As we gear up for the upcoming national elections, it is important to understand the fraudulent practices around Elections and how we as anti-fraud experts can help mitigate them for a better democracy.
WHAT IS ELECTION FRAUD
Election fraud also known as electoral fraud, election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, is the illegal meddling in an election, either to increase the vote share of a supported candidate, to decrease the vote share of a rival candidate, or to do both. While it is distinct from voter suppression, it frequently coexists with it. Voter’s suppression is any action, whether legal or illegal, whose objective is to discourage members of a designated racial group, political party, or religious community from voting or registering to vote. Election fraud can take many different forms depending on the country.
TYPES OF ELECTION FRAUD
Intimidation: This occurs when someone is pressured to choose a certain candidate or alternative. Violence or the threat of violence can be used as a type of pressure to compel people or communities to vote or not vote for a particular candidate. The act of intimidating voters also includes convincing them that they are or may not be qualified to vote or that they are required by law to support a particular candidate.
Vote buying: This is the practice of paying people to cast their ballots in favor of a certain candidate or option. This is rampant in African countries like Nigeria and Ghana where people are sometimes paid to vote for candidates.
Voter impersonation: Fraudsters mimic voters and use their credentials to cast a vote for a specific candidate without the voter’s knowledge or permission. In recent times, it has been discovered that random people impersonate others by using their details to vote.
Misuse of Proxy: A proxy vote happens when a member of a decision-making body casts a ballot while they are not present by transferring their voting authority to a substitute. The representative could be an outside party or another member of the same body. Voter impersonation is different from the misuse of proxies in that it is carried out knowingly. For instance, in countries where people are allowed to vote by proxy, some proxies would knowingly vote their preferred candidate instead of the voter’s choice of candidate.
Leading Ballot Papers (or Confusing Ballot papers): These are designed to persuade voters to support a specific candidate or choice. Election administrators must be aware of this facet of every election since, while it’s not necessarily prohibited, leading ballot papers can bring heavy criticism for compromising democratic values.
Vote-stuffing: When a high number of ballots for one candidate are “stuffed” into the ballot box, the outcome is skewed in that candidate’s favor. Sometimes, ballot boxes are stolen or chaos is created at polling booths, so pre-cast ballot papers can be stuffed into the ballot boxes.
Miscounting or destruction of votes & tampering with recording equipment: Vote-counting errors or ballot destruction, as well as interference with voting machines, are examples of these crimes. Similar election fraud has been demonstrated to be possible with some voting computers by altering their counting procedures.
Artificial Results: Election officials proclaim the outcome for a specific candidate or choice, regardless of what the population voted for, which is common in nations with significant levels of corruption.
CONSEQUENCES
Participating in election fraud comes with a lot of consequences. Firstly, the democratic process of selecting new leaders is void. An undeserving person will most likely end up in power. Financing new elections in places with cases of fraud comes with heavy costs for the taxpayer. The guilty party also stands the risk of jail sentencing, heavy fines, or a combination of both. Lastly, you lose your self-esteem and worth in society.
PREVENTING ELECTION FRAUD
There are four basic tactics for preventing election fraud in society:
- The constant audit of the election process
- Consistent and efficient prosecution of a deterrent
- The development of norms that deter corruption.
- Encouraging transparency throughout the process from nomination to tabulation.
A major means of preventing election fraud as an individual is to avoid becoming a tool to disrupt elections.
- Do not let the promise of financial rewards, or personal gains influence your vote
- Keep your voter’s card to avoid it being used by someone else
- Do not share false results or information about elections. Ensure that whatever information you share is from a verified source like the body in charge of conducting elections in your locality.
- Do not partake in violence or destruction of election tools.
CONCLUSION
Elections have significant ramifications for many things, including societal stability. Because of this, it’s essential to make sure that no vote is lost to tampering, fraud, or other issues. Election fraud is one of the most common frauds, and its prevention is not only pertinent to the government, but to individuals as well. It is important to take a stance against it today.
Written by: Elegbede Aisha, CFE