Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who has amplified unfounded claims of voter fraud for years, launched a website and a video on Wednesday encouraging people to report suspected “election integrity” problems and instructing poll workers in how to spot and report “disqualifying issues” with absentee ballots.
The move by Mr. Johnson, a Republican, was not part of the usual get-out-the-vote effort that is typical in the final weeks of a midterm election. Instead, the senator and his campaign seemed eager to put his supporters on alert for suspicious voting activity.
“Everyone in Wisconsin should have the assurance that their vote counts, and it will not be canceled by a fraudulent vote,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement his campaign released.
The website that was launched by the Johnson campaign provides voters with a form to report incidents involving “election integrity” and to submit any files or images of such incidents.
A corresponding 45-second video appears to be a brief instruction guide aimed at poll workers or election monitors. It describes how to spot “disqualifying issues” with absentee ballots, including verifying that both signature sections are completed. And it urges viewers to fully document any problems with a ballot if a ballot is accepted despite their objections.
While Republicans have spent much of the last two years mounting false arguments about voter fraud and illegally cast ballots in the 2020 election, no evidence has emerged to support their claims. In Wisconsin, the Republican-controlled State Assembly allocated more than $1 million to a former State Supreme Court justice to investigate the 2020 election and emerged with no new information.
Mr. Johnson is among an array of Republicans seeking office this year who have refused, in advance, to accept the results of the 2022 elections. After an onslaught of attack ads aimed at his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Mr. Johnson leads in public polling in the state.
Since the 2020 election, Republicans who falsely believe that the presidency was stolen from Donald J. Trump have spread misinformation claiming widespread electoral fraud. They are now becoming involved in the counting of votes, using aggressive litigation, the monitoring of poll workers and challenges to voter registrations.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
