Phil Keisling, Oregon Architect of Vote by Mail, Explains Why Ballot Fraud Is So Rare

Could the president sow doubt about the validity of the election results by claiming mass voter fraud?

A Portland mailbox. (Trevor Garnier)
By WW Staff

WW presents "Distant Voices," a daily video interview for the era of social distancing. Our reporters are asking Portlanders what they're doing during quarantine.

Phil Keisling is a voter whisperer. Few people in the nation are so adept at soothing the fears of Americans anxious about mailing in their ballots.

The former Oregon secretary of state is now running the National Vote at Home Institute and is making the case to a skeptical public that going to a polling place isn't the only way to participate in democracy. (Nor is it the safest or most effective.)

In a previous interview with WW editor and publisher Mark Zusman, Keisling reassured voters that mailed ballots in swing states would be counted promptly enough that President Donald Trump couldn't preemptively declare victory. In this conversation, Keisling addresses another concern: Could the president sow doubt about the validity of the election results by claiming mass voter fraud?

Keisling says Trump is trying—and offers the best counterarguments to the president's ridiculous claims. Try this one: Keisling says voters won't cast fraudulent ballots for the same reason counterfeiters don't manufacture pennies.

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