Is a "Louder with Crowder" video that shows vacant lots at voter addresses in Nevada and Michigan proof of voter fraud? No, that's not true: Lead Stories dug into the Nevada data and found at least two types of mistakes. In some instances, host Steven Crowder reported names and addresses that do not match Nevada voter records. In other instances, it appears the addresses on file with election officials contain typos or clerical errors. Neither instance is evidence of fraud or mass fraud on its face.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted to YouTube on February 23, 2021. The post was titled: "PROOF: We Went to Fake Voter Addresses! | Louder With Crowder." Near the start of the video, Crowder said:
I can confirm to you that these people, who may not be real people, voted from addresses that do not exist.
Click below to watch the video on YouTube:
At the start of the roughly 30-minute video, Crowder explained what he and his team did to gather the information presented in the video: They pulled voter data from government websites, he said, and then checked if mail could be delivered there. Next, they checked if there were registered properties at the addresses and, finally, they physically visited the sites. The cases they highlighted were those where the team said they found vacant lots and abandoned buildings at what were supposed to be voter addresses, Crowder said. He concluded:
Every single one we went to was bullsh**, not some. You are seeing every single address we visited.
Much later in the video, he said:
It matters to be accurate. It matters to be truthful, because it makes it too easy for these things to be dismissed ... There is mass voter fraud. There is evidence of mass voter fraud, but the evidence that was presented before and after January 6, in many cases, it was just ill-founded, it was lazy. It was poorly done.
On Twitter, Crowder claimed:
DOZENS of voter names, addresses, and pictures proving they don't exist. Period. Today I'm tired of this shit. Mass voter fraud is real and I can prove it. 10AM ET. #LwC
-- Steven Crowder (@scrowder) February 23, 2021
Fraud is intentional deceit that has as its goal the theft of property or of rights. Crowder's video commits some of the same kinds of errors found in voter records: typos and mis-matches that are a common weakness of human record-keeping and don't prove fraud per-se.
Although he speculated that there are "thousands, potentially hundreds of thousands" of questionable addresses, Crowder addressed approximately 20 in the video, noting the significant amount of time and legwork it takes to check addresses. Lead Stories won't argue that. The addresses his team checked were in two places: Clark County, Nevada and Detroit, Michigan. Lead Stories has so far only gotten enough information to check the Nevada claims.
Lead Stories reached out to "Louder with Crowder" to ask for the list of voter names and addresses they checked to see if we could reproduce their findings. Staff of the show sent their list. We dug first into the data in Nevada, comparing the names and addresses reported by Crowder to publicly available information from Clark County.
Lead Stories found at least two types of mistakes. In some instances, Crowder mistakenly reported on names and addresses that do not match what's in public voter records. In other instances, a county official told Lead Stories, it appears the addresses on file for the voters contain typos or clerical errors.
Hyperlinked time-codes in this article take the reader directly to that point in the video.
At 2 minutes, 35 seconds, Crowder examined the records of voter Kelly Lynne Faust at "579 Jackson Ave." That's not the address on file for Faust. In Clark County voter records, Faust's address is 579 Jackson Drive.
Courtney Kirchoff, director of digital communications at Blaze Media, said that error was a simple copy/paste issue on their end. "Louder with Crowder" licenses its show to Blaze Media. In an email to Lead Stories, dated February 26, 2021, she wrote:
The name of the person who lives at 579 Jackson Avenue is actually Aaron Joseph Ray. This address doesn't seem to exist as we demonstrated in the video.
Lead Stories confirmed Kirchoff's statement, checking to find voter records that indicate there is, in fact, a voter named Aaron Ray listed at 579 Jackson Avenue.
At 5 minutes, 24 seconds, Crowder examined the registration of Michael Travis Carmon at 215 South Casino Center Boulevard. Crowder is correct that this address appeared alongside this voter, but public records also indicate a second address for the voter: 915 South Casino Center Boulevard. Crowder's team did not report that it checked that second address, but on Google Maps, it appears to be an apartment complex.
In her email, Kirchoff said that her team is planning to send someone out in the coming days to check the second address, as well a number of other questionable addresses in the area.
On Twitter, Crowder similarly promised an update:
Lots of misinformation surrounding our voter fraud segment. Some interesting updates coming Monday. Hold onto your butts.
-- Steven Crowder (@scrowder) February 25, 2021
At 11 minutes, 12 seconds, he introduced a voter by the name of Christina Joy Ruaya Gupana, who Crowder claimed was registered at "353 West Bonneville," another vacant site. That's not correct. According to public records, that voter's address is listed as 353 East Bonneville Avenue.
Kirchoff said it appears the record was changed shortly after the "Louder with Crowder" show aired and that her team is continuing to investigate. She sent screenshots showing the record changed and, in fact, the public file indicated activity on February 24, 2021. We reached out to Clark County to confirm whether the address had changed. We did not immediately hear back and will update this report, as appropriate, when we do.
At 13 minutes, 3 seconds, Crowder examined the records of voter Charles Delgado at 5512 Doe Ave. Crowder is correct in saying that address was listed for that voter, but public records showed a second address for Delgado: 8635 West Sahara. Crowder's team did not report that it checked that second address. Kirchoff, in her email, said that 8635 West Sahara is a mailbox pick-up address, which is consistent with what Lead Stories found there by using Google Maps.
At 13 minutes, 13 seconds, Crowder introduced voter Steven Philip Pingpank by saying "that really seems like a B.S. name." He claimed Pingpank voted from "7801 Gomer Road." But, according to public records, Crowder mis-read the address. Clark County records say the address at which Pingpank is registered is 7445 Gomer Road. Lead Stories spoke to Pingpank by phone to learn he is a real person.
This was another case, according to Kirchoff, where the voter record was changed after the show aired. Records do in fact indicate activity in that Clark County file on February 24, 2021. Again, we reached out to Clark County to confirm whether the address had changed. We did not immediately hear back. The show visited 7745 Gomer Road, although Crowder incorrectly reported the address as 7801 Gomer Road during the show, Kirchoff said.
Next, let's consider the cases that appear to have contained typos. In each of the following four cases, Kirchoff conceded that there could have been clerical errors, but stressed such errors are still an issue worth noting. She asked:
If anything, with all these potential clerical errors, a problem is highlighted: how can these votes be corroborated if the addresses are still off? Even if they're off due to human error. Why is it only now we're all checking these addresses, shouldn't they have been checked before elections take place?
At 3 minutes, 14 seconds, Crowder discussed the records of Susan Rae Emery at 1732 Yale Street. This appears to be a misprint, according to Dan Kulin, spokesman for the Clark County. The correct address is likely 1731 Yale Street, which is the address for Rose Gardens, a senior housing community. Lead Stories reached out to Rose Gardens to see if anyone there could confirm Emery lived there. A representative declined, citing privacy concerns.
At 3 minutes, 55 seconds, Crowder discussed the records of voter Maria Susana Lopez at 1009 South 17th Street. That similarly appears to be a typo, Kulin said. The address is believed to be 1009 North 17th Street, which is a home.
At 4 minutes, 32 seconds, Crowder discussed the records of voter Stephanie Marie Ramelli, which show her at at 221 North Bruce Street. The correct address is likely 221 South Bruce Street, according to Kulin. That "South" address is the address for an apartment complex.
At 9 minutes, 6 seconds, Crowder discussed the records of voter Adele Bishop at 2175 West Agate Avenue. That's probably also a misprint. The correct address appears to be 2675 West Agate Avenue, Kulin said. That 2675 address links to senior apartments.
In an email to Lead Stories, dated February 25, 2021, Kulin explained the apparent discrepancies:
It appears that whomever put together this information made some errors, as they provided some addresses that do not match what is in the voter records. These appear to be typos or clerical errors on their part. (For example, Jackson Ave. vs. Jackson Drive.)
There also appears to be instances in which there was a typo or clerical error in our records, which could have been made by the voter or our staff.
Lead Stories is looking into Crowder's claims about voter addresses in Michigan. We will update this fact-check, as appropriate, when we learn more.
