Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt said there’s no evidence of any dead people voting in his city, despite rumors about voter fraud interfering in the integrity of the 2020 election.
“I have seen the most fantastical things on social media, making completely ridiculous allegations that have no basis in fact at all and see them spread,” Schmidt said Wednesday on CNN.
The Republican commissioner pointed to a report claiming that a number of dead voters cast ballots in Philadelphia.
“So, when we took a break between everything else that we’re doing, we looked it up, each one of them to see what their vote history was. Not a single one of them voted in Philadelphia after they died,” Schmidt said.
Pennsylvania is among a handful of states being disputed by President Trump, who is alleging voter fraud undermined a potential victory for him. Trump is moving towards legal action in a number of states after several media outlets declared Joe Biden the presumptive President-elect on Saturday. The president has not yet conceded to Biden.
On Wednesday, Trump attacked Schmidt in a tweet, accusing him of being a Republican-in-name-only, or RINO.
“A guy named Al Schmidt, a Philadelphia Commissioner and so-called Republican (RINO), is being used big time by the Fake News Media to explain how honest things were with respect to the Election in Philadelphia,” Trump tweeted. “He refuses to look at a mountain of corruption & dishonesty. We win!”
A guy named Al Schmidt, a Philadelphia Commissioner and so-called Republican (RINO), is being used big time by the Fake News Media to explain how honest things were with respect to the Election in Philadelphia. He refuses to look at a mountain of corruption & dishonesty. We win!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 11, 2020
Twitter issued a warning label on the president’s tweet, saying the claim about election fraud is disputed.
A handful of Republicans are alleging election fraud, but little evidence has surfaced to prove those accusations.
Schmidt added that Philadelphia still has 18,000 mail-in ballots and 18,000 provisional ballots left to count.
“It’s important that we all stay focused on our job, which is counting votes, cast on or before Election Day by eligible voters, which is something that should not be controversial,” Schmidt said.
