News

New York County Election Official Back on Job after 94-Count Indictment

Dutchess County Democratic Election Commissioner Fran Knapp was back at work a day after pleading not guilty to a 94-count indictment, which follows a pattern of other election officials who have faced criminal charges. Knapp, 61, of the City of Poughkeepsie was charged with 46 felonies, involving 45 counts of misconduct of an election officer and one count of making an apparently sworn false statement, class E felonies. She also faces 48 class A misdemeanors.

Station’s Report Claims Vote Fraud Not an Issue in North Carolina

RALEIGH -- An NBC affiliate TV station says that "only" 121 vote fraud cases from 2012 show that vote fraud is not an issue: "One of the more compelling arguments for voter identification is the suppression of voter fraud. But for North Carolina, the number of cases of voter fraud reported by the state Board of Elections is minimal. In 2012, nearly 7 million ballots were cast in the general and two primary elections. Of those 6,947,317 ballots, the state Board of Elections said 121 alleged cases of voter fraud were referred to the appropriate district attorney's office.

Maryland Woman Charged with Vote Fraud

A Frederick County woman has been charged with illegal voting in the 2012 presidential election, the Office of the State Prosecutor announced Tuesday. Elsie Virginia Schildt, 46, was indicted by the Frederick County grand jury for charges of impersonating another person in an attempt to vote, attempting to vote under a false name, and attempting to vote more than once in the same election. Each charge is punishable by up to five years imprisonment and a fine of $2,500.

Ex-Arkansas Legislator Sentenced for Vote Fraud

LITTLE ROCK - A judge has sentenced a former east Arkansas legislator convicted of election fraud to three years of probation, including nine months of home confinement. Former Democratic Rep. Hudson Hallum pleaded guilty in September, along with his father and two campaign workers to charges of bribing voters and using absentee ballots to commit fraud in the 2011 election for his seat. He was sentenced on June 20.

Expert Claims Voter ID Law Will Disenfranchise Half Million People

Bernard Siskin, a statistical expert who served as a consultant for a variety of government agencies and companies, including the FBI, testified that about 511,000 registered voters in Pennsylvania lack the state-issued IDs required at the polls under the new law, which was passed last spring but has yet to be enforced.

Alabama Photo ID Law to Take Effect

MONTGOMERY -- Top Alabama officials say voters apparently will have to present photo identification at the polls in the next election. Gov. Robert Bentley, Secretary of State Beth Chapman and Attorney General Luther Strange said the Supreme Court's ruling on June 24 throwing out part of the federal Voting Rights Act means the state does not have to submit for preclearance a new law requiring voters to show photo identification.

Arizona Ruling Partly Blocks Georgia Voter ID Law

Last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling partly blocks Georgia from enforcing a law requiring would-be voters to prove U.S. citizenship, Secretary of State Brian Kemp said. In a 7-2 decision on June 24, the court ruled a similar statute in Arizona is pre-empted by federal law. Passed in 2009, Georgia's law requires voter registration applicants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, such as copies of passports or birth certificates.

Ruling Clears Way for Vote Fraud Laws

With the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling today in Shelby County v. Holder, the way is cleared for more states to adopt laws requiring photo IDs and other measures that ensure election integrity, the (ACRU) said in a press release.