Over the weekend, Trump took to Twitter to falsely claim that he only lost the popular vote because “millions of people” voted illegally.
This was part of a larger Twitter tirade against Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s request for a recount in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
In case you forgot, or voluntarily erased it from your memory, in the weeks leading up to Election Day, Trump complained that the Election was rigged against him at every level, from the thoroughly debunked conspiracy of “large scale voter fraud” to the “dishonest” media.
And then he won.
And still his claims of voter fraud have not become any more true. The reality is there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. According to the most comprehensive investigation of voter fraud, out of 1 billion votes cast between 2000 and 2014, there were just 31 instances of possible impersonation. Nevertheless, Trump is back with the claim, without evidence, that millions of people voted illegally. In addition to undermining the integrity of our Election system, Trump’s voter fraud claims also look past the real impact of Voter Suppression laws.
Unlike Trump’s claim, there is evidence of Voter Suppression laws preventing Americans’ voices from being heard this Election. In Wisconsin, for example, where Trump won by only 22,000 votes, 300,000 registered voters in the State did not have a form of Voter ID required under the State’s strict new Voter ID law. But false claims of illegal voting are used to justify attacks on Voting Rights and Voter Access to keep traditionally less politically powerful Voters, primarily people of color, young people, people with low-incomes, from exercising their power by Voting.
After tracking Voting issues for nine years, these are some of the voting issues I have blogged about:
- Poll management failed to clear, or preset voting equipment with votes. In four Counties in Wisconsin, there was 1,000 more votes for Trump then registered voters and none for Clinton. They were removed from the count.
- Over the years, Poll workers have voted for other voters that did not go to the polls to vote.
- Board of Election management removing voters from the Voter roll books even though they were eligible to vote.
- Candidate Campaign workers collect signatures on Absentee ballots and then marking the ballots before they are sealed and deposited in drop boxes or delivered to Board of Elections collection places.
- Voter ID laws that do nothing to protect the Voting system from Absentee Voter fraud.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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