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Analysis

Assessing the 'Voter Fraud’ Commission’s Evidence

Commissioners and Commission panelists have repeatedly cited misleading or patently untrue evidence to support their baseless claims of voter fraud.

  • Brennan Center for Justice
September 8, 2017

Commissioners and Commission panelists have repeatedly cited misleading or patently untrue evidence to support their baseless claims of voter fraud. Here are some of those pieces of evidence, and resources that refute them:

  • Vice-Chair Kris Kobach claimed that driver’s license data of same-day registrants prove New Hampshire’s 2016 senate race “was likely changed through voter fraud.” Here is a selection of articles that directly disprove his assertion:
    • Brennan Center - Kobach Discovers College Students Live in College Towns
    • Washington Post - Election Integrity Commission Members Accuse New Hampshire Voters of Fraud
    • New Hampshire Public Radio - Where Were Out-of-State IDs Used to Vote in New Hampshire Last November?
    • Washington Post’s Monkey Cage Blog - We Can’t Find Any Evidence of Voting Fraud in New Hampshire
    • HuffPost - Head Of Trump ‘Election Integrity’ Probe Pens Wildly Misleading Op-Ed About Voter Fraud
    • PolitiFact - Is there evidence of voter fraud in New Hampshire, as Kris Kobach said? Not really
  • Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky stated that "the Heritage Foundation maintains a database of almost 1,100 proven cases of election fraud." A Brennan Center report found that the cases are grossly exaggerated and devoid of context:
  • Commissioner J. Christian Adams claimed that “Brennan Center studies 'debunking’ voter fraud never even mentioned federal court cases which I litigated at the Justice Department involving voter fraud. That’s why these groups cannot be trusted.” Here is a selection of resources making clear that the Brennan Center’s and others’ studies include federal fraud cases:
    • Brennan Center - Analysis of Alleged Fraud in Briefs Supporting Crawford Respondents (p.4)
    • Brennan Center - The Truth About Voter Fraud (p.41)
    • Washington Post’s Wonkblog - A Comprehensive Investigation of Voter Impersonation Finds 31 Credible Incidents Out of One Billion Ballots Cast (includes discussion of federal fraud case Mr. Adams worked on)
    • New York Times - In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud 
    • Comprehensive list of voter fraud studies, many of which cover federal fraud allegations
  • John Lott, a panelist at the September 12 Commission meeting, presented an unpublished paper purporting to find evidence of voter fraud. Election experts have discredited the study:
  • Ken Block, a panelist at the September 12 Commission meeting, presented a Government Accountability Institute report that claims to have found over 8,000 cases of double voting. Kris Kobach has cited the study when making claims about voter fraud. Academics have described the study’s methodological flaws:
    • Dr. Paul Gronke - Report on “Voter Fraud” Rife With Inaccuracies
    • Dr. Max Hailperin - Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity September 12, 2017, Meeting Materials