Politics & Government
Tennessee Secretary of State: 42 Cases of Potential Voter Fraud Reported in 2016
As the president steps up the rhetoric on "illegal voting," Tennessee investigates dozens of cases of potential illegal voting.
NASHVILLE, TN — As President Donald Trump took to Twitter to once again raise the specter of "illegal voting," Tennessee's Secretary of State said dozens of cases of potential voter fraud were reported across the state in 2016, but that he still has faith in the integrity of Tennessee's elections.
Secretary of State Tre Hargett said local elections officials reported 42 instances of potential fraud in the three major statewide elections in 2016 — the March primary, the August state primary and the November general election. Of those 42, 18 were allegations of felons voting and only one was a case of a non-citizen voting. Still, Hargett said, he remains "confident" in the state's system to combat voter fraud.
"While I cannot speak for other states, Tennessee’s laws to protect election integrity, including our photo ID law, coupled with the diligence of Tennessee’s election officials serve to minimize voter fraud in our great state," Hargett said in a statement. "All of those cases are turned over to local district attorneys for potential prosecution. We are confident in our system’s integrity but are open to learning more about President Trump’s concerns."
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Earlier Wednesday, the president, on his personal Twitter account, called for an investigation into illegal votes cast in the election he won in November.
I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
Earlier this week, the president told lawmakers that "3 to 5 million" illegal votes were cast, costing him the popular vote victory. The president offered no evidence or basis for his claim. Press secretary Sean Spicer reiterated that claim, again without proof, at a Wednesday briefing.
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If cases of voter fraud in each state are reflective of the state's share of the total population, Tennessee's 42 potential cases would extrapolate to about 2100 nationally.
The Secretary of State's office broke down the allegations as follows:
- 18 of potential felons voting
- 9 of double voting
- 9 of "residential issues"
- 2 of fraudulent registration
- 2 of "voters currently under investigation"
- 1 of fraudulent absentee voting
- 1 of non-citizen voting
"Residential issues" are related to whether a voter is voting in the correct district.
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