Donald Trump likes to talk about rigged elections and voter fraud, but in Pennsylvania someone is going beyond just talk. They’re actively attempting to defraud voters.
This image is just one of several circulating in Pennsylvania, and being passed along through Facebook and email. The problem, of course, is that Pennsylvania doesn’t have online voting. No state has online voting. This is an attempt to convince voters that they’ve already voted so they will stay home on Election Day.
And at least one person behind the fraud may already be known.
Frustrated you don’t live in a swing state? Click here to sign up for a phonebanking shift with MoveOn. You’ll be calling voters in the swing states in no time.
The site Billypenn has identified the author of one widely seen image.
… one Western Pennsylvania Republican official circulated an image claiming Pennsylvanians can vote online for Hillary Clinton.
The official, according to a screenshot of a Facebook post, is Murrysville City Councilman Joshua Lorenz. Lorenz, a Republican, was most recently elected in 2015 and his term runs through 2019. He also works for the Meyer Unkovic Scott law firm in Pittsburgh and is the vice president of the Murrysville City Council.
Lorenz, who is a lawyer, has since deleted his post from Facebook and Twitter. But the original image and related images are still circulating.
“My friends understood the spirit which was intended,” [Lorenz] said. “This was clearly a joke. It’s a farce. It’s not exactly the only joke or farce going around on Facebook this election.”
The “spirit” of the post seems far from clear, especially when Lorenz went out of his way to avoid creating any confusion for Trump voters, and circulated the image on the two largest social media platforms. This event is currently being investigated by the Pennsylvania’s attorney general.
In previous years, it has not been uncommon for groups or individuals to circulate false information. This has included false polling stations, information that will cause absentee ballots to be spoiled, and even false dates for elections. This misinformation has been circulated online, in flyers, and by phone calls.
As we get closer to Nov. 8, it’s likely that Mr. Lorenz won’t be the only person making such “jokes” about the 2016 election.