Op Ed: Just the Facts: About Rigged Elections and Voter Fraud

Recent unsupported allegations and sensationalized reporting are sowing seeds of doubt about our democratic process. This undermines voter confidence and calls into question whether all voices will be heard on November 8th. As Vermont's Secretary of State and chief elections officer, former State Senator, former City Councilor, and lifelong voter, I've been following our elections my entire adult life. I am frustrated by the careless way in which these stories attack our very democracy. They show a real lack of understanding of the true risks.I'd like to set the record straight. Vermont's elections will not be "rigged" and "voter fraud" is essentially non-existent here and across the U.S. In fact, a Loyola University study by constitutional law professor Justin Levitt found just 31 instances of potential voter fraud between 2000 and 2014. According to Levitt, more than 1 BILLION ballots (local, state, federal) were cast in that period. Vermont's elections process is nonpartisan, transparent and decentralized to the town level. Any hacking or altering of results would require a conspiracy on a massive scale.