In today’s Washington Post (12/13/11), Jerry Markon reports on the news that the White House “will wade into the increasingly divisive national debate over new voting laws.” But the article’s explanation of the concept of “voter fraud”–the ostensible rationale for these Republican efforts to restrict voting–leaves a lot to be desired.
Markon writes that
liberal and civil rights groups have been raising alarms about the remaining laws, calling them an “assault on democracy” and an attempt to depress minority voter turnout.
Supporters of the tighter laws say they are needed to combat voter fraud.
That’s the usual (and frustrating) on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand approach you see in a lot of corporate journalism about contentious issues.
What’s a little different is that this piece goes on to try to claim that Republican claims about the problem of voter fraud may have some validity:
When it comes to voting fraud, some conservatives have long argued that it is a serious problem, although others say the number of such cases is relatively low. Studies of the issue have reached different conclusions on the extent of the problem.
That struck me as odd, since most of what I’ve ever read on this subject concludes that there is basically no fraud problem to speak of.
So what’s the Post talking about?
In an email, Markon cited a report by the U.S. Electoral Assistance Commission, which attempted to evaluate the available research on voter fraud. That report was released in December 2006, and seemed to conclude that there was some debate over the extent of the fraud problem. But a few months after that report was released, the New York Times (4/11/07) and USA Today (10/11/06) were both reporting that the original report had come to a very different conclusion. As the Times reported (noted by Brad Blog, 4/11/07):
A federal panel responsible for conducting election research played down the findings of experts who concluded last year that there was little voter fraud around the nation, according to a review of the original report obtained by the New York Times.
Instead, the panel, the Election Assistance Commission, issued a report that said the pervasiveness of fraud was open to debate.
The politicization of this report was covered in the Post as well. One news story (5/14/07) reported:
A draft report last year by the Election Assistance Commission, a bipartisan government panel that conducts election research, said that “there is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling-place fraud.”
That conclusion was played down in the panel’s final report, which said only that the seriousness of the problem was debatable.
Indeed one of the authors of the report in question–Tova Andrea Wang–wrote about the misrepresentation of her findings on the Post op-ed page (8/30/07):
Yet, after sitting on the draft for six months, the EAC publicly released a report–citing it as based on work by me and my co-author–that completely stood our own work on its head.
Wang continued:
We said that our preliminary research found widespread agreement among administrators, academics and election experts from all points on the political spectrum that allegations of fraud through voter impersonation at polling places were greatly exaggerated. We noted that this position was supported by existing research and an analysis of several years of news articles. The commission chose instead to state that the issue was a matter of considerable debate.
The issue of “voter fraud” is being used by some states to pass laws that in effect make it more difficult to cast a legitimate vote–essentially using a virtually non-existent “problem” to create a real one. This is easier when journalism gives credibility to “both sides” in a dispute, no matter what reality might say.
If you’re looking for vote fraud, I can suggest a few state capitols
Texas Republicans hold all statewide offices, over two thirds of all county offices and Congressional seats. Texas Republicans forced through a very restrictive Voter ID bill that doesn’t allow state university issued Photo ID’s to be used for voting among other problems claiming massive voter impersonation fraud in Texas. If both are true then it must be Republicans who are perpetrating this fraud.
The interesting angle on this debate is something I noticed during the Iraqi elections.Here we are arguing that minorities will be hampered from voting by this, or that implementation of new voting laws.In Iraq there was a certain requirement to vote.Lets call that one impediment.The second one was getting shot on the way.Blown up while you were there….or assassinated after.And yet…they voted in percentages that put us to shame on our best day.What a load of whining babies we have become.If new laws are past for better more honest standards….Get er done, and go vote for christ sakes.
Another goddamn outrage from the WaPo. Again, as in another thread here, what is it with these toadies? And it isn’t just at the WaPo, of course. I listen to “progressive” talk radio, and you hear the same bullshit on CNN (on liberal talk stations!), during the “newsbreak”–bending over backwards for false-equivalency. “The Democrats in congress say the earth is round, and orbits the sun, but some Republicans say ‘not so fast,’ that more research is needed, and that government research is inherently flawed.”
Michael E says it’s OK to pass laws that make it difficult to vote since the Iraqis demonstrated their commitment to democracy by voting under difficult conditions (and why shouldn’t we show such mettle?). Something seems wrong with that way of thinking. Making it nearly impossible for college students to vote in their college towns, reducing the number of days to hand in absentee ballots, insisting on voter IDs from senior citizens who never had them, making it difficult for citizens abroad to get their votes counted, reducing the number of polling places in certain areas, and disenfranchising felons who have served their time does not fit anyone’s idea about participation in a democracy. Or should we make voters run a gauntlet to get to the polling place? That way only committed voters–like the Iraqis–would make political choices.
Wait a minute, I thought that the voter fraud question centered around the issue of the electronic voting machines that were being pushed after the chad debacle. There was early evidence or at least accusations that they could be hacked or programed to skew the votes. How did this get represented as a college ID issue? What happened?
And the concern over voter fraud, where the Deibold machines are the product of an acknowledged Republican, bent on the election of Bush/Cheney types, has caused most of freedom loving Americans, bent on following our Constitution to use paper ballots, rather than adhering to the whims of a few decendants of Dixiecrats who now call themselves Republicans.
The outcome of so many Republican office holders in a state where a clear and definate
majority of Texans are Democrats is clearly a concern over the falsification of identity of Republicans in office at all levels of government.
Joe & Joseph, your confusion is understandable but you are talking about a different issue. The fraudulent vote-tampering associated with the use of electronic voting machines & software, produced and controlled by an openly partisan company, is indeed a huge problem. Allegations of INDIVIDUAL voter fraud — i.e., votes being cast by people who are not legitimately eligible to vote — is a bogeyman invented by Republicans in order to pass restrictive voter i.d. laws that make it ever harder for REAL, legitimate voters to vote at all.
I have lived through several changes in voting.Still loved those old machines.Changes happen.As long as it is across the board the same for everyone,I can’t see the beef.I think the question is are they asking anything too hard of all of us?And will the standard be uniform….for everyone?Everything in our society asks something of us to keep a clear and honest accounting.From drivers licenses to almost anything I can think of.Even getting into a club.Is saying….”This is me” enough?I am all for everyone voting.I just have not seen anything that is asking too much of this populace.