We are less than a week out from Election Day, which means the election deniers and anti-voting activists are in overdrive, pushing false claims that Democrats are rigging the vote. And President Donald Trump’s offer to pay $1 million for reports of voter fraud that lead to convictions is fueling the fire. Also in this week’s Eye On The Right: Tina Peters’ big 60 Minutes segment pissed everyone off; our quote of the week comes from Libs of TikTok, notes from the Twilight Zone, and more.
Voter fraud conspiracies ramp up after Trump’s $1 million bounty announcement
With only days to spare until Election Day — and an increasingly dire forecast for Republicans — Trump and the most vocal anti-voting activists are pushing false claims of voter fraud to the max. Trump offered a $1 million bounty to “anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election,” leading to a conviction.
Election deniers are trying to cash in on the president’s offer. And it’s producing some of the most misleading anti-voting conspiracies I’ve seen in quite a while.
“Mr. President, there are thousands of non-citizens on the voter rolls in Pennsylvania,” conservative activist Scott Presler wrote in response to the president’s bounty. Presler claims to have compared jury lists with voter rolls, which election officials have repeatedly said is an unreliable method of identifying noncitizens registered to vote.
In Minnesota, a social media account tied to failed GOP gubernatorial candidate and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell resurfaced an old, debunked Project Veritas videopurporting to reveal ballot harvesting.
Another popular election conspiracy account called The SCIF shared a false claim alleging that “Maine shipped sensitive election materials, including 498 blank ballot envelopes to a Soros-funded non-profit NGO in Maryland.”
Jerome Corsi — a prominent election denier who tends to overplay his ties to Trump and the White House — claimed on Steve Bannon’s show that he and Peter Ticktin, a close ally, have “a real-time database across 47 states monitoring each registered voter and every mail-in ballot.” Corsi said that they “can tell candidates how many likely illegal ballots are being counted.” Reader: This is just simply not possible.
We can expect false claims to ramp up even more as Election Day nears — but I think the really dangerous conspiracies will emerge in the aftermath of the election, as states begin certifying votes. ➤More on Trump’s $1 million voter fraud bounty
Far-right influencer Libs of TikTok shared a video claiming that California is rigging the vote because mail-in ballots contain a hole. The hole is a tool for visually impaired votersto orient their ballot so they can sign in the right place. These are deeply unserious people.
What was the point of 60 Minutes’ Tina Peters segment?
No one is happy about Tina Peters’ big segment on 60 Minutes this week.
The former GOP clerk convicted for her role in a 2021 voting system breach driven by election conspiracy theories was the subject of a segment on the CBS program, which focused on the great lengths Trump went to try to get her out of prison. Peters was charged with state, not federal, crimes, so he had little to do except pressure Gov. Jared Polis (D), who caved and commuted her sentence in May.
It should come as no surprise that 60 Minutes — which has been in a complete tailspin since Bari Weiss was put in charge of CBS News — totally botched the segment. Peters and her allies are pissed that it didn’t vindicate her false and deranged claims about voting machines. More importantly, voting rights advocates and election officials are rightly angry that CBS platformed a dangerous conspiracy theorist. All of this makes me wonder: Who was this for?
“Hummmm it appears 60 Minutes is trying to cash in on …what did they call me?” Peters wrote on social media, apparently mad they called her an election denier. “Stay tuned while I set the record straight on their heavy editing to distort the truth. Coming up… wait for it! Shame on you from (sic) profiteering off of my incarceration and pain.”
“Tina Peters continues to sow distrust in our free and fair elections,” Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) chimed in on social media. “She's guilty as sin and a disgrace to Colorado.”
Meanwhile, 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker interviewed Polis, who continued to defend his decision to pardon Peters — even after she’s shown no remorse for her actions and continues to spread dangerous anti-voting conspiracy theories.
“I hope that she understands that what she did was wrong,” Polis told Whitaker.
From The Bulwark: Presler may have violated Pennsylvania election law by letting out-of-state voters vote from his home, per a review of financial documents, voting records, and social media.
Former DOJ pardon attorney Ed Martin claims the White House is releasing new UFO files and said, “Aliens can never vote again.” I think he's trying to make a joke, but this guy doesn't do humor well.
Today's newsletter was edited by Andrew Wyrich and Zachary Roth, and produced by Leila Fusenig. Learn more about our staff here.
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