“We Do Know That Dead People Vote” and “I’ve Been to All the Hotspots”

On June 13th, Greg from Madison, Georgia called in to say that we need to “get rid of the people who are no longer with us, who have passed away, because we do know that dead people vote.” In fact, dead people do not vote, that is, there is no evidence that the names of dead people are being fraudulently used to increase the votes for a certain candidate, but Republican Senator John Ashcroft did lose an election in 2000 to an opponent who had died in a plane crash 3 weeks before voters went to the polls, and there was voter fraud in the movie Black Sheep.

Seriously, while there’s obvious voter suppression in the United States, which is effectively election fraud, there’s really no evidence of what Greg or others, including the current Electoral College selection in the White House, believe or purport to believe about elections and voter fraud. The “issue” of impersonation fraud has been studied exhaustively. Between 2000 and 2014, out of 1 billion votes cast, there were 31 actual instances of voter fraud or impersonation. There appear to be more allegations and accusations than evidence. 

Greg also claimed that Pelosi and the Democrats are politicizing the pandemic and that he’s “been to all the hotspots” and hasn’t “gotten sick yet.” This begs the question: is it a hobby of his to travel to sick places? Lastly, he offered his scientific expertise to make us all aware that “if you’re wearing a mask over your face” and “wearing it right, you’re breathing in carbon dioxide because that’s what you breathe out.” In fact, people can be asymptomatic and carry COVID-19. There’s even a general consensus among experts that asymptomatic coronavirus carriers can spread the virus. As far as the mask comment, I assume Greg thinks wearing one is a joke and doesn’t protect people from transmitting the virus. Then how does one explain Germany’s 40% drop in infections due to mask-wearing?