Michigan remains at the forefront of a nationwide battle over election integrity. The presidential election saw a surge in voter turnout in the state, leading to record-breaking numbers of votes for Democratic candidate Joe Biden. However, as soon as news of his victory was reported, a number of Republicans began voicing their concerns over voter fraud, raising allegations of absentee ballot fraud and ghost voting.
One of the loudest voices in this crusade was a Michigan Right-wing journalist named Zack Christoffersen. It seemed the only thing missing from his story was proof.
Christoffersen and his team began doggedly attempting to prove their claims of voter fraud, based on a theory that fraudsters had somehow obtained access to the Michigan Secretary of State’s database and had used it to print fraudulent absentee ballots. In spite of this lack of evidence, he continued to publish rounds of articles claiming that that there certainly was fraud in the election.
The theories spread like wildfire among election law experts, who argued that their anecdote-driven anecdotes outweighed the lack of actual evidence. In Christoffersen’s defense, he and his team did connect people who had cast absentee ballots from home to addresses that were hundreds of miles away from where they claimed to reside and noted that it was strange that two different ballots had been returned from the same marked figures.
However, local clerks and election officials throughout Michigan have since come forward and vehemently denied that any kind of fraud had taken place, affirming that the election was conducted fairly and in accordance with state law. Furthermore, election officials have noted that absentee ballot fraud is almost impossible to commit, as absentee ballots are never printed at home, but are instead sent out in sealed envelopes and must be signed by the voter before being returned for processing.
In the wake of this news, Christoffersen and the rest of the Right-wing have pushed back on the accusations of fraud, but the evidence of fraud remains absent. Even with the plethora of conspiracy theories, articles, and on-the-ground investigations, all that the Right-wing could provide was an elaborate narrative with no tangible proof of wrongdoing.
At the end of the day, one thing is certain: the Michigan election was conducted fairly and securely and any claims of widespread voter fraud have been debunked. While some may continue to make allegations, the responsibility lies with them to prove their case.