With the election countdown in its final days, charges of voter fraud are heating up, particularly in key swing-vote states in America's heartland. Fictitious voter registrations in Ohio, an absentee ballot mailed to a goldfish in Illinois and campaign workers voting illegally in Indiana have topped Midwestern headlines in the final weeks of what has become an increasingly contentious presidential campaign.
- In an attempt to lure more voters, some states have set up facilities where people can register to vote and then vote immediately. Law suits have been filed in Ohio, one of the states adopting the new tactic, questioning the validity of thousands of newly registered voters. A court has ordered the Ohio Secretary of State to verify the eligibility of hundreds of thousands of new voters before election day. However, with time running out, the state appears to lack the time or manpower to match that many voter registration records against motor vehicle and other data bases to verify length of residency and other voter eligibility requirements before the deadline. While the Ohio Secretary of State has said that most of the registration abnormalities found to date appear to be data input errors, both national parties have expressed concern about potential voter fraud.
- Presidential campaign workers in several states registered to vote and some then voted illegally. To prevent out-of-staters from stuffing the ballot box, most states have at least a 30-day residency requirement that must be met before registering to vote. Many also require that registered voters intend to live in the state for some time. Unaware of these requirements, a number of campaign workers from both parties registered to vote in several states. Some have already voted in states that allow pre-election voting. When apprised of state law, most campaign workers who were living in the state temporarily rescinded their voter's registration and allowed their vote to be cancelled. Some workers, however, maintained their intent to take up permanent residency and demanded that their vote stand. It is doubtful that states will such track residency intent.
- ACORN, a grassroots organization that promotes community betterment, has been questioned about voter fraud in several states. ACORN efforts to register voters was undermined when some workers, who are paid by the number of voters registered, were found to be fabricating or duplicating registrations to boost their income. Thousands of potential voters may be affected as states attempt to ferret out fraudulent registrations before the election.
