Cooping was a practice by which unwilling participants were forced to vote, often several times over, for a particular candidate in an election. Generally these innocent bystanders would be grabbed off the street by so-called 'Cooping gangs' or 'Election gangs' working on the payroll of a political candidate, and they would be kept in a room, called the "coop", and given alcohol or drugs in order for them to comply. If they refused to cooperate, they might be beaten or even killed. Often their clothing would be changed to allow them to vote multiple times. Sometimes the victims would be forced to wear disguises such as wigs, fake beards or moustaches to prevent them from being recognized by voting officials at polling stations.

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...

 is thought by some to have been the victim of cooping before his mysterious death

Death of Edgar Allan Poe

The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained mysterious: the circumstances leading up to it are uncertain and the cause of death is disputed. On October 3, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance",...

in early October 1849.