Arizona Republicans so-called audit of the 2020 election is a charade driven by conspiracy theories and outright lies that has no chance of overturning Donald Trumps loss to President Joe Biden.

But half of Republican voters have bought into the former presidents lies anyway, and believe the audit could generate the sort of evidence that leads to Trumps eventual reinstatement as president, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday.

The poll, which asked 1,994 registered voters nationwide about a wide range of topics, found that 51% of registered Republican voters think the audit will uncover the sort of information that could change the outcome of the election. The figure is identical among self-identified Trump voters. Another recent Politico/Morning Consult poll found that 29% of GOP voters think it is likely that the audit and others like it will result in Trumps return to office. The same share of GOP voters believe Arizona-type reviews will definitely lead to a new election result, an outcome that is impossible under the U.S. Constitution.

The Republican Partys nominal leaders in Washington arent questioning the results of the election or promoting the audit in any way. When we asked Republican senators if they planned to attend Trumps reinstatement ceremony this summer, they laughed and said no. (Except for Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who said he hadnt heard about it.)

But the idea of a second coming of the Trump presidency is something lots of Republican voters seem to take seriously, and people like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would rather badmouth Biden than lead their base to the truth.

Meanwhile, Trump has reportedly told associates he will be reinstated as president in August, and he puts out several statements a week saying the election was stolen. On Monday, he threatened Pennsylvania Republicans who didnt support an audit: What went on in Philadelphia and other areas of the State must be properly and legally exposed.