Trump spreads wild conspiracy about voter fraud, claiming people change clothes before voting a second time
- President Donald Trump continued to spread unsubstantiated conspiracies about voter fraud in American elections as midterm election ballots continue to be counted - and recounted - in key races in Florida and Georgia.
- Trump has aggressively accused elections officials of forging and "finding" votes in Florida in order to hand the key Senate and gubernatorial contests to Democrats.
- There is no evidence of any form of wrongdoing in Florida's elections. Florida's secretary of state - appointed by Scott - and the Department of Law Enforcement have insisted that there are no credible allegations of election fraud to investigate.
President Donald Trump continued to spread unsubstantiated conspiracies about voter fraud committed by Democrats in US elections as midterm election ballots continue to be counted - and recounted - in key races in Florida and Georgia.
"The Republicans don't win and that's because of potentially illegal votes," Trump told the Daily Caller, a conservative online news outlet, during a Wednesday interview. "When people get in line that have absolutely no right to vote and they go around in circles. Sometimes they go to their car, put on a different hat, put on a different shirt, come in and vote again."
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the US and though Trump has repeatedly alleged otherwise, there is no evidence of fraud in Florida's ongoing midterm recounts. Florida's secretary of state - appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Scott - and the Department of Law Enforcement have insisted that there are no credible allegations of election fraud to investigate.
On Monday, a Florida judge denied Scott's request that law enforcement seize and monitor ballots and voting equipment during the recounts, citing a lack of evidence of any fraud or irregularities in the ballot counting.
"If someone in this county has evidence of fraud or irregularities, they should report it to a law enforcement office," Judge Jack Tuter said.
Tuter also requested that both Democrats and Republicans "ramp down the rhetoric" surrounding the contentious gubernatorial and Senate races in Florida.
Since Election Day last Tuesday, Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated allegations about the vote counts in Florida, claiming that officials are forging and "finding" votes or committing other forms of fraud.
"An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected," he tweeted Monday, asserting that Scott and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ron DeSantis had decisively won their contests.
Following the president's lead, Scott has accused elections officials in his state of electoral corruption and of overseeing widespread voter fraud.
"Their goal is to keep mysteriously finding more votes until the election turns out the way they want," Scott said Thursday.