The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for November 14, 2022
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
CNN – Voting goes mostly smoothly on Election Day as baseless fraud claims swirl
Associated Press – Minor poll problems twisted into false US election claims
PBS News Hour – Post-election misinformation targets Arizona and Pennsylvania
Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause, Center for American Progress, Brennan Center for Justice
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
Election officials report that there were few problems in the midterm elections, and issues which did crop up were corrected quickly. There were also few incidents of intimidation, much to the relief of voters & authorities.
Most issues were related to malfunctioning optical ballot readers, according to reports in CNN, the Associated Press and the PBS News Hour. The largest disruption with ballot readers occurred in Maricopa County, Arizona. When election officials could not immediately solve the problem, voters left their ballots in a secure box to be counted later by a bipartisan counting team.
Machine malfunctions, power outages and a gas leak also created delays and longer lines in some polling places, and states authorized an extension of voting hours in some of those precincts.
In Detroit, malfunctioning “poll books,” computer tablets used for checking voters in and out of the polls, duplicated ballot tracking numbers between in-person and absentee ballots. Backup paper checklists were used instead.
As for intimidation at the polls, in West Bend, WI, a gunman attempting to shut down voting in a precinct was arrested, and voting continued. In North Carolina, an election worker was followed home. In Arizona, 18 criminal referrals were made for people staking out drop boxes in tactical gear.
More on how these issues were spun by conspiracy theorists in our next American Democracy Minute.
For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.