Republicans have yet to find any evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 elections, but by gawd they keep trying, embracing failure with one state “audit” after another. The latest, an outside effort by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty conducted alongside a series of audits by the Republican-controlled state legislature, was a little less out-there than several of the others, but the end result was the same: “There was no evidence of widespread voter fraud. In all likelihood, more eligible voters cast ballots for Joe Biden than Donald Trump. We found little direct evidence of fraud, and for the most part, an analysis of the results and voting patterns does not give rise to an inference of fraud.”
Oh, they claim that 23,000 votes “did not comply with existing legal requirements,” but also admit that throwing those votes out probably wouldn’t change the result—and would be massively unfair to voters who they admit voted in good faith, by and large.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is a nonprofit law firm that defends anti-worker laws, has sued the state over its mask mandate, has sued the state to allow the hunting and trapping of wolves, has sued the state demanding a purge of the voter rolls, and more. On the subject of its 2020 elections review, Aaron Blake notes, “This is a group that thinks voter fraud is an issue worth probing. It also casts doubt on the severity of the Jan. 6 insurrection. But it describes Trump’s attempts to overturn the election through Congress as ‘shameful.’”
Even though this group is so liberal that it merely downplays the attack on the U.S. Capitol rather than embracing it as a righteous effort to overturn the election, there’s no evidence the results of its review of the votes would be any different otherwise. After all, the Arizona fraudit conducted by the conspiracy theorist-led Cyber Ninjas didn't find widespread fraud, and they inspected the ballots for bamboo fibers, among other conspiracy theory-informed moves. (Sorry, I know I used “conspiracy theory” twice in that sentence, but that’s what we’re talking about here.)
Failure to find evidence of anything but Donald Trump having lost fair and square hasn’t stopped Republicans from inspecting and reinspecting the 2020 votes, though, and they’re sure not going to stop backing up the sore loser’s Big Lie. Endlessly rehashing an election they lost and have themselves gone on to prove again and again that they lost has become the mainstream Republican position—not for nothing but as a rehearsal for their future efforts to overturn an election.
Oh, they claim that 23,000 votes “did not comply with existing legal requirements,” but also admit that throwing those votes out probably wouldn’t change the result—and would be massively unfair to voters who they admit voted in good faith, by and large.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is a nonprofit law firm that defends anti-worker laws, has sued the state over its mask mandate, has sued the state to allow the hunting and trapping of wolves, has sued the state demanding a purge of the voter rolls, and more. On the subject of its 2020 elections review, Aaron Blake notes, “This is a group that thinks voter fraud is an issue worth probing. It also casts doubt on the severity of the Jan. 6 insurrection. But it describes Trump’s attempts to overturn the election through Congress as ‘shameful.’”
Even though this group is so liberal that it merely downplays the attack on the U.S. Capitol rather than embracing it as a righteous effort to overturn the election, there’s no evidence the results of its review of the votes would be any different otherwise. After all, the Arizona fraudit conducted by the conspiracy theorist-led Cyber Ninjas didn't find widespread fraud, and they inspected the ballots for bamboo fibers, among other conspiracy theory-informed moves. (Sorry, I know I used “conspiracy theory” twice in that sentence, but that’s what we’re talking about here.)
Failure to find evidence of anything but Donald Trump having lost fair and square hasn’t stopped Republicans from inspecting and reinspecting the 2020 votes, though, and they’re sure not going to stop backing up the sore loser’s Big Lie. Endlessly rehashing an election they lost and have themselves gone on to prove again and again that they lost has become the mainstream Republican position—not for nothing but as a rehearsal for their future efforts to overturn an election.