Fact Check: "2016 elections in the US had no voting fraud"
What We Know
The claim that the 2016 elections in the United States had no voting fraud is supported by multiple investigations and analyses. The now-disbanded voting integrity commission established by the Trump administration found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. According to a report by the Associated Press, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap stated that documents from the commission indicated a “pre-ordained outcome” and that the section on evidence of voter fraud was “glaringly empty” (AP News). Furthermore, the commission met only twice and failed to produce a substantive report, reinforcing the lack of evidence for the claims of widespread fraud (AP News).
Additionally, a comprehensive analysis by the Washington Post indicated that there were only four documented cases of voter fraud in the 2016 election, which accounted for a mere 0.000002 percent of all ballots cast (Washington Post). This statistic highlights the rarity of voter fraud in the context of the overall election process.
Analysis
The evidence supporting the claim that there was no widespread voter fraud in the 2016 elections is robust. The findings from the Trump administration's own commission, which was led by prominent Republicans, contradict the narrative of significant electoral fraud. Dunlap's comments about the commission's lack of findings suggest that the investigation was not only inconclusive but also potentially biased towards a predetermined conclusion (AP News).
Critics of the commission, including Dunlap, have pointed out that claims made by figures like Kris Kobach, who asserted that there were thousands of instances of double voting, were not substantiated with credible evidence (AP News). Kobach's assertion that the commission had identified 8,400 instances of double voting has been challenged, as Dunlap noted that these figures were never formally presented to the commission (AP News).
Moreover, the broader context of voter fraud in the U.S. has been examined by various sources, including a report by the New York Times, which concluded that across the country, officials found negligible evidence of voter fraud (New York Times). This aligns with the findings of the Washington Post, which documented only four cases of fraud in the 2016 election (Washington Post).
The reliability of these sources is high, as they include reputable news organizations and official reports from government investigations. The claims of widespread voter fraud have been largely discredited by these investigations, which have shown that the instances of fraud are exceedingly rare.
Conclusion
Verdict: True
The claim that the 2016 elections in the U.S. had no voting fraud is true based on substantial evidence from multiple credible sources. Investigations conducted by the Trump administration's own commission and independent analyses reveal that there was no widespread voter fraud during the election. The data supports the assertion that voter fraud is an extremely rare occurrence in the U.S. electoral process.
Sources
- Report: Trump commission did not find widespread voter fraud
- RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN 2016 U.S. ELECTIONS
- 19 foreign nationals indicted for illegally voting in 2016
- Inspector General report on FBI and DOJ actions in the 2016 election
- All This Talk of Voter Fraud? Across U.S., Officials Found Next to None
- There have been just four documented cases of voter fraud in the 2016
- Electoral fraud in the United States
- How US election fraud claims changed as Trump won
