Joe Hockey's Dubious Claims on US Voter Fraud

Strategic Insights -

Australians, including Joe Hockey, are spreading unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the US presidential election. The former treasurer and ambassador to the US told a Sydney radio station that there were "plenty of good reason" to challenge the results, despite acknowledging that electoral fraud was unlikely to change the outcome. Hockey's claims were rebuked by Labor leader Anthony Albanese, who said they "don't help" the Australian public's understanding of the US election. This reaction comes as other Australian politicians, including Nationals MP George Christensen and One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts, have also expressed skepticism about the vote count.

Key Takeaways:

  • Joe Hockey stated that there were "plenty of good reason" for Donald Trump and the Republican campaign team to challenge the US presidential election results, despite acknowledging that electoral fraud was unlikely to change the outcome.
  • Hockey claimed that the US electoral system was "a complete dog's breakfast" and that electoral fraud was possible, but doubted that it was enough to change the election outcome.
  • In response to the question of whether electoral fraud was possible, Hockey replied, "Oh for sure," but noted that it was "hard to believe" that Biden's margin of victory in DC was consistent with previous election results.
  • Hockey's claims were rebuked by Labor leader Anthony Albanese, who said that Biden's results in DC were "pretty consistent" with previous outcomes and that there was no reason to question the legitimacy of the vote.
  • Nationals MP George Christensen posted on Facebook that he had not accounted for Democrat vote fraud in his prediction that Trump would win, and falsely attributed spikes in tallies in Wisconsin and Michigan to "dodgy extra votes."
  • Christensen's post was flagged by Facebook as "missing context," and linked to a fact-check by Politifact that explained the spikes were caused by counties releasing results from batches of votes.

Statistics:

  • 91% of voters in the District of Columbia voted for Joe Biden in the 2016 election, 91% in 2012, and 92% in 2008.
  • 83% of voters in Hockey's own seat of North Sydney voted for him.

Sources:

  • Sydney's 2GB radio station
  • Politifact
  • Facebook
  • The Australian newspaper
  • AP News