Elephant’s Ear - August 2024
This column is intended to answer the biggest political questions of the day. All truth. No holds barred!
What do YOU want to know? (Submit your question to elephantsear.column@gmail.com)
Election integrity is a matter of people believing - and wanting to believe - in fair elections. Where there are people who want power and control, however, NOTHING will stand in their way. They WILL find a way to rig elections!
Here are just a few ways to “rig” elections – some “legal”, some not. These include (but are not limited to!):
o Allowing non-citizens to vote, at least in non-federal elections (e.g. right now, in Washington DC, Oakland, SF, 11 cities in MD, and 3 cities in Vermont.)
o Messing with machine algorithms (a bit techno-nerdy - but if people invented it, people can manipulate it!)
o Ballot harvesting – collecting ballots from multiple voters - and placing them in numerous ballot boxes. (Not
illegal if the “rules” are followed - about the number of ballots that can be deposited, but as far as can be determined, no one checks all the ballot box cameras to see if persons are going to multiple locations, and dropping off more than the legal number of ballots!) (P.S.The R’s have complained about ballot harvesting for years, but the D’s have used it successfully – so why shouldn’t R’s do it, too!)
o Having multiple “misplaced” ballots show up at, or just after, the count (often, with only 1 candidate marked!)
o “Changing” the vote count (either in a precinct, or when/where ballots are processed.)
o Not allowing poll watchers to watch the ballot count - or not allowing them to have nearby access.
o Going into aging-related/disability-related facilities, and “being helpful” to residents - by filling out their ballots forthem…and/or intimidating vulnerable voters (the elderly, disabled, illiterate, and those for whom English is a second language) into voting for certain candidates or issues; or (Illegally) pressuring any voters as to whom, or for what, to vote.
o Paying voters to cast either an in-person, or absentee ballot - for a particular candidate.
o Registering to vote using a phony name - under a real or fake address.
o Claiming that a residence is in a jurisdiction where the registered voter does not actually live.
o Casting a ballot received by mistake (right address, but wrong addressee…)
o Trying to vote at a polling place - after having already voted by mail.
o Voting on the ballots of voters who remain registered, but who have died, moved away, or lost their right to vote because they are currently-convicted felons.
o Illegal registration/voting: by non-U.S. citizens, convicted felons, or who are otherwise ineligible to vote.
o Registering in several locations/states - and voting in more than one place - in the same election.
o Requesting absentee ballots - and voting in the name of, but without the knowledge of, an actual voter… (…who then shows up at the polls, only to be told s/he already voted!)
o Getting an absentee ballot from a registered voter, voting on it, and forging the voter’s signature.
o Forging the signatures of registered voters on the ballot petitions - intended to get a candidate or issue on the official ballot.
o Voter suppression – e.g. cutting down the number of ballot boxes/locations; shortening polling place days/hours; running out of ballots; not having enough - or working - voting machines; having long lines (not enough election workers); changing polling places without giving notice to voters; not having enough polling places near public transportation; not updating voter rolls to remove ineligible voters; making voters go back to a previous polling place that is far away; not having ADA accessibility or accommodations.
Note: There are ways to better assure fair elections, and to eliminate voter fraud, but there are problems with many of those – because there are often ways around them.
Here’s what should NOT be done:
1. NO Federal government run OR overseen elections!
o Standardization may sound good, but the Feds are too far removed from local politics, which would make it too easy for one Party to corrupt the process.
2. NO Federal or standardized “guidelines” for elections!
§ There are too many specifically-relevant State/local policies in place, developed over many years, for one-size-fits-all rules to be accepted or followed.
§ There is too much cynicism/skepticism about anything “National”, so…national guidelines would cause heartburn among those fearful of anything Federal anywhere near elections…because, as has been seen too many other places – that has often led to the launching of a totalitarian regime. Shudder.
o Note: One can already see that official/even Constitutional Laws (let alone “guidelines”) are being disregarded/violated – e.g. in Washington DC, and at least 17 cities in 3 states - where non-citizens, undocumented immigrants, and foreign diplomats are being allowed to vote!
3. NO on a National Registry of voters.
o What could possibly be - and go - wrong? Who/what entity would manage/monitor the registry? What would prevent bias or cheating?
o Although the Federal ability to “fix”/maintain accurate registry data seems like a good idea, it would require the release of individuals’ private information - tax filings, passport applications, etc. – as proof of valid information.
o The presumption of the Registry would be that people would accurately report changes to their identity/residence promptly and honestly (!) - but the Federal government would then be tasked with identifying those giving false information, and, also, following up with those who have moved or need issues resolved (big bureaucracy, no doubt - and cost-prohibitive.)
o If election systems are already under suspicion – then being under scrutiny of a Federal agency/ commission, would not take away doubts – since these could easily be subject to Political Party and/or some more suspicious influence.
4. NO on a federal photo ID card
§ …which would send shivers down the backs of those who have escaped totalitarian countries, where ID info was used for nefarious purposes.
5. NO on Ranked-choice voting in federal elections (a currently hot topic)…
o This would be cost-prohibitive; no doubt, trigger multiple elections; and there would be many possibilities for fraud.
Here’s what could/should be done:
o YES on requiring Voter ID at the polls – including a photo, and proof of residence.
o Voter ID won’t stop all voter fraud, but it will stop a lot - especially with regard to those who have voted by mail, and who attempt to vote, again, in person, at the polls.
o YES on removing ineligible voters from the voter rolls.
o Voter list purges must be regularly scheduled - and use accurate/dependable/consistent/trustworthy criteria and verifiable systems; be nondiscriminatory; not disenfranchise legitimate voters; and protect voter privacy – all of which can be tricky.
o INCYMI - Judicial Watch recently won a suit that removed 1.2 million ineligible voters from LA county voter rolls, but that’s just one county, out of 3143!
o A suggestion has been to send emails/paper messages to every registered voter at the beginning of an election year, to update or correct an individual voter’s information.
o The suggestion does not include which level of government/bureaucracy would do this.
o The cost of sending mail messages (at any level) would be prohibitive, as would the amount of employee time to send emails - and then to follow up on discrepancies.
o In addition, many would ignore the requests for information (which occurs now).
o Interstate agreements were helping (i.e. ERIC – the bi-partisan multi-state agreed-upon Electronic Registration Information Center), which collected encrypted voter registration; DMV and death data from the SSA; and change of address data from the USPS – and which used sophisticated tech to provide member states with identified inaccurate voter roll info. (ERIC was deemed the best-thing-since-sliced-bread – until the 2020 election.)
o Other companies have attempted to fill the gap, but, so far, most have not survived scrutiny/distrust.
o The Constitution and the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) do protect voters, at least somewhat, by limiting when/how voters can be removed.
o NVRA criteria includes: (1) death notification (2) voter affirmation (3) criminal conviction or mental incapacity (4) change of residence – in writing (5) failure to respond, and (6) failure to vote in 2 federal elections.
o YES on having a central registry of death certificates!
o YES on penalties for actions that discourage or confuses voters/voting:
o …e.g. paid advertising/social media posts intended to discourage people/certain groups from voting, or try to scare people away from polling places – which should be a Federal felony, punishable a hefty fine and multiple years in prison.
o Also, anyone who is found to accept bribes to run for federal office— in order to take votes away from a similarly-named candidate - should be subject to multiple years in prison. (Candidates with names similar to someone already on the ballot should be clearly differentiated – w/ party affiliation included.)
Addressing other identified past-election concerns:
1. Despite possible issues, there should be standard vote-by-mail procedures in every State, i.e. at the very least:
o It should be easy for registered voters to ask for/get a vote-by-mail ballot, by phone, online or in person.
o Ballots should be trackable by the voter.
o Ballots postmarked by Election Day should be counted.
o Voters should be able to confirm their identity, easily, if their signature/ballot are challenged during counting. Note: Voter signatures are better option than even a unique pin number, because signatures are harder to fake.
2. Vote counting:
o Poll watchers should be able to: (a) observe the proof-of-identity process, during in-person voting; (b) directly watch the opening/processing of mail-in/drop-box ballots (not from a distance); and (c) be able to examine the results.
o Voting machine results/mail ballots should be (promptly!) counted twice, if there are “count” discrepancies.
o An impartial judge should be able to rule (quickly!) on a ballot disputed for some reason (signature, residence, etc.), after the voter has provided evidence that the signature was his/hers, and that the ballot was voted legally.
o If voting results are questioned, they must trigger a second vote count.
3. Automatic recounts:
o Every official voting entity must be required to recount its ballots, if the margin of victory is less than 0.5% Statewide.
o Every county with less than a 1% margin of victory must also be required to recount its cast ballots.
o If a party files a suit to protest a vote-count or procedure, that should trigger a panel of (non- or bi-partisan) judges who can determine whether the suit is fact-based or frivolous. If the latter, there should be a hefty (deterrent) fine.
4. More times to vote:
§ There should be at least one early in-person voting day available wherever people vote.
o Election Day itself should be a national holiday, OR, at least, voters should not be docked by employers, when taking time off to vote!
5. Equal access to voting by town and neighborhood:
o There should be an in-person polling center or drop box within 5 miles of anyone’s residence (with exceptions for large-distance rural areas, where accommodations should be made).
o Lines should be minimized at polling places by having enough staff and (working) machines.
6. Restoration of voting rights for ex-prisoners:
o Someone who has committed a crime, and completed his/her sentence with no further restrictions, should be able to register to vote, and to cast a ballot.
7. Clearly understood voting directions:
o Paper ballots and voting machines should have simple clear understandable instructions.
A safe, reliable, accurate, trustworthy election, conducted with indisputable integrity, should not be in question. We have the capability to make it happen, but do we have the guts - and the heroes - to take it on?