https://www.politicususa.com/2018/11/14/trumps-baseless-v**er-fraud-allegations-could-hurt-u-s-faith-in-e******ns.html

By Joseph Ax
(Reuters) – More than a dozen times in the past seven days, President Donald Trump has alleged, contrary to evidence, that the recount of Florida’s e******ns for governor and the U.S. Senate has been marred by fraud.
“Many b****ts are missing or forged,” he tweeted on Monday. “B****ts massively infected.”

The unsubstantiated allegations could help Trump bolster a narrative that appeals to his core supporters ahead of his expected 2020 bid for a second term – that of an aggrieved president at risk of being c***ted by what he often decries at rallies as an unfair system.
It may also stoke doubts among his loyal base of supporters over the legitimacy of e******ns – a potentially dangerous tactic, especially if he were to adopt a similar stance in response to razor-close results in the 2020 p**********l e******n.
“For a long time, the American democratic process has been based on the idea that if an e******n has an outcome that one side doesn’t like, it’s still considered legitimate,” said Tom Pepinsky, a professor of government at Cornell University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank. “If there’s ever been a time for elected politicians to draw a line in the sand … this is it.”
Fellow Republicans including Florida’s outgoing governor, Rick Scott, whose Senate campaign is the subject of a recount mandated under state law, incumbent U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and lower-ranking officials have amplified Trump’s charges.
Researchers have long concluded that v***r f***d is extraordinarily rare in U.S. e******ns.
The final result of the match-up between Scott and three-term Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson will not affect the balance of power in the Senate, where Republicans increased their majority in the Nov. 6 e******ns even as Democrats seized control of the House of Representatives.
“What we’re seeing now is a new and potentially dangerous development,” said Jonathan Brater, a v****g rights lawyer at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, referring to a call by Trump on Florida officials to abandon the recount.
“Not only would that tactic risk throwing out legitimate v**es if it is successful, it also sows seeds of doubt about our entire democratic process in the minds of millions of people.”
Narrow margins of victory for Scott and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis over Democrat Andrew Gillum triggered the recount under state law last week. It stirred memories of Florida’s disputed results in the 2000 p**********l e******n that Republican George W. Bush ultimately won after the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the recount.

Trump has said the Florida e******n should be called in favor of Scott and DeSantis because “large numbers of new b****ts showed up out of nowhere, and many b****ts are missing or forged.” He cited no evidence.
A senior White House official said Trump was pressing the issue out of real concern.
“He genuinely thinks there is corruption there,” the official said. Another source close to the White House said the president was following the lead of Scott and Rubio.
“He’s echoing in his Trump way the message on this, which is to be aggressive,” the source said.
‘IT’S R****D’
Florida law enforcement officials have said they have seen no evidence of fraud during v****g or the recount. V**e totals often change even after an e******n, as absentee, provisional and overseas b****ts are recorded.
Trump supporters who protested on Tuesday outside county offices where v**es were being counted rejected that idea.
“It’s r****d, this is absolute system corruption and everybody is playing dumb,” said Sofia Manolesco, a 49-year-old fitness trainer who said she had v**ed for all Republicans on her b****t and wore a red “Trump 2020” hat.
Following his 2016 victory, Trump falsely claimed that millions of i*****l i*******ts had v**ed for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
U.S. politicians, particularly Republicans, have long cited concerns about fraud to justify laws restricting access to polls. But independent researchers have documented only a handful of cases over the years.
Justin Levitt, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, tracked just 31 credible allegations of v**er impersonation in U.S. e******ns from 2000 to 2014. In that time, more than 1 billion b****ts were cast, Levitt found.
There have been some documented instances of problems in this year’s Florida v****g that could benefit both parties.
In Broward County, where Democrats typically do well, nearly two dozen rejected b****ts were counted with a batch of valid ones. The Florida secretary of state’s office said it had received reports that v**ers in Bay County, a Republican-leaning area hit hard by Hurricane Michael, may have been permitted to v**e by email, which is prohibited under state law.
Douglas Heye, a Republican strategist and former top aide to former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, said he doubted there would be political fallout from Trump’s rhetoric.
“Trump claimed the last e******n was r****d, until he won,” he said. “We will likely be talking about a million things between now and the 2020 e******ns. These tweets may be just a distant memory.”
(Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Richard Cowan in Washington and Zachary F*genson in Lauderhill, Florida; Editing by Scott Malone and Peter Cooney)

https://www.politicususa.com/2018/11/14/trumps-baseless-v**er-fraud-allegations-could-hurt-u-s-faith-in-e******ns.html

By Joseph Ax
(Reuters) – More than a dozen times in the past seven days, President Donald Trump has alleged, contrary to evidence, that the recount of Florida’s e******ns for governor and the U.S. Senate has been marred by fraud.
“Many b****ts are missing or forged,” he tweeted on Monday. “B****ts massively infected.”

The unsubstantiated allegations could help Trump bolster a narrative that appeals to his core supporters ahead of his expected 2020 bid for a second term – that of an aggrieved president at risk of being c***ted by what he often decries at rallies as an unfair system.
It may also stoke doubts among his loyal base of supporters over the legitimacy of e******ns – a potentially dangerous tactic, especially if he were to adopt a similar stance in response to razor-close results in the 2020 p**********l e******n.
“For a long time, the American democratic process has been based on the idea that if an e******n has an outcome that one side doesn’t like, it’s still considered legitimate,” said Tom Pepinsky, a professor of government at Cornell University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank. “If there’s ever been a time for elected politicians to draw a line in the sand … this is it.”
Fellow Republicans including Florida’s outgoing governor, Rick Scott, whose Senate campaign is the subject of a recount mandated under state law, incumbent U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and lower-ranking officials have amplified Trump’s charges.
Researchers have long concluded that v***r f***d is extraordinarily rare in U.S. e******ns.
The final result of the match-up between Scott and three-term Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson will not affect the balance of power in the Senate, where Republicans increased their majority in the Nov. 6 e******ns even as Democrats seized control of the House of Representatives.
“What we’re seeing now is a new and potentially dangerous development,” said Jonathan Brater, a v****g rights lawyer at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, referring to a call by Trump on Florida officials to abandon the recount.
“Not only would that tactic risk throwing out legitimate v**es if it is successful, it also sows seeds of doubt about our entire democratic process in the minds of millions of people.”
Narrow margins of victory for Scott and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis over Democrat Andrew Gillum triggered the recount under state law last week. It stirred memories of Florida’s disputed results in the 2000 p**********l e******n that Republican George W. Bush ultimately won after the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the recount.

Trump has said the Florida e******n should be called in favor of Scott and DeSantis because “large numbers of new b****ts showed up out of nowhere, and many b****ts are missing or forged.” He cited no evidence.
A senior White House official said Trump was pressing the issue out of real concern.
“He genuinely thinks there is corruption there,” the official said. Another source close to the White House said the president was following the lead of Scott and Rubio.
“He’s echoing in his Trump way the message on this, which is to be aggressive,” the source said.
‘IT’S R****D’
Florida law enforcement officials have said they have seen no evidence of fraud during v****g or the recount. V**e totals often change even after an e******n, as absentee, provisional and overseas b****ts are recorded.
Trump supporters who protested on Tuesday outside county offices where v**es were being counted rejected that idea.
“It’s r****d, this is absolute system corruption and everybody is playing dumb,” said Sofia Manolesco, a 49-year-old fitness trainer who said she had v**ed for all Republicans on her b****t and wore a red “Trump 2020” hat.
Following his 2016 victory, Trump falsely claimed that millions of i*****l i*******ts had v**ed for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
U.S. politicians, particularly Republicans, have long cited concerns about fraud to justify laws restricting access to polls. But independent researchers have documented only a handful of cases over the years.
Justin Levitt, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, tracked just 31 credible allegations of v**er impersonation in U.S. e******ns from 2000 to 2014. In that time, more than 1 billion b****ts were cast, Levitt found.
There have been some documented instances of problems in this year’s Florida v****g that could benefit both parties.
In Broward County, where Democrats typically do well, nearly two dozen rejected b****ts were counted with a batch of valid ones. The Florida secretary of state’s office said it had received reports that v**ers in Bay County, a Republican-leaning area hit hard by Hurricane Michael, may have been permitted to v**e by email, which is prohibited under state law.
Douglas Heye, a Republican strategist and former top aide to former Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, said he doubted there would be political fallout from Trump’s rhetoric.
“Trump claimed the last e******n was r****d, until he won,” he said. “We will likely be talking about a million things between now and the 2020 e******ns. These tweets may be just a distant memory.”
(Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Richard Cowan in Washington and Zachary F*genson in Lauderhill, Florida; Editing by Scott Malone and Peter Cooney)