President Obama rebukes claims of voter fraud as 'fake news'

In his final press conference as commander in chief, President Obama was most animated when discussing the idea of widespread U.S. voter fraud -- an idea he rebuked as "fake news."

While the 44th president also discussed his commutation of Chelsea Manning's sentence, outlook on LGBT rights progress and the effects of the recent election on daughters Sasha and Malia, Obama appeared most interested in discussing the nation's history of voter disenfranchisement.

"This whole notion of voting fraud, this is something that has constantly been disproved," stated President Obama. "This is fake news."

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Weeks after his 2016 election victory, President-elect Donald Trump tweeted claims of "serious voter fraud" in New Hampshire, Virginia and California. He then went on to say he would have won the popular vote if "you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."

President Obama shot down these claims in his Wednesday press conference, saying America "has the opposite problem."

"We are the only country in the advanced world that makes it harder to vote rather than easy," said President Obama.

The president went on to note America's history of restrictive voting laws that trace back to the Jim Crow era and legacy of slavery.

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"I hope that people pay a lot of attention to making sure that everybody has a chance to vote," said President Obama, addressing the surge of voters who felt "forgotten" turning out for Donald Trump in the 2016. "Make it easier, not harder."

The president expressed worry over political gerrymandering, saying, "The idea that we put in place a whole bunch of barriers to people voting doesn't make."