From Powerline
Voter Fraud? What Voter Fraud?
Quite a few years ago, Dick Armey came to town for an event, and I picked him up at an airport in St. Paul. A few moments later we drove past a cemeter... View MoreFrom Powerline
Voter Fraud? What Voter Fraud?
Quite a few years ago, Dick Armey came to town for an event, and I picked him up at an airport in St. Paul. A few moments later we drove past a cemetery, and Armey pointed to it and said, “Democratic Party precinct.” It is an old joke, but still apt.
In Minnesota, our legislature has enacted laws that 1) allow illegal immigrants to get drivers’ licenses, and 2) automatically register those who get drivers’ licenses to vote. Secretary of State Steve Simon assured us that there is nothing to be alarmed about; safeguards are in place, he guaranteed, to make sure that unqualified voters don’t get ballots.
Now, several honest (and legal) non-citizens have contacted the Republican Party to say that they received ballots in the mail after having obtained drivers’ licenses. Republicans are calling for an investigation, but Secretary of State Simon disclaims any responsibility, pointing his finger at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Of course, he was the one who told us there was no possibility of these new laws enabling unqualified persons to cast ballots.
How many illegal ballots are cast in every election cycle? No one knows. Liberals assure us that the number is close to zero. But how could we know that? The hallmark of a successful fraud is that it is not discovered. And in most places, little effort is made to detect voter fraud, even when that is possible. Nevertheless, there are a large number of successful prosecutions of illegal voters.
What do Americans think about voter fraud? They are against it. Even many Democrats.
My organization has Minnesotans polled quarterly in connection with our magazine. The Thinking Minnesota Poll is the only systematic survey of voters in our state. For our upcoming Fall 2024 issue, we surveyed Minnesotans on election security.
We found that Minnesotans mostly believe in the honesty of our elections. Seventy-seven percent say they have confidence in Minnesota’s elections, and 70% have confidence in U.S. elections generally. (This is typical: Minnesotans are convinced that, in every respect, we are above average.) But the partisan breakdown was interesting: 55% of Republicans have confidence in election integrity in Minnesota, while an extraordinary 100% of Democrats express such confidence. Talk about toeing the party line!
But that doesn’t mean that people don’t care about voter fraud. Forty-six percent said they are concerned about voter fraud in Minnesota in the upcoming election, and 56% are concerned about the national election. Again, the partisan divide is stark: 86% of Republicans are concerned about fraud, compared with only 9% of Democrats. Forty-one percent of Independents say they are concerned about voter fraud in Minnesota.
What is more interesting is the consensus in favor of ballot security. Thirty-six percent say Minnesota makes it too easy to vote, while only 1% say it is too hard. What exactly would voters like to see?
Eighty-one percent support requiring identification to vote; 68% “strongly support” that measure, which Congressional Democrats tried to make illegal (unconstitutionally so) in all 50 states, just a few years ago.
Like many other states, Minnesota has replaced Election Day with Election Autumn. Early voting begins on September 20, a solid 6 1/2 weeks before Election Autumn concludes. This isn’t by popular demand: 17% of Minnesotans want no early voting at all, while 77% want three weeks or less.
Minnesota is the only state that allows same-day registration but does not have provisional ballots. In Minnesota, you can show up at the polls without evidence that you are a legal voter who resides in the precinct, and, if vouched for by a partisan representative stationed at the polling place, feed a ballot into the machine. Supposedly the county will follow up to see whether you are actually a qualified voter, but in the meantime, your ballot has been counted and there is no taking it back. Again, this is not what voters want: by 59% to 39%, Minnesotans say they want provisional ballots.
The Democrats gave drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants, but again this was not by popular demand. In our survey, Minnesotans oppose this measure by 59% to 39%. By 66% to 33%, Minnesotans say they are concerned that our new legislation authorizing drivers’ licenses for illegal immigrants will cause non-citizens to be registered to vote, Secretary Simon’s assurances to the contrary notwithstanding. And the majority has proved to be right.
Normally, when a political party sees that an issue is overwhelmingly popular–start with voter ID, at 81% support, and go down the line–they get behind it. Why wouldn’t Minnesota’s Democrats (or Democrats in any other state) get on the bandwagon? For some reason, Democrats in every state fight all efforts to improve ballot security tooth and nail, no matter how much public support those measures have.
How can we explain such seemingly perverse behavior? I think the only reasonable interpretation is that Democrats consider voter fraud an important part of their electoral strategy, and therefore are determined to stymie any attempt to prevent it.
