The Success of the Voter Fraud Myth | You might want to bookmark this one...

[liberal N proud]

New York Times Editorial Board:

How does a lie come to be widely taken as the truth?

The answer is disturbingly simple: Repeat it over and over again. When faced with facts that contradict the lie, repeat it louder.

This, in a nutshell, is the story of claims of voting fraud in America — and particularly of voter impersonation fraud, the only kind that voter ID laws can possibly prevent.

Last week, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that nearly half of registered American voters believe that voter fraud occurs “somewhat” or “very” often. That astonishing number includes two-thirds of people who say they’re voting for Donald Trump and a little more than one-quarter of Hillary Clinton supporters. Another 26 percent of American voters said that fraud “rarely” occurs, but even that characterization is off the mark. Just 1 percent of respondents gave the answer that comes closest to reflecting reality: “Never.”

As study after study has shown, there is virtually no voter fraud anywhere in the country. The most comprehensive investigation to date found that out of one billion votes cast in all American elections between 2000 and 2014, there were 31 possible cases of impersonation fraud. Other violations — like absentee ballot fraud, multiple voting and registration fraud — are also exceedingly rare. So why do so many people continue to believe this falsehood?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/opinion/the-success-of-the-voter-fraud-myth.html?emc=edit_th_20160920&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=45299538&_r=0


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I know this is an editorial piece, but it resonates so much of how the right always gets these myths and fears into the minds of the sheep.
There are a couple of links with some good facts embedded in the article.

[Ilsa]

1. I presented this to a conservative. Their response was

"ACORN". Of course it exists. I haven't had time to reply back about registration fraud, etc.

[underpants]

2. You figured that out all by yourselves did you NYT Editorial board?

Well good for you.

Hey, what's say you apply that to every other hoax the Republicans have drawn up and you've carried presumably in the interest of "fairness" and, more accurately, access.

We can start with the War on Iraq. That wouldn't have happened without YOU the New York Times.
The list is long so I'll just stop there.

[JHB]

3. The article glosses over an important component...

A willing audience. Repeating lies works best when it has a solid core of people who are ready and willing to treat the horseshit like it's chocolate.

[Augiedog]

4. If you had a nickel for every case of voter fraud you couldn't by a cup of coffee at a Starbucks

[tanyev]

8. And all of the verified cases I've heard of were committed by Republicans.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. In Texas

[Snake Plissken]

6. Help me out here ... How do you convince someone who thinks the Earth is 6,000 years old

and believes in the mythology of Reaganomic where the only way you will ever get rich is if you give all you money to people who are already obscenely wealthy ... how do you convince them of anything based in reality?

[Dustlawyer]

7. If more evidence was needed to prove the culpability and ineptitude of the MSM!

They have allowed this fraud to be perpetrated on the American voter because that is what TPTB want. We need automatic voter registration for all voters 18 and up.

We also need Publicly Funded Elections to end campaign contributions to attack the root cause of most of our countries problems and restore Representative Democracy. Once done we can bust up the media and banking Oligopolies. We need to bust them up and set rules to return the news to the truth. Currently, they are listed as "Entertainment" and thus have no obligation to the truth.

[Marty 65]

9. While they scream fraud

While repugs scream fraud over and over, they are suppressing and denying the vote for millions. Despicable.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a48232/kris-kobach-voter-suppression/

[liberal N proud]

10. And preventing people from voting is the real fraud

They have successfully covered that up by doing it in the name of preventing fraud.

[Agschmid]

11. It's not just the right who has this myth in their heads...

[liberal N proud]

12. You are trying to say both sides do it

I hope

[Agschmid]

13. Yup.

Voter fraud is a myth both parties have in common.

[liberal N proud]

14. I call bullshit!

[Agschmid]

17. You call bullshit on what exactly?

The article supports my opinion.

[liberal N proud]

21. Both sides do it is a cop-out

Anyone who uses that line is just making excuses for the right and their actions, weather it is this topic or any other slime pulled by the right.

BOTH SIDES DO NOT DO IT!

[ToxMarz]

15. Yes both sides do it

But the equivalency is False. Two thirds (majority) of Trump supporters vs. One quarter (minority) of Clinton supporters.

[Agschmid]

18. So "yes" both sides do it.

[ToxMarz]

23. I think I clearly said that

But if you want the last word go ahead, I'll stop after this.

[LanternWaste]

25. No more and no less accurate than African American fought in "both" sides of the civil war

No more and no less accurate than African American fought in "both" sides of the civil war. However, if I left at that and only that, I'd be disingenuous.

No doubt though, you rationalize your own lack of directly relevant information to the topic as wholly proper and rather appropriate.

So yes... "both sides do it."

[Whiskeytide]

31. But who pushes for - and passes - voter ID...

... laws in the name of voter fraud deterrence?

It's one thing to say both parties might engage in voter fraud - but quite another to say that both parties are complicit in exaggerating the issue for political purposes. THAT is solely in the domain of the republicans.

[Agschmid]

32. I didn't say both parties engage in it, I said they both use it an an excuse.

[PaddyIrishman]

16. Both sides don't do it

I can't think of any Democratic initiated legislation to prevent voting on the basis of so-called "voter fraud".

I'm open to correction but as far as I can recall, all the attempts to restrict voting on the basis of so-called "voter fraud" have been proposed and passed by the Republicans.

[Agschmid]

19. Both sides do it, they may do it in subtly different ways but they absolutely do it.

[liberal N proud]

22. But you offer nothing but the line Both sides

Back it up with some evidence!

[Agschmid]

24. So did you read the article you linked to in your OP?

It seems you did not.

[elleng]

26. Where, exactly?

[Agschmid]

28. I don't understand why I am being accosted by several folks...

People from both parties (no not everyone, and no probably not equal proportions) feel that voter fraud occurs.

That's my point.

Are you trying to say I'm not correct there, because I am.

[elleng]

29. You asked 'liberal n proud' whether s/he had read the op,

to confirm, presumably, your assertion that 'they both do it.' I did so (and I had posted the OP earlier, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016167211 ) so I asked you WHERE exactly is your assertion affirmed.

I am not accosting you. I am looking for facts.

[Gothmog]

20. Great NYT editorial

The GOP use voter fraud to steal elections with voter suppression laws

[maxrandb]

27. Bear with me here, because I think

a lot of people know exactly what the purpose of Voter ID Laws are, and they are perfectly fine, if not encouraged, by the prospect of disenfranchising as many of the demographics targeted by Voter ID Laws as they possibly can.

They want only the "right" people to vote...Democracy be damned.

It's also a simple argument to make to suggest "hell, you can't even cash a check, or buy beer without an ID, why should you NOT have to show ID to vote?"

Of course, cashing a check and buying beer are NOT core freedoms imbedded in the Constitution.

Probably worse than Voter ID Laws are all the other piddly-ass crap the ReTrumplican Party is doing concerning access to the franchise.

- Reducing Polling Places in Democratic areas

- Moving Polling Places in Democratic areas, so that someone who has voted at the same spot for 50 years, now has to travel 2-3 miles away...or more

- Purging Voter Roles with the purging being overwhelmingly Democratic Voters

- Reducing Early Voting and severely restricting access to Absentee Ballots

All of these things and more are designed to do one thing...diminish the number of voters participating

The less people that vote...the more the ReTrumplicans win

[elleng]

30. Yes,

a lot of people know exactly what the purpose of Voter ID Laws are, NO DOUBT about that.