11/11 Daily Update: Responding to Baseless Claims of Voter Fraud

Published: 11.11.20

Eight days after a successful Election Day, the Voter Protection Program is working to protect the results of the presidential election and ensure that the voice of the people is respected.  Today, the VPP released a video that calls for leaders to respect the 2020 election results and facilitate a peaceful transition of power.

The VPP also held a press briefing today with current and former state attorneys general from both parties to discuss election litigation and efforts to undermine confidence in the election. The briefing was covered by several media outlets and reporters, including  the Associated Press, MI Live, the Las Vegas Sun, the Las Vegas Review Journal, and the Detroit Free Press. A recording is available here.

National coverage today analyzed the role of social media in spreading misinformation and  debunked baseless voter fraud claims made by President Trump’s supporters.

Here’s your update:

Social Media

Make sure you’ve followed and set alerts for the Voter Protection Program on Twitter to stay updated on the latest voter protection news. There, you can share our most recent video, a short montage of past candidates for president conceding defeat. Please retweet, quote tweet, and share with people in your networks.

Additionally, here you’ll find our most recent social media toolkit that reflects our latest messaging and guidance.

National News

• Baseless Voter Fraud Claims: The barrage of false claims and conspiracy theories from President Donald Trump’s campaign and allies does not change President-elect Joe Biden’s clear and unequivocal win. For a state-by-state breakdown of false claims made in key states, check out the explainer from the Associated Press here.  One such claim, which centered around an unfounded rumor that a Michigan mother’s vote had been stolen by an impersonator using her maiden name, has been debunked. Read more about the swarm of false rigged election claims here.

• Misinformation on Social Media: The 2020 election spurred social media giants to adopt some new policies on policing political discourse. Facebook said on Wednesday that it plans to continue a moratorium on political advertising for another month, a move that may affect both parties as they continue vying against each other in key Senate races in Georgia. Read more about the social media giants’ stances on misinformation here.

State Updates

Arizona: Attorney General Mark Brnovich shared the consensus with Neil Cavuto on Fox News today that Joe Biden will win the state once the final votes are counted, and confirmed there is no evidence of voter fraud in the state. Watch the full clip here.

Michigan: On Saturday, Michigan state Rep. Matt Hall and other legislators announced subpoenas for the state’s Bureau of Elections, as part of a campaign to discredit President-elect Biden’s Michigan win. Meanwhile, Attorney General Dana Nessel did not mince words in critiquing the president’s multiple frivolous election-related lawsuits filed in Michigan. She said the  president’s claims either lack any supporting evidence or are  “demonstrably false.”

Nevada: Trump’s Nevada campaign alleges voter fraud but won’t supply evidence. The statutory deadline for counties to finish counting their ballots is Nov. 13. Read more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal here.

Pennsylvania: Republican Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt said Wednesday that, despite irresponsible and false claims spreading among Trump supporters online, there’s no evidence that any dead people voted in the city. Read more from NBC News here.

Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Elections Commission is cracking down on misinformation circulating online that alleges “unfounded rumors” about the integrity of the state’s election results. “While the results are still unofficial and are currently being triple checked as part of the canvass and certification process, we have not seen any credible information to cast any doubt on those unofficial results,” top Wisconsin election official Meagan Wolfe explained. Read more from WTMJ here.

Legal Corner

Eight full days, more than a dozen lawsuits, an enormous amount of internet noise, and still: Post-Election Day lawsuits brought by the Trump campaign and Republicans  haven’t shaved a single vote off President-elect Biden’s significant winning margin. A full rundown of post-Election Day litigation is here. Legal developments today included:

Junior Suit: Four Pennsylvania voters filed a federal lawsuit today seeking to exclude Democratic counties’ votes from the state’s final certified count. The lawsuit mostly doesn’t plead its own facts, though – it cites to allegations made in the Trump campaign’s own federal lawsuit, filed Monday. The Trump suit throws 85 pages of innuendo, unsupported assertion, and nonsequitur behind the cause of depriving every Pennsylvanian of their vote by stopping the state from certifying electors entirely. This new suit, Pirkle v. Wolf, No. 20-cv-2088 (M.D. Pa.), seeks to tag along and consolidate with its big brother, which is set for a hearing next week.

Same Story, Different State: This morning,the Trump campaign and a number of Michigan voters filed a federal suit alleging that Wayne County – Detroit – didn’t allow challengers adequate access to observe ballot processing and that some election officials back-dated ballots that were received after the close of polls. They seek to stop Michigan from certifying its general election results. There is no indication that their complaints are true or relevant, since the positioning of poll observers isn’t a reason to throw out a vote. Nor would it matter if they were true and relevant, since President-elect Biden won Michigan by more than 140,000 votes. The case is Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Benson, No. 20-cv-1083 (W.D. Mich.).

Sharpie Will Be Seen: Yesterday, a state court judge in Maricopa County, Arizona, refused to let the Trump campaign file its supposed proof of voting problems under seal. The plaintiffs claim that a handful of ballots – fewer than 200, out of more than 2 million cast – were spoiled because the voters marked them with Sharpies. They wanted to submit their purported evidence secretly. But the judge will require them to show their cards, ensuring that the public will see the election was fundamentally fair. The case is Donald J. Trump for President Inc. v. Hobbs, No. CV2020-014248 (Maricopa County Superior Court). A hearing is set for Thursday, 11/12.