As the Presidential Advisory 
Commission on Election 
Integrity convenes its first
 meeting on Wednesday, the
 issue of voter fraud in American
 elections has become even
 more contentious and hyperbolic.
One of the left’s main arguments
against reform is that voter
 fraud simply does not occur.
 How liberals arrive at this
 conclusion, we cannot say.
Time and again, studies and
analyses point to one
 incontrovertible conclusion:
that voter fraud is a real and
pressing issue that deserves
serious solutions, and The
 Heritage Foundation has
the evidence to prove it.
On Thursday, The Heritage
Foundation is releasing a
new edition of its voter fraud 
database. Featuring well over
100 new cases, the database
 documents 1,071 instances
of voter fraud spanning 47
states, including 938
 criminal convictions.

This revamped edition of the
 database separates cases by
 type of disposition, allowing
readers to easily distinguish
 not only what type of fraud
occurred but the outcome of
the case—criminal convictions,
 pre-trial diversion programs,
and other types of adjudication
 used in various states and
counties across the United
 States.
Below are a few of the
 egregious examples recently
added to the database.
Virginia
Andrew Spieles, a former
 James Madison University
 student, pleaded guilty to a
charge stemming from his
false submission of 18 voter
 registration forms during the
summer of 2016.
He had been working for
Harrisonburg VOTES, a voter
registration organization
affiliated with the Democratic
Party, and used false birth
 dates and Social Security
numbers to register deceased
 persons to vote. Spieles was
given prison time for his crime.
This incident is just one of
hundreds of cases in the
database where individuals
 illegally registered dead
 people, names out of the
 phone book, or others to vote.
While Spieles was caught
before votes could be cast
on behalf of those falsely
registered individuals, there
 have been many other cases
in which ballots were
successfully cast in the name
 of deceased people.
In fact, a 2012 Pew study
concluded that 1.8 million
voters remained on the rolls
 after their passing—a grave
vulnerability to the integrity of
our elections.
Maryland
Fredericus Hubertus Slicher, an
 illegal alien living in Baltimore,
was convicted of numerous
 charges in 2014. He was
residing illegally in the United
 States, collecting Medicare
and Social Security benefits,
and voting in U.S. elections.
Slicher had been present in
the United States illegally since
 his temporary work visa
expired in 1969. He was
 convicted of child abuse in
 2004, was a registered sex
 offender, and yet he continued
to vote numerous times despite
 being ineligible.
His case was referred to
 Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, and he was
sentenced to three months’
imprisonment, one year’s
 supervised release, and was
ordered to pay $48,928 in
restitution.
The newest additions to the
database included a dozen
cases of illegal voting by
noncitizens. This is a particularly
 important issue to address, as
 each ballot cast by a noncitizen
effectively nullifies the ballot of
 an eligible voter, effectively
disenfranchising American
 citizens.
Ohio
Debbie Tingler of Reynoldsburg, Ohio,
pleaded guilty (Case No. 12 CR 005249)
to illegal voting in 2013. She had registered
to vote, requested absentee ballots, and
submitted those ballots under two names—
Debbie Tingler and Deborah Tingler.
She was given a suspended sentence of
120 days’ imprisonment, and she was
 ordered to pay a $200 fine and court costs.
Tingler’s experience is not uncommon.
There are dozens of cases in the database
 where individuals voted multiple times in
 the same election.
Given the fact that few states have adequate
 policies and procedures in place to detect
and deter fraud—and prosecutors seldom
prioritize these cases—it is likely that far
more double voters, absentee-ballot
fraudsters, and ineligible voters get away
scot-free than are ever brought to justice.
The Heritage Foundation’s voter fraud
database is by no means comprehensive,
 but its 1,071 proven instances of fraud,
which took place across all manner of
elections and in nearly every state,
highlight the importance—and the urgency—
of the work of the Election Integrity
 Commission.
What is needed now is more data to permit
 analysis aimed at determining, among other
things, whether the nation’s voter registration
records are accurate or riddled with errors.
In the coming months, the commission—which
includes Heritage’s own Hans von Spakovsky,
senior legal fellow and one of the nation’s foremost
election law experts—will seek to gather this
 information.
Unfortunately, so far, even innocuous requests for
public voter records have been met with
hyperbolic rhetoric and stonewalling in some states.
This begs the question, why? If fraud is as rare
 as liberals say, and if state protections against it
are as robust as we are told, why withhold data
 that would prove these claims?
Perhaps liberals are afraid that the data might, in
 fact, say the opposite.
One can deny facts for only so long, and with
this newest release of The Heritage Foundation’s
voter fraud database, the evidence is clear and
 incontrovertible: Voter fraud is real, and we
 ignore it at our own peril.