ARIZONA'S 'FORENSIC' AUDIT: The Staying Power of The Big Lie and Claims of Election Fraud Claims Persist

Looks like bogus claims of rigging elections have proliferated into what Republicans believe.

Poll: Majority of Republicans falsely believe Arizona ‘audit’ found fraud

Jeremy Duda

Arizona Mirror

 

A majority of Republican respondents in a recent poll wrongly believe that the so-called “audit” of the 2020 election in Maricopa county definitely or probably found evidence of fraud.

Monmouth University polled 811 people across the United States earlier this month, asking a series of questions about the state of the country, the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, government regulation of Facebook and fraud allegations surrounding the 2020 election. The poll included a question about the election review in Maricopa County.

> According to the live-caller poll, 62% of Republicans falsely believed the “audit” discovered fraud — 32% of Republican respondents said the audit found evidence, and another 30% aren’t sure but believe it probably found such evidence. Only 23% of Republicans said the audit found that President Joe Biden won or probably won the state fairly.

> By contrast, 89% of Democrats said Biden won the state fairly, while 55% of independents say Biden won fairly and 27% said the audit uncovered fraud. In total, 57% said the audit showed that Biden fairly won Arizona, while 29% said it found or probably found fraud in the 2020 election. 

[. . .] Maricopa County officials denied the allegations and provided explanations for many of the issues the audit team raised. The county, the Arizona Mirror and others have proven some, such as claims surrounding signature verification on early ballot affidavits, to be false. 

> The partisan split among respondents on the audit question largely mirrored attitudes toward the bogus election fraud allegations that Trump and many of his supporters have spread since Biden defeated him last year.

While 73% of Republicans told the pollster that Biden won through fraud and only 22% say he won fairly, 97% of Democrats and 63% of independents said Biden’s victory was legitimate.

> In all, 32% of respondents said Biden won through voter fraud.

[. . .]

During a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, expressed concerns about the staying power of the false election fraud claims, which he said have created a “toxic environment” for Republican voters who have lost faith in elections.