GOP-Nominated Top Elections Official: Voter Fraud Is 'Not Widespread'
Source: Talking Points Memo
By TIERNEY SNEED Published APRIL 14, 2017, 12:25 PM EDT
The Republican-nominated chair of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent, bipartisan agency, said that voter fraud is “not widespread” and “not an epidemic” while simultaneously playing down concerns about voter suppression.
“The reality—and this data and information comes from those who directly run elections—is that the state and local election officials, and specifically the secretaries of state across the country that looked into it, find that fraud happens,” Matthew Masterson said in an interview with the Center for Public Integrity posted Thursday.
“It’s not widespread. It’s not an epidemic,” he continued. “But where it happens, it needs to be identified and prosecuted.”
His comments come after President Donald Trump claimed without evidence that millions of people voted illegally in the presidential election. The allegation prompted fear among voting rights advocates who worry unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud will be used as cover to pass restrictive voting measures that make it harder for certain populations, particularly minorities and low-income people, to vote.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/elections-assistance-commission-chair-matthew-masterson-voter-fraud-not-widespread
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