Electoral fraud

Sometimes, people try to cheat in elections.

This is called electoral fraud. It is not fair.

People may try to add extra votes. They might also try to hide votes. This can change who wins.

Some people use scary threats. They may try to make voters feel afraid. This stops people from voting.

Other people tell lies. They share false news to trick people. This can confuse everyone.

Rules help keep things fair. Many lands have laws to stop cheating. We want every vote to count.

Electoral fraud is when people cheat in an election. This is often called election manipulation. The goal is to change who wins. Some people try to help their favorite leader. Others try to hurt the chances of a rival.

There are many ways to cheat. Some people use "ballot stuffing." This means they add extra votes to the box.

In some places, officials might use unfair rules. They may make it hard for certain groups to vote. This is called disenfranchisement. For example, they might set voting times on holy days. This stops people from voting on their special days.

Other people use fear to change results. This is called voter intimidation. Some might use threats of violence. Others might tell lies to trick voters. They might say that people will go to jail for voting. This makes people afraid to go to the polls.

Most countries have laws to stop these acts. In the United States, states prosecute many election crimes. People who cheat can face fines or jail. We need fair rules so everyone can trust the vote.

Electoral fraud is when people use illegal ways to change an election. This is also called election manipulation or vote rigging. The main goal is to help one candidate win more votes. It can also be used to make a rival candidate lose. Sometimes, fraud is used to make a democracy less fair. Even if the result does not change, people may lose trust in the system.

There are many ways people try to manipulate an election. One way is through ballot stuffing, which means adding extra votes to a box.

Some people try to change who is allowed to vote at all. This is called disenfranchisement. Officials might use hard rules to stop certain groups from voting. They might also set voting times on religious holy days. This makes it very difficult for those people to cast a vote.

History shows many different ways these rules have been used. In the United States, many African Americans were stopped from voting for a long time. This happened through things like literacy tests or poll taxes. In Canada, during the Great War in 1917, new laws changed who could vote. The Military Voters Act let soldiers pick their own voting districts. Meanwhile, the Wartime Elections Act stopped certain ethnic groups from voting.

Specific places have seen many types of election problems. In England, between 1986 and 1990, there was a scandal called Homes for Votes. This happened in the City of Westminster under a leader named Shirley Porter. In Malaysia, a process called Project IC gave citizenship to immigrants to change voting numbers. In 1984, followers of a leader named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh used a biological attack in Oregon. They wanted to weaken their political rivals during local elections.

Understanding these events helps us see why fair rules are so important. Many countries have strict laws to punish people who cheat. In France, officials who break election laws can face jail time. In the United States, states handle many crimes like voter impersonation or bribery. These laws help ensure that every person's voice is heard fairly. Protecting the vote helps keep democracy strong for everyone.

Electoral fraud is the illegal interference with an election process. This interference aims to change the outcome of a vote. Some people use fraud to increase the vote share for a favored candidate. Others use it to decrease the vote share of a rival candidate. This practice is also known as election manipulation, vote rigging, or election engineering. While it is often illegal, the term sometimes describes actions that are legal but violate democratic principles. For example, sham elections with only one candidate may be considered fraudulent. If fraud happens on a large enough scale, it can lead to a coup d'état or the corruption of democracy. Even if the result does not change, the discovery of fraud can damage public confidence in the system.

Manipulation often begins long before the actual voting day. One method involves altering the composition of the electorate, which is the group of people eligible to vote. Authorities may use artificial migration to change these numbers. For instance, they might move large numbers of voters into a specific district by providing temporary housing. In the City of Westminster in England, a scandal known as "Homes for Votes" occurred between 1986 and 1990 under Shirley Porter. Another example is Project IC in Malaysia. In that case, the government gave citizenship and voting rights to immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia. This was done to help a political party dominate the state of Sabah.

Another way to manipulate an election is through disenfranchisement. This means making it difficult or impossible for certain groups of people to vote. Historically, some states used barriers like poll taxes or literacy tests to achieve this. In the southern United States, these measures were used to disenfranchise many African Americans from the turn of the century until the late 1960s. Some rules target specific groups based on their lifestyle or occupation. For example, requiring voters to be at a specific location can disenfranchise students, military personnel, or hospital patients. Even the timing of an election can be a tool. Setting a vote on a religious holy day can prevent certain groups from participating.

In Canada, the government used laws to change the electorate during the Great War in 1917. They passed the Military Voters Act and the Wartime Elections Act. The Military Voters Act allowed active military personnel to choose which electoral district their vote would count in. It also gave voting rights to women related to soldiers. Meanwhile, the Wartime Elections Act was used to disenfranchise ethnic groups that supported the opposition Liberal Party. These laws were designed because the Union government believed those specific groups would vote for their opponents. This shows how legal changes can be used to influence who has a voice in government.

Intimidation is another method used to control how people vote. This involves putting undue pressure on voters through verbal or physical threats. In 1887, a Kansas Supreme Court noted that physical retaliation against voters was a common issue. Some groups use violence to keep people away from polling places. In 1984, followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh carried out a bioterror attack in The Dalles, Oregon. They contaminated salad bars to try and weaken political opposition during local elections. Other forms of intimidation include legal threats. In 2004, flyers in Wisconsin falsely claimed that people who had already voted in primary elections could not vote in the Presidential Election. These flyers threatened that violators could face ten years in prison.

Disinformation is a way to manipulate elections by spreading false information. This can involve "black propaganda," which are materials made to look like they come from a specific political party. In the 1970 Chilean presidential election, the CIA used this method to create discord between socialist and communist coalitions. There is also a method where people join a different party to vote for a weak candidate. The goal is to ensure that the weak candidate wins the primary. This makes it easier for the voter's preferred party to win the general election later. In 2015, there were claims this happened in the UK Labour Party leadership election.

Laws exist to prevent these various forms of interference. In the United States, many electoral crimes are prosecuted at the state level. These include voter impersonation, ballot stuffing, and tampering with voting machines. The federal government also prosecutes crimes like bribery and voter intimidation. Penalties can include fines, imprisonment, or losing the right to hold public office. In France, public officials who commit electoral fraud can face up to two years in prison. Understanding these mechanisms is vital for protecting the integrity of democratic systems worldwide.