Republican Secretary of State Tom Schedler is defending Louisiana’s elections system, as President Donald Trump announced an investigation into voter fraud in the fall election.
The Associated Press reports Schedler released a statement today saying: “Louisiana did not have any widespread irregularities or allegations of fraud” during the 2016 presidential election.
The secretary of state outlined a list of requirements in Louisiana law for voters, including a photo ID law. Schedler described the requirements as “many layers of legal protection to shield us from voter fraud.”
“It is for the above reasons, and because we received no complaints or allegations of illegal citizens registering or voting on Election Day that I was able to, in good conscious, certify Louisiana’s election results,” he says.
Trump, who lost the popular vote, has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims about a rigged voting system, but his aides have provided no evidence.
Schedler says if an investigation finds evidence of voter fraud, it should be shared with states so “it can be cleaned-up and put to rest.”
“Do I believe there could be precincts in this country in which there are voters on the rolls who have moved out of state or have died? Yes, I do. And if a presidential investigation can produce evidence concerning this scenario or any other fraudulent activity it should be shared with the states so that it can be cleaned-up and put to rest,” Schedler says. “I can assure you that conducting free and fair elections will always be my top priority and if I feel that our laws are being broken by anyone, I will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
