Fox host Sean Hannity has come under fire for reviving the debunked myth that the 2012 presidential election was rigged by Democrats suppressing votes in Philadelphia in order to back up Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s allegation that the 2016 election is rigged.
On August 2, Hannity, a Trump sycophant, defended Trump’s false and widely criticized claim that the 2016 presidential election is “rigged” by reviving the debunked myth that the 2012 election was rigged against Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Hannity suggested Democrats suppressed votes in Philadelphia, saying “The Philly Inquirer, one week after the 2012 election, pointed out that in 59 separate precincts in inner-city Philadelphia, that Mitt Romney did not get a single vote, not one.”
On August 7, CNN host Brian Stelter called out Hannity’s failure to probe Trump’s “dangerous” claim, saying Hannity “failed [his] audience[] this week.” Stelter also debunked Hannity’s claim that Democrats suppressed votes in Philadelphia, saying a “Google search would show that there are also precincts in other states, like in Utah, where Obama did not get a single vote.”
Hannity lashed out at Stelter in response, writing, “Hey Brian check Philly enquirer after 2012. How many districts not a single Romney vote. Check Cleveland. Do u prep?" Stelter told Politico that Hannity was “conveniently ignoring the point of my commentary, which is that it's dangerous for a talk show host to promote conspiracy theories about election-rigging.”
A Philadelphia elections inspector also criticized Hannity’s conspiracy, calling it “absurd & personally insulting.” Ryan Godfrey wrote that there is “absolutely no way to erase votes from the machines” and explained that Romney, of course, did not get much support “in those 59 [precincts] almost entirely poor and almost entirely black communities [with] [less than] 1% registered [Republicans]” while “running against the first black president.”
1. I'm an inspector of elections for a Philly voting division. Independent but was a Republican as recently as June. https://t.co/pd82mOkEKh
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
2. People like me sign off on election results in every division in Philly. We take job seriously: certifying the accurate will of people.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
3. Claim that 59 divisions in Philadelphia engaged in electoral fraud in 2012 because no votes for Romney is absurd & personally insulting.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
4. First, there's absolutely no way to erase votes from the machines we use in this city.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
5. I've had to tell this to several parents who took kids into booth w/ them & said kids pressed VOTE button too early. Sorry, no do-overs.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
6. Next, we get a paper tally at the end of the night that we match against physical count of voters who used machines (like an odometer).
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
7. We match that against the count of the individual names of voters who have signed our rolls (and whose names we also recorded in books).
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
8.It's this paper tally we certify, display publicly & send downtown (along w/ data cartridge w/ same info) to be added to overall results.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
9. So, where is the opportunity for fraud, if I and my four or five colleagues of different parties are doing our jobs and not colluding?
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
10. (And if we were colluding, we would be colluding to add votes—again, votes can't be subtracted.)
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
11. Incidentally, poll workers have colluded to get machine count to match voter count, but it's rare & prosecuted. https://t.co/7fbUzLnTQO
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
12. So, # of votes corresponds with # of voters, & can't be tampered with after fact, but what about having machines change R votes to D?
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
13. It's a liability of Philadelphia's touch-screen voting machines that I can't say for certain that votes can't be switched in software.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
14. It's theoretically possible the Democrats that for all intents control Philly politics have surreptitiously installed
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
15. sophisticated firmware on some? all? voting machines to change some votes from R to D or whatever.
BUT.
BUT:— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
16. Why would they ever change *ALL* R votes to D votes, when anybody who voted R could easily refute the results just by saying they had?
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
17. It would be idiotic to do so! And indeed in 59 divisions with no recorded votes for Romney,
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
18. The Philadelphia Inquirer couldn't find anyone who cast a vote for Romney. Anyone. https://t.co/5hmtwwP1wi
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
19. Finally, Romney got 6.6% of the vote in my racially mixed middle-class West Philly division. 43 votes out of 653.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
20. How many votes should Romney have expected in those 59 almost entirely poor and almost entirely black communities w/ <1% registered Rs?
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
21. (Running against the first black president, with very high approval ratings in the community?)
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
22. Are you thinking like 100 votes in those 59 divisions? Because stealing those 100 votes would be extremely risky and stupid.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
23. And, you know, not such a great return on your highly illegal and risky activities in a city where 700,000 votes were cast.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016
24. So yeah, fuck off very much w/ your 2012 Philly election fraud accusations. It didn't happen then & it won't happen this year, says me.
— Ryan Godfrey (@rgodfrey) August 7, 2016