Prosecutors have filed criminal charges in 42 voting cases since 2007, and 3 of those were dismissed, according to a Seattle TV station (read story here).
Those cases involved a variety of behavior: Voting in two states, voting someone else’s ballot, a mail thief voting stolen ballots.
Does this mean voting fraud is rare in Washington, or violators aren’t being prosecuted? In King County, which includes Seattle, the prosecutor typically only sends a warning letter, saying he has better things to do (e.g., prosecute hundreds of murder cases). In 2020, of over 1.2 million ballots, county election workers flagged only 22 as possibly “dead voters.”
The 42 cases include 9 from King County, and 5 of those were related to the ACORN voter registration scandal. Prosecutors said there was no political motive; the signature gathers forged voter registrations to “make more money.” They got jail time.
Elections experts say voting fraud is very rare. This blog has posted several stories about 2020 election cheaters, including several in a Florida retirement community, and nearly all of them were Trump supporters. Republican assertions that elections are being decided by fraudulent votes ring hollow indeed.