Trump Supporter Voted Twice In Iowa, Claimed She Did It Because ‘The Election Is Rigged’ [Video]
A long-time Donald Trump supporter and Iowa voter reportedly voted twice in the general election. In an interview with the media, 55-year-old Terry Rote reportedly admitted to casting two votes in the critical swing state of Iowa as the result of a spur of the moment decision, adding that she “doesn’t know what came over her.”
The Washington Post reports that the registered Republican and Trump supporter who voted twice, first cast her vote for her candidate of choice in person at her county’s election office. Then, when walking by a secondary voting location at a later date, she made the “spur of the moment” decision to cast another ballot.
As a result of her actions, the Trump supporter was charged and booked into jail on October 27. The charge Rote faces for voting twice is a serious one; election misconduct in the first-degree, a felony. The Trump supporter reportedly spent the night in the Polk County Jail before posting her requisite $5,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on November 7, just one day prior to election day.
While Trump supporter Rote is legally innocent until proven guilty, she reportedly admitted to the fact that she voted twice in an interview with the Washington Post. That was when Rote explained how her double voting came about and that it was a decision she made in an instant.
“I don’t know what came over me.”
It was during that same interview that the 55-year-old claimed to be a Trump supporter, stating that Trump has been her candidate of choice since Mike Huckabee ended his presidential bid. Reportedly, Rote supported Trump so steadfastly that, at one point, she even caucused for the Republican presidential candidate.
Terri Rote plans to caucus tonight for @realDonaldTrump down on the east side of Des Moines pic.twitter.com/dMdeH7sX0V
— Leigh Munsil (@leighmunsil) February 1, 2016
In another interview given by the Trump supporter who admitted that she voted twice, this one with Iowa Public Radio, she gave her reason for voting twice. According to the interview, she believed that her first vote wouldn’t be accurately counted. Why? Election rigging, of course.
“The polls are rigged.”
Ironically, the fact that a Trump supporter reportedly voted twice in the general election falls directly into line with something that Donald Trump has been saying for months, a mantra that he’s worked into many of his campaign speeches and rallies. That the “election is rigged.” However, as the Washington Post reports, Donald Trump has been claiming that the election is rigged against him, not for him.
He’s even claimed that voting machines were switching votes intended for Trump to votes for Hillary Clinton, something that election officials have steadfastly denied.
A lot of call-ins about vote flipping at the voting booths in Texas. People are not happy. BIG lines. What is going on?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2016
It could be that the Iowa Trump supporter who is facing serious criminal penalties because she admitted that she voted twice took Donald Trump’s words to heart. In fact, that’s precisely what Rote says happened in her case. She was afraid that her initial vote would be switched to a vote for Hillary Clinton, so she voted twice to even the score.
@aravosis make America great again donald trump dones not know what that means richard
— Richard Gustavsson (@gusta_ri) October 28, 2016
This is the face of dumbed down America. #Trumpvoters
— JRI (@jack_ringland) October 30, 2016
Actually I wonder how many cognitively impaired persons might be influenced by his words.
— Maureen Jones (@Missmo1951Jones) October 31, 2016
This is what happens when Trump stirs the pot with his conspiracy theories. It's scary how many people buy into his BS.
— Stacey C. (@StaceyLBrandes) October 29, 2016
The result of the Trump supporters blatant double voting resulted in something almost unheard of. An arrest related for attempted voter fraud, something that has happened only three times in over two-and-a-half decades.
“I think in the 25-plus years that I’ve been doing this job, this maybe the third [time] we’ve had some irregularity that’s resulted in a criminal charge. People aren’t voting more than once. And if they do, or attempt to do it, they will get caught because there are safeguards in place….We want everybody to exercise their right to vote, but only once.”
Trump tells supporters to vote twice to fight voter fraud https://t.co/CSTrpUsygV
— Think Atheist ? (@ThinkAtheist) October 31, 2016
To make matters worse, Donald Trump is reportedly telling his voters that they should vote more than once to combat voter fraud and an allegedly rigged election. As the Miami Herald reports, Trump supporters got the instructions straight from their candidate’s mouth at a rally in Ohio on Sunday.
For allegedly casting her vote twice, the Iowa Trump supporter is facing the possibility of five years in prison if convicted. It is unknown how her public admissions of voting twice when speaking to the media could impact a potential trial or sentence.
What do you think? Do Republicans really have to worry about a rigged election? Is it okay to vote more than once if your candidate thinks that’s what’s necessary for your vote to be counted? Is it appropriate for a presidential candidate to suggest voting more than once in a campaign speech? Should the State of Iowa throw the book at the Trump supporter who admitted that she voted twice in the general election?
[Featured Image by Polk County Jail]
