Don’t believe the fearmongering about voting — it will be safe, fair and secure

Free, fair and open elections are a cornerstone of any democratic system, and the United States is no different. Elections are a fundamental mechanism of democracy; they serve to aggregate voters’ preferences and transmit them to our representatives.

Because elections are so central to democracy it’s important that all citizens participate; it’s important that they get out and vote.

At the same time we should all have confidence in the process and know that the declared winner was truly the choice of the people.

Nothing to fear

In a recent NBC News poll, only 45% of Americans expressed confidence that all votes will be counted accurately.

But the fact is that voters have nothing to fear.

Will we see evidence of fraud in the November election?

Yes.

In an election with tens of millions of voters someone will try to cheat.

Fortunately, a few cases of cheating don’t make an election fail.

The American election system is large and complex but it is also fair, well-regulated and run by dedicated local officials who follow the law. We can have confidence that in each contest the votes will be counted fairly and accurately.

Virtually no fraud

There is virtually no voter fraud in the United States.

President Donald Trump’s Commission on Election Integrity, appointed in the aftermath of the 2016 election, was disbanded in January 2018 without issuing a final report.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, maintains a database of voter fraud cases; it lists only 1,298 cases of voter fraud since 1992, a period in which there have been thousands of elections and more than 1.5 billion votes cast.

An extensive study of the 2016 U.S. election reported in The Washington Post found exactly four instances of illegal voting.

Any fraud in voting is a problem, but it is increasingly rare.

Mail votes are secure

Trump has expressed particular concern about vote-by-mail, which will be far more common this election due to the ongoing pandemic.

Voting by mail is used extensively around the country and there is no evidence that it leads to increased rates of fraud or to any partisan advantage for any particular party or candidate.

Five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington — send every voter a mail-in ballot and none has had meaningful voter fraud.

Members of the military and Americans living overseas send ballots by mail to every state. Each state has clearly established rules and procedures for handling ballots delivered by mail and they will follow them carefully, exactly as they have in years past.

Make your voice heard

This election is going to be contentious, and that’s not a bad thing. Political conflict over important questions is healthy so long as all sides respect the norms, institutions and values of democracy.

Be sure your voice is heard this year.

Confirm you are registered to vote.

Make a plan to vote.

Vote early if you can to reduce congestion on Election Day.

Once you have voted, you can rest easy in the knowledge that:

▪ Our electoral processes are secure.

▪ Neither voter fraud nor mail-in ballots will tilt the outcome inappropriately.

And, finally, be patient and wait for the official result, even if it takes a few days or weeks to become clear.

Richard Almeida is a John Monroe Johnson Holliday Professor of Political Science at Francis Marion University in Florence.

This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 1:41 PM.