Voter fraud, voting rights and election security have been hot-button issues in U.S. politics since the nation's founding. Today, opinions about each are often divided on party lines; Republicans and conservatives often consider voter fraud a widespread issue, while Democrats and liberals typically do not.
Some see voter fraud as a widespread issue. Voter fraud has been alleged frequently in recent elections, in forms such as allegations of bussing out-of-state voters into different states, hacking electronic voting machines, impersonating voters and other methods. In May 2017, President Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity to address this issue, though it has since been disbanded. Many states have passed voter ID laws to attempt to address fraud, requiring citizens to provide a valid form of ID at the ballot box.
Skeptics argue that election fraud is rare in the US, and too infrequent to have a legitimate impact on voting integrity. When it does occur, they say, voter fraud typically involves absentee ballots or election officials, both of which cannot be prevented by voter ID laws. They argue that voter ID laws disenfranchise American citizens who lack government-issued IDs or do not have the resources to acquire one, and argue the laws disproportionately affect racial minorities and the disabled. Some characterize ID laws as instances of implicit racism.
Disenfranchisement of people with felony criminal convictions is another oft-debated aspect of voting rights. Maine and Vermont are the only states that allow prison inmates, probationers and parolees to vote. Virginia is the only state that permanently removes voting rights from people with felony convictions.
Voting rights for young people have also become a topic of debate in recent years. The 26th Amendment, passed in 1971, prevents laws that set a minimum voting age higher than 18.
Musk’s Unsupported Claim to Have Unveiled Massive Illegal Voting by Noncitizens
Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency he leads claim to have unearthed evidence to prove a longstanding conspiracy theory about Democrats orchestrating illegal voting by noncitizens on a scale large enough to swing national elections in their favor. But voting experts say the claims are highly dubious, and DOGE hasn’t released any evidence.
House passes SAVE Act, requiring proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration
The House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Thursday, which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for federal elections.
The final vote was 220-208, with one Democrat absent due to medical issues. Four Democrats voted with all the Republicans in support of the bill. Four Republicans didn't vote.
Trump is dismantling election security networks. State officials are alarmed
Misha Pride, then the mayor of South Portland, Maine, was greeting voters early on Election Day when police cars suddenly swarmed outside the city’s community center with lights flashing.
“Possible shooting,” the city manager texted Pride. Officers locked down the center.
GOP-led states remove hundreds of thousands from voter rolls, finding non-citizens had registered
Two Republican-led states have removed hundreds of thousands of registrations from their voter rolls this month, while another identified hundreds of non-citizen voters during their voter list maintenance.
Trump Signs Order Calling for Citizenship Proof to Vote in Federal Elections
President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that will require proof of U.S. citizenship on election forms, in an aggressive push to catch and combat voter fraud, which is exceedingly rare but constantly cited by Mr. Trump as a reason he lost the 2020 election.
New York Appeals Court Blocks NYC Noncitizen Voting Law, Siding with Republicans
New York’s highest court on Thursday blocked a New York City law that would have allowed noncitizens to vote in municipal elections, upholding lower court rulings that sided with Republicans who challenged the measure.
GOP-led Georgia, Utah legislatures push back on election officials to leave voter data group
The Republican-led state legislatures of Georgia and Utah are considering legislation to leave a voter roll data group, pushing back on their respective GOP state election officials who have advocated for remaining in the coalition.
800,000 noncitizens could soon be voting in New York City's elections
New York's top court will consider a city law allowing noncitizens to register to vote in New York City's elections this week.
The court will hear arguments in the case on Tuesday, with lawyers for Democrats arguing in favor of legislation the city already passed to allow noncitizen voters. If successful, the over 800,000 noncitizens living in the Big Apple would be able to cast ballots in city-level contests like mayoral elections. Proponents of the bill claim noncitizens are being unfairly taxed.
Feds’ suit claims Pennsylvania city’s ‘at-large’ election system is biased against Hispanic voters
The U.S. Justice Department wants a judge to declare that a Pennsylvania city’s method of electing council members citywide instead of by districts has illegally diluted the political power of its growing Hispanic population, arguing in a lawsuit that Hazleton is violating the federal Voting Rights Act.
A complaint filed Tuesday in Scranton federal court claims the “at-large” system “results in Hispanic citizens not having an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice.”
‘Meritless’: In Its Dying Days, Biden DOJ Sues GOP-Led City Council For Not Being … Hispanic Enough
A Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit alleges that Hazleton, Pennsylvania’s city council elections violate federal law because not enough “Hispanic-preferred candidates” are winning – without defining what a Hispanic-preferred candidate is.