美国国家公共电台 NPR--Examining how the far right tore apart one of the best tools to fight voter fraud

Examining how the far right tore apart one of the best tools to fight voter fraud

Transcript¹

The Electronic Registration² Information Center — a multistate effort to fight voter fraud — was a rare bipartisan success story, until it was targeted by a far-right campaign to dismantle³ it.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR has learned the backstory to an unusual move against voter fraud. Republicans have made an issue of clean voter rolls for years. Even after thousands of election officials and dozens of courts affirmed the results of the 2020 election, some officials say they're concerned, and some have even been turning against a tool that is used to protect voting. States led by Republicans and Democrats⁵ alike use this tool called ERIC, and Miles Parks, what is that?

MILES PARKS, BYLINE⁶: So it stands for the Electronic Registration Information Center. Basically, it's a partnership⁷. It allows states to share data so that way, local election officials know when their voters move, when they die, and occasionally when they vote twice in federal elections, which is against the law.

INSKEEP: OK, so pretty straightforward⁸ there. Miles, by the way, is NPR's voting correspondent, and he's investigated one of the states that's abandoned this basic tool. Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin suddenly took his state out of the agreement. His decision shocked other secretaries of state, like Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who's a Democrat⁴ in New Mexico.

MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER: I've tried to have many conversations with him about it. In all frankness, I'm still not completely clear what the concerns were, and that remains⁹ to this day. It's not entirely¹⁰ clear to me.

INSKEEP: And it matters, because Ardoin's decision in Louisiana was the start of a chain reaction. Eight Republican-led states and counting have pulled out of this system called ERIC. Miles Parks and the NPR investigations¹² team have now found out what triggered it all. And Miles, what was it?

PARKS: A big part of it comes back to a far-right website called the Gateway¹³ Pundit¹⁴. This is a website that has pushed a number of conspiracy¹⁵ theories in the past, things - the birther theory about former President Barack Obama, misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines¹⁶. This website turned its attention in January 2022 to ERIC, something at the time no regular American had heard of, and it published a number of articles saying that ERIC was a left-wing plot funded by the liberal billionaire George Soros to register voters to help Democrats steal elections. None of this, of course, is true.

INSKEEP: It's a government program among states, right? It's not some private thing.

PARKS: Exactly. Each state has a member representative on it. And the partnership includes a number of Republican states.

INSKEEP: So what happened when the Gateway Pundit jumped on this supposed story?

PARKS: We analyzed¹⁷ a number of far-right social media sites and found that they began sharing this Gateway Pundit article widely. And Ardoin's decision to pull Louisiana out of ERIC referenced media reports, which seems directly linked to the Gateway Pundit. The other thing our investigation¹¹ found is that while Ardoin announced this decision quietly in a press release, he did bring his decision to pull Louisiana out of ERIC a small election integrity group in Houma, Louisiana. And we found video of this event on Facebook this week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KYLE ARDOIN: This week, I sent a letter to the Election Registration Information Center suspending Louisiana's participation¹⁸ in that program.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yes.

(APPLAUSE)

PARKS: Now, you can hear how thrilled these people are about Ardoin's decision. I should note, Ardoin declined to be interviewed. But our investigation found that these sorts of local election integrity groups really effectively put pressure on election officials across the country.

INSKEEP: So a small group of actual voters gets excited by this Gateway Pundit story. And the Louisiana secretary of state does something to please them. These are groups that are organized to talk about what they consider election integrity.

PARKS: Yeah, we've seen them pop up, motivated by former President Trump¹⁹'s lies about voting in 2020, all over the country. They have done trainings on how to be poll watchers. A number of them have done door-to-door canvassing²⁰ to try to find voter fraud. And then last year, we found a number of callouts where these groups mobilized their members and said, send emails, make phone calls to your state lawmakers to get them out of ERIC. Which brings us to a woman named Cleta Mitchell. Steve, you may remember her. She's an influential²¹ Republican election attorney. She worked with former President Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election. And she runs a network of these sorts of local election integrity groups all over the country. She also hosts a voting podcast, and she used both of those things to really push the anti-ERIC narrative²².

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CLETA MITCHELL: ERIC is a very insidious²³ organization. We want more citizens to say to their legislators, do not continue your membership, withdraw their membership.

INSKEEP: So some states have been pulling out of this organization that was a kind of compact between red states and blue states. Have you been able to talk with any of the election officials who did this?

PARKS: Yes, I talked at length with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. We talked about ERIC first in February. And when we talked, he was really concerned about the states, Louisiana and Alabama, at that point, who had pulled out.

FRANK LAROSE: You could see where somebody who's out there trying to prove their conservative bona fides in a primary, which is what you do, would say, OK, that thing is bad. Let's get our state out of it. Hopefully, over time the noise about this starts to die down and other states look to get back into it.

PARKS: He even called it one of the best fraud fighting tools that his office has. But then a month later, Ohio pulled out of ERIC as well, followed by five other states.

INSKEEP: Why?

PARKS: He was adamant²⁴ that it was about some issues with the organization and how it operated and said basically they weren't making changes. But it's important to note that none of these issues came up in the six years that Ohio was an ERIC member before the far right started targeting it. It's also worth noting, Steve, that LaRose, like many other Republican election officials in this story, is widely expected to run for Senate.

INSKEEP: What does this mean for the 2024 elections then?

PARKS: So I talked about that at length with Brianna Lennon. She's a county clerk in Boone County, Missouri. She's a Democrat. And Missouri is one of the states that has pulled out of ERIC. She said, put simply, her voter rolls are just going to be less up to date. There could be potentially longer lines at precincts, mail ballots²⁵ getting sent to the wrong places. But Lennon also said, as she looks ahead to 2024, she is just as concerned about what this entire ERIC saga²⁶ signals for the strength of the election denial movement.

BRIANNA LENNON: I'm sure there are going to be ripples²⁷ that come from this particular move. I'm not exactly sure what the end will be. I don't think this is an isolated²⁸ thing.

PARKS: Essentially²⁹, this whole thing presents a blueprint³⁰ for how a conspiracy can start on a far-right website and end up influencing policy in more than half a dozen states.

INSKEEP: NPR's Miles Parks, thanks so much.

PARKS: Thanks, Steve.

INSKEEP: And you can hear the full investigation in the podcast feeds of Up First and the NPR Politics podcast. And you can also find it at npr.org.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

3 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

13 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

14 pundit   

n.博学之人；权威

参考例句：

• Even the outstanding excellent graduate will learn constantly if he likes to be a pundit.即使最优秀的结业生，要想成为一个博学的人也要不断地研究。
• He is a well known political pundit.他是一个著名的政治专家。

15 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

16 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

17 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

19 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

20 canvassing   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He spent the whole month canvassing for votes. 他花了整整一个月四处游说拉选票。
• I'm canvassing for the Conservative Party. 我在为保守党拉选票。 来自辞典例句

21 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

22 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

23 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

24 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

25 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

27 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

28 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

29 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

30 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。