Rolling out a Twitter thread on US election on Sunday, Rasmussen Reports summarized it with a quote believed to be pronounced by the former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, prompting a wave of reactions from netizens.
“Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything. – Stalin,” the quote that appeared to rock Twitter began the thread in which the pollster suggested a scenario of Vice President Mike Pence being able to overturn the results of the Electoral College vote by refusing to certify the votes in the swing states.
The certification will take place on the joint session of the US Congress scheduled for 6 January - the one that Pence will be leading.
Apparently triggered by the suggestions that Pence might overturn the results of the vote and by the fact that this theory was supplied with the quote attributed to Stalin, netizens took to the thread to express their outrage.
It is not known for certain, however, whether Stalin uttered the quote, as there are different theories regarding the saying. Many believe that it was Napoleon III who said the words, after one of the plebiscites in France. Others also allege that the Soviet leader paraphrased the quote, saying that, when it comes to "bourgeois countries", "those who count the vote decide everything".
Outraged netizens, however, stick to their belief that the quote belongs to Stalin, suggesting that Rasmussen is encouraging Mike Pence to commit treason.
Some even called the scenario "a path to kill democracy".
Others just mocked the pollster for the theory, while many people pointed out that the scenario is not likely, referring to the US Constitution and praising Pence for "honesty".
The Electoral College vote that is to be certified on 6 January had electors handing 306 votes to Joe Biden, with his Republican rival Donald Trump receiving 232. The sitting president, however, has refused to concede and called Biden "a fake president", claiming that the election had been "rigged".