Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) pushed back against a prominent Trump ally’s Election Day claims of voter fraud Tuesday, insisting there were “no shenanigans” after a ballot scanning problem in Westchester County, part of his district, raised concerns.
During an appearance on CNN, host Wolf Blitzer confronted the New York Republican with an accusation from far-right activist Laura Loomer.
“Democrats are already trying to steal the election in New York today,” Loomer wrote.
But Lawler quickly dismissed the suggestion.
“Look, I’ve been very clear that there’s no shenanigans going on here,” Lawler said.
He explained that the problem stemmed from a barcode error: officials made a ballot change involving one municipality but didn’t apply it to all election districts across the county.
The error left scanners across the county unable to accept ballots, but Lawler emphasized that votes would still be counted. Earlier in the interview, he said the ballots would be taken to the county Board of Elections for centralized counting, with representatives from both parties present to observe.
“My message to everybody is: stay in line, cast your ballot,” Lawler said. “I don’t care what party you are. I don’t care who you’re voting for. Cast your ballot and make sure that your voice is heard in this election.”
Loomer was among several prominent Trump allies who seized on the Westchester problem to suggest Democrats were cheating. Trump himself pushed an unrelated fraud claim hours before polls opened, posting on Truth Social that Democratic lawyers in Alaska were “SCARED STIFF OF BEING PROSECUTED FOR ELECTION FRAUD” over an independent Senate candidate who shares a name with GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan. He offered no evidence.