Firing of US attorneys puts new focus on voter fraud
From 2002 to 2006, the Justice Department has prosecuted some 120 cases and won at least 86 convictions for vote-buying and other election-related crimes.
By Peter Grier | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the April 5, 2007 edition
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WASHINGTON - The amounts of money involved seem small, almost trivial. Some of the East St. Louis, Ill., residents were paid only $5 or $10 for their vote.
But handing out this old-fashioned walking-around cash still earned Sandra Stith a fine and a year's probation in a federal case wrapped up in 2006. According to Justice Department documents, Ms. Stith admitted that she had used money received from the St. Clair County Democratic Committee to influence votes for president and various Illinois races in the general election of Nov. 2, 2004.
As this case shows, voter fraud still exists. Strictly speaking, it is not a relic of the 1800s and the era of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall.
But as an issue, it inspires heated partisan debate in Washington. Many Republicans believe it is a widespread threat to the integrity of the voting franchise, particularly in swing states. Many Democrats believe it is a trivial irritant, pushed by the GOP to intimidate minority and lower-income voters.
This argument is reflected in the current debate over the firing of eight US attorneys by the Justice Department. At least two of the dismissed prosecutors had not pursued voting fraud cases with the vigor desired by Justice Department headquarters, according to their own testimony and newly released internal documents.
David Iglesias, former US attorney in Albuquerque, N.M., apparently infuriated some local GOP officials by not bringing charges in a case involving suspicious voter registration cards. John McKay, former US attorney in Seattle, may have similarly angered his former supporters by not pursuing allegations of fraud in the whisker-close 2004 election for Washington state governor.
President Bush himself told Karl Rove and other White House officials that he was hearing complaints about some US attorneys' "lack of vigorous prosecution of election fraud cases," according to the White House.
Traditional election-fraud cases – vote-buying, ballot-stuffing, and illegal voter registrations – are overseen by the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division.
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