist that the only way to have "fair" elections is through the use of identification cards. Those cards often require paying a fee and/or providing the kind of documentation that the poor cannot afford or can't produce. The result is that many Americans entitled to vote become so intimidated and so frustrated that they don't bother. The deck is being stacked against the most vulnerable who, "coincidentally" tend to vote Democratic.
Shameful.
Five years after the Bush administration began a crackdown on voter fraud, the Justice Department has turned up virtually no evidence of any organized effort to skew federal elections, according to court records and interviews.
Although Republican activists have repeatedly said fraud is so widespread that it has corrupted the political process and, possibly, cost the party election victories, about 120 people have been charged and 86 convicted as of last year.
Most of those charged have been Democrats, voting records show. Many of those charged by the Justice Department appear to have mistakenly filled out registration forms or misunderstood eligibility rules, a review of court records and interviews with prosecutors and defense lawyers show.
In Miami, an assistant United States attorney said many cases there involved what were apparently mistakes by immigrants, not fraud. [Emphasis added]
Ironically, the big GOP push against "voter fraud" came after the 2000 election in which many Democrats believe the Florida election was fraudulent. Several of the Republicans involved in the Florida recount and subsequent law suits went on to the DOJ. It wasn't accidental that, as the article pointed out, most of those charged in the voter fraud cases since 2000 were people who voted for the Democratic candidate. Nor is it accidental that many of those charged were black, poor, or immigrants confused by election rules.
Several US Attorneys were troubled by the new emphasis on prosecuting voter fraud, and their lukewarm response cost them their jobs. Those who weren't so particular managed only to get 86 convictions in the entire country, and none of those convictions showed any kind of conspiracy. At least one of those convictions have been overturned on appeal.
It seems to me that the real fraud is being committed by those who insist that the only way to have "fair" elections is through the use of identification cards. Those cards often require paying a fee and/or providing the kind of documentation that the poor cannot afford or can't produce. The result is that many Americans entitled to vote become so intimidated and so frustrated that they don't bother. The deck is being stacked against the most vulnerable who, "coincidentally" tend to vote Democratic.
Shameful.
Labels: vote suppression, Voter Fraud
posted by Diane at 3:34 AM
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