Title: Election fraud case sparks renewed accusations about ballot security in Philadelphia
Headings: Election fraud case sparks renewed accusations about ballot security in Philadelphia
Election fraud case sparks renewed accusations about ballot security in Philadelphia
Content: Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee seized on Domenick J. DeMuro’s plea Friday, calling it proof that “voter fraud exists” despite what they said was the news media’s reluctance to report on the issue. “Democrats have a clear and blatant history of committing voter fraud in Pennsylvania," Melissa Reed, a spokesperson for the RNC and Trump’s campaign, said in a statement. She said the GOP “continues to fight back against the Democrats’ nationwide vote-by-mail push to destroy the integrity of elections.” Advertisement
But Trump’s campaign, along with the RNC and the Pennsylvania Republican Party, also have been urging voters to sign up for the very vote-by-mail ballots that the president keeps declaring instruments for voter fraud. It was not clear why U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain, appointed by Trump in 2017, waited more than two months to make the DeMuro case public and did so just before an election. A spokesperson for McSwain declined to comment Friday. DeMuro, a former judge of elections and Philadelphia Democratic committeeperson, admitted accepting bribes to stuff the ballot box for Democratic candidates from 2014 to 2016. Among the races he sought to influence were the elections of three candidates for Common Pleas Court judge, according to court documents. In announcing the guilty plea, McSwain said, “Our election system relies on the honesty and the integrity of its election officials. If they are corrupt, the system is corrupt, which creates opportunities for election fraud and for the counting of fake votes.”