Koch Brothers Front Group Feeds Fox News Phony Figures On Voter Fraud

A report by Fox News alleges that “Over 40,000 voters are registered in both Virginia and Maryland.” It’s a shocking statistic that stirs fears of massive election fraud that could sway the results of pivotal campaigns and upset the balance of power in Congress.

Koch/Fox News

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There’s just one problem with this report: There is no evidence that any of it is true. Fox News cites as their source an organization (Watchdog.org) that purports to be a news enterprise, but is actually a strand of the tangled web of political and media affiliates funded by the notorious Koch brothers.

Watchdog.org provided Fox News with a story about voter registration in Virginia that implies that thousands of Virginia voters are illegally voting twice in Maryland, saying that…

“A crosscheck of voter rolls in Virginia and Maryland turned up 44,000 people registered in both states, a vote-integrity group reported Wednesday.”

In fact, the data referenced in the report only identifies registrations with similar names, but it does not assert that they are the same people. In addition, it would not be unusual to find numerous cases where people re-registered after having moved from Virginia to Maryland, which is perfectly legal so long as they do not cast votes in both precincts. Even the president of the group that provided the data acknowledges that…

“…the number of voters who actually cast multiple ballots is relatively small. In the case of Maryland and Virginia, he revealed that 164 people voted in both states during the 2012 election.”

So 164 people, out of 44,000 registered voters, are alleged to have voted in both states, although they were more than likely different people with similar names. Yet this utterly insignificant and unfounded assertion of election fraud was elevated by Fox News to a scandal of huge proportions. And this isn’t the first time. Just last week Bill O’Reilly offered a slightly different version of the same story. In his broadcast he referred to allegedly duplicate voter registrations in North Carolina and other states, but his story had the same flaws as the Virginia story.

As for Watchdog.org, News Corpse reported on their propaganda wire service last year finding that…

“Watchdog.org is actually a right-wing, propaganda-spewing project that is funded by the Koch brothers through their Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. It is an unabashedly partisan source of slanted opinions and attack pieces. […] A quick Google search on Fox News, and their related Fib Factory Fox Nation, turned up dozens of previous Watchdog-sourced articles that were published by Fox. Many of these articles are hit pieces on unions and environmental science, two issues that deeply interest the Koch brothers whose businesses have fought workers rights and have contributed to dirtying the air and water of every place they have a presence. In none of the articles did Fox provide disclosure of the Koch affiliation to the reporting.”

This is one of the great advantages of being a billionaire who can bankroll a phony news service and funnel the fictional propaganda to friendly media. And by taking the tainted stories from a biased source with vested interests, Fox News proves again that it is nothing more than a PR agency for Republicans and the conservative agenda.

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12 thoughts on “Koch Brothers Front Group Feeds Fox News Phony Figures On Voter Fraud

  1. While I’m a US citizen, born in South Carolina and hence a US voter (in New Hampshire)

    AS I understand from my neighbors, who winter in Ontario and summer in Nova Scotia, it is possible to vote in more than one province One need only need be a property owner, and hence a taxpayer, in order to vote.

    I am aware of several people who voe in both Florida and in another state. If they are property owners in both states, I see nothing wrong with that.

    • That is utter BS! They are feeding you a line of crap. If they are doing this then they are criminals. It is against the law to vote in more than one precinct. It would be your duty to turn them in if they are doing so. However, I do not believe your story. I think you are a troll on this page

      • Steve:

        What’s law in one place is against the law somewhere else.

        In Canada, property ownership is one of the determinants.

        AS to my being a troll, I guess it takes one to know one.

    • It is illegal to vote in the same election in multiple sates. The property ownership excuse is either a bogus reason to convince low information voters to commit voter fraud or a rationalization by the left to make themselves feel good about breaking the law. Ask Geraldine Farraro. She used that excuse when she voted in NYC and Long Island. If property ownership grants us voting rights then homeless people should not be voting.

      • Reagan:

        I specifically said that the voting was in Canada and Canadian provinces. You seem to think Canadian law is the same as US law. Nothing could be further from the truth.

        In addition, I have friends who have joint US Canadian citizenship, with owning property in both Nova Scotia and Florida. As such, they’re considered residents in both nova Scotia and Florida.. They vote in Nova Scotia elections, and Florida elections.

        Likewise, I have friends with joint citizenship in both the US and in Israel. They vote in both countries.ditto for US-Irish joint citizenship.

  2. This article fails to mention who benefitted from this so called fraud

    • That’s true, but from Fox’s perspective it doesn’t matter. The only thing they care about is manufacturing a fake crisis that will justify their campaign of voter suppression through ID laws, eliminating early voting, etc. Ironically, none of those measures would prevent someone from registering multiple times in different states.

  3. I’ll see your Koch brothers and Fox News and raise you … George Soros, Tom Steyer, MSNBC, virtually any Union, the New York Times, ABC News etc not to mention now you whacks have the IRS.
    Besides did you know that your bogeymen (the Koch Brothers) have donated to Gov Cuomo, Senators Pryor, Landrieu and Begich among other Democrats? They are also proponents of liebralism’s high and holiest sacrament, abortion. Did you know that? Of course not, your ignorant (a basic requirement to be a liebral).

    Besdies the report itself was created by a group called The Virginia Voters Alliance and echoed by Watchdog and then Fox. They were probably brought about to combat Soros’ goal of concentrating efforts to have Commun, err Sociali, err Democrats win Secretary of State elections in all 50 states since that is the office that certifies elections. Geeze I (wonder why he would be so interested in certifying elections? Could it be to? Naaahhhh … It’s not like liebrals to believe in the ends justifying the means or anything like that.

    Bottom line is you guys are so whacked about denigrating others and so close minded that if Jesus Christ Himself (or Muhammed since you’re okay with a pedophile murderer as a religious icon) were to back a differing opinion from yours you would be doing everything in your power to slander and denigrate him too.

    If liebrals weren’t so dangerous they’d be laughable.

    • Typical wingnut cognitive hysterics.

      You didn’t bother to refute a single thing in this article with any facts. You ignore that the report is a fraud. You ignore the phony “news” service. And your attempt to distract with irrelevant accusations directed at the right’s favorite bogeymen further demonstrates the shallowness of your thinking.

      I like how teabaggers always bring up Soros as a counter to the Koch brothers. The problem is that Soros contributes to causes that he believes will benefit society, even to his own detriment. But the Kochs finance projects that will benefit themselves and their bank accounts (that’s why donate to Dems in office). Soros doesn’t even like the existing campaign finance laws (his son heads a SuperPAC to end SuperPACs). He only does it because it is currently a legal tactic that the right exploits, and thus necessary to combat the right’s efforts to corrupt our democracy.

      And your hilarious reference to Jesus only drives home the point that conservatives are against everything that Jesus stood for: Feeding the hungry, healing the sick, exalting the poor, rebuking the rich, and uniting all people in brotherhood.

  4. I see these voter fraud articles shared on facebook all the time. I refute every one I see. Lost a couple of friends over it. RWNJ will share anything without checking it for factual content. It usually takes me about a minute to find the facts and post them. Everyone should start doing this.

  5. Oscar:

    I suggest you take two Aspirin every two hours until your fever breaks; it should cure your ranting and raving..

    Gene

  6. Speaking of similar names…….. I live and vote in a small town, so I know the politics of all the poll workers. Because of how my name lands alphabetically, I always get the blue-haired Republican lady. In 2012, she opens her roll book, puts her finger on a name (obscuring it), and says, “Sign here.” I noticed the address was not mine. Nor was the name, I saw when she moved her finger. It was one letter off from mine.
    Now that, my friend, is voter fraud. I wonder how many people she pulls that on every election.

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