Republicans spend a lot of time ranting about the imaginary threat of voter fraud.

It doesn’t matter that lightning strikes and shark attacks are more frequent than instances in which someone casts an illegal ballot under another name.

Or that there were only four documented cases of voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election, with half of them being by supporters of President Donald Trump who voted for him multiple times.

Or that Trump’s own White House admitted it has no evidence of voter fraud.

Despite these facts, numerous Republicans baselessly blamed voter fraud after Democrats routed Republicans in last month’s midterm elections.


But strangely enough, none of the Republicans who were very worried about imaginary voter fraud have had anything to say about what appears to be a real instance of election fraud in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district.

Republican candidate Mark Harris’ 905-vote lead is in question after the state’s Board of Elections refused to certify the results earlier this week, citing an investigation into possible election fraud over voting irregularities and allegations of ballot tampering.

An “independent contractor” with the GOP campaign reportedly paid women to collect absentee ballots and deliver them directly to him instead of putting them in the mail.

Since Republicans who recently seemed so concerned about imagined cases of voter fraud don’t seem to have much to say about the allegations in North Carolina, ThinkProgress contacted each of them.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump and Melania Trump vote in New York, New York on November 8, 2016. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

The president — who bizarrely claimed people could put on disguises to vote multiple times and a “new Election” might be needed after “Theft” in Arizona and Florida last month — is yet to comment on the latest developments in the Tar Heel State.


Trump has blamed receiving nearly three million fewer votes than his Democratic opponent in 2016 on “millions” of imaginary illegal ballots.

The White House did not respond to ThinkProgress’ questions about whether Trump was as worried about the allegations in North Carolina as his other invented accusations.

However, the president of the United States — the world’s most prominent promoter of baseless conspiracy theories — is not alone.

Many supposedly more “reasonable” Republicans who recently warned of imaginary voter fraud are staying silent about North Carolina.

Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan during the certification of Electoral College votes on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2017. (Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently suggested there was something fishy about California — the largest state with around 25 million eligible voters — needing weeks to count all of its ballots, many of which require additional verification after being sent by mail, even though this occurs during every election.


The Republican congressman’s staff didn’t respond to ThinkProgress’ inquiries about a GOP operative reportedly tampering with ballots in North Carolina.

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio votes in Miami, Florida on October 31, 2016. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) was mad online after the midterms, claiming Democrats were trying “to steal a seat in the U.S. Senate” by ensuring all of the votes were counted in the Sunshine State.

The Florida senator has not addressed the controversial North Carolina race on Twitter, and his staff didn’t respond to ThinkProgress’ questions about it.

Rick Scott

Rick Scott at a rally in Orlando, Florida on November 2, 2018. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Florida’s outgoing Gov. Rick Scott (R) blamed “unethical liberals” for supposed fraud for wanting all of the ballots to be counted before results were made official in his race to unseat Sen. Bill Nelson (D).

The now senator-elect apparently only invokes allegations of electoral improprieties when it personally benefits him, as he hasn’t commented on the shady North Carolina congressional race and his staff didn’t answer inquiries from ThinkProgress.

Kris Kobach

Kris Kobach at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. on July 19, 2017. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) has made his career off of baseless voter fraud claims.

After Kobach served as the vice chair of Trump’s defunct voter fraud commission, the commission disbanded because it found no evidence of voter fraud in the 2016 election.

A Kansas judge also struck down Kobach’s voter ID law, shortly after his “expert witness” admitted there was no evidence of voter fraud. That lawsuit also featured Kobach being held in contempt of court for disobeying the judge, ordered to attend remedial classes for failing to comprehend basic legal concepts, and criticized for plagiarizing the ACLU.

Kobach, who has been laying low since losing Kansas’ gubernatorial election last month despite Trump’s endorsement, hasn’t commented on North Carolina’s questionable congressional race. His staff didn’t respond to ThinkProgress’ questions.

Mimi Walters

Mimi Walters on Capitol Hill on May 16, 2018. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA) said Democrats were trying to “steal” her seat and overturn “the will of the voters” when vote totals put Rep.-elect Katie Porter (D-CA) ahead for good in Orange County’s 45th congressional district.

Voter fraud is apparently no longer on the top of the California Republican’s mind now that she has under a month remaining in Congress, as the Republican’s staff didn’t respond to ThinkProgress’ questions about the disputed North Carolina election.

Yvette Herrell

Yvette Herrell and Kellyanne Conway in an image that was tweeted on October 30, 2018. (Yvette4congress/Twitter)

New Mexico state Rep. Yvette Herrell (R) gave a victory speech on Election Day, even though Rep.-elect Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) was later declared the winner. Perhaps out of embarrassment, Herrell has made baseless claims about “over 100 documented complaints” of irregularities and “8,000 ballots that came up out of nowhere.”

The New Mexico Republican hasn’t commented on the shady North Carolina congressional race as her campaign continues to inspect ballots in the election that she lost, and her staff didn’t respond to inquiries from ThinkProgress.