October 11, 2006 2:09PM # Voter Fraud and Other Political Facts By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) --- SHARE The [House bill to require photo ID for voting](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/200500617.html) rests on the premise that voter fraud is a significant problem. It turns out that premise is a little shaky. A report prepared for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has found little evidence of polling-place fraud, according to *[USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-10-poll-fraud-report_x.htm)*. The [Commission on Federal Election Reform](http://www.american.edu/ia/cfer/) (Carter-Baker Commission) found “no evidence of extensive fraud in U.S. elections or of multiple voting,” though it does occur and could affect a close election. To inspire confidence in the system, the Commission recommended using the national ID card created by the REAL ID Act as a voter registration card. Proof of citizenship would be required to get a driver’s license, [tightening government control of the citizenry just a little more](http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&pid=1441306). I’ve [written here before](https://www.cato.org/2006/07/12/fraudulent-identity-fraud-statistics/) about “political facts,” things made true by consensus rather than any measurement or observation. The soaring costs of identity fraud and its relationship to data breaches are [political facts](https://www.cato.org/2006/07/12/fraudulent-identity-fraud-statistics/) that have a lot of currency in Washington today. Another political fact getting a lot of attention and lather is the notion that child pornography has become a $20 billion dollar industry. “[Exponential” growth](http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3596661) of this problem is being used to justify [legally mandated retention of data](http://www.netcaucus.org/events/2006/dataretention/) about our online travels by Internet service providers. Exploitation of children is loathsome, but it turns out the $20 billion figure [is bunk](http://www.radosh.net/archive/001481.html). One wonders how many other problems Congress addresses itself to [might be exaggerated](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/enemywithin/view/) or even fictional. ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).