Letters to the Editor
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Turnout barely 50%
Granted, this is not an empirical analysis, but as everyone knows, voter turnout in this country has been low for decades and has generally been declining. Even in presidential election years, turnout is barely 50%, and in most other elections much lower (in the Virginia Senate primary in 2006 I believe the turnout was 4 (four) percent.
Under these circumstances, when fully half the people can't be bothered to vote once (and that's assuming that they are registered to vote in the first place) how could anyone think that we could have a serious problem of people voting more than once, or of people who are not eligible to vote (because they didn't register, for example) being sufficiently motivated to go vote fraudulently? And why doesn't anyone ever ask this question?
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How much Fraud-where to look
According to the statistics cited in this article, the amount of vote fraud by voters is almost non-existent. So making individuals and states pay for voter IDs seems hardly necessary.
However, the amount of fraud caused by electronic voting machines has already proven to be rampant in the last 2 national elections! Studies by top universities have shown how easily it can be done, even with paper ballots and electronic scanners. Since recounts are so hard to get done because of bureaucracy and expense, even with paper ballots to recount, it seems unlikely recounting will occur as often as perhaps it should. The programs in the machines, rather than being under state jurisdiction for authenticity and accuracy, as even slot machines are, are under copyright (so they say) by the company that sold them to the state; only the COMPANY can repair or program them or even look at the program.....and the programs also count the vote-which the state and public is totally closed out on. We now have no control over any of the VOTING process, the corporations do and THEY tell us how we voted. How absurd is that? THAT'S WHAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED, NOT SOME PICTURE ID FOR VOTERS! BUT IT IS EASIER For politicians TO TAKE ON THE PLACID VOTERS THAN CORPORATIONS.