President-elect Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of “voter fraud” may be problematic for those who have fought for voting rights, activist groups say. Although his claims are not substantive and voter fraud has been debunked in numerous studies, his claims give leverage to political leaders who fought to keep in place strict laws such as voter ID laws that disenfranchise minority voters.
“They don’t want us to participate in this democracy,” said Cristbal J. Alex, president of the Latino Victory Project. “We are gearing up for what will be the biggest fight of our lifetime.”
Over the weekend Trump took to Twitter to say that Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the election, only won the popular vote as a result of “millions of people who voted illegally.” And, during his campaign, he insisted the election was going to be “rigged.”