Edgar Allan Poe and Voter Fraud
Poe’s death in 1849 at age 40 is shrouded in mystery, and everything from alcohol poisoning to tuberculosis to heart disease to rabies has been mentioned as a potential cause of death. But one of the most compelling explanations — and one that is increasingly accepted by Poe scholars — is “cooping.” In the mid-1800s, “cooping,” a form of voter fraud in which backers of a candidate would force strangers to vote multiple times for their candidate by dressing up in disguises, was fairly common.