Federal Jurisdiction over Local Vote Fraud

During the past several years, the United States Department of Justice has placed significant emphasis on the detection and prosecution of election fraud which is motivated by political corruption, rather than by racial factors. This relatively new law enforcement interest in corruption of the franchise has, in turn, required federal courts to adress and resolve significant questions concerning the extent to which the federal Constitution and statutes permit federal prosecutorial intervention in local electoral matters. In this article the author traces the history of federal prosecution of vote fraud crimes, and analyzes the current legal theories which serve as the basis for a federal presence in this area