Election integrity is important.
We have to be able to trust that the votes cast in an election represent the will of the people. That means they need to be the votes that belong to a specific area.
While some circles of the internet and some political leaders point to things like noncitizens voting, the issue is not as specific as that one theory. There are other ways people could vote improperly.
It might be deliberate, either because someone was casting an extra ballot or testing a boundary. But sometimes it is inadvertent.
Maybe someone didn’t update an address after moving. That could change state, county, voting precinct, congressional district and more. Maybe someone was eligible in one jurisdiction but isn’t in another; states have different laws about things like voting after a conviction, for example.
Those are legitimate concerns, and mistakes should be addressed. But voter fraud also is surprisingly rare, and that cannot be ignored — or conflated with malice.
The Heritage Foundation is the conservative think tank that created the list of judicial nominees during the Trump administration, including the three Supreme Court appointments. It drew out Project 2025, a blueprint for future conservative administrations. It also produced a database of instances of voter fraud.
According to this list, there have been 1,561 instances since 1982. That’s 42 general elections, plus primaries and special elections. It’s the presidential elections of Reagan, Bush, Clinton, a second Bush, Trump and Biden. The total votes cast in presidential elections alone over that period tops 1.1 billion.
It includes 35 instances in Pennsylvania over that period: less than one instance per year.
On Thursday, the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office confirmed an investigation into reports of double voting. The language does not distinguish between intention and error. According to the office’s Chief Detective Ron Zona, the investigation is into six names supplied by state Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, and one from the county election bureau.
“We have to check these out,” Zona said.
He is right. Just like a report of child abuse, domestic assault, murder or another reported crime or public problem, voting irregularities must be addressed candidly and honestly to keep the process safe.
Nelson said the names he referred came from constituents and reflect particular concern about college students. This follows other Republicans noting similar names between people who voted in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Nelson conceded there was no proof of wrongdoing and forwarded the names to the county and the U.S. Department of Justice.
One woman on that list is Lauren Elliott, who has lived in Pennsylvania her whole life and called the suggestion that she may have voted in two states a “bogus lie.” To her, it felt like voter intimidation.
The timing probably contributes to that. With just over two weeks until the election and with mail-in ballots already being turned in, a suggestion that a registered Democrat — or Republican — might not be able to vote could feel discouraging.
This election has been contentious, and that will probably continue. That makes the issue of election integrity all the more important.
But a critical part of election integrity is making sure that all voters feel they are being welcomed into the process and not boxed out.