The elections of 2014 resembled those of a third-world country. It is difficult to imagine the American people accepted the bogus results as fair or factual after reports of shenanigans, especially in North Carolina.    

Debunking The Conservative Media's 2014 Voter Fraud Horror Stories

October 30, 2014--Right-wing media outlets have used misleading voter fraud stories to stoke fears of rampant voter fraud in the months leading up to the 2014 midterm elections. 

But experts state that voter fraud in the U.S. is virtually non-existent and that voter ID laws would actually disenfranchise voters.

Myth: Voter Impersonation Fraud Is A Major Problem

Fox Correspondent Eric Shawn Disputes Argument That Voter Impersonation Fraud Is A Problem That "Doesn't Exist." 

On the October 29 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News senior correspondent Eric Shawn responded to a statement from Attorney General Eric Holder condemning "unnecessary restrictions that discourage or discriminate or disenfranchise in the name of a problem that doesn't exist," by saying: "of course voter fraud exists in the United States," and that Holder is "not actually factually correct."

But as O'Reilly pointed out, Holder was talking about strict voter ID and voter impersonation, while Shawn nevertheless shifted the conversation to cases of vote buying, which would not be prevented by voter ID laws. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 10/29/14]

Fact: There Is No Evidence Of Massive Voter Impersonation Fraud

Experts Agree That Voter Impersonation is "Virtually Non-Existent."

The New Yorker reported that experts agree that actual incidents of in-person voter fraud--the type of voter fraud that strict voter ID laws can prevent--are "virtually non-existent," and fears of voter fraud have been largely invented as a way to "excite the base." [The New Yorker, 10/29/12]

Brennan Center For Justice: Allegations Of Widespread Voter Fraud "Simply Do Not Pan Out."

The New York University School of Law's Brennan Center has repeatedly explained that in-person voter fraud is not a justification for strict voter ID laws, because voter impersonation is "more rare than getting struck by lightning," and allegations of widespread fraud typically "amount to a great deal of smoke without much fire" and "simply do not pan out." [Brennan Center For Justice, 2007]

Loyola University Professor: Only 31 Out Of 1 Billion Ballots Subject To In-Person Voter Fraud.

Loyola University Law School professor Justin Levitt, who investigated "any specific, credible allegation" of voter impersonation fraud, found a total of "about 31 different incidents" since 2000 of in-person voter fraud out of over 1 billion ballots cast. [The Washington Post, Wonkblog, 8/6/14]

Myth: Study Shows Huge Percentages Of Undocumented Immigrants Illegally Cast Votes

Fox Host Hyped Questionable Study To Stoke Fears That "Illegals Voted Between Two And Six Percent The Last Two Elections." 

Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade claimed a recent study found that "illegals voted between two and six percent over the last two elections," and said it "reveals a significant number of noncitizens casting votes alongside real citizens right here in the United States come election day."

Fox guest Rachel Campos-Duffy of the Libre Initiative, a Koch-funded non-profit that targets Latino voters, speculated that non-citizen voting could have "national implications." [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/27/14]

Fact: Experts Have Cast Doubt On The Study's Methodology And Conclusion

Experts Raised Doubts About The Study's Methodology And Conclusion. 

Brown University political scientist Michael Tesler questioned the study's "methodological challenges," noting the possibility that non-citizens may have misreported their citizenship status.

He pointed out that many self-reported non-citizens in 2012 reported being citizens in 2010, indicating a high rate of response error "which raises important doubts about their conclusions."

Tesler also noted that a "number of academics and commentators have already expressed skepticism about that paper's assumptions and conclusions" which seem to be "tenuous at best." [The Washington Post, Monkey Cage, 19/27/14]

The Study's Authors Outlined The Limitations Of Their Findings.

In a October 24 blog post in The Washington Post, Jessie Richman and David Earnest, two authors of the study, admitted that their "extrapolation to specific state-level or district-level election outcomes is fraught with substantial uncertainty."

The authors noted that the non-citizen sample they examined was "modest" and relied on self-reporting, which can create errors, and attempts to verify the accuracy of the self-reporting was imperfect and supplemented by estimates. [The Washington Post, Monkey Cage, 10/27/14]

Myth: Discovery Of Names Of Ineligible Voters On Voter Rolls Is Proof Of Potential Voter Fraud

Laura Ingraham Asks If The Existence Of Immigrants' Names On NC Voter Rolls Reveals "Nefarious Attempts To Fraud The Vote." 

 After a North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) review found the names of 145 immigrants who received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status on the state's voter rolls, Fox News and ABC contributor Laura Ingraham claimed the names were proof of "voter manipulation, ballot fraud," and wondered if they showed "nefarious attempts to fraud the vote." Ingraham speculated that the "illegal immigrants who are here under DACA," had been "fast track[ed] ... to voting." [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 10/24/14]

Fact: The Discovery Of Potentially Ineligible Voters Is Proof That The Voter Verification System Works

North Carolina Investigated Citizenship Of Flagged Voters And Is Implementing Formal "Challenge Process" To Prevent Ineligible Voters From Casting Ballots.  

The North Carolina Board of Elections conducted an investigation to verify the eligibility of 10,000 registered voters who had been flagged as having "questionable citizenship status" using Department of Homeland Security and N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles data.

The investigation identified 109 DACA recipients who were "on the voter rolls, but have not voted in any prior election," and is implementing a formal challenge process that will allow election officials to insure illegal voting doesn't occur. [North Carolina State Board of Elections]