Republican nominee, Donald Trump, is claiming that there has been voting fraud in some of the current polls. He posted on Twitter saying that "there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day..." following his statement by asking why "Republican leaders deny what is going on?” Clinton's Campaign Manager, Robby Mook, responds to Trump's actions by stating that he believes Trump knows that he is losing, as a result he is blaming the system for his loss. Based on the democratic campaign's analysis of early voting records, there was evidence showing that Clinton was leading in the polls.
The Clinton Campaign has denied these allocations, claiming that they are false. The Clinton Campaigns has a network of trained lawyers, all of which are trained on how to handle possible situations of fraud and are instructed to immediately report delays and if need be, how to seek court action. They have also stated that they have increased the amount of lawyers and volunteers at polling places in key battleground states. Furthermore, GOP leaders are worried that Trump's allegations have hurt the republican party and could jeopardize their representation in the senate.
I chose this article because it talks about many of the sections we have learned about in class. For example, it touches upon the polling process and how the senate majority is important in government.
Questions
- Do you think there is potential for voter fraud in the current election/polls? Why or why not?
- How do you think Trump's allegations will effect the republican or democratic party?
- What measurers should be taken to prevent future fraud or fraud allegations?
Trump's election fraud allegations undermine the trust that Americans put in our democratic system. The American political system has already been plagued with low levels of voter turnout due to increasing levels of political cynicism; by perpetuating this false assumption that the election is rigged just because he is losing, Trump will ultimately hurt both parties in the long run. One of Trump's core themes is that he is anti-establishment and a more "true" representation of the American people compared to Hillary. However, by indirectly discouraging voters from participating in politics, Trump is placing more power into the hands of the government, going against the main platform he is running on.
ReplyDeleteAs we have seen previously in the campaign, Trump is a sore loser who believes that the world revolves around him. He claimed that the Emmys were "rigged" when his show didn't win the award, and now he is claiming that the entire election system is rigged. I look forward to seeing him lose this election, if only to teach him some sense of humility and to knock him off his high horse.
I agree with Cheryl's response, Trump seems to blame others for all his problems from the Emmys to this election. By doing so, he discourages his supporters from voting in fear that they will actually be helping the other party. This is clearly an erroneous assumption, but one that many Trump supporters will accept because they seem to forgive him for every mistake he makes.
DeleteI don't think that there is much potential for voter fraud in the elections and polls that are currently taking place. It was stated in the article that voter fraud is a rare occurrence and that his accusations are discouraging the public from voting, further showing his lack of skills for "getting the vote out."
ReplyDeleteIt was a very jeopardizing move for Trump to publicly state how he refuses to accept the result of the elections. It's extremely disrespectful, considering how our country has the privilege of having peaceful transfers of power. This move has greatly undermined his support from fellow Republicans. If he is questioning our electoral process and its legitimacy, he is opening doors that are making people question how other parts of our government are managed as well.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Erin. Although Trump is attempting to help himself by blaming the system, his actions are only hurting his chances of getting more votes in the election. Additionally, Trump is creating more distrust of the federal government and politicians. People already have trouble trusting the motives of high positions in government, so for some people Trump's statement proved to them that they were justified in their negative feelings toward the government.
DeleteI believe there is always a chance for voter fraud to occur in elections. The President of the United States is essentially the most powerful person in the world. The power that this position holds is extremely coveted. I recently read an article about an ordinary man that developed a computer chip that had a system programed into it that could be use to create fraudulent results when inserted into the voting machines. Skewing the vote with this chip only requires seven minutes with the machine. Thousands of people have access to these machines. As a result, a large number of people have the potential ability to unfairly skew the vote. With a positon of this much power at stake, many people could be willing to take the risk of fixing the vote to ensure their own desired results. People with access to the machines could also potentially be hired to skew the vote by outside parties that are looking to influence the vote for their benefit. It is difficult to say for sure whether an election is being rigged or not. However, the technology required to skew the vote is very real and the possibility of unfairly calculated elections should not be completely ruled out.
ReplyDeleteTrump used this as a form of rhetoric to instill fear into some voters. He would have accepted the results regardless of his outcome.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that there was voter fraud, and instead I think that Trump knew this. Like Spencer, I think that there is a great deal of intentional rhetoric that Trump is using. Once again, we see that Trump is perhaps himself using "fraud" in a rhetorical sense- using comments that have no factual basis. But he's done this before, and for whatever reason, people seem to eat this up. In this case, Trump is once again debasing the election process in an effort to instill more fear into people.
ReplyDeleteThese comments have negative effects on the Democratic party more, I think. For Trump's comments instill fear into people and those who are fearful of the current Democratic party are more likely to vote for Trump. Indeed, it is true that some will chastise Trump for this comments, but most of these people likely woul d have voted for Clinton anyways.
Trump's allegations will either hurt his image after the election or do nothing. If he loses, his claims will be seen as desperate, unnecessary comments of a loosing man but if he wins, these claims will be simply dismissed. If there is any potential "fraud" occuring in this election, it would most likely be conducted by both parties, Republican and Democrat.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there was voter fraud since each of them is meticulously counted. I just think Trump's rhetoric is used to rile people up and get them to support him - many of his claims like Alex said, no factual basis. However people still listen to him because he is simple, loud, and easy to understand. He isn't afraid to speak his mind - politically correct or not.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder about voter fraud. Of course, it is a serious crime, but it does not seem all that difficult to get away with. Especially considering the electoral college, in many places, a single vote will not change the outcome of the election. However, in places like the states in the Rust Belt, the swing states often do affect the election, and therefore voter fraud could come into play. I wonder if people will attempt voter fraud. I am also curious as to how voter fraud can be monitored and stopped.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is interesting that there has been recent talk about possible voter fraud in some of the close states such as Michigan. With the advancement in technology and the ability to hack the system, this has become an arising issue. It will be hard to combat/monitor voter fraud, and because of that I believe that candidates will claim that there is fraud to justify the outcomes even though it could potentially hurt their image.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is very entertaining to look back on this post and see that Trump was claiming there was voter fraud that was hurting his campaign. In reality, there could easily have been rigged voting because Russia hacked into the election because Trump is so tight with Putin! I honestly believe this had to have been a distraction and cover up for the fact that he was working with Putin and that they would hack into the system.Obviously these claims he made didn't hurt him based on the outcome of the election so you never know who will hack into an election and potentially affect the outcome.
ReplyDeleteI believe that president elect Trump's allegations won't hurt him in the slightest. At this point, many of the american people expect Trump to be lying at almost every turn and those people already oppose him. However, if Trump can convince someone to side with him, via these lies, he can gain more support. Because of the precedent of lies Trump has set, he only stands to gain from these allegations.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Trump's allegations will hurt him. The American public is used to this rhetoric from Trump and expect him to say shocking things. He has set standards for his 'professionalism' and will not be surprised or offended by this.
ReplyDelete