Richmond, VA — New reporting today from Politico highlights Glenn Youngkin’s continued support of Donald Trump’s dangerous election conspiracy theories by calling for an “audit” of election machines in Virginia and across the country to dispute the 2020 election results.
Glenn continues to be all-in on Trump’s baseless conspiracy theories that erode our democratic processes and put lives at risk. Just last week, Glenn refused to say whether or not he would have voted to certify the election results on January 6.
Youngkin launched his campaign with an “election integrity task force,” which he has called the “most important issue” in this campaign. Youngkin spent months lying about the 2020 election and is committed to the hardline Republican agenda of restricting voting rights.
This summer, Youngkin headlined an insurrectionist-sponsored “election integrity” rally. This came after Youngkin suggested that the disgraced former president could be reinstated into office.
Read key excerpts below and see the full report here.
Politico: Youngkin continues call for ‘audit’ of election machines in Virginia
By: Zach Montellaro
Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin continues to call for an “audit” of the voting machines in his state, an echo of the Republican push to investigate 2020 election results around the country following former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of fraud.
“I think we need to make sure that people trust these voting machines,” Youngkin said at a Monday event hosted by a Richmond civics group, according to a video reviewed by POLITICO. “I grew up in a world where you have an audit every year, in businesses you have an audit. So let's just audit the voting machines, publish it so everybody can see it.”
Virginia’s state elections department has already conducted a post-election audit, running a statewide “risk-limiting audit” for the first time after the last election. The process tests the accuracy of voting machines and has been increasingly embraced by election security professionals as a safety measure to guarantee accurate vote counts. The Virginia audit confirmed the 2020 results in the state.
Youngkin’s call for auditing voting machines in Virginia comes amid Republican efforts in other states to launch their own reviews of the 2020 election. [...]
Unlike Virginia’s risk-limiting audit, many election officials and security experts have rejected the GOP’s recently completed review in Arizona, as well as copycat efforts in other states, as unprofessional endeavors rooted in conspiracy theories. While Youngkin has often alluded to the so-called “election integrity” movement inspired by Trump’s lies, he has rejected the mythology that Biden was not legitimately elected. Democrats have spent the Virginia gubernatorial campaign, which recent polling has shown to be a close race, seeking to tie Youngkin to Trump, especially on the “election integrity” platform. [...]
Trump’s false statements about losing the election due to fraud have played a major role in eroding his supporters’ trust in election systems, as the push for other election reviews continues across the county.
One of Youngkin’s first policy proposals during the Republican nominating contest was an “election integrity task force,” which his spokesperson referenced in his statement, and he appeared at an “election integrity” rally over the summer.
State Sen. Amanda Chase, whom Youngkin defeated in the gubernatorial primary and has since served as a Youngkin surrogate, has embraced Trump’s falsehoods about the 2020 election. She visited Arizona while that review was going on, and she has also called for a review in Virginia beyond the elections department’s risk-limiting audit.
“It’s important that we audit Virginia. It’s important we have a forensic audit, not the faux audit that the State Board of Elections did,” Chase said at a rally outside the state Capitol in August.
Chase, who has proudly proclaimed herself “Trump in heels,” said at a Martinesville rally on Monday that “the single most important thing we can do to protect election integrity in Virginia is to get Glenn Youngkin elected as our next governor.”
Democrats criticized Youngkin’s call for a review of voting machines.
“Glenn Youngkin is calling for audits of Virginia’s voting machines for the same reason he based his entire campaign on his ‘election integrity task force’ — this is who he is,” said Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for the state Democratic Party. “Youngkin thinks this is ‘the most important issue’ because his top priority is bringing Donald Trump’s agenda to Virginia.” [...]
Trump has also claimed baselessly that there will be cheating in this year’s Virginia election. “The Virginia governor’s election, you better watch it,” Trump said in a September appearance on John Fredericks’ radio show, which is popular among Virginia conservatives. “You have a close race in Virginia, but it’s not close if they cheat.”
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