Will the slap on the wrist sentencing empower others to do the same? Four years later: Four Democrats involved in an upstate New York voter fraud scandal were sentenced yesterday for their respective roles, receiving punishments ranging from hundreds of hours of community service, to jail time. The group consisted of a former city clerk, an ex-City Councilman, a Democrat operative, and a Committeeman who a year ago had declared ballot forgery in upstate New York to be “a normal political tactic“. Those sentenced yesterday were cooperating witnesses in a scheme which saw dozens of voters testify that absentee ballots had been submitted in their names during the 2009 Working Families Party (WFP) primary. Securing the WFP line allowed Democrat candidates to obtain more votes in the general election… [W]itnesses throughout both trials provided a glimpse into the seedy political underworld in upstate New York. Democrats preyed on those they felt were the most vulnerable members of society, those making easy targets for their voter fraud scheme… Four Democrats sentenced. Two more under indictment. Two acquitted due to altered testimony. And another who somehow escaped criminal prosecution despite an admission and a prior felony conviction. The upstate New York voter fraud scandal should serve as a reminder that fraud doesn’t simply occur at the national level. But it should also be a concern for those who value the integrity of the election process. These men forged ballots and received incredibly tame punishments for that fact.