-Source-Time-
In a landmark case on legislative districting in 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that “the right of suffrage can be denied by a debasement or dilution of the weight of a citizen’s vote just as effectively as by wholly prohibiting the free exercise of the franchise.”
The first part of that sentiment — “debasement” — is often cited when we debate restrictions on voters casting their ballots. But we often overlook the second part — “dilution” — when we fail to consider the disenfranchisement caused by voter fraud.
Both present a threat to our participatory democracy, because the right to vote is the fundamental right that protects all of our other rights and individual liberties enshrined in our Constitution.
There is nothing new about the threat voter fraud presents to our form of government. It has always been present in the shadows of our democracy. Voter fraud comes in several different forms: impersonation, false registration, duplication, absentee fraud, ineligible voting, voter intimidation and outright buying of votes. These types of voter fraud are as old as the republic.
But in the 21st century, these threats have been compounded by modernization and the fast-paced technology of the digital age. Read more