http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/opinion/the-success-of-the-voter-fraud-myth.html 2016-09-20 10:15:25 The Success of the Voter Fraud Myth There is essentially no voter fraud in America, but Republicans have spread the myth so persistently that a lot of people now believe it. === How does a lie come to be widely taken as the truth? The answer is disturbingly simple: Repeat it over and over again. When faced with facts that contradict the lie, repeat it louder. This, in a nutshell, is the story of claims of voting fraud in America — and particularly of voter impersonation fraud, the only kind that voter ID laws can possibly prevent. Last week, As Credit for this mass deception goes to Republican lawmakers, who have for years Behind closed doors, some Republicans Sometimes they acknowledge it publicly. In 2012, a former Florida Republican Party chairman, Jim Greer, The ploy works. During the 2012 election, voter ID laws in Kansas and Tennessee reduced turnout by about 2 percent, or about There are plenty of shortcomings in the American voting system, but most are a result of Those efforts are especially galling in a nation where, on a good day, only 60 percent of eligible voters show up to the polls. The truth is that those who created the specter of voter fraud don’t care about the integrity of the voting system; they want to undermine the rights of legitimate voters because that helps them win elections. The scary thing is how many Americans have bought into this charade. It shouldn’t be surprising that the Republican Party’s standard-bearer, Donald Trump, has elevated the lie about voting fraud and “rigged elections” to