In campaign news, The Guardian is reporting Donald Trump has hired Mike Roman, the former head of the Koch brothers’ “intelligence gathering” operation to run an “election protection” effort. For weeks, Trump has been claiming the election would be rigged at the voting booth. On Monday, Trump claimed dead people and undocumented immigrants are voting.
Donald Trump: “They even want to try to rig the election at the polling booths. And believe me, there’s a lot going on. Do you ever hear these people? They say, ’There’s nothing going on.’ People that have died 10 years ago are still voting. Illegal immigrants are voting. I mean, where are the street smarts of some of these politicians? They don’t have any is right. So many cities are corrupt, and voter fraud is very, very common.”
Experts say cases of voting fraud are very rare. One study by Loyola Law School found just 31 instances involving allegations of voter impersonation out of 1 billion votes cast in U.S. elections between 2000 and 2014. Trump’s claims of a rigged election have been widely criticized by members of both parties. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said Trump was “wrong and engaging in irresponsible rhetoric.”