Voter Fraud

Opinion: North Carolina Voter Suppression, the Trump Campaign and the North Carolina Republican Party

vebrankovic · October 24, 2020 ·

By Maxwell Weiss

We are two weeks away from a presidential election with once-in-a-century, massive turnout, and the North Carolina Republican Party is continuing their decades-long effort to suppress votes. In past years, the GOP has used voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, and in 2018, the first recorded instance of a federal election being called off over voter fraud in United States history. This year, the GOP weaponizes strict absentee voting laws as they try to suppress enough votes for President Trump to win the state.

President Trump himself is attempting to sow discord, specifically suggesting that North Carolina voters try to vote twice to “test” the system. In a September campaign rally, the President told voters to send in an absentee ballot and then go to the polls and vote again on election day. This is part of a larger pattern for Trump, who routinely spreads false information about widespread fraud despite clear evidence that there is absolutely no basis for conspiracy theories that absentee voting leads to election fraud.

New Jersey is Ready to Vote by Mail, But the Trump Campaign is Trying to Stop Them

Election Law Society · September 30, 2020 ·

By: Brianna Mashel

On August 14^th, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order mandating all approximately 6.3 million registered voters to automatically receive mail-in ballots. After he announced the order, the governor exclaimed, “Everybody gets a ballot!”

Four days after the executive order was signed, however, the Trump campaign, national GOP Committee, and state GOP Committee launched a suit accusing Governor Murphy of usurping the state legislature’s authority to regulate elections and creating “a recipe for disaster” with respect to invalid voting. Almost a month later, on September 16^th, Governor Murphy and his administration found themselves in a New Jersey Federal Court arguing against a preliminary injunction that would block this proposed expansion of mail-in voting.

Voter Fraud Allegations Do Not Deter Supporters from Re-electing Bridgeport Mayor

Election Law Society · March 27, 2020 ·

By: Kaila DeSaix

On November 5, 2019, Incumbent Mayor of Bridgeport, CT, Joe Ganim, officially won four more years, marking his seventh term in office. Ganim’s re-election campaign has been a controversial one. His rival in the Democratic primary election, Marilyn Moore, accused Ganim of winning the Democratic primary through absentee voter fraud. Ganim is not unfamiliar with accusations of political fraud and corruption. Ganim has been a controversial political figure since his seven-year stint in federal prison following his fifth term as Bridgeport mayor. Following his release from prison, his message of redemption and second chances won him an unlikely sixth term as mayor in 2015. Despite his successful comeback, some Democrats remain suspicious of his political dealings, as evidenced by his highly contested primary election win in September. This year’s election continued to be controversial up through the day before the general election when a decision was made by the Connecticut Supreme Court to proceed with the general election despite a voter fraud lawsuit still being on appeal against Ganim.

Use-it-or-lose-it Voting Rights: A Closer Look at Oklahoma’s Voter List Maintenance

Election Law Society · November 27, 2019 ·

By: Sarah Marshment

In Oklahoma, April 15 doesn’t just mean that it’s time to turn your taxes in: at least, not on odd years like 2019. In the spring of every odd year, Oklahoma does voter list maintenance. This last April, state election officials in Oklahoma removed 88,276 registered voters from the voting rolls. Although this purging is required by law, state election officials offer up an additional justification – voter fraud.

State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax stated that “[m]aintaining clean and updated voter rolls . . . . protects our democracy by making it far more difficult for someone to use outdated voter lists to attempt to commit fraud or disrupt our elections.” Given the rising levels of concern about the security of our elections, this is a powerful rationale to invoke. However, Mr. Ziriax himself also states that “voter fraud is exceptionally rare in Oklahoma and is not a major issue here.” Mr. Ziriax explains that “this is not a new process, it is not partisan, and no Oklahoma voter is ever removed simply for failing to vote.”

Virginia Midterms are Over, but Legal Case on Forged Signatures in 2nd Congressional District Continues On

Election Law Society · March 27, 2019 ·

By: Chelsea West

Elaine Luria, a Democrat, has defeated Republican Congressman Scott W. Taylor in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. Luria captured 51.1 percent of the vote, followed by Taylor with 48.9 percent. Taylor has represented the district in the House since 2017.

Despite the race being over, a legal case against Taylor’s campaign looms large. A public news station in Norfolk, Va. first reported in August 2018 that Taylor’s campaign was engaging in the underhanded practice of helping a rival qualify for the ballot to split potential opposition votes. According to documents filed with the FEC and the Virginia Department of Elections, workers on Taylor’s campaign collected hundreds of signatures to put an independent candidate in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District election.