Obama calls voter fraud claims 'fake news'

close

Video

Obama: Appropriate for Trump to go forward with his vision

President Obama discusses advice he's given the president-elect during his last press conference in office

President Obama called claims of voter fraud “fake news” Wednesday, in a final swipe in office at Republicans pushing voter ID measures at the state level.

In his final news conference as president, Obama said claims of voter fraud have been “disproved” and are part of an “ugly history” of voter suppression.

"This whole notion of voting fraud, this is something that has constantly been disproved -- this is fake news," he said, using a phrase that has swiftly become popular on the left and right to dismiss unwelcome news items.

He went on to dispute "the notion that there are a whole bunch of people ... who are going out there and are not eligible to vote and want to vote."

"We have the opposite problem -- we have a whole bunch of people who are eligible to vote who don't vote," he said.

However, while there are few recorded cases of actual voter fraud, there have been a number of cases of voter irregularities that may indicate potential fraud -- and instances of voter registration fraud.

Weeks before the election, a California man found dozens of ballots stacked outside his home. Meanwhile in October, a Virginia man was charged with voter registration fraud for allegedly fabricating applications for new voters, The Washington Post reported.

In 2013, an Ohio woman was given a five year prison sentence for voting twice in the 2012 election and three times -- in 2008, 2011 and 2012 -- on behalf of her sister.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.