Conservative network floods midterms with thousands of election-fraud claims

Researchers documented more than 7,000 statements casting doubt on election integrity, originating from roughly 600 conservative social-media accounts, podcasts and other outlets during one outlet year. The rhetoric, which has doubled since the previous cycle, focuses on alleged non-citizen voting and mail-ballot fraud—issues that are statistically uncommon. High-profile supporters of Donald Trump, such as former White House strategist Steve Bannon, have publicly asserted that illegal immigrant votes are decisive.

Trump has made over 300 public remarks disputing the 2020 result and announced a $1 million bounty for information leading to a fraud conviction. Federal officials attempted to invalidate 20,000 California ballots and sought to halt Alaska’s certification, but judges blocked both moves. Former Election Assistance Commission member Ben Hovland warned that future lawsuits may come from the Justice Department rather than campaign lawyers, while Rep. Pete Aguilar said Democrats have identified 162 tactics Republicans could employ to contest the outcomes.