Election Crimes: Voter Fraud and Intimidation

As the 2008 general election draws near, we have seen increased discussion about election crimes, including voter fraud and voter intimidation, from both Republican and Democratic camps. Unfortunately, statistics on the occurrence of voter fraud and voter intimidation can prove difficult to find.

The US Department of Justice established the Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative in 2002 to aid in the investigation and prevention of election crimes. According to "Fact Sheet: Protecting Voting Rights and Preventing Election Fraud" released in 2008, over 140 people have been charged with election fraud in the past 6 years.

The government has conducted multiple investigations in the area of election crime. After the 2000 general election, congress established the National Commission on Federal Election Reform. The commission was responsible for investigating "federal election system, election administration, and constitutional and federal election law issues." You can read the commission's final report here. The commission also released a series of task force reports on specific issues ranging from voter registration to verification of identity. You can also read transcripts from the hearings that were held before the commission.

The US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002. In 2006, the EAC released the report "Election Crimes: An Initial Review and Recommendations for Future Study" which focused on the issues of voting fraud and voter intimidation. However, this report is the subject of some controversy. The New York Times reported that the panel altered the report section on voter fraud between the draft report and the final release.

Congress is also investigating election crime issues. In the past few years, a number of hearings have been held:

• "Protecting the right to vote : election deception and irregularities in recent federal elections" (March 2007) (Includes testimony and statement from Barack Obama)


• "Prevention of deceptive practices and voter intimidation in federal elections" (June 2007) (Includes testimony from Barack Obama)


• "In Person Voter Fraud: Myth and Trigger for Disenfranchisement?" (March 2008) (available in webcast with some published testimony and statements)


• "Protecting the Right to Vote: Oversight of the Department of Justice's Preparations for the 2008 General Election" (September 2008) in the Senate (currently available in webcast with some published testimony and statements)


• "Joint Hearing on: Federal, State and Local Efforts to Prepare for the 2008 Election" (September 2008) in the House (this hearing includes some discussion of ACORN), currently available in webcast with some published testimony and statements


• "Ensuring the Rights of College Students to Vote" (September 2008) (currently available in webcast with some published testimony and statements)

And for a nice overview of election crime issues and proposed legislation, see the Congressional Research Service report "Election Reform: Issues and Legislative Proposals in the 109th Congress" (February 2007).

For guides and more information on voter rights and election laws, see the Voting Section Home Page from the US DOJ, the Voter Fraud Protection Handbook and the Voter Bill of Rights from the California Secretary of State, and our Elections page.