Brewer falsely portrayed McCain as denouncing voter disenfranchisement in clip she aired

On the October 9 edition of MSNBC Live, after she cited an October 8 New York Times article reporting that "[t]ens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law," MSNBC's Contessa Brewer asserted that at a campaign stop in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Sen. John McCain "was talking about the importance of making sure that voters who register get a chance to go vote." Brewer then aired a clip of McCain saying: "There are serious allegations of voter fraud in the battleground states across America. They must be investigated, and no one should corrupt the most precious right we have, and that is the right to vote." As is clear from the statement Brewer aired, McCain was not talking about alleged voter disenfranchisement or allegations that people were being illegally barred from voting, as reported in the Times article to which Brewer referred; rather, he was criticizing alleged efforts to register people who are not eligible to vote.

Indeed, immediately following the portion of McCain's statement Brewer aired -- in which McCain talked about "serious allegations of voter fraud" -- McCain added, "My friends, you've seen -- you've seen the allegations, the multiple regulations [sic] under the same name, the more registered voters than the population," of which he said: "[T]hey must be investigated immediately and they must be stopped before November the 4th." At no point during his remarks did he address the Times' reporting that eligible voters were being removed from the rolls.

After airing the clip, Brewer said McCain's comment represented a "strong statement there from John McCain about these voters getting the opportunity to go in and make their choice known." MSNBC chief Washington correspondent Norah O'Donnell replied: "Yeah, it is interesting, as a lot on the right are raising concerns that ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now] may be registering people to vote that are either dead or don't exist or whatever it may be."

From the CQ transcript of McCain's October 9 campaign event (from Nexis):

McCAIN: There's -- could I -- could I just mention? Everyone -- there's someone here who keeps yelling "ACORN, ACORN."

Now, let me just say to you there are serious allegations of voter fraud in the battleground states across America. They must be investigated. And no one should corrupt the most precious right we have, and that is the right to vote.

(APPLAUSE)

My friends, you've seen -- you've seen the allegations, the multiple regulations [sic] under the same name, the more registered voters than the population. You've seen -- these are serious allegations, my friends. And they must be investigated and they must be investigated immediately and they must be stopped before November the 4th so Americans will not...

(APPLAUSE)

... will not be deprived of a fair process in this election.

From the 3 p.m. ET hour of the October 9 edition of MSNBC Live:

O'DONNELL: We're going to continue to update you throughout this hour. We're gonna turn now to politics. Both campaigns are going after every voter possible as the state registration deadlines expire just about every day now leading up to the election.

Today's New York Times reports that tens of thousands of eligible voters in six swing states are actually being removed from the polls or blocked from registering, possibly violating federal law. For a whole new perspective on the swing states, let's go over to my colleague Contessa Brewer on the MSNBC surface.

Contessa, I know you stole that thing from --

BREWER: -- from Chuck Todd --

O'DONNELL: -- Chuck Todd, so show us how it works.

BREWER: -- feeling very territorial now over this surface.

You know, if you're talking about six -- you're talking about six states at this point, Norah, that are having voter registration problems, let's show you the electoral map. The -- if this is the way it's breaking down according to our political unit, if we were to have an election today -- and take a look at the states that are having problems: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada.

In Michigan, the number is 33,000 people kicked off the voter registration rolls. In Colorado, the number -- 37,000 people kicked off the voter registration rolls. And according to The New York Times, the number of people that have been kicked off far exceeds those who have either died or relocated.

Let me tell you why this matters. Take, for instance, Ohio, where we know we are seeing a very tight race. Twenty electoral votes up for grabs here, and take a look at the most recent poll numbers. We're seeing Barack Obama with 50 percent, John McCain with 47 percent, and that 3-percent difference, that falls within the margin of error. Statistically, this is a tie.

Now, John McCain knows that this is a pivotal battleground state, and today when he was in Waukesha, Wisconsin, he was talking about the importance of making sure that voters who register get a chance to go vote. Let me play it for you.

McCAIN [video clip]: There are serious allegations of voter fraud in the battleground states across America. They must be investigated, and no one should corrupt the most precious right we have, and that is the right to vote.

BREWER: Norah, strong statement there from John McCain about these voters getting the opportunity to go in and make their choice known.

O'DONNELL: Yeah, it is interesting, as a lot on the right are raising concerns that ACORN may be registering people to vote that are either dead or don't exist or whatever it may be.

Let's talk about those registration numbers. I was reading some of these the other day as some of the registrations closed in the states. Huge numbers in some of these battleground states. Now the Democrats outnumber the Republicans in Pennsylvania by over a million people. What have you learned?

BREWER: And take a look at North Carolina here. I mean, these are new voters. If we're taking a look, 208,000 of these are Democrats, 34,000 new Republicans. In Colorado, that number is 80,000 new Democrats, 21,000 new Republicans.

Now, mind you, we're not listing the independents who have just newly registered to vote, but obviously this is a trend that would benefit Barack Obama going into that November election, Norah.

O'DONNELL: Contessa Brewer, great, appreciate it. And Chuck is kind of worried he may be out of a job with you working that surface.

BREWER: I highly doubt that.

O'DONNELL: Thanks, Contessa.