Philadelphia elections inspector explains why 'rigged' election theories are absurd
Donald Trump has claimed that the presidential election will be "rigged," a theory that has been parroted by allies Roger Stone, Alex Jones, Newt Gingrich, and Sean Hannity. As proof, Hannity and others have pointed to the fact that in 2012, Mitt Romney didn't receive a single vote in 59 districts in and around Philadelphia; Hannity considers this a blatant example of electoral fraud.
Ryan Godfrey, a Republican-turned-independent inspector of elections for a Philadelphia voting division, took to Twitter to explain why such accusations strike him as completely preposterous:
3. Claim that 59 divisions in Philadelphia engaged in electoral fraud in 2012 because no votes for Romney is absurd & personally insulting.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
4. First, there's absolutely no way to erase votes from the machines we use in this city.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
5. I've had to tell this to several parents who took kids into booth w/ them & said kids pressed VOTE button too early. Sorry, no do-overs.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
6. Next, we get a paper tally at the end of the night that we match against physical count of voters who used machines (like an odometer).
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
8.It's this paper tally we certify, display publicly & send downtown (along w/ data cartridge w/ same info) to be added to overall results.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
9. So, where is the opportunity for fraud, if I and my four or five colleagues of different parties are doing our jobs and not colluding?
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
10. (And if we were colluding, we would be colluding to add votes—again, votes can't be subtracted.)
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
Okay, okay, but what if someone hacked the software to change Republican votes into Democratic ones? Well, Godfrey has an explanation for why that is a ridiculous theory, too. Read the entire thread, here.