Ex-WI GOP lawmaker fights election misinformation while opposing group insists 'fraud is rampant'

Ex-Wisconsin Republican state senator Kathy Bernier wants to help "restore trust in" politicians and the "outcomes of elections," and she's doing that as leader of non-partisan organization Keep Our Republic, The Guardian reports.

Meanwhile, according to the news outlet, another group — North of 29 — "spreads a dire message about elections: they aren't secure, fraud is rampant, and the only way to ensure correct election results is to return to hand-counting ballots."

The report notes that "The available research, including a 2018 study focusing on voting in Wisconsin, overwhelmingly shows voting machines tally votes much faster and more accurately than a human could by hand."

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The Guardian reports:

It is difficult to ascertain the relative impacts of Bernier's group, which debunks elections falsehoods, and North of 29, which spreads them. But confusion about the behind-the-scenes of elections and an appetite for explanations in Wisconsin, a swing state known for delivering razor-thin margins during statewide races, has created an environment for both groups to draw in voters.

The news outlet also notes that "Groups similar to North of 29 appear to be active across the country. Efforts to spread unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud and promote a return to counting ballots by hand, driven largely by volunteers and local rightwing political groups, are aided by prominent figures such as the MyPillow founder, Mike Lindell."

University of Wisconsin journalism professor Mike Wagner, who is also a misinformation researcher said, "If you trust someone and think they should be the leader of the free world and they tell you, 'you were lied to and this [election] was stolen,' it's not surprising that some people believe that."

Bernier told The Guardian she's not concerned about "groups like North of 29," insisting, "I try not to keep track of them because they are so irrelevant, in my mind," adding that her goal "is to educate the electorate on our electoral system and its checks and balances, to assure people that when the election results are in, they are factual and you can count on that."

READ MORE: Wisconsin’s Trump enablers are still undermining democracy

All Voting is Local Executive Director Hannah Fried, on the other hand, told the news outlet that she is "concerned about the trend," noting “Machine tabulation has become the gold standard."

She added, “What we don't want to see is localities trying to implement hand-counting before machine tabulation, based on conspiracy theories."

The Guardian's full report is available at this link.