Electoral fraud
This article is part of the
Politics series
Elections
• Allotment (sortition)
• By-election
• Electoral fraud
• Show election
• Fixed-term election
• General election
• Primary election
• Indirect election
• Local election
• Referendum
• Criticisms of electoralism
Terminology
• Apportionment
• Crossover voting
• Gerrymandering
• Redistribution (redistricting)
• Secret ballot
• Suffrage
Subseries
• Political party
• Voting
• Voting systems
Lists
• Elections by country
• Election results by country
• Electoral calendar
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Electoral fraud is illegal interference with
the process of an election. Acts of fraud tend
to involve affecting vote counts to bring
about a desired election outcome, whether by
increasing the vote share of the favored can-
didate, depressing the vote share of the rival
candidates, or both. Exactly what constitutes
electoral fraud under law varies from country
to country; methods which are illegal in one
country may not be in another. Many kinds of
voter fraud are outlawed in specific electoral
legislation, but others are in violation of more
general laws such as those banning assault,
harassment or libel. Although technically the
term ’electoral fraud’ covers only those acts
which are specifically illegal, the term is
sometimes used to describe acts which, al-
though legal, are considered to be morally
unacceptable, outside the spirit of electoral
laws or in violation of the principles of demo-
cracy. Show elections, in which only one can-
didate has a real chance of winning, are
sometimes considered to be electoral fraud
although they may comply fully with local
laws.
Especially with national elections, suc-
cessful electoral fraud can have the effect of
a coup d’état or corruption of democracy. In
a narrow election a small amount of fraud
may be enough to change the overall out-
come. However even if the outcome is not af-
fected fraud can still have a damaging effect
if not punished, as it can reduce voters’ con-
fidence in democracy. Even the perception of
fraud