Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has not been shy about voicing his suspicions that the presidential election is being rigged by “… dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary.” Aside from the rhetoric, evidence of any rigging is now pointing towards Trump’s own party. In Iowa, the first arrest for voter fraud in this election is due to the actions of a registered Republican and Trump supporter.
Terri Lynn Rote was arrested for first-degree election misconduct and booked into the Polk County Jail in Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday, October 28. Ms. Rote allegedly voted in two separate locations, including a Des Moines facility and satellite voting office. The charge is a Class D felony. Two other individuals are also being investigated for the same offense as Rote, but have not yet been arrested.
According to Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald, this is the first time in 12 years that he could remember reporting any kind of voter fraud, but believes this arrest is an example of how voting systems are protecting against it.
Trump recently stated that “voter fraud is very, very common,” and called for poll watchers to be on the lookout for repeat offenders. However, evidence from many academic and government studies have found this type of voter fraud to be rare. Hopefully this will remain true throughout current and future elections.