Right-wing takes Nevada voting machine non-scandal to new levels of stupidity

Written by Julie Millican

Published

As we are just days away from the midterm elections, right-wingers are in their usual full-on Chicken Little mode over flimsy claims of “voter fraud.” One of the many overhyped claims of “voter fraud” the right has been pushing is a story out of Clark County, NV, where some voters claim that their electronic ballots were pre-cast to vote for Harry Reid. Of course, the Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax has called the claims of fraud “patently false” and advised voters to be aware of the sensitivity of the voting machines' touch screens. And, considering Lomax also previously called for an investigation into voter fraud allegations related to ACORN, you'd think the right would believe him.

Undaunted by their total lack of evidence, right-wing media went on to declare that the whole thing must be a giant SEIU scam since the voting machine technicians are represented by the SEIU. Oh no!

It gets better. Now, the right-wing media have gone a step further, tying Ried's son, Rory Reid to the whole non-scandal. See, Rory Reid is the Chairman of the Clark County Commissioners, which Rush Limbaugh claimed meant “Harry Reid's son is the person in charge of overseeing the election machines that are being maintained by the SEIU.”

Our favorite right-wing blogger Jim Hoft provides Limbaugh with what I'm sure he thinks is bulletproof evidence to back up his claim. According to Hoft, since Rory Reid is the Chairmen of the Clark County Commission, that means he “is a member of The Nevada Association of Counties (NACO),” and part of NACO's mission is to “foster public trust in county government,” so therefore, that means Rory Reid is “in charge of overseeing the election machines” in Clark County, Nevada. You can't make this up.

Not that I really need to mention this, but, of course, Rory Reid appears to have absolutely nothing to do with the elections.

According to his bio, “his fellow commissioners” chose him “to serve in the following capacities:”

  • Chair, Las Vegas Valley Water District Board of Directors
  • Criminal Justice Advisory Commission
  • Southern Nevada Water Authority
  • Clark County Water Reclamation District Board of Trustees
  • Liquor & Gaming Licensing Board
  • Local Law Enforcement Advisory Committee
  • Nevada Association of Counties Executive Committee (NACO)
  • Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

The Clark County Registrar of Voters runs the elections. Not the county commissioners.

UPDATE: In the original post, I inadvertently confused Clark County with Cook County--an Illinois county where Republicans are also trumpeting fears of voter fraud. This post has been edited to correct this error, and I hang my head in shame.