President Donald Trump and his allies are already preparing to sow doubt in the upcoming midterm election results and have unleashed a stream of claims seemingly in preparation for a wipeout, according to a new investigation.
The Washington Post has identified more than 7,000 statements sowing the seed of doubt about election integrity from nearly 600 prominent conservative social media accounts, podcasts, and other media outlets this year.
The report found that they are doubling down on accusations of noncitizens on the voter roll and mail ballot fraud. The report found that these claims have doubled since last year, even though both noncitizen voting and mail ballot fraud are rare.
The accusations are coming from influential supporters of the president, including former White House strategist Steve Bannon and MAGA commentators with over a million followers on social media.
Bannon claimed on his podcast, The War Room, that Democrats are cheating with illegal immigrant votes. “Illegal aliens can vote en masse,” he said, adding: “They understand that if you restrict it to American citizens, it’s impossible for them to win. They have to cheat to win.
Per the report, Trump has made over 300 public statements questioning the election integrity during his second term, including continuing his lie that the 2020 election was stolen and allegations of mail ballot and voter registration fraud.
Trump announced Monday that he would offer a $1 million reward for information about election fraud that leads to a conviction.
Despite all the claims, the results tell a different story. For example, in Nevada, the administration claimed that as many as 16,000 noncitizens appeared on voter rolls. They then provided the state with 185 names to investigate, only to find that they were all citizens.
They also took the issue beyond social media and into the courtroom. The Justice Department attempted to block 20,000 ballots in California based on allegations of noncitizen voting; however, the court blocked the attempt on Monday.
Federal lawyers have also asked a court to block certification of the election result in Alaska if the Republican candidate loses, due to the Republican incumbent and an independent sharing the same name, Dan Sullivan.
Former Election Assistance Commission member Ben Hovland warned that post-election litigation could come from Trump’s DOJ rather than campaign attorneys. He pointed to Trump and his allies filing lawsuits and attempting to block the result of the 2020 presidential election.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos survey found that just 28 percent of Americans believe Trump would accept the outcome of the election if Republicans lose.
Democrats are already preparing for the possibility of legal battles and attempts to block certifying results. Rep. Pete Aguilar said his party has found 162 potential strategies the Republicans will use to challenge the election.
Intelligence committee Democrats have also prepared for the possibility that Trump could allege foreign interference with the vote count.
The midterm election day is in one week, and all the evidence points to legal court battles and a plethora of social media accounts claiming fraud before any ballots are counted.