Read the first two paragraphs of the News & Observer‘s article today about James O’Keefe’s latest video chronicling the threat of voter fraud in North Carolina, and you’re left with the impression that O’Keefe and his colleagues bungled their operation.
RALEIGH — In an undercover “sting” video that has caused a stir since debuting online last week, a national group led by conservative activist James O’Keefe cites the cases of three Wake County voters in an effort to show that it’s easy to commit voter fraud here.
The three examples used by Project Veritas, though, turned out to be wrong, according to elections officials and reporting by the News & Observer. And one family is upset that the name of their patriarch, who died in April, is being dragged into a political escapade.
But that’s not the end of the story. A widow whose husband’s name played a role in the O’Keefe video explains that she feels “violated.” Then the last two paragraphs of the article offer an interesting piece of information.
O’Keefe’s video won at least one person over to his viewpoint: Winifred Bolton said she feels that the way the poll workers handled the incident is proof of Veritas’ point.
“I told the people at the polls that,” she said. “I said this is exactly why you should require an ID.”
In other words, even a woman who had every reason to be angry about the video agreed with the message the video was designed to send.