Well-publicized instances of attempted voter fraud by high-profile Democrats in Virginia and Maryland have helped Republican lawmakers make a case for tougher voting requirements.

In Virginia, Patrick Moran, the son of Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, has become the poster child for voter fraud after he was documented on a hidden camera last year coaching an undercover conservative operative on how to forge a utility bill to vote for someone else. At the time, the younger Moran was working on his father's campaign in Northern Virginia, though he stepped down after the embarrassing incident.

Authorities did not file charges against Moran, but that hasn't stopped Republicans from frequently alluding to the case this year while pushing for a photo voter identification law.

"The problem is this thing went viral. It was on the front pages of USA Today," Sen. Dick Black, R-Leesburg, said during debate Friday on a law that requires voters to bring a photo ID to the polls. "The secret is out [on how to commit voter fraud in Virginia]."

Black also referred to former Maryland Democratic congressional candidate Wendy Rosen, who was outed by her own party last year for voting in both Maryland and Florida.

Rosen was running for Maryland's 1st Congressional District against Republican incumbent Andy Harris. She dropped out under pressure, though she said she kept voter registration at her Florida address to help out a friend who was running for city council.

Despite dropping out of the race, Rosen's name still appeared on the ballot and she mustered 28 percent of the vote against Harris, who was considered a shoo-in.

Democrats in Virginia say those cases are anomalies and no study has shown widespread voter fraud takes place in the United States. Instead, tougher voter laws will keep law-abiding citizens from participating on Election Day, they said.

"Voter fraud isn't happening," said Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax. "No one would risk a felony conviction to give a politician one more vote."

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