There is an active debate suggesting that the Republicans are use voter ID as a means to suppress Democrats from voting. There is a counter debate that Democrat's are participating in voter fraud. There is a further argument that since so few people are prosecuted for voter fraud, that shows there is to little voter fraud to care about. The debate on voter ID quickly turns to arguments of disenfranchising voters. Disenfranchisement goes both ways: Voter ID laws can turn away a valid voter, but no ID can allow an illegitimate voter to nullify a valid voter.
Ultimately this is a discussion on if elections properly reflect the will of voters. In any election there are several elements of error:
- Gauge Error - The system incorrectly registers a vote (i.e. hanging chad), someone has problem with the machine or someone can't read, so they mark the wrong ballot
- Unintentional error - Someone unintentionally makes an error by voting in two races (the live in Florida in winter, but vote in both locations because they think they should be able to vote in local election), a Felon confused about the law, or a non-citizen who does not know the law
- Intentional Fraud - Someone intentionally manipulates the situation to favor a candidate, through actions in registration, counting, etc.
A lot has been written on the subject of voter fraud, but its unclear much has been read. So, here are some interesting links/articles that expand on the subject.
Claim: There are no voter fraud cases
- Voter Registration - There are many examples of errors in Acorn registrations and findings of illegitimate registrations, in some cases leading to successful prosecutions. Though incidents are documented, it is unclear how many "Escaped" prosecution.
- Fraud Map - Examples of Acorn fraud cases since 1998
- Listing of numerous fraud cases - Links to 100s of fraud cases in last 10 years
- Virginia: 400 voter fraud cases in 2008
Voter ID is a plot by Republicans to suppress Democrat votes
- Various states are implementing voter ID over fears of fraud
- RI Voter ID - Democrats in RI pass voter ID
- Case for Voter ID in Kansas
