Voter Suppression and Voter Fraud

Today, the American electorate is faced with the 2020 Presidential election. Many speculate as to whether or not we will have a conclusive winner before midnight on November 3rd. Even more speculate as to whether either candidate will challenge the election results. If so, it will most likely come in the form of a lawsuit involving one of two subjects: voter suppression or voter fraud. More significantly, any such lawsuit, challenging the validity of the election, will most likely reach the Supreme Court. It is unclear whether the case will be publicly heard however, since the Supreme Court only recently opened proceedings to the public. Regardless, the case will -- without a doubt -- be one of the most consequential and potentially confusing of the decade. Although many Americans are extremely passionate on the subject of election lawsuits, they may not have fully considered the voter suppression and voter fraud claims that will most likely be made and their negative impacts to the election results.

Although voter suppression and voter fraud may seem similar, they actually are staunchly different. However, let's first begin with the similarities of the two terms. The terms voter suppression and voter fraud are similar in only two aspects: their aim, and who they affect. They both attempt to change election results arguably at the expense of the electorate's intent. However, they are different in the ways in which they attempt to accomplish that goal. Voter fraud often consists of malicious persons attempting to add more ballots for their respective candidate; whereas, voter suppression attempts to stop prospective voters from actually exercising their right to vote and therefore reducing the amount of votes counted for a particular candidate. In effect, they are direct opposites of each other. Voter suppression intends to decrease the amount of votes for a particular candidate whereas voter fraud intends to increase the amount of votes for a particular candidate.How do these tactics play out in American political theater?

Voter fraud and voter suppression, however, are rare.They do sometimes occur and have the potential to vastly change the outcome of an election (especially a close one.) Voter fraud often comes in two forms: falsifying an I.D. or falsifying a ballot. Falsifying an I.D. allows someone to vote multiple times for a specific candidate under several different aliases. They, often first vote as themselves and then choose a different registered voter that has recently moved or died and vote for them as well. This method is used to defraud in-person polling stations so that votes are falsely attributed to those who are no longer able to vote in that precinct. Often, even in the most restrictive of states, voters are only asked a few simple questions about sensitive personal information to confirm their identity. Conceivably, if someone has gone through the trouble to falsify an I.D., it would not be difficult to memorize other pieces of information about a different person's identity. Next we move to the other form of voter fraud: falsifying a ballot. To complete a mail-in ballot, a voter must place a request form (depending on the state they must also give a valid reason for such a request) and then fill in their absentee ballot and mail it back to the polling precinct. To complete both the request form and the mail-in ballot, a voter must fill in sensitive personal information like a Social Security number and a voter registration confirmation. Although information about another voter might be difficult to obtain, much like falsifying an I.D., committing complete identity theft is conceivable in today's day and age and has been attempted by some malicious citizens. However, falsifying a ballot is far more difficult than falsifying an I.D. due to the difference in the level of identity theft one must commit to complete both crimes.

So how does voter suppression manifest itself in the U.S.? In two forms: voter purges and closed polling stations. All states have a list of voters who have previously registered to vote in their state. Theoretically, if you register once, you never have to "re-register." However, voter purges occur often and may place several voters at risk of losing their registration. Voter purges are meant to take voters who have moved, died, or have otherwise become ineligible to vote off of the list of registered voters. However, the system is not perfect and sometimes ends up purging voters who are still eligible to vote in the upcoming election. If this happens, a voter just re-registers and votes; a minor inconvenience for sure but not a malicious act. However, the big issue comes when purges intentionally happen to authorized voters. Through years of research, several plots have been uncovered to intentionally and maliciously retract the registration of thousands of voters. Although the government has cracked down on the practice, it still exists and prevents thousands voters from participating in democracy every year. The second method, closed polling stations, acts similarly. Often, through the process of gerrymandering, states and parties know exactly which counties and precincts hold which types of voters. Because of this knowledge, they will often close all but one or two polling stations in the area. This forces residents of that precinct to drive much farther than they normally would to cast their ballot. Although it seems like a minor inconvenience, this deters many from voting as people have jobs and often do not want to drive a long distance before or after a hard day of work. Therefore, due to lower voter turnout, the actual will of the people of a particular state is not fully represented. Although interesting to dissect, how will the Presidential candidates use these tactics as examples in a possible lawsuit?

Let's first begin with former Vice President Biden. If Biden loses, his theoretical lawsuit will most likely center around voter suppression. He will claim that Republican states suppressed votes by engaging in one or both of the tactics discussed above. Furthermore, the Vice President will also claim that President Trump's aversion to mail-in ballots forced red states to disregard them in the vote count. Although a perfectly legal claim, the verdict will most likely depend on the Biden campaign's ability to prove their allegations. Additionally, even if the Biden campaign were to win that lawsuit, there would be no change in the outcome of the election as the court nor the campaigns would have any way of proving how the suppressed voters would fall in the election count. The court may order a new vote, however this is unlikely as the level of voter suppression would have to be on a massive scale to warrant such a reaction. President Trump however, could have a more viable claim to change the outcome of the election. President Trump would most likely claim that voter fraud occurred rather than voter suppression. President Trump has already been stoking fears about the validity of mail-in ballots and has made several statements claiming that a Trump loss means a rigged election. Again, much like the theoretical Biden lawsuit, President Trump does have a perfectly legal claim, however; proving such a transgression actually occurred is a much more difficult task. Nonetheless, if President Trump were to win this lawsuit, he could actually have a salient claim to change the outcome of the election. The number of fraudulent votes is often a hard numerical value that can be proven by mathematics. Therefore, if the number of fraudulent votes is proven to be larger than the margin President Trump lost the election by, there could be a major shift in the declared winner.

Fears of rigged elections have been stoked by almost everyone in the U.S.. It is one of the most popular topics on news media channels as well as print media. Additionally, both candidates have blamed each other for stirring up trouble with regards to "rigging the election." However, whatever tactic is or is not employed on Election Day, the only way to combat malicious actions is to vote. Voter suppression and fraud are rare and should not be a deterrent for any prospective voter attempting to exercise one of their basic freedoms. If you choose to stay home on Election Day, your beliefs, values, ideals, and dreams will not be represented in your government. Whether your candidate wins or loses, voting is still a statement letting those in power know where you stand and ensuring that your voice is never extinguished. No matter what you do, hear, or say on November 3rd, ensure that the first thing you do is vote so that you can feel comfortable that your voice is represented in your government.

Works Cited:

Cillizza, C. (2020, November 02). Analysis: This Republican lawyer just totally exposed the Trump campaign's voter suppression efforts. Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/02/politics/ben-ginsberg-voter-suppression-voter-fraud-2020-election/index.html

Martinez, J. (2020, July 21). What Happens If a Presidential Candidate Rejects Election Results? Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://montyhighschool.wixsite.com/quaranteennews/post/what-happens-if-a-presidential-candidate-rejects-election-results

Voter Fraud. (1982, January 01). Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/heritage-explains/voter-fraud

Fighting Voter Suppression. (n.d.). Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights/fighting-voter-suppression