Voter Integrity Fund
| Formation | November 6, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Vote authentication |
| Location | |
| Leader | Matt Braynard |
| Website | {{URL|example.com|optional display text}} |
The Voter Integrity Fund (VIF) is an organization headed by analyst Matt Braynard, employing volunteer and contracted workers for a research study to check the validity of votes and voter registrations during the 2020 United States presidential election.[1] Braynard established the group in the weeks after the election, and crowdfunded donations to finance an investigation of the Trump campaign's allegations of electoral fraud. Election officials at the local, state, and federal level across the country have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud.[2][3]
Organization and operations[edit]
In November 2020, the Voter Integrity Fund investigative team included nine government employees on leave and former Trump campaign staffers who analyzed voter data gathered from six states. Braynard initiated the operation after a tweet he posted about publicly available voter registration and voting data prompted people to offer donations to fund an investigation into election irregularities.[4] The organization conducted its operations with a budget of $664,149 collected through GiveSendGo,[5] as the crowdfunding site GoFundMe refused to host the project.[6]
VIF purchased a dataset of voters from six U.S. states: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada. The group then cross-referenced names of people who voted absentee or by mail with the national address change registry and the Social Security death registry, seeking to identify instances of irregularities. The group contracted with call centers in Nevada, Iowa and Virginia to arrange for operators to follow up by contacting voters directly to confirm the details of absentee and vote-by-mail ballots.[7]
Legality[edit]
According to the Hatch Act, federal employees are prohibited from taking part in political activities while on duty. Braynard stated that all the federal officials working for the group took leave from their federal government jobs in order to work on the project.[8]
Findings[edit]
The group claimed that they had found evidence of possible fraud, but have not made their findings public.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Swaine, Jon; Rein, Lisa (15 November 2020). "The federal government's chief information security officer is helping an outside effort to hunt for alleged voter fraud". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ↑ Corasaniti, Nick; Epstein, Reid; Rutenberg, Jim (November 10, 2020). "The Times Called Officials in Every State: No Evidence of Voter Fraud". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ↑ Denean, Austin (November 12, 2020). "DHS agency: 'Nov. 3 election was most secure in American history'". ABC 3340. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
- ↑ Rushing, Ellie; Bender, William (13 November 2020). "Pro-Trump 'voter integrity' group that is calling Pennsylvania voters has ties to White House". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ↑ Serrano, Jody (8 November 2020). "GoFundMe Takes Down Campaign That Raised More Than $275,56 to Look for Imaginary Voter Fraud". Gizmodo Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ↑ Choi, Matthew (6 November 2020). "GoFundMe takes down conservative fundraiser's page for election misinformation". Politico. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ Rushing, Ellie; Bender, William (14 November 2020). "Voters in six states getting phone calls from pro-Trump 'voter integrity' group". Pittsburg Post-Gazette. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ↑ Clary, Greg (15 November 2020). "Top federal information security officer also member of private group investigating voter fraud". CNN. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
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