Charlie Webster insists he was trying to raise concerns about possible voter fraud but now he's backing away from those claims and saying he's "truly sorry," about how he said them.
Webster claimed earlier this week that, quote, "dozens of black people" registered to vote on Election Day in some rural Maine towns, calling that evidence of fraud because, quote, "nobody in town knows anybody who's black." Webster declined to name the towns.
According to the secretary of state's office, Charlie Summers, who was Webster's GOP vice chair at one point, expressed shock at Webster's claims, saying he's received no such complaints and is not investigating them. But Webster's words are erupting on-line right now, going viral nationally.
Webster issued this apology: "It was my intention to talk, not about race, but about perceived voting irregularities. However, my comments were made without proof of wrongdoing and they had the unintended consequence of casting aspersions on an entire group of Americans. For that, I am truly sorry."
He went on to say his comments were his, and his alone, and do not reflect the values of the Maine republican party. We'll see if this is the end of it.
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