Gov. Ivey’s ‘stolen election’ claim in a campaign ad is still unfounded

In a campaign ad released on April 11th, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey echoed the unfounded conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. “The fake news, Big Tech and blue state liberals stole the election from President Trump, but here in Alabama, we are making sure that never happens,” the governor says in the ad. “We have not, and will not, send absentee ballots to everyone and their brother. We banned corrupt curbside voting, and our results will always be audited. I’m Kay Ivey. The left is probably offended – so be it. As long as I’m governor, we’re going to protect your vote.”

There has been no evidence to suggest the 2020 election was stolen. The vague claim has often been repeated by Trump’s base, without any proof to back it up. To have a high-profile candidate such as Gov. Ivey relay this claim enhances the growing distrust of officiated election procedures in the United States. Polls show a growing majority of Republicans believe the lie that the 2020 election was rigged to get President Biden the win, and candidates who openly embrace the idea that Trump was robbed are now currently running for office. However, the remote cases of alleged “voter tampering” has been so small that none would have changed any results. A thorough study published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS found no evidence for systematic voter fraud in the 2020 election. The study also reviewed the most prominent of the statistical claims brought forth by Trump and his supporters and concluded that none of them is even remotely convincing. In fact, state and federal judges, some appointed by Trump, dismissed more than 50 lawsuits brought by Trump or his allies regarding the results of the election. President Trump’s own Attorney General William Barr said that the Justice Department had found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the election.¹

The vast majority of states already audit the presidential vote as you can see in this table provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures. No election fraud was discovered in any of these states. Last year, an analysis by MITRE’s nonpartisan National Election Security Lab found “no evidence of fraud, manipulation, or uncorrected error”—including involving Dominion voting machines—further emphasizing the presidential race wasn’t “stolen” or fraudulent.

In regards to absentee (or mail-in) ballots, results of a study published in the scientific journal Risk Analysis in January found that the recent increase in mail-based voting due to COVID-19 has not jeopardized the safety of the U.S. elections process. Read more about this study in this news release by the Society for Risk Analysis. The researchers concluded that mail-based voting increases voter access and may reduce the likelihood of adversarial interference.

1. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-courts-election/fact-check-courts-have-dismissed-multiple-lawsuits-of-alleged-electoral-fraud-presented-by-trump-campaign-idUSKBN2AF1G1