Is 'voter fraud' the same as 'electoral fraud'? If not, why not?

SSG Robert Webster — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 13:26:02 -0500

Do you know the different types of 'electoral fraud?'

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Feb 11 at 2017 2:11 PM

SPC Erich Guenther — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 14:11:00 -0500

Interesting and I would agree that some groups are splitting hairs here. I understand accidental registration fraud by special interest groups that unknowingly cross the line in an attempt to register voters. However, also feel some of those special interest groups are crossing the line deliberately to test and see how far they can get. So is that counted as voter fraud or do they call it registration fraud because it was intercepted before the vote took place? Interesting distinction in terms and I would be curious on the answer.

Response by SSgt Christopher Brose made Feb 11 at 2017 4:05 PM

SSgt Christopher Brose — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 16:05:03 -0500

When I hear the word "electoral", I think of the electoral college and the two-step election process by which we choose our Presidents. In that context, the only form of electoral fraud I can think of is when an elector misrepresents who he is going to vote for, and votes for someone other than the candidate he is supposed to vote for.

Other than that, according to Merriam-Webster, the word "electoral" means "of or relating to election <an electoral system>", so electoral fraud is just another way of saying election fraud.

Response by SPC Kevin Ford made Feb 11 at 2017 9:27 PM

SPC Kevin Ford — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 21:27:13 -0500

Voter fraud: the excuse some state legislators use to commit election fraud.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 12 at 2017 11:09 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 11:09:26 -0500

Electoral fraud is an umbrella term for anything that damages the integrity of the electoral process. Voter fraud is but one form of electoral fraud, dealing specifically with a voter who is ineligible, votes twice, votes under other people's names, etc. The larger electoral fraud category can also include things like ballot stuffing, ballot destruction, voter disenfranchisement, and so on.

Voter *registration* fraud straddles the line between being electoral fraud and being something else altogether; if it's caught and the registration is rejected, the integrity of the system was not damaged, so it's not electoral fraud at all, full-stop. If it isn't caught, and the person becomes successfully registered when they shouldn't be, then it is electoral fraud, and if that person actually then votes, it becomes the more specific subset of voter fraud.