Katrina vanden Heuvel: Don't Believe the Hype (The Nation)

[marmar]

BLOG | Posted 03/06/2007 @ 4:56pm
Don’t Believe the Hype


In February 2005, a GOP Policy Committee report asserted that "voter fraud continues to plague our nation's federal elections, diluting and canceling out the lawful votes of the vast majority of Americans." No evidence or research was offered in support of this dramatic claim, and the facts tell a far different story.

As a new report by Project Vote makes clear, the above statement typifies the intentionally confusing rhetoric employed by those who oppose efforts to expand voting participation in our democracy. "The Politics of Voter Fraud" offers a thorough examination of the real (and rare) occurrences of voter fraud while exploring the exploitation of public fears about fraud by those who wish to maintain the status quo.

Between 2002 and 2005, 24 people were convicted of or pleaded guilty to illegal voting at the federal level – an average of eight people per year. Those who buy into the voter fraud hype suggest that there are so few cases due to the difficulty of prosecution. But the Department of Justice manual on election crimes states that "there are several reasons why election crime prosecutions may present an easier means of obtaining convictions than do other forms of public corruption," including that the crimes occur in public, "often involve many players," and "tend to leave a paper trail."

Yet despite scant evidence of real fraud, every election – especially close elections in recent years – brings charges of illegal voting, illegal voter registration and the like. Offering an explanation, the Project Vote report notes that just as the Democratic Party felt threatened by an influx of new African-American voters in the late 19th century and responded by erecting stricter registration rules to "protect our democracy," so too are Republicans now resurrecting baseless fraud allegations to make voting more difficult through the use of restrictive ID requirements.

And, just as in the past, those on the losing end are "the marginalized and formerly disenfranchised, urban dwellers, immigrants, blacks, and lower status voters." .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=172201

[Sapere aude]

1. Remember B-1 Bob Dornan saying that Loretta Sanchez won because of

illegals voting for her. That was all a bunch of bull shit but it is still believed by the wing nuts today.

[applegrove]

2. That is a good point. The requiring ids will disenfranchise many - and that is what the GOP

does best... or successfully. Why the USA has dismal 65% turnout.