Actress and activist Alyssa Milano suggested that third-party votes in the Ohio special congressional election Tuesday evening could be the result of “Russian meddling.”
In a close race, GOP candidate Troy Balderson led Democrat Danny O’Connor in a special election for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District on Tuesday evening. Balderson obtained 1,754 more votes than O’Connor. There are still 3,435 provisional ballots must still be counted, according to the New York Times. There are also more than 5,000 absentee ballots that were mailed to voters but not returned as of election day.
Green Party candidate Joe Manchik secured approximately 1,127 votes, per the New York Times.
“You know what sucks? Because of our unwillingness to pass policy that protects our election integrity, I immediately think the Green Party votes tonight are Russian Meddling,” Milano tweeted Tuesday evening. “Why else would anyone cast a protest vote in Ohio when there’s so much at stake?”
You know what sucks?
Because of our unwillingness to pass policy that protects our election integrity, I immediately think the Green Party votes tonight are Russian meddling.
Why else would anyone cast a protest vote in Ohio when there’s so much at stake?#OH12
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) August 8, 2018
Milano’s comments come after several senior intelligence and national security officials recently said that Russia is conducting a “pervasive campaign” against future U.S. elections, but noted that the Trump administration is implementing precautionary measures to mitigate the interference.
“The intelligence community continues to be concerned, both about the midterms and the 2020 presidential elections. We continue to see a pervasive campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States,” Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told reporters last week.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign attributed Balderson’s lead to President Trump’s support for the candidate.
“Clearly, the President’s support was pivotal in GOP primaries yesterday,” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement Wednesday. “Also, there is no doubt that Donald Trump was the deciding factor in the election of a great candidate, Troy Balderson.”
