The mantra of voter fraud that is echoed daily by Republican politicians is taking on a new fervor as the 2022 mid-terms approach. These claims along with voter suppression initiatives that continue to be implemented in many states, particularly those in the South could serve as significant obstacles to already marginalized communities this November. These efforts are occurring at an alarming and rapid pace.
Yet numerous studies in recent years have punctured the idea that voter fraud is a clear and present danger to our democracy. This was confirmed in a report by The Brennan Center at New York University’s School of Law which found that most occurrences were the result of incorrect data or clerical errors. Moreover, after methodically examining elections for fraudulent behaviors, particularly those that involved impersonation, the incident rates ranged from 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent, which in no way could influence the outcome of most elections.
Yet when cases of alleged voter fraud are detected, people of color are more likely to be subject to prosecution by legal authorities. Perhaps the two most recent and visible cases were those of Pamela Moses in Shelby County, Tennessee (Memphis) and Crystal Mason of Tarrant County, TX (Ft. Worth). Moses, who was sentenced to six years was recently released and the charges were dismissed after a judge granted her a new trial. Mason, who is serving a five-year sentence is appealing her case. Both women were unaware that they were ineligible to vote and in most instances, their votes would not have been counted.
Yet White defendants who were engaged in actual voter fraud routinely received probation with no jail time. From Pennsylvania to Arizona White perpetrators committed an array of impersonation schemes in order to cast multiple votes. Among these many incidents was a Nevada man who lied after being caught casting his dead wife’s ballot. Of course, he received probation. And in one of the more underreported cases, the 17-year-old son of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin tried unsuccessfully to vote twice in the closely contested election last November. He made his attempts at a polling place in Great Falls, Va., which was not the assigned voting location for his household. Again, there were no consequences.
All of this brings us to the case of former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows who at one point was registered to vote in three states. In addition, his North Carolina registration listed his residence as a mobile home in rural Macon County. Meadows voted in the 2020 election using an absentee ballot. In addition, he voted in the 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial Election while still being registered in North Carolina. His actions were far more egregious than either Pamela Moses or Crystal Mason. But like most White fraudsters, he’s free to continue his insurrectionist activities.
Given the severity and urgency of the situation, I don’t have the feeling that Democrats are energized enough to confront the onslaught that we are experiencing on multiple fronts by the Trump GOP. Maybe the recent leak of what looks to be the impending overturning of Roe vs. Wade will be enough to galvanize voters and spur mobilization. But with the unprecedented attack on the right to vote in the name of “election integrity” intensifying, the mere casting of a ballot in many places will be fraught with encumbrances that only sheer will and unbridled determination can circumvent.