1. Stealing Elections, Revised and
Updated: How Voter Fraud Threatens
Our Democracy by John Fund
This Book Is A Steal
John Fund explores the real divide the country faces with the looming
election. Through wary thoughts on voting integrity, he shows how eletions
can be decided by the votes of dead people, illegal felon voters, and
absentee voters that simply dont exist. If nothing is done to address the
growing cynicism about vote counting, rest assured that another close
presidential election that descends into bitter partisan wrangling is just
around the corner.
Features:
* ISBN13: 9781594032240
* Condition: NEW
* Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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2. Personal Review: Stealing Elections, Revised and Updated:
How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy by John Fund
ohn Fund''s excellent non-partisan "Stealing Elections" is a tough look at
one aspect of America''s broken democracy -- election fraud -- and does a
competent job of covering this growing problem. He takes both Democrats
and Republicans to task for underhanded behavior. He does a particularly
good job at researching recent developments from a reporter''s neutral
viewpoint. Still, the seriousness of the subject suggests a need for a well-
funded study run by academics who could apply more analytical rigor. Still,
Fund''s book is the best we''ve got.
America''s election system is perhaps the "modern world''s sloppiest
election system" writes Mr. Fund. It''s haphazard and fraud prone. The US
ranks near the bottom among world nations in terms of voter participation
(139th of 163 democracies). Local election offices are cash-strapped and
voter rolls are flawed; voter ignorance, lackadaisical law enforcement and
shortages of trained volunteers further compound the problem. Reform is
easy to talk about, hard to do. A close election risks a legal battle fought by
armies of lawyers, so it''s necessary to win "beyond the margin of litigation"
he writes.
Voting is problematic because it''s a private act done in public for a political
purpose. So it''s difficult to know whether an election result is valid since
much of the choosing is concealed from public view.
Mr. Fund criticizes both sides for underhanded tactics. In somewhat of a
stretch, he tried to apply Thomas Sowell''s "unconstrained" and
"constrained" categories to voting (I wonder what Mr. Sowell might think
about this). The connection is somewhat loose -- Democrats prefer fair
outcomes (votes cast) while Republicans prefer fair process (playing by
the rules) and I agree with Mr. Fund''s general direction, but it''s still a
stretch. In a ballsy move, Mr. Fund declares Democrats are more likely to
indulge in vote fraud than Republicans (and I think he''s right) yet he does
this without seriously undermining his neutral stance as a non-partisan. He
doesn''t dance around this issue, and I applaud him for his bluntness.
Democratic underhandedness often involves a push for greater numbers of
voters, regardless of legality. Bill Clinton''s 1993 "Motor Voter Law"
required persons visiting their local DMV''s to be offered a chance to
register to vote. From 1994 to 1998, there was a 20% increase in "voters"
but one study found few of these drivers who registered actually voted.
Motor-Voter fueled an expansion of phantom voters. In a related effort,
Hillary Clinton supported the "Count Every Vote Act" (2005) to boost voter
participation despite this going against the Constitution''s requirement that
states (not the federal government) control elections. Senator Clinton
estimated that of the roughly five million disenfranchised felons, most
would lean Democratic; but do we really want felons voting? Supposedly
some jailbirds in Maine and Vermont actually voted from their cells. Other

3. questionable tactics by Democrats include shuttling homeless people to
the polls on election day. Since many likely Democratic voters tend to be
poor, they''re more susceptible to bribes.
Republican have their bag of dirty tricks too. One operative hired a firm to
repeatedly call Democratic "get out the vote" phone banks on election day.
This tied up their lines. The operatives were caught and spent 7 months in
jail after a lawsuit, although this is one of the few instances where vote
fraud was actually punished with jail time. Republicans sometimes hire
police officers to hang around polls to intimidate some voters.
Understandably Republicans prefer requirements such as identification
cards with photographs.
Absentee ballots increase the risk of vote fraud, in his view. It lengthens
the actual time of an election, making it harder to oversee and police.
Television exit polls are totally bypassed by mailed-in ballots, so there is
no media check on election accuracy when absentee balloting becomes
extensive. The author sees a dangerous trend towards use of absentee
ballots since it is very convenient for an apathetic public to vote with very
little effort. Thirty states now allow absentee ballots without an excuse. In
elections in Washington, California and Arizona, about half of all votes cast
were absentee ballots. It''s easier for party operatives to target the elderly,
infirm, low-income, and non-English speaking persons, and deliver their
"vote". Commentators from both left (Norman Ornstein) and right (George
Will) have voiced opposition to absentee balloting.
The author thinks George W. Bush won Florida, despite the media outcry,
based on a media consortium examining 170,000 disputed ballots. Florida
is still the "gold standard for botched elections" he writes. Liberals persist
in thinking the election was stolen despite fairly definitive proof that Bush
won the state.
An activist group called ACORN (Association of Community Organizations
for Reform Now) has promoted voting in low income areas, with a left-
leaning agenda. But it has often been associated with voter fraud. It helped
submit names in Seattle for voting, but 97% of 1805 names were later
ruled invalid. He notes presidential candidate Barack Obama was linked
with ACORN as their attorney in 1995 and as a trainer of ACORN staff. He
sees Barack Obama as a "faux reformer".
Mr. Fund points out electoral fraud in places like Mississippi, Milwau kee,
Seattle, and gives examples from Jimmy Carter''s presidential campaign as
well. He discusses vote fraud from history. Tammany Hall used devices
such as pre-marked ballots and preyed on vulnerable immigrants. From
1868 to 1871, votes totaled were more than 8% of the actual population.
Mr. Fund offers a list of intelligent steps to combat vote fraud. They
include: ID requirements at the polls; discourage absentee balloting; rein in
voter-chasing lawyers; centralized state-wide voter registration lists (to

4. avoid duplication). He thinks same-day registration is a recipe for mischief.
Surprisingly, he didn''t have much commentary about whether electronic
vote-counting machines were better than paper ballots; changes in voting
equipment almost always pose problems, he writes. To replace an aging
corps of elderly poll-worker volunteers, he''d encourage college students
and graduating high school seniors to become involved (good idea). Other
recommendations: require absentee ballots to be signed in the presence of
a witness whose address & phone number are provided; only voters
should be allowed to request an absentee ballot; campaign workers should
be barred from delivering absentee ballots; states should run computer
checks to compare voter lists against death notices and convicted felons;
give state election officials power to examine vote fraud and
disenfranchisement issues; put citizen appointees on election boards with
equal representation from both parties which are overseen by a non-
partisan. He whips out a surprise recommendation about "provisional
ballots" (which allow a person who tries to vote but is denied to specify a
choice anyway). This permits a later decision to overturn the rejected
registration and actually cast a vote. In my view, this adds needless
complexity and more mess to a difficult system.
Generally Mr. Fund''s recommendations are sensible and smart but I see
the problem as much, much deeper than electoral fraud. I think American
democracy is decaying, and the problems are structural, systemic, and
severe, and won''t be solved with stop-gap solutions like Mr. Fund is
proposing. I think the only recourse to save our Republic is a Second
Constitutional Convention, and I am summoning this body to meet in
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, beginning July 4, 2009, to craft a new
Constitution, based on the old one, which restores our democracy along
lines I''ve proposed in m
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