The Problem:
THE FACTS...
- In 2020 (and still today), multiple claims of voting fraud were alleged in key battleground states.
- As of January 6th, 2021, each of these claims proved to be false - with 61 of 62 lawsuits defeated. (Credit: USA Today). The remaining lawsuit was only a procedural victory for the plaintiffs. It did not in any way prove fraud.
- By December of 2021, a total of 475 fraudulent votes across six battleground states were found. Even if they all favored one candidate (which they did not), it would not be remotely sufficient to overturn the election in any state - and certainly insufficient to overturn the entire national election. (Credit: AP News)
THE CONSEQUENCES...
- Though there was no evidence of significant voter fraud, and certainly not nearly enough to overturn the election, 18 states enacted 33 laws which will make it harder for Americans to vote. (Credit: Brennan Center)
- Some states have given power to partisan lawmakers over election officials - such as removing the Secretary of State from being a voting member on election certification or giving legislatures the ability to suspend county election officials.
- An August, 2021 poll showed that 66% of Republicans, 28% of Independents, and 3% of Democrats believe the Presidential election was stolen. (Credit: Yahoo/YouGov Poll)
WHY IT MATTERS...
Most elections are decided by very, very slim margins:
- 2016 Presidential election decided by 80,000 votes spread over WI, MI and PA
- 2020 Presidential election decided by 44,000 votes spread over GA, AZ and WI
- In 2016, the President won WI by 22,748 votes, or .7% of the total
- In 2020, the President won WI by 20,682 votes, or .6% of the total
- In 2018, 1,078 state legislative elections won by a margin of 10% or less
IMPACT ON OUR DEMOCRACY...
- Very small voting changes can have a significant impact on the outcome of elections.
- Three states in particular (GA, AZ and NV) had less than a 1% margin in the last presidential election.
- By decreasing ballot drop-off boxes, creating barriers to mail ballots and restricting voting hours, the future outcome of those elections would likely have been very different - as well as the control of our government.
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