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Many on social media have accusedPresident Donald Trumpof voter intimidation in the lead-up to Tuesday’s midterm elections after he tweeted using all-caps about illegal voting.
Trump reportedly doubled down on his claim of rampant illegal voting at a rallyin Cleveland, Ohio, later Monday, according to theWashington Post. He said to reporters, “There are a lot of people — a lot of people — my opinion, and based on proof — that try and get in illegally and actually vote illegally. So we just want to let them know that there will be prosecutions at the highest level.”
(AsThe Washington Postand others note, there isno evidence of widespread voter fraudin the United States.)
Added another woman, “In my 78 years I have never ever seen the President of the US threaten voter intimidation like this.”
“This is blatant voter intimidation and it is against the law,” actress and activist Alyssa Milano tweeted in response to the president, linking to the ACLU’s description of voter intimidation.
The White House did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
According to the ACLU, voter intimidation can be categorized as aggressive questioning about qualifications, false information about voting requirements or even harassment. The organization notes that voter intimidation is both illegal and unlikely.
Anyone who faces issues at the polls, or has a ballot challenged, is encouraged to call the National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE.
Illegal voting is actually not at all common in the United States. In fact,The Washington Postreports that Trump’s special commission to study voter fraud in the 2016 election was disbanded without finding any evidence, after some states refused to provide data.
AWashington Postreport from December 2016found only four cases of absentee or in-person voter fraudduring the 2016 election through the news aggregation system Nexis.
source: people.com
