Ahead of tonight’s final presidential debate, Donald Trump continues to claim the November election will be “rigged,” urging his supporters to monitor polling places for “large scale fraud.”
President Michael Waldman and other experts from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law — who have studied voter fraud allegations and election issues for more than a decade — are available to comment.
We recently released a series of briefing memos on these subjects:
- Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth. There is no basis to the claims of widespread fraud or rigged election outcomes. Fraud by voters at the polls is vanishingly rare. Every major study, investigation, and court decision has found little evidence of fraud — and substantial evidence of disenfranchisement. Instead, these claims are used to push restrictive laws that block legitimate voters.
- The Dangers of “Ballot Security” Operations and Voter Intimidation. Every eligible citizen has the right to vote free of intimidation and discrimination — regardless of political affiliation, race, disability, sexual orientation, or gender. Deploying non-official, private actors to challenge voters’ eligibility can lead to illegal intimidation, discrimination, or disruptions, and undermine confidence in our election system. This analysis outlines the threat, explains what is and is not allowed under the law, and highlights what can be done to protect against harmful activity in November.
See more of the Brennan Center’s Election 2016 Controversies resources.
For more information, or to set up an interview, contact Rebecca Autrey at rebecca.autrey@nyu.edu or 646–292–8316.