Trump claims to have caught dead voters
Republicans release obituaries of the deceased whose names they say were used to cast ballots
The Trump campaign alleged four dead people voted in Georgia’s elections while arguing their claims of widespread electoral fraud. In an escalation of their fight against the result, Republicans yesterday released obituaries of deceased residents whose names they claimed were used to cast ballots in the state. The campaign called on election authorities to “vigorously examine” the allegations. Meanwhile, Georgia has announced it will conduct a recount of the presidential votes by hand.
THE Trump campaign has alleged four dead people voted in Georgia’s elections while pressing their claims of widespread electoral fraud.
The allegations came as Donald Trump undertook his first public event since Joe Biden was named the winner of the presidential election.
In an escalation of their fight against the result, Republicans in Georgia released obituaries of deceased residents whose names they claimed were used to cast ballots in the state.
The campaign says that voter records show the names of four deceased residents were used during this year’s election, and called on election authorities to “vigorously examine” the allegations. The Telegraph has been unable to verify these claims.
In a press conference yesterday, Tim Murtaugh, the campaign’s communications director, said: “It remains the view of the Trump campaign that this election is not over.”
Mr Murtaugh admitted that the very small number of voter fraud claims in Georgia would not alter the outcome, but he suggested that the campaign would take a “gradual” process towards their “eventual goal of the president being re-elected”.
“If everyone is looking for one single action that will be the silver bullet that overturns the entire election – it’s going to be a process,” he added.
Meanwhile, Georgia announced it would conduct a recount of the presidential votes by hand, a move that had been pushed by Mr Trump’s team.
The manual recount will use the paper printouts created under Georgia’s electronic voting system and is a step further than the electronic “scan” recount required by law.
The decision was announced by Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, who has come under fire from members of his own party over the state’s electoral process.
Mr Raffensperger said he would invite poll watchers from both parties to oversee the recount because “the stakes are high”.
Joe Biden, the president-elect, currently leads Mr Trump in the state by more than 14,000 votes with almost all the ballots counted, meaning it is unlikely that a recount would change the result.
Mr Raffensperger has robustly defended the state’s elections, but said he was ordering the recount by hand due to the close margins in the result and the “national significance” of the outcome. Such a recount would last several days, with officials hoping to complete it by Nov 20.
The Trump campaign has also l aunched a l awsuit i n Michigan – another battleground state, where Mr Biden leads the president by approx
‘If everyone is looking for one action that will overturn the entire election – it’s going to be a process’
imately 148,000 votes – alleging voting misconduct.
Jake Rollow, a spokesman for the Michigan secretary of state, said the Trump campaign was promoting false claims to erode public confidence in Michigan’s elections.
There was growing speculation that the Trump campaign’s demands for recounts and legal challenges were aimed at delaying the certification of the results in tightly contested states.
It has been suggested that the president’s supporters could try to appoint their own electors in critical battleground states, who under America’s electoral college system are the ones who actually cast the vote for president.
Traditionally they follow the popular vote in their state, but it is theoretically possible in most states for them to cast their vote as they wish.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump resumed his presidential duties, yesterday laying a wreath in Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the country’s fallen troops on Veterans’ Day – a public holiday in the US. Mr Trump appeared sombre as he appeared alongside the First Lady, Melania, and Mike Pence, the vice-president, and did not address reporters.
However, in a string of tweets throughout the day Mr Trump escalated his claims of electoral sabotage, claiming in one tweet that inaccurate polling by ABC News and The Washington Post amounted to a “possibly illegal suppression”. The president referred to a poll by the outlets released before election day which showed that he was down 17 points in Wisconsin.