Aug 22, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Mitch McConnell says there is "very little election fraud"

Shawna Chen

Photo of Mitch McConnell walking in a hall with his lips pursed — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell makes his way to a news conference after the Senate Republican luncheon on Aug. 2. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that there is "very little election fraud" and that he isn't worried about threats to democracy, NBC News reports.

Why it matters: His comments stand in contrast to an increasingly loud sector of far-right politicians who continue their attempts to undermine the election process two years out from former President Trump's defeat. But they also come in the aftermath of the FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, which has led to a surge in threats to law enforcement.

What he's saying: When asked about a recent NBC News poll that showed Americans ranking threats to democracy as the most important issue in the country, McConnell said, "I do think it’s an important issue."

"There were those who were trying to prevent the orderly transfer of power for the first time in American history" after the 2020 presidential election, and "that was not good," he said, adding that "I guess that’s had some impact on the poll."
He also said there is "very little election fraud," though it "happens occasionally."
But he waved off concern that the American democracy faces any immediate danger, pointing to "thwarted" efforts to disrupt the transfer of power between the Trump and Biden administrations.

"I think we have a very solid democracy," he said. "I don’t think of the things that we need to worry about, I wouldn’t be worried about that one."

Worth noting: The NBC poll also found that a majority of Americans believe investigations into Trump's alleged wrongdoing should continue.

The big picture: Dozens of states have moved to restrict voting rights since the 2020 election amid baseless claims of voter fraud.

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Mitch McConnell says there is "very little election fraud"

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