Conservative pundit Michelle Malkin appeared on Fox News on Monday alongside anchor Megyn Kelly to discuss what Kelly called reports of “voter fraud on a massive scale with the intention of keeping Democrats in office.”
Malkin seemed to be throwing her support behind anti-voter fraud efforts like the one started by the conservative website Pajamas Media and the effort by the website Election Journal, which includes an iPhone app.
“We are all voter fraud police now, and I think that the confluence between social media, citizen media and outlets like Fox News of course are making it more difficult for them to operate, but they are doing it any way because after all the modus operandi of these groups is by any means necessary,” Malkin said.
Conservative organizations have continued to raise fears about voter fraud ahead of the midterm elections, as TPMMuckraker has reported. Last week, FreedomWorks CEO Dick Armey floated the idea on Fox that Democrats were only ahead in early voting because of voter fraud.
Malkin also mentioned the work of the Tea Party group King Street Patriots. Democrats in Texas have alleged that poll watchers trained by the group’s True the Vote effort have been intimidating voters in heavily minority neighborhoods.
“I think an environment where ACORN has been so exposed as the leading group when it comes to voter fraud that some people may get complacent about this,” Malkin said. “There are many ACORN off-shoots and big labor organizations that are operating under the radar screen that people need to be vigilant of. Those groups are operating in Arizona, California, Colorado and Texas where you do have hotly contested races,” Malkin added.
But at least one statistic on screen seemed to undercut Malkin and Kelly’s message. An on-screen display notes that there were just 100 convictions for voter fraud between 2002 and 2008, even after a massive push for convictions during the Bush administration (an effort which continues today).
Watch the video below.
[Ed. note: this story was edited after publication. Additional reporting by Clayton Ashley.]
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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