Allegations of Voter Fraud
The "voter fraud" cry has been increasingly used to justify policies that suppress legitimate voters. But the cry is baseless; allegations of voter fraud—especially polling place impersonation fraud—almost always prove to be inflated or inaccurate. The Brennan Center carefully examines allegations of fraud to get at the truth behind the claims. The truth of the matter is that voter fraud—votes knowingly cast by ineligible individuals—is exceedingly rare; one is more likely to be struck by lightning than to commit voter fraud. Our work debunking the voter fraud myth is available at Truth About Fraud.
In 2007, the Brennan Center released The Truth About Voter Fraud,
the most extensive analysis of voter fraud claims to date. The report
finds that most allegations of fraud turn out to be baseless—and that
of the few allegations remaining, most reveal election irregularities
and other forms of election misconduct, rather than fraud by individual
voters. The type of individual voter fraud supposedly targeted by
recent legislative efforts—especially efforts to require certain
forms of voter ID—simply does not exist. A presentation describing vote suppression measures promoted by the U.S. Department of Justice can be found here.
Crawford v. Marion County Election Board
Determining which American citizens are able to exercise their right to vote and which Americans are not, the Indiana voter ID case is the most important voting rights case since Bush v. Gore.
FOIA Request to EAC Re: Commissioned Reports
In 2006 and 2007, the Brennan Center filed a FOIA request with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to obtain documents pertaining to commissioned reports on voter fraud and voter intimidation and on voter ID.
A voter ID bill died in Mississippi yesterday, not because there’s no real threat of voter fraud, but because the bill wasn’t restrictive enough….
For years, too many of our public officials developed a bad habit of jumping to conclusions on insufficient facts. Even after a return to private practice, it seems, that habit is hard to break….
After A Surge in Registration, A Surge in Suppression
To most, the surge in registration is evidence of a renewed public interest in participating in our democracy. Others, unfortunately, see the prospect of higher voter turnout as a threat—and are working to keep voters from registering and voting…
Illustrations by Risko
Universal voter registration, contingency plans needed to ensure every eligible vote can cast a vote that counts.
Election Protection Off to a Great Start Assisting
Nearly 400 Hotline Calls So Far Reporting Primary Election Barriers.
Brennan Center Criticizes Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Indiana Voter ID Law
Brennan Center for Justice criticized Court’s decision to uphold Indiana’s voter identification law—the strictest in the country—but noted that the decision did not give other states a blank check to block eligible voters
Adam Skaggs before the Illinois House of Representaton
Testimony on legislative trends in election administration delivered before the House Elections Committee.
Justin Levitt before Texas House of Representatives
Testimony is before Election Committee hearing on voter fraud and restrictive ID requirements.
Adam Skaggs on Myth of Voter Impersonation Fraud at the Polls
Presented before the Committee of the Whole of the Texas Senate. The hearing focused on S.B.362, a voter ID bill.
Voter Suppression Incidents 2008
A list of voter suppression incidents from the 2008 election.
In advance of the 2008 general election, Executive Director Michael Waldman puts together the various processes by which voters are still being blocked from the polls, and what we can do about it.
GRIT tv | Wendy Weiser, Voting in the US
Wendy Weiser discusses registration deadlines and the many obstacles to voting in the United States.