Voter Fraud v. Voter Suppression: Author Explains That Neither Is Quite What We Think

Republicans say voter fraud is rampant. Democrats see voter ID laws threatening to disenfranchise large numbers of eligible voters.

In his book The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown, author Rick Hasen says that the real danger is overblown political rhetoric that destroys the confidence the American people have in our electoral system’s legitimacy.

With ABA Journal Web producer Lee Rawles, he discusses our electoral system’s flaws, including partisan election officials, outdated equipment and the “Fraudulent Fraud Squad.” The election is in less than three weeks—could we be facing another Florida 2000 meltdown? Hasen takes a look back at how far we’ve come in a decade.

Related articles

NPR: “Richard Hasen: ‘The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown’”

New York Times: “A Détente Before the Election”

Wall Street Journal: “A Better Way To Cast a Ballot”

Washington Post: “As always, Florida in the middle of the voting wars”

The Oregonian: “‘The Voting Wars’ review: Timely examination of our botched balloting”

Listen to the Podcast

In This Podcast:

Lee Rawles
Richard L. Hasen is Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. He was the founding co-editor of the quarterly peer-reviewed publication Election Law Journal from 2001-2010. His most recent book is The Voting Wars: From Florida 2000 to the Next Election Meltdown. He blogs regularly at Election Law Blog.