Bribes To Vote Democrat: Some Illinois Residents Complain About Voter Fraud Of Mail-In Applications
Some Illinois residents have complained about being offered bribes to vote for Democrats in the 2016 election. With voter fraud being a very real concern among many voters in this presidential election, instances such as this only escalates rigged election theories. Luckily, a small county outside of Chicago is investigating reports of multiple residents who were offered bribes in exchange for voting for Democrats on their mail-in applications.
The Kankakee Daily Journal, a local newspaper, reports that State Attorney Jamie Boyd said several vote-by-mail applications appeared to have come from people living outside of Kankakee County. The Kankakee County Attorney General’s Office is investigating possible voter fraud after receiving complaints from at least three residents who claimed they were offered bribes for votes.
“This unprecedented action was taken in response to reports of individuals from Chicago offering gifts to potential voters in exchange for a vote for Kate Cloonen, Hillary Clinton and others. Our office takes seriously the obligation to protect the rights of citizens to vote for the candidate of their choice, and to do so without undue influence from special interest groups. The investigation will also focus on the authenticity of vote by mail requests. Several applications have been filed with the election authority that appear to be fraudulently executed.”
#Voterfraud alleged in Kankakee County; Bribes for Votes https://t.co/BkB04UfDrm via @tdjnews
— A.P. Dillon (@APDillon_) October 11, 2016
Kankakee County Clerk Bruce Clark also revealed that people were being brought to the clerk’s office to cast an early vote.
“Whoever it is should not be doing this,” he said. “People should be allowed to come in here and vote without being harassed.”
According to the report, Democrat Kate Cloonen is the incumbent in a tight race with Republican Lindsay Pankhurst for the state rep. Pankhurst said these reports of bribes for voting Democrat are “incredibly disturbing” and that it’s “truly deplorable when people try to corrupt our system in this manner.”
Cloonen hasn’t responded to the allegations of voter fraud revolving around people being offered bribes to vote for Democrats. However, a few other local Democrats on the ballot have voiced their concern about voter fraud in the election. Democrat union reps Gary Ciaccio and Mike Smith, as well as former state Rep. Lisa Dugan, released a joint statement alleging that voters have been illegally turned away from the polls.
“We know many legally registered voters have been turned away from voting over the last few days,” they said. “Since early voting for the 2016 General Election began just a few short days ago, there have been numerous reports and eyewitness accounts of harassment and intimidation by local government officials of residents trying to participate in the democratic process of voting.”
“Voter fraud is very rare by all accounts,” said @wolfblitzer interviewing @KellyannePolls. He shd read this–>https://t.co/1FMT3zcKLv
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 17, 2016
It’s a felony to try to coerce or influence a voter. Boyd said the clerk’s office won’t be handing out “I voted” stickers this election as a deterrent in vote-buying efforts.
Voter fraud is heavily covered in the media, as the country is just weeks away from the presidential election. Many experts say voter fraud is extremely rare, while other news outlets report it as being more common than anyone realizes.
There are a number of hoaxes playing on people’s fears, notably one in which an alleged Ohio postal worker claimed he was opening up mail and tearing up ballots that had votes for Donald Trump on them. It was widely covered in the news after actor Scott Baio spotted his tweet and responded to it. Baio, a vocal Trump supporter, tagged Ohio Governor John kasich to look into it. The Inquisitr published a report on that story here. The Twitter user’s claims are being investigated, but it appears to be a hoax.
[Featured Image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
