WP op-ed: "The Myth Of Voter Fraud"

[DeepModem Mom]

The Myth Of Voter Fraud
By Michael Waldman and Justin Levitt
Thursday, March 29, 2007; Page A19

As Congress probes the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, attention is centering on who knew what, and when. It's just as important to focus on "why," such as the reason given for the firing of at least one of the U.S. attorneys, John McKay of Washington state: failure to prosecute the phantom of individual voter fraud.

Allegations of voter fraud -- someone sneaking into the polls to cast an illicit vote -- have been pushed in recent years by partisans seeking to justify proof-of-citizenship and other restrictive ID requirements as a condition of voting. Scare stories abound on the Internet and on editorial pages, and they quickly become accepted wisdom.

But the notion of widespread voter fraud, as these prosecutors found out, is itself a fraud. Firing a prosecutor for failing to find wide voter fraud is like firing a park ranger for failing to find Sasquatch....

***

Identification requirements often sound simple. But some types of paperwork simply aren't available to many Americans. We saw this with the new Medicaid proof-of-citizenship requirement, which led to benefits being cut off for many longtime citizens. Some states insist that voters provide photo IDs such as driver's licenses. But at least 11 percent of voting-age Americans, disproportionately elderly and minority voters, lack the necessary papers. Required documentation such as naturalization paperwork can cost as much as $200. By contrast, when the poll tax was declared unconstitutional in 1966, it was $1.50 ($8.97 in 2007 dollars).

Congress should use this controversy as an opportunity to address true issues of voter protection. Experts have concluded that the most significant threat of fraud comes from electronic voting systems, now used by 80 percent of voters....

Those investigating the U.S. attorney firings should ask what orders went out to other prosecutors in the run-up to the 2006 election. Prosecutors are not hired-gun lawyers on a party payroll. They have a special duty to exercise their power responsibly, particularly in the context of a heated election. Pressure on prosecutors to join a witch hunt for individual voter fraud is a scandal, not just for the Justice Department but for voters seeking to exercise their most basic right.

(Michael Waldman is executive director and Justin Levitt is an attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR2007032801969.html?nav=hcmodule&reload=true

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. This has seemed to have developed into a convenient conspiracy theory

for the right-wing in the United States. It is there to mask the racism, ethnocentrism and class-hate that the Republican Party and its allies hold towards minority voters (who tend to vote Democratic), and of course they will use "anti-fraud measures" to make it more difficult for these peoples to vote.

[SeattleGirl]

2. The GOP and their operatives pulled all kinds of crap here in

Washington, especially in 2004. One of the things they were trying to "prove" is that all the "fraudulent" votes went to the Democratic candidate, Christine Gregoire. However, that was not the case. There were cases of felons voting who had not had their voting rights reinstated (which they can do after they are discharged from parole), but some of them voted for Dino Rossi, the Republican candidate.

One group targeted an apartment building, saying a lot of people who had that as their address were fraudulent voters. Well, guess what? The building in question is a low-income apartment building. Can't have THOSE KIND of people voting, now can we? They probably would vote for the DEM!

The Repukes kept saying that Gregoire should "gracefully concede" when Rossi was initially ahead, but there is an automatic recount when vote totals are within a certain percentage point of each other (sorry, can't recall the percentage off the top of my head). And, the candidates have the right to request a second recount, which the party must pay for, unless that party ends up the winner. Well, Gregoire (D) pulled ahead, and where was Rossi? Did he "gracefully concede"? Hell, no. He went to court. Picked Spokane in Eastern Washington as the site, because the eastern side of the state is traditionally more Republican. But that didn't work either. He still lost.

Oh, and I won't even go into the questionable e-voting machines in Snohomish County, the county just north of King County, where Seattle is located.......

Yup, the ONLY way is to look into the e-voting machines (actually, get rid of the damned things, AND to kick the asses of the GOP operatives who insist on interfering with the rights of qualified Americans to vote.

[Richard Steele]

3. Good piece. recommended

[aquart]

4. "Like firing a park ranger for failing to find Sasquatch"!

Finally, somebody says it!

[bklyncowgirl]

9. That was a good one! nt

[ChairmanAgnostic]

13. I really think park rangers need more help, hell if they haven't found him by

now, they may never find him.

[riverdeep]

14. It's because SOMEONE keeps stealing their pic-i-nic baskets

[ChairmanAgnostic]

15. yogi, the sasquatch bear.

Unless I made a booboo.

I could never figure out why he wore a collar and a tie, though.

[valerief]

5. It's ELECTION Fraud, not voter fraud. The gummint is fraudulent

with its Diebold and ESS stranglehold. Hell, the electoral college was bad enough.

[Senator]

6. James A. Baker III -- Public Fraudster ... Used This Big Lie to Derail...

...the effort at reform 2 years ago.

A spokesman and senior adviser to Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who conceded the election over Ohio, said the Commission's attempt at electoral reform was "deceptive."

"It's as deceptive as it is dishonest," David Wade, the senator's communications director, said.

"Talk about a window into the Republicans' sincerity on electoral reform," he added. "This is the height of cynicism. First they cook the intelligence on Iraq, now they create a shadowy operation to hide the truth on electoral reform...With news like this, it's pretty clear the Republicans have other plans."

Now we know the "other plans." Force thuggish US Attys into critical states to eliminate the risk of getting caught (again) and wreak legal havoc on Dem candidates, like "non-fired" Chris Christie tried to do to Menendez in NJ.

Luckily, the ragtag bunch of citizen activists inspired by Andy Stephenson were able to make enough progress to pull the 2006 elections out of the theft bin. It wouldn't have been near enough if it weren't an "off year."

It's not enough just to dump Gonzales. The Dems need to remove the thugs, new and old.

--

[riverdeep]

7. As a simple, effective rule-of-thumb,

look at the title of whatever legislation this admintration shoves through, and recognize that the opposite is what the actual goal, or at least effect, is. Patriot Act-thieves in the night steal the Constitution, No Child Left Behind-your kids are fucked, Homeland Security-we're just as vulnerable (more actually, having pissed off and created many more terrorists) as we were on 9/11.

So the Help America Vote Act, predictably, did absolutely nothing to actually help anyone vote, but made it worse. Good God, this was being talked about in 2000, again in 2002, 2004, and actually reached some level of mainstream awareness in 2006. Dems didn't win this time because there was no election fraud, we won in spite of it. Will another article come out in 2009 tut-tuting the situation again?

[Sherman A1]

8. Well Said!

and don't forget the "Clean Air" Act ------ cough, cough, cough.........:argh:

[L. Coyote]

10. Email-Gate FACTS: Felons, georgewbush.com, gwb43.com , et. al.

Summation of this issue, DU posts, articles, much more:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x523978

[The Count]

11. About friggin' time!

This "myth" (GOP talking point) has been nurtured by the MSM at least since the 2000 elections that I know of!

[EVDebs]

12. Attny-gate could bring down * but his CIA and Congressional flunkies will stonewall

FBI probes Watergate prostitution allegations
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12634250 /

"It's all part of a growing ongoing investigation into corruption in defense and intelligence contracts, which already has sent former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham to prison and, legal sources say, may threaten others in Congress and the CIA. "


...


"But Cunningham is now cooperating with the FBI, raising the stakes for former partners and colleagues."


Who knows what evil lurks in the GOP ? Let's hope the FBI has done an honorable job in this investigation, which I believe will tie-in to the Lam firing.

[BuyingThyme]

16. I think "voter fraud" is code-speak for "voter purge."