Amid talk of ‘rigged’ election, experts say fraud is rare

Tucked into the thousands of mundane exchanges that Russian hackers allegedly extracted from John Podesta’s inbox are some revelations embarrassing to the Clinton campaign. And that’s going to play into the suspicions that they have that there’s something going on in there that they’re not supposed to see. But we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the most important aspect of that “rigging” was relentlessly building up Trump during the primary season. American elections are rigged. No major daily paper has so far backed Trump.

With only 22 days remaining until American voters cast their ballots in what is arguably one of the ugliest, most divisive presidential elections in modern USA history, Donald Trump’s presidential bid is ensnared in scandal, and Hillary Clinton’s return to the White House is looking increasingly likely. “Can you imagine if I got the questions?” Trump has responded with a scattershot series of criticisms about “Clinton corruption”, but he has yet to hone a disciplined line of attack.

When traveling, she “often refused to ride in the armored limousine with the local US ambassador” preferring to ride with longtime aide, Huma Abedin. In one study, a Loyola Law School professor found 31 instances involving allegations of voter impersonation out of 1 billion votes cast in US elections between 2000 and 2014.

There is the longtime confidant of Bill Clinton complaining of Chelsea Clinton “acting like a spoiled brat kid”. RIGGED! … totally phoney (sic) stories … corrupt political machine pushing crooked Hillary Clinton …

“So, say, 400 precincts in a big conspiracy, and no one will know?” Democrats say the Russians are behind the WikiLeaks releases; WikiLeaks says that isn’t true.

I’ve asked that question a few times over the past couple months, and for much of August and September the answer has been a qualified yes. Studies by the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a conservative voting watchdog group, also estimated more than 1,000 non-citizens registered to vote in eight Virginia counties since 2011 and that 86 non-citizens were registered to vote in Philadelphia in between 2013 and 2015 – 40 of them voted in at least one election. He says he’s focused on candidates in Wisconsin and Republican governors. Some party strategists were reluctant to discuss the leaks because they don’t want to encourage foreign meddling in an American election. He then told all of those gathered that after they go out and tell somebody about his and Trump’s message, he said he wanted them to go out and “respectfully participate to ensure the integrity of our democracy”.

“Trump got bombed essentially in Carolina, and they swayed it towards being his fault”, Eilers said. Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans are expressing confidence in the voting systems, while state election officials are saying they are committed to conducting fair and impartial elections. “And it isn’t even Russian hackers, though they may certainly exist”.

But Trump is different.

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If Trump makes that claim on election night, and a significant number of his supporters believe him, a body blow will have been struck to a foundational principle of democracy: Respect for the outcome of elections even if your candidate isn’t the victor.

This spending also puts Republicans on defense in a way they wouldn’t be if Trump was more competitive in states like Virginia, Colorado and MI.

Throughout most of the general election, Clinton has generally seen more support from college graduates, while Trump has been the preferred candidate for voters with no college degrees. “As a national security person, it shakes me to my core”.

“This is really unprecedented”.