Election security

A ‘Rigged’ Election?

In recent days, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has warned that the upcoming Nov. 8 election could be rigged and stated that large-scale voter fraud is happening in the U.S.

However, studies show that voting fraud is a very rare occurrence.

According to an Associated Press article, voter impersonation is a rare occurrence, with a Loyola Law School professor finding 31 instances of allegations of voter impersonation out of 1 billion votes cast in U.S. elections between 2000-2014.

Another study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School found many reports of people voting twice or ballots being cast on behalf of dead people were largely the result of clerical errors that suggested wrongdoing when none had occurred.

Voting fraud doesn’t appear to be an issue in South Dakota either.

“We have not received any complaints regarding voter fraud in South Dakota leading up to the 2016 general election,” S.D. Secretary of State Shantel Krebs told the Press & Dakotan. “We have all sorts of protections in place to protect against voter fraud.”