Washington (CNN)Michigan's Republican primary for governor has been marred by a scandal over fake signatures on five candidates' nomination petitions.
Now a new campaign ad from Kevin Rinke, a businessman who is not among the five candidates facing disqualification, begins with a false claim about voter fraud and Democrats.
"Why is it that dead people always vote Democrat?" Rinke asks to start the ad.
The ad features a dash of comedy: a zombie stands beside Rinke wearing at least six "I Voted" stickers and what appears to be a shirt promoting the Biden-Harris campaign. But Rinke's assertion about dead people always voting for Democrats should still be taken seriously.
After the 2020 election, in which President Joe Biden fairly won Michigan by more than 150,000 votes, prominent Republicans including former President Donald Trump spread false allegations about Democrats having used deceased residents to steal victory in the state. And Rinke's ad bashes Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for supposedly failing to do anything to "fix voter fraud."
Voter fraud is exceedingly rare in Michigan and every other state. And Rinke's claim about dead people and Democrats is flat-out false.
Facts First: It's just not true that votes cast in the names of dead people are always cast for Democrats. Though the number of voter fraud cases involving the ballots of deceased people is tiny, there are recent cases in which such ballots were fraudulently cast either for Republican candidates --...
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