The Meme of Voter Fraud

Abstract

This paper will propose a different theoretical framework to address the voter fraud myth: memetics. This paper argues that the most appropriate way to think about the myth of voter fraud is as a meme. A meme is “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture” without regard to the truth or falsity of the idea. Memes spread because the ideas re-enforce the views of the purveyors of the meme and increase the purveyor’s power. In a sense, our memes can program us to accept or explain away ideas and can form the basis of our ideologies.

Keywords

voting, voter fraud, election integrity, voter suppression, meme, memetics, ideology

Publication Date

2014

Document Type

Article

Publication Information

63 Catholic University Law Review 879 (2014)

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COinS atiba.ellis@case.edu Faculty Bio