Election interference

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Election interference generally refers to efforts to change the outcome of an election, especially by illegitimate means. Kinds of election interference may include:

• Electoral fraud, illegal interference with the process of an election
• Vote buying, when a political party or candidate distributes money to a voter with the expectation that they will vote for them
• Voter impersonation, when an eligible voter votes more than once or a non-eligible voter votes under the name of an eligible one
• Foreign electoral intervention, attempts by governments to influence elections in another country{{Cite journal |last=Wang |first=Yiling |date=June 2022 |title=Jens David Ohlin, Election Interference: International Law and the Future of Democracy |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=159379972&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |journal=Chinese Journal of International Law |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=401–404 |doi=10.1093/chinesejil/jmac005 |via=EBSCOhost}}
• Illegal electioneering, such as campaigning or wearing political apparel too close to a polling place{{Cite web |last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian |last2=Keller |first2=Kate |title=Why Are There Laws That Restrict What People Can Wear to the Polls? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-are-there-laws-restrict-what-people-can-wear-polls-180969381/ |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Savage |first=David |date=1992-05-27 |title=Ban on Polling Place Solicitations Upheld : Law: The high court sees infringement upon First Amendment but rules that states have compelling interest to prevent intimidation and fraud. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-27-mn-254-story.html |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
• Recruiting candidates with identical or similar names to an existing one, intended to confuse voters{{Cite magazine |last=Allsop |first=Jon |date=2024-08-27 |title=The Election-Interference Merry-Go-Round |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-election-interference-merry-go-round |access-date=2024-09-03 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X |quote=In October, 2020, Bob Ferguson, the attorney general of Washington State, launched an initiative to combat 'election interference'... This year, Ferguson ran for governor of Washington, as a Democrat. So, too, did Bob Ferguson, and Bob Ferguson. The latter Fergusons—a retired state employee and a military veteran, respectively—were recruited as candidates by Glen Morgan, a conservative activist. ('If I had started a little bit earlier, I would have been able to have six Bob Fergusons,' Morgan told the Seattle Times.) Allies of the original Ferguson accused Morgan of deliberately trying to confuse voters; in a tweet, Ferguson called the gambit 'election interference' and pointed out that the other Fergusons could be prosecuted under state law if they didn’t withdraw.}}
• Where prohibited, the use of public funds to persuade voters to vote in a certain way{{Cite web |last=Meltzer |first=Marc |date=April 22, 1978 |title=Richland vote material will not be distributed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/77507126 |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Decatur Daily Review |page=20 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Behland |first=Beth |date=November 10, 1991 |title=Logo likeness spurs debate over conflict |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/537958485 |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Southtown Star (Illinois) |page=1 |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=September 30, 1976 |title=Election Interference Claimed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/923212984 |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=Sun Post News (UPI) |page=2 |language=en}}