Claims of 'voter fraud' have a long history in America. And they are false | David Litt

Trump is not the first politician to push the voter-fraud myth for his political advantage, but he must be the last

Texas's lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, was supposed to be a whole lot poorer by now.

On 11 November, eight days after the presidential election and four days after the networks called the race for Joe Biden, the conservative talk radio host turned Republican politician launched a bounty hunt. Any tipsters who could provide evidence of voter fraud that led to a criminal conviction would receive at least $25,000, up to a grand total of $1m. The money was set to come from Patrick's campaign, not his personal account. Still, the point remains: if voter fraud was rampant, as President Trump and leading Republicans have repeatedly claimed, Patrick's million-dollar fund should have run dry long ago.