So Donald Trump, who simply can’t admit he ran a bad campaign, is ginning up his supporters with fairy tales about voter fraud in you-know-what-kind of sections in Philadelphia. And his Jesus-y right-hand man is repeating the lie at his rallies. They’re egging people on, telling them to keep an eye on those certain neighborhoods in certain cities. (Meaning, black neighborhoods in Philadelphia.)
The thing that sent Trump’s fevered brain into overdrive was a right-wing meme from 2008, when Obama beat Mitt Romney and certain right wing sights alleged vote fraud. Because precincts in black sections of the city didn’t record ONE SINGLE VOTE for Mitt Romney. (Seriously, Donald? You can’t think of any other reason why?) Here’s a hint:
Some conservative complaints about Philly are just conspiracy-theory speculation about a seemingly weird fact: In 2012, 59 Philadelphia precincts recorded not a single vote for Mitt Romney. But even Joe DeFelice, executive director of the Philadelphia Republican City Committee, says that’s not surprising if you know the city’s electoral map. The zero-Romney precincts are black, Democratic neighborhoods with minuscule numbers of registered Republicans. “It’s next to impossible to deduct votes from the machine,” DeFelice says.
Here’s the other thing. You can’t be a poll watcher in Philadelphia unless 1) you’re a registered voter in Philadelphia and 2) have a poll watchers certificate.
So if what you want is to burn a couple tanks of gas and drive to Philadelphia on Election Day (after you’ve already voted for Trump, of course) and manage to find your way to where you think you want to go (where is that, exactly?), what are you going to do when you get here? Because if you come to our polls and start acting like a jackass — well, remember, we are the city that booed Santa Claus.
And don’t count on law enforcement to protect you. They’re not allowed within 100 feet of a polling place.
So while the idea of aggressively defending Trump against imaginary voter fraud may appeal to you, I guarantee there will be someone with a cell phone catching your face or license plate on video, and if you break the law, you will be prosecuted.
So go ahead, take your best shot. It’s not going to be as much fun as you think it is.
