One Thing: The Messy Business of ‘Cleaning’ Voter Rolls
Aug 4, 2024
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Kyung Lah, a CNN reporter specializing in political issues, dives into the messy world of U.S. voter rolls. She reveals how dubious challenges from groups like True the Vote are fueled by conspiracy theories. With a mobile app enabling citizens to contest registrations, the podcast explores its potential misuse and the significant impact on genuine voters. Lah highlights the emotional toll on individuals targeted by misinformation and discusses the struggles of election officials amid rising anxiety and threats to election integrity.
The use of a mobile app by True the Vote promotes the submission of unfounded challenges against voter registrations, creating burdens for election officials.
False claims about voter fraud have fueled distrust in the electoral system, complicating the administration of upcoming elections and impacting voter participation.
Deep dives
The Impact of Voter Roll Challenges
The widespread belief in voter fraud has led to numerous challenges against voter registrations, particularly in states like Wisconsin, which has been labeled as having the dirtiest voter rolls. Many individuals, influenced by conspiracy theories, are using apps like IV3 developed by the group True the Vote to file challenges against their neighbors' registrations. This app allows users to submit claims based on potentially misleading interpretations of public voter data, targeting those they suspect to be improperly registered. This practice burdens election officials, who must sift through thousands of challenges, often based on inaccuracies or misunderstandings about voter registration norms and common practices.
Real Consequences for Innocent Voters
The podcast highlights the case of a woman named Nancy, who, despite a lack of evidence or prior knowledge, has taken it upon herself to challenge several individuals' voter registrations, including that of a university administrator named Daniel. Nancy believes she has uncovered misconduct, but her challenges are based on misconceptions about registration practices, such as university faculty using their work addresses. This pattern showcases how innocent voters can be drawn into a web of suspicion fueled by conspiracy theories, affecting their right to participate in the electoral process. Daniel's frustrations underscore the emotional toll these challenges can take on individuals, particularly when their legitimacy as voters is called into question.
The Role of Misinformation in Elections
The continued propagation of false claims regarding the 2020 election has ingrained distrust among certain voter segments, raising concerns about the upcoming electoral processes. Experts caution that misinformation is not just pervasive but deeply rooted, making it challenging to shift perspectives and restore faith in the electoral system. The deluge of challenges and requests for information from groups like True the Vote complicates the workflows of election officials, hindering their ability to efficiently carry out their duties. As election day approaches, the pressure mounts on officials to navigate a landscape filled with unfounded claims, raising fears about the potential for increased conflict and division in the electoral process.
As election officials around the country prepare for November’s election, a CNN investigation has found they are already being inundated with dubious complaints about inaccurate voter rolls. The group behind many of the challenges, True the Vote, has long pushed debunked voter-fraud theories. In this episode, we hear how a mobile app has empowered citizens to bring these challenges against their neighbors and look at the impact on regular voters and election administrators.