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Republicans’ election denialism has ramped up in recent months, the most notable example being an April press conference in which former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson peddled false claims about immigrants swaying federal races.
Noncitizens, of course, are not allowed to vote in federal elections, and neither Johnson nor his party have provided any proof that undocumented people are doing this at any scale that would influence federal races. That was made clear yet again at a press conference Tuesday, when Johnson falsely claimed “we all know” that “illegals” are voting in federal elections, but then conceded that that conclusion is mostly vibes-based because “it’s not be something that’s easily provable.”
Big “I have a girlfriend, she just goes to another school” vibes from Johnson there.
And to get to the bottom of these vibes, right-wingers are pulling out all the stops in an effort to conjure up some proof or, failing that, the next best thing — propaganda.
Fox News reported last weekend that a conservative organization is embarking on a multimillion-dollar campaign to crowdsource stories of purported voter fraud to spread far and wide. The Fair Election Fund (its name apparently taken directly from Newspeak) is offering to pay people who come forward with claims that support the GOP’s voter fraud conspiracies. The organization claims such allegations will be used in “aggressive paid and earned media campaigns.”
One could argue the financial incentive is basically inviting a deluge of nonsensical voter fraud claims. To that, however, the organization's press release says allegations will be vetted by a team of "experienced election law attorneys." The release doesn't name these attorneys (in fact, the website doesn't identify anyone involved), but lawyers can get suckered by election conspiracies, too. Just ask Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, Ken Chesebro and Rudy Giuliani.
So we’re likely to see a lot of bigoted fearmongering about undocumented people's nefarious influence over U.S. politics and society as a whole, similar to some of the right-wing ads and conservative media coverage about purported spikes in violent crime.
Even without wielding the full power of the federal government, right-wingers are devising ways to surveil and potentially intimidate their perceived enemies. Because Republicans love a tip line: for Americans to report people who’ve received gender-affirming health care or abortions in states where draconian laws have banned these things; to catch teachers whose lesson plans reference racism; to snitch on transgender people just trying to use the bathroom.
And this proposal marks yet another right-wing initiative that promotes snooping on your neighbors, a trend some writers have noted is emblematic of repressive societies.