Republicans divided over election irregularities should start with common facts

Congressional Republicans remain sharply divided over objecting to the counting of states’ Electoral College votes this week. Nearly three-quarters of Republican voters believe that the election results are inaccurate, and lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz, have cited such views as the reason why they intend to object on Wednesday.

When stories of the 2020 election are covered in the press, they usually come with assurances such as, “There has been no evidence of election fraud.” Sometimes, the statement is carefully couched, such as, “There has not been evidence of fraud widespread enough to overturn the election,” but the message is clear. It is also evidently not a message that is persuasive to many Republican voters.