Apparently, Lincoln was the first United States President to experience mail-in ballot fraud. If this had worked, slavery in the US would have had a totally different historical outcome.
“Traveling to Baltimore in the fall of 1864, Orville Wood had no way of knowing he would soon uncover the most elaborate election conspiracy in America’s brief history.”
“The results of the 1864 elections would heavily affect the outcome of the war. Lincoln and his supporters in the National Union Party sought to continue the war and defeat the Confederacy outright.”
Orville Wood heard soldiers suggesting there was cheating going on. So he went undercover pretending to support Lincoln’s opponent.
“Wood returned to the office later and, following Ferry’s instructions, began forging signatures of the 16th New York Cavalry. Meanwhile, a clerk sat across the room signing ballots from the roster of names Wood had brought with him from home.”
“In addition to operations in D.C. and Baltimore, the scheme extended back to New York. Donahue had received rosters of soldiers from military officials and members of law enforcement.”
“Wood reported the operation to authorities. Ferry’s office was searched, and on the morning of Oct. 27, 1864 — less than two weeks before the election — he and Donahue stood trial before a military commission.”
Ferry gave a full confession even offering up additional names, and mass arrests were made.
It looks to me that the Democrats dusted off their favorite cheating method.
There’s a lot more details to this story. Visit the link and bookmark this post for a reminder of what we are up against.
