Partisan Divide Preempts Claims of Election Fraud

According to a NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, more than half of Americans are concerned about voter fraud this election, including 86% of Republicans, 33% of Democrats, and 55% of Independents. 

For Context: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has already made claims of voter fraud regarding an issue with voting machines during early voting in Georgia. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) said her claims are "not supported by facts."

From the Left: Outlets on the left have highlighted the security and transparency of voting systems, while noting that the same Republicans who spread "baseless" election fraud claims in 2020 are sowing doubt again. The New York Times (Lean Left bias) and Axios (Lean Left) both noted that former President Trump recently said he hasn't seen evidence of election fraud, adding, "Unfortunately, I know the other side, and they are not good. But I have not seen that." Hours later, he said Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee, was "gonna stop the cheating." Last month, Trump posted, "The Democrats are talking about how they’re working so hard to get millions of votes from Americans living overseas. Actually, they are getting ready to CHEAT!”

From the Right: The New York Post (Lean Right) interviewed House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said he expects Democrats to object to the election results if Trump wins. "Democrats have now made it a tradition to object to electors, certain slates of electors, and they have [done so] every single time a Republican president has won in the last quarter-century,” he said. Other voices on the right argued that having concerns about the integrity of voting systems doesn't make one an "election denier."