Fact Check

Did Alabama State Police Arrest Three Poll Workers in Birmingham?

Reports that poll workers had been detained in connection with voter fraud during Alabama's December 2017 special election are just fake news.

Published Dec. 17, 2017

 (Wikipedia Commons)
Image Via Wikipedia Commons
Claim:
Three poll workers were arrested for voter fraud during Alabama's special election in December 2017.

Shortly after Doug Jones was declared the winner of Alabama’s special Senate election on 13 December 2017 (a feat accomplished by no other Democrat in 25 years), ReaganWasRight.com published a hoax article questioning the results of the election and appearing to report that three poll workers had been arrested for voter fraud:

Alabama State Police have arrested three women in Birmingham for allowing more than 3000 invalid votes for Doug Jones to processed through the polling station they had volunteered to operate. The State Attorney’s Division of Integrity in Elections is calling the acts of the women a “blatant disregard for the duties of civil servants, a violation of the public trust and a 2nd-degree felony.”

Wanda Werkmeister, Olivia Pertuiary, and Maureen Brown will all face charges of conspiracy to contribute to widespread voter fraud and violation of the public trust, both punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a million dollars in fines.

There is no truth to this story; ReaganWasRight.com is part of a network of fake news sites that have a history of publishing misinformation. It bills itself as a satire publication and carries a large "Satire" rating tag (as well as a definition of the word) at the bottom of all of its articles:

The web site also carries a disclaimer labeling all of its content as fiction:

Reagan Was Right is a whimsical playland of conservative satire.

[...]

Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.

Although Reagan Was Right clearly carries a disclaimer labeling its content as satire, its articles are frequently republished on web sites that make no distinction between fact and fiction. Many readers encountered this article, for instance, on the web site AmericanRevolution.co, which presented this work of fiction as if it were breaking news.

However, it is neither news nor breaking. Regardless of where this content is published, three poll workers were not arrested in Alabama for committing voter fraud during the state's special election in December 2017, and this story contains no truth.

Sources

Nilsen, Ella.   "Doug Jones is the first Democrat to win an Alabama Senate seat in 25 years."     Vox.   13 December 2017.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.