Eggers - Fraud : how the left plans to steal the next election

Copyright 2018 by Eric Eggers

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To Fran Thompson

By Peter Schweizer

A lthough we love to complain about the campaign ads, the long lines at the polls, and all the signs that litter the roadways like falling leaves, we Americans vote. We do it to teach our children how to be good citizens, to keep them from getting into office, and to feel a stronger connection with our town, state, and nation. We trudge to the polls in November and tap screens, flip levers, and fill in circles on paper ballots with our #2 pencils.

Voting is a duty, and a right, that men and women have died for. It is an accomplishment and a reminder that we are consenting to be governed by choosing our own leaders. Voting is a civil right and a solemn obligation not to take government of, by, and for the people for granted.

It also expresses our trust that our vote will count as much as anyone elses, and that it will be cast fairly, tabulated accurately, and honored by everyone. As Americans, were born or become citizens knowing all of that, and we guard it jealously. I once saw a t-shirt that read simply: MY VOTE CANCELS OUT YALLS.

So, when the subject of voter fraud arises, our jealousy should be aroused. Americans, like free people everywhere, believe in fair play and respect for the rules. We should get fired up when there are credible allegations of vote fraud or ballot tampering. But the truth is that voting in America has long been tainted by documented cases of fraud and other irregularities. We all have nagging suspicions that some votes were not cast legally, or that scheming political operatives have figured out how to exploit the process and rig an election.

You will read about some of the historical examples of that here. Eric Eggerss book will take you into the world of party bosses who treat the ballot box like a cookie jar, prey on elderly Americans and recent immigrants, and conspire to make sure elections go their way. They succeeded for years, even for decades in some cases.

There is an uncomfortable side to talking about voter fraud. But not to joking about it. Vote early, vote often is an old one. So are all the cracks about dead people in Chicago being the real swing voters in any Windy City election. For decades, New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne joked that he wanted to be buried in Hudson County so that I can remain active in Democratic politics. Perhaps the jokes are a way of acknowledging what most of us already suspect is true: voter fraud really does happen today.

Recent news stories have alleged that Russian intelligence agents tried to hack voter information systems in several states. Sensational charges that spies from other countries may have tried to crack into electronic voting systems themselves have been cited by several states as one reason they are returning to paper ballots and scanners. These attempts are a reminder that our voting systems must be absolutely secure from foreign interference. But what about interference by domestic bad actors?

This book exposes voter fraud that is all homegrown and has become routine in many parts of America. As you read Erics findings, you will appreciate that there are many careers that owe their success to exploiting the vulnerabilities in the ways we vote. The techniques of fraud documented here are not hard to do, but they are hard to detect or investigate. Thats by design. Its also why they are seldom prosecuted.

The problem is that these kinds of investigations take real effort, cooperation, objectivity, and determination. As you will see in this book, voter fraud canand doeshappen in many different ways. Whether it is done by stealing absentee ballots, inducing noncitizens to cast ballots illegally, voting in multiple states during the same election, or through other devious means, tracking down the perpetrators and proving the fraud is labor-intensive. As we discover at every turn, government agencies that are supposed to ensure the openness and integrity of our elections will throw up roadblocks to outsiders trying to look into these questions. Sometimes, politicians simply deny that a voter fraud problem even exists, or they minimize it, or they question the motives of those who seek the details. But few in government seem very eager to answer these basic questions: Is voter fraud widespread? What can we do to stop it?

Our organization, the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), was born in 2012 to do this kind of work, and ask these sorts of questions. We are a nonprofit group of investigative reporters, researchers, and writers who do our own research and publish our findings in reports, or as raw material shared with media organizations to pursue further, and as books like this one.

While many of the books weve written on government corruption and incompetence bear my name as the author, they all relied on our marvelous team at GAI. They are dogged, curious, skilled investigators who pose the questions, research the facts, and scrutinize the excuses of politicians of both parties. With the support of our generous donors, we do the legwork that reporters and editors at the major networks and largest newspapers used to do, but no longer have the resources or the time to do themselves.

Previous GAI investigations have exposed corruption in Congress, in the vast federal bureaucracy, in political candidates who enrich themselves and their family members through sweetheart deals and subtler forms of bribery. Our most recent book, Secret Empires , became a number one bestseller on the New York Times list. It reveals the many ways that members of Congress and even a president have enriched their children and closest friends, legally, by taking advantage of loopholes in financial disclosure laws that govern how they can earn money, but dont place any restrictions on their family members.

Time will tell if that book leads to changes, but its predecessor certainly did. Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich dogged Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign for president with its investigation of the ways Bill and Hillary Clinton leveraged their nonprofit foundation empire for personal gain and engaged in numerous quid pro quo schemes to enrich their friends and donors. That book too was a New York Times bestseller, and it was quoted and cited extensively during the presidential campaign. It also was credited with spurring several FBI investigations into the Clinton Foundation and any favors Secretary Clinton may have done on behalf of Foundation donors. GAIs team spent nearly two years researching the stories told in that book, and were proud of its success.

Earlier efforts took on Congress in Throw Them All Out , which documented how congressmen traded their own stock portfolios based on confidential information they learned in supposedly closed hearings. This led to passage of the STOCK Act, outlawing the practice. Our book Extortion showed how the Obama Administration targeted industries for criminal investigation but chose not to pursue key political donors, slid open the door to then-Speaker John Boehners Tollbooth, and how lawmakers used campaign slush funds to bankroll their lavish lifestyles complete with limos, private jets, golf at five-star resorts, fine wines, and cash for family members.