A crusader against phantom voter fraud led the official election probe.

Evidence

Kris Kobach, the Republican Kansas secretary of state who is identified as “the man behind Trump’s voter-fraud obsession,” and who is a fierce champion of punitive voting restrictions, was appointed vice-chair of the commission. His history of inventing legal obstacles to registration and voting, of disenfranchising voters over technicalities, and of intimidating would-be voters should have been disqualifying. But we are no longer surprised by the hijacking of institutions for conspiracist purposes or the manufacture of ad hoc arenas for “investigating” conspiracist allegations. The commission is a prime example of a “quixotic search for nonexistent evidence.” — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 356

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A pastor who would face election fraud allegations was hailed as godly leadership — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 75; Political actors can legitimize conspiracy theories by inspiring new investigation into them — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 432; Party officials uniquely positioned to rebut conspiracism instead acquiesce for electoral survival — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 329

Broader Connections

• Political actors can legitimize conspiracy theories by inspiring new investigation into them #exemplifies (0.85) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 432
• Party officials uniquely positioned to rebut conspiracism instead acquiesce for electoral survival #responds-to (0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 329