When President Trump tweeted an ominous pre-midterms warning to would-be fraudulent voters late Saturday, critics were quick to note that voter fraud is statistically nonexistent in the United States; to recall that the president’s own voter-fraud commission, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence and led by controversial Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, had not cloaked itself in glory before being disbanded; and to contend that the president’s true message was that certain voters would not be wrong to approach their assigned polling places with a sense of unease.
The president’s tweet:
All levels of government and Law Enforcement are watching carefully for VOTER FRAUD, including during EARLY VOTING. Cheat at your own peril. Violators will be subject to maximum penalties, both civil and criminal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2018
A brief but representative sampling of the critical responses, many of which placed the tweet in context alongside gerrymandered congressional districts and purged voter rolls as representative of a systemic vote-suppression campaign:
And space alien abduction... which occurs at roughly the same rate. Take your intimidation tactics elsewhere.
— Chris Rasure (@ChrisRasure) October 21, 2018
Federal laws, prohibit voter intimidation. Federal law makes clear that no person shall intimidate, threaten, coerce any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of person, to vote as he/she may choose. @ACLU Hotline:1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA(enEspañol)
— PATRICE BRÖST O'ROURKE
