INDIANAPOLIS – As hundreds of Hoosiers lined up in downtown Indianapolis to cast their ballots early, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump again warned of a looming election that will be rigged.
Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day. Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2016
Trump, in recent days, has gone beyond the assertion the national media is rigging the election to now also include polling locations across the country.
“We’ve had no major issues during early voting,” Russell Hollis said, deputy clerk for the Marion County Clerk’s office. “I think people should still feel comfortable their votes will count and this election is not rigged.”
As of Sunday evening, early voting in Marion County was up 18 percent from the same time in 2012 and up 34 percent from the same time in 2008.
“My vote counted,” Ty Graves said after voting Monday.
According to a new Politico-Morning Consult Poll, 41 percent of voters nationwide said the election could be “stolen” from Trump because of voter fraud, 73 percent among just Republicans.
“We do have a system that has worked for many, many years,” George Stevens said, after voting in Indianapolis. “Why now? I don’t understand that.”
Indiana State Police continue their own investigation into voter fraud, which now spans 56 counties.
Sgt. David Bursten told FOX 59 among the thousands of voter registration forms investigators have reviewed so far, roughly 10 percent show signs of fraudulent or forged information.
Investigators are looking into the efforts of Patriot Majority USA’s Indiana Voter Registration Project, which launched earlier this year, and has said to have registered an estimated 45,000 Hoosiers.
On Saturday, Patriot Majority USA launched a new radio and newspaper campaign, accusing Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Indiana State Police of voter suppression.
“It’s not accusations,” Bursten said Saturday. “They’re lies.”
Pence said Sunday he will respect the outcome of the election and condemned any attempt by people to intimidate voters.
“People that are concerned about this election and us preserving the one person, one vote that is at the very center of our democracy should become involved,” Pence said on CBS’s Face the Nation.
Pence added, like in Indiana and across the country, poll watching is part of managing the electoral process.
“It’d be very complicated for any country, any individual, any party, anything to be able to hack into the system,” Laura Albright said, a professor at the University of Indianapolis. “We’ve heard the media bias or voter bias or disagreement within parties, I think those are fair complaints and concerns, but in terms of the process itself, it’s set up to have both parties involved. It’s done at the state, the federal and local level. I really don’t think the actual process is rigged at all.”
State police say their investigation into fraudulent voter registration forms could last well beyond Election Day and expand to more counties.
