Former President Donald Trump is continuing to falsely claim that the 2020 presidential election was somehow “rigged” for Joe Biden. Although at this point, he’s basically issued a tidal wave of claims saying the same thing, the deceptive rhetoric still poses a problem, as the violence that Trump inspired at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 made clear. Now, he’s claimed in a new statement that he was victorious in the state of Georgia in last year’s presidential race, although the state’s certified results confirm that he lost.
Trump ranted as follows:
‘Georgia now plans to remove over 100,000 “obsolete and outdated” names off their voter rolls. Doing this, they say, will ensure voting files are up to date, while at the same time ensuring voter integrity in future elections. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE LAST ELECTION? WHY WASN’T THIS DONE PRIOR TO THE NOVEMBER 3RD PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, where they had us losing by a very small number of votes, many times less than the 101,789 figure? This means we (you!) won the Presidential Election in Georgia.’
Trump’s claims have no relationship to reality. There is no meaningful evidence that there was any kind of systematic election fraud in Georgia or anywhere else in the country. It’s just not there! In Georgia alone, every vote in the presidential election was counted not just once but three times. Contrary to Trump’s characterization of the situation, the signatures submitted with every single mail-in ballot in the state were checked. A subsequent audit of 15,000 signatures that accompanied mail-in ballots in Cobb County, Georgia, revealed zero instances of fraud. Again — it’s just not there.
Notably, Atlanta-Journal Constitution reporter Mark Niesse noted that “Exactly 0 registered Georgia voters who may be canceled voted in last year’s election. Voters aren’t purged until they miss 2 general elections. Federal law bans list maintenance within 90 days of federal elections.” In other words, none of the voter registrations that were recently revealed as up for cancellation were used during the 2020 presidential election cycle — which is part of why they’re up for cancellation. Thus, there’s no connection between the registrations and the imaginary fraud that Trump claims took place in the 2020 election. Putting it generously: Trump doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Fact check on Trump's claims:
Exactly 0 registered Georgia voters who may be canceled voted in last year's election. Voters aren't purged until they miss 2 general elections.
Federal law bans list maintenance within 90 days of federal elections. https://t.co/VvaMu7zDKu pic.twitter.com/gpStpxp2ne— Mark Niesse (@markniesse) June 22, 2021
