Investigating voter fraud
President Trump voices concern that millions of ballots cast illegally in 2016 election
POLLS — Trump has suggested awed voting practices cost him the popular vote in the 2016 election.
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In between signing executive orders and tweeting from both his personal Twitter account and that of the president of the United States, President Donald Trump desires to launch an investigation into voter fraud from the election.
Throughout what was possibly the most controversial election in American history, Trump bemoaned the rampant voter fraud he feared would tip the ballots in Hillary Clinton’s favor.
After the election, news that Russia may have interfered with the election in order to help Trump win concerned Americans from both sides of the political spectrum, according to CNN.
This once again raised the question of the legitimacy and fairness of the election.
CNN said the U.S. government is “confident” that Russia attempted to interfere with the election, yet instead of seriously considering this possibility, Trump continues to focus on voter fraud.
On Jan. 25, Trump tweeted that he “will be asking for investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those who are registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many
for a long time).”
These grandiose claims of launching an investigation into voter fraud come with little evidence provided or reason for why he believes the election may have been fraudulent.
Emma Green of The Atlantic said, “Although the details of such an investigation are still unclear, Trump’s tweets suggest he’s largely intending to look at voter roll irregularities, which are different from voter fraud” and instead “may be signs of inefficiencies in the system.”
Trump’s intention to look into potential inefficiencies seems almost ironic because a member of his staff exemplifies exactly what he wishes to investigate.
Chris Anderson of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune said Trump’s senior advisor, Stephen Bannon, is registered to vote in Sarasota County.
However, “Bannon is also registered to vote in New York City, listing a home address on West 40th Street, and according to a spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections, he voted there in November by absentee ballot,” Anderson wrote.
Bannon being registered to vote in two states may have been a mistake or misunderstanding, Anderson conceded, but it looks suspicious coming from someone currently advising the president.
If Trump truly wants to investigate potential breaches of the American democratic system, it might be a good idea for him to look at instances within his own administration first.
Fixing the electoral system to make it more efficient for future elections could spare the American populace confusion and concern that elections are unfair.
However, if Trump genuinely wishes to look into how tainted by fraud and interference America’s elections are, he would do better to investigate and take seriously claims that the Russians tried to tamper with American democracy in the election, which have more evidence and backing than Trump’s
imagination and opinion.