Trump and other Republicans are already casting doubt on midterm results - CNN

Washington CNN  — 

Former President Donald Trump posted connected societal media connected Tuesday to formed uncertainty connected the legitimacy of the midterm predetermination successful the captious plaything authorities of Pennsylvania. “Here we spell again!” helium wrote. “Rigged Election!”

Trump’s expected evidence? An nonfiction connected a right-wing quality tract that demonstrated nary rigging. Rather, the nonfiction baselessly raised suspicion astir absentee-ballot information the nonfiction did not clearly explain.

In 2020, Trump and his allies made a prolonged effort to discredit the statesmanlike predetermination results successful advance, spending months laying the groundwork for their mendacious post-election claims that the predetermination was stolen. Now, successful the weeks starring up to Election Day successful 2022, immoderate Republicans person been deploying akin – and likewise dishonest – rhetoric.

Trump is not the lone Republican trying to baselessly beforehand suspicion astir the midterms successful Pennsylvania, a authorities that could determine which enactment controls the US Senate.

After Pennsylvania’s acting elections chief, Leigh Chapman, told NBC News past week that it could instrumentality “days” to implicit the ballot count, Republican gubernatorial campaigner Doug Mastriano, who has repeatedly promoted mendacious conspiracy theories astir the 2020 election, said connected a right-wing amusement monitored by wide enactment Media Matters for America: “That’s an effort to person the hole in.”

It isn’t. It simply takes clip to number votes – especially, arsenic Chapman noted, due to the fact that the Republican-controlled authorities legislature has refused to walk a no-strings-attached measure to let counties to statesman processing mail-in ballots earlier than the greeting of Election Day.

But different salient Republicans piled on. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas tweeted a nexus to an nonfiction astir Chapman’s comments and added: “Why is it lone Democrat bluish cities that instrumentality ‘days’ to number their votes? The remainder of the state manages to get it done connected predetermination night.”

Even speech from the information that the large cities that thin to thin Democratic person galore much votes to number than the tiny agrarian counties that thin to thin Republican, Cruz’s assertion is plain false.

Counties of each kinds crossed the state – including, arsenic PolitiFact noted, immoderate Republican counties successful Cruz’s authorities of Texas – bash not implicit their ballot counts connected the nighttime of the election. In fact, it is intolerable for galore counties to person last counts connected predetermination night.

Even immoderate of the country’s astir Republican states count absentee ballots (or, successful immoderate cases, specifically absentee ballots from members of the subject and overseas citizens) that get days aft Election Day, arsenic agelong arsenic they are postmarked by Election Day. And immoderate states, including immoderate led by Republicans, springiness voters days aft Election Day to fix issues with their signatures oregon to provide the impervious of identity they didn’t person connected Election Day.

American elections authorities bash not state winners oregon authoritative ballot totals connected predetermination night. Rather, media outlets marque unofficial projections based connected incomplete data.

The wellness challenges of the Democratic campaigner successful Pennsylvania’s Senate race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, person besides been utilized to formed preemptive uncertainty connected the imaginable outcome.

After Trump was defeated by Joe Biden successful 2020, immoderate right-wing personalities insisted the predetermination indispensable person been stolen due to the fact that Biden was specified a mediocre candidate. On Fox past week, arsenic Media Matters noted, prime-time big Tucker Carlson made a akin statement astir Pennsylvania’s Senate contention – suggesting radical should not judge a Fetterman triumph due to the fact that it would beryllium “transparently absurd” for a campaigner who has had difficulties with public speaking and auditory processing since a changeable successful May to legitimately prevail.

But determination would beryllium thing suspicious astir Fetterman winning successful a authorities Biden won by much than 80,000 votes successful 2020. Fetterman has led successful many (though not all) sentiment polls – and polls person repeatedly recovered that Pennsylvania voters continue to presumption him acold much favorably than they presumption his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

The metropolis of Detroit, similar different Democratic-dominated cities with ample Black populations, has been the people of mendacious 2020 conspiracy theories from Trump and others. And present the Republican moving to beryllium Michigan’s elections main is already challenging the validity of tens of thousands of Detroit votes successful 2022.

Less than 2 weeks earlier Election Day, Kristina Karamo, a 2020 predetermination denier and the Republican nominee for Michigan caput of state, filed a suit asking a tribunal to “halt” the usage of absentee ballots successful Detroit if they weren’t obtained successful idiosyncratic astatine a clerk’s bureau and declare that lone those ballots obtained via in-person requests tin beryllium “validly voted” successful this election. That petition would perchance mean the rejection of thousands of votes already formed legally by Detroit residents – successful authorities whose constitution gives residents the right to petition absentee ballots by mail.

Karamo’s lawyer vaguely softened the petition during closing arguments connected Friday, The Detroit News reported. And different salient Republicans person truthful acold kept their distance from the lawsuit.

Nonetheless, the suit sets the array for Karamo, who is trailing successful sentiment polls, to baselessly cull the legitimacy of a defeat.

Other Republican candidates person vaguely hinted astatine the anticipation that Democrats mightiness someway cheat connected Election Day oregon during the counting of the votes.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told reporters this week that “we’ll spot what happens” erstwhile it comes to accepting the results of his reelection race, The Washington Post reported, adding: “I mean, is thing going to hap connected Election Day? Do Democrats person thing up their sleeves?”

The Daily Beast reported that Blake Masters, the Republican Senate campaigner successful a choky contention successful Arizona, told a communicative astatine an October lawsuit astir however helium can’t beryllium it’s not existent that, if helium beats Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly by 30,000 votes, unnamed radical won’t conscionable “find 40,000” for Kelly. He told a akin communicative astatine an lawsuit successful June.

There is nary ground for the proposition that determination could beryllium tens of thousands of fraudulent votes added to immoderate state’s count. But Masters’ comment, similar Karamo’s lawsuit, achieves the effect of galore of Trump’s pre-Election Day tales successful 2020: premier Republican voters to beryllium distrustful of immoderate result that doesn’t spell their way.