CLAIM: Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Claire Woodall was recently fired for her role in rigging the 2020 presidential election.
AP Assessment: Incorrect. said a spokesman for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson Removal of Woodall Adding “no indication of election irregularities” to the 2020 vote for Milwaukee, it had nothing to do with how the election was run. He cited internal issues as the reason for the termination, which raised concerns.
The facts: With the 2024 election just six months away, social media users continue to promote false claims of election fraud in 2020, most recently with the spotlight on Wisconsin.
“Claire Woodall, Milwaukee Elections Director Replaced Just 6 Months Before Presidential Election,” reads an X-Post. “The reason? The mainstream media says there’s nothing to see, but some reports say otherwise. Clair printed 64,000 ballots in a back room at Milwaukee’s City Hall and random employees for the 2020 presidential election. filled them in. Biden won by 20,649 votes over Trump in Wisconsin.
The post had nearly 26,000 likes and more than 12,700 shares as of Monday.
Johnson Replaced Woodall On May 6, in a surprise move, announced that his deputy, Paulina Gutierrez, would be in charge of the Election Commission. But the change has nothing to do with how Woodall ran in elections, including in 2020.
Johnson’s spokesman, Jeff Fleming, said the reason for the firing was “related to internal issues with the Election Commission office and city government that raised concerns.” He declined to say what the issues were.
“People look at this side of the camera, but there are other things on the other side of the camera that I have to deal with and that’s exactly what I did with my decision.” Johnson told WISN-TV. He declined to elaborate.
Neither Woodall nor Gutierrez returned messages from the AP seeking comment on the shakeup.
Milwaukee has been the focus of attention in Wisconsin, a state known for close elections and where four of the last six presidential contests have been decided by less than one percent.
In 2020, former President Donald Trump and others began crying foul after late results from Democratic-majority Milwaukee helped President Joe Biden carry the state by just under 21,000 votes. Trump called for a recount. Biden’s victory confirmed.
Shortly after the 2020 election, Woodall was targeted with unsubstantiated claims that he printed tens of thousands of ballots to swing the election in Biden’s favor. The claims were part of a December 2021 trial It was alleged that Woodall was part of a “cult” that “printed ballots for Biden in the back conference room” of Milwaukee City Hall. He was dismissed. After the plaintiff failed to appear in court in February 2023.
Asked if Woodall’s ouster was related to the false allegations, Fleming told The Associated Press in an email: “Absolutely not. There is no indication of any election fraud in any of the Milwaukee elections. Is.
Fleming further confirmed that claims that Woodall helped rig the 2020 election by hiding ballots “in the back room of City Hall in Milwaukee” are false, adding that he believes City Hall has printing capabilities. does not exist either.
Other unsubstantiated rumors put Woodall at the center of voter fraud schemes involving misplaced flash drives, ballot clipping and citizens voting without photo ID. As a result, he received several threatening messages. News Reports On time.
Kimberly Zapata, Woodall’s former deputy, was. Sentenced to probation. And Vidal was fined $3,000 just a week after the replacement was announced. She was convicted. Malpractice in office and fraud to obtain fake absentee ballots in October 2022. The former election official argued that she was acting as a whistleblower.
In Wisconsin, Biden’s 2020 Winning by about 21,000 votes The recount has been contested by several state and federal lawsuits, an audit by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau and a review by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative activist law firm. Associated Press review Wisconsin and other battleground states also found little fraud in the election for Trump.
Biden Won the 2020 election.but his success has been followed by persistent, unsubstantiated allegations of fraud by Trump.
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This is part of AP’s effort to address the widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP..
Credit : apnews.com
