Hamilton County officials find themselves facing an unexpected distraction as they prepare for next month’s presidential election: a conspiracy theory that investments by Mitt Romney’s political allies in a voting machine company could rig Ohio’s results.The topic began gaining traction on the Internet earlier this month, propelled largely by left-wing websites spreading the idea that Romney-linked investments in Hart InterCivic, a Texas-based voting machine firm, could somehow jeopardize the accuracy of Ohio’s vote count on Nov. 6.
Like other conspiracy theories heard during the campaign – the slow-to-die questions over President Barack Obama’s birthplace, claims that the administration recently altered unemployment statistics, speculation that Romney was reluctant to release his income tax returns because he had shorted the Mormon church on his tithing – this one is heavy on rumor and light on facts.
That, however, has done nothing to halt its spread. Hamilton County Board of Elections officials have received dozens of calls and emails in recent weeks, as have Enquirer editors and reporters.
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