0.002397 percent. That’s how much voter fraud there was in Ohio last year, according to a report released yesterday by Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted. Out of about 5.63 million votes cast in a presidential election in this key swing state, there were 135 possible voter-fraud cases referred to law enforcement for more investigation. “Voter fraud does exist, but it’s not an epidemic,” Husted said. The report summarized a comprehensive review of alleged voter fraud and suppression that Husted ordered all 88 county boards of elections to conduct in January. Rumors of fraud and suppression at the polls undermine voter confidence in elections, Husted said. Those same things also inspire legislation in Ohio — where in 2011 House Republicans passed a bill that would have, in the name of minimizing fraud, required a photo ID to vote on Election Day. Democrats fought that bill, and Husted played a roll in killing it. His report yesterday gives folks on all sides of the debate something to latch onto.
“Voters can be reassured there are not widespread concerns,” said Carrie Davis, executive director for the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, which was among the groups opposed to the 2011 photo-ID provision. “It’s important to have the facts in front of us.”
Per Husted’s January directive, county elections boards compiled 625 complaints of possible voting irregularities and determined that 115 of them were worth forwarding to local prosecutors for review. Most of those cases involved people attempting to vote more than once in Ohio. Husted said in a majority of the cases, only one of the votes was ultimately counted.
… Husted said requiring a photo ID “wouldn’t have mattered in most of these cases” in the report, and he renewed his call for online registration as a way for his office to further combat fraud.
Full Article: Fraud just a tiny blip of 2012 vote | The Columbus Dispatch.