We hear a lot, righteously, about Republicans who would not vote to certify an election that didn’t turn out their way.
I am not suggesting an equivalency between Donald J. Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of a “stolen election” (plus the GOP’s effort to install false electors) with anything the Democrats have done, but Axios is reporting some Democratic leaders are equivocating about accepting the 2024 results. The story looks back to 2005, when there was an attempt to overturn George W. Bush’s victory.
A piece by the libertarian Cato Institute lists (and minimizes) the Democrats’ dark activities in the past.
I repeat: I am not drawing an equivalency between the two parties, just noting that Democrats do not have clean hands either. As a man in the middle, I see both sides.
Am I saying no one has the right to protest an election?
Of course not.
What I am saying, as I have said to the Trumpsters all along, is that you must have evidence of skullduggery, not just inchoate anger at the result. Don’t expect sympathy if you pull a Rudy Giuliani: “We’ve got lots of theories, we just don’t have the evidence.” Evidence is mandatory.
His insane and insincere “theories” led to a $148 million defamation judgment against him. (Which is ridiculously high, he never had that kind of money, but that’s another topic.)
I use this as an entry point to my Friday visit to the Philadelphia Election Warehouse in the Greater Northeast, where the ballots will be counted in a three-story structure that seemed the size of four football fields.
It kind of looks like a prison, and it is so secure you need a pass key to get out of the counting room, in addition to getting in.
There were a number of sections to handle various aspects of the count, a place for party-appointed observers, and a pen for press.
It was very hard to hear Commissioner Omar Sabir, who acted as the tour guide for about 50 journalists. Here’s a couple of handouts that summarize the process:
.
I had one big question, that I put to City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, the one Republican, serving alongside two Democrats.
Given the cohort of election-denier Neanderthals we live with, transparency is urgent, I told Bluestein. Will the activities in this building be broadcast, so the public can see?
Broadcast, no.
But available, yes.
It will be live streamed on vote.phila.gov
Live, 24/7, so you can tune and watch election workers doing their jobs.
This may not satisfy the Neanderthals, nothing will. But it does create a visual record.
On hand were the three City Commissioners, who oversee local elections, and also Al Schmidt, who used to be a City Commissioner, and was tapped by Gov. Josh Shapiro to become Secretary of State. Al is a Republican, but a moderate who treasures democracy.
I have great faith in him, and when he was here, he was my go-to guy for 411 on local elections. I found him more open and better informed than his two Democratic partners.
You may know that his efforts to guarantee a fair election and its outcome brought death threats to him and his family.
Those threats came from the Right.
Across the nation, based on basically nothing, election workers were bullied and threatened in a manner unlike anything before.
Both Republican and Democratic election workers were threatened, usually on the basis of wild, insane, criminal rumors of election rigging, fanned by you-know-who.
I am not saying there were zero irregularities.
You always have that.
But as Trump’s Attorney General William Barr said:
Some won’t believe it, because they have never witnessed the election process, which varies from state to state.
When I was a Democratic committeeman, and a poll watcher, I saw the process — how votes were tabulated electronically, and the paper trail that is left.
I had no special access. If you suspect something fishy is going on with elections, contact the local headquarters of your political party and volunteer to be a poll, or count, watcher.
Chances are, they will be glad to see you.
And you will get to see democracy behind the scenes, as few Americans do.
If you have the chance to participate, and don’t, when the results are announced, STFU.
Stu, a very interesting and informative column. Unfortunately those Neanderthals will never agree with you. As far as they are concerned it is impossible for that orange-skinned POS to ever lose.
Of course, Bogart is 100% correct. They will never admit that their cult leader lost. I’m working at the polls here in my county. The latest absurdity is that the repugnant red menaces are spreading the lie that BOE poll workers are allowing people to vote without checking their photo IDs. No evidence mind you and of course they are not. The chief judge at my precinct is a Republican and as honest, no nonsense and straight as the day is long. We are all very fond of her. She would never countenance that, nor would our BOE workers under her direction engage in that behavior. But, evidently no evidence needs to be presented. The cult members only need to spread the rumor to cast their fellow MAGAts’ doubts on the validity of the election.
These people are cement heads, plain and simple. They wouldn’t recognize the truth if it fell on their heads. I am driven insane by then with regard to the orange man’s 34 felony convictions. A grand jury of 23 random men and women looked at the evidence provided and decided it was enough to indict. Then a random jury of 12 more normal people was selected and vetted. They looked at the evidence presented to them and decided he was guilty on ALL 34 counts. Where/how is this a “political witch hunt?” Did the evil Democrats corrupt all of those people? I guess they probably think so, because they also think the Dems have the power to control the weather. It’s absurd.
Really interesting Stu. To be honest I’d never really thought about the integrity of our elections. My faith in our democracy was that strong. It was only in 2020, when a man, through muddled legal means tried to bully democracy that I even woke up to the possibility. I think if he wins, we may no longer have elections as we knew them from 2028 on. I view him as that much of a threat.
Regardless of whom one supports in any election, why open up so many opportunities by mail in ballots and early voting for clever and devious operatives on both sides to game our votes?
Why not return to the tried and true, as it was for decades, that we all voted on election day, after verifying ones identity at ones polling places?
Simple, fair, honest and as close to 100% above board as is possible.
Gardner, you are attempting to push the same tired MAGAet bullshit that the elections are not fair and honest. I challenge you to offer proof to back up what you say. It is long past the time for people like you to put up or shut up!
I prefer same-day, in-person voting, with exceptions for people unable to get to the polls for valid reasons, auxh as physically infirm, travel out of the city, military service.
Making voting “easier” has NOT resulted in higher turnout.
But has it resulted in more widespread cheating? From what I have read it has not.
I don’t know what “it” you reference — voting by mail? — but in any event there is no wide scale cheating.
Yes I am referring to voting by mail. I agree with you that It has not caused any wide scale cheating.
However Stu, I am curious as to why you do not embrace voting by mail. I honestly would love to hear your reasons.
I do NOT oppose voting by mail. I oppose drop boxes. Why? They are vulnerable. Three were firebombed in Washington and Oregon. I also oppose early voting because it did NOT achieve its goal — increasing turnout. Check out my column headlined “An 8-point voting plan.”
Election DAY creates a feeling of national unity, ALL Americans doing the SAME thing on the SAME day.
Make Election Day a Federal Holiday (naturally, Republicans & business are against it). Trade it for Columbus Day.
Leave Columbus Day alone. Why Election DAY off? Now about Election WEEK? Extending voting says and hours has NOT improved turnout. Look up column headlined “An 8-point voting plan.”
I agree with Stu and Gardner. People should vote in person on election day. Those who cannot for the reasons Stu mentioned should be issued mail in ballots.
Voting by mail is easy, time saving and an honest process. I prefer mail in voting over party workers nagging me to vote for specific candidates at the polls. In twenty years mail in voting will become the norm of voting. It is a change that will be accepted because it takes little effort and it is a time saving process.
You may be right. Several states already do ALL mail-in voting.
The election process will evolve toward computer voting in the future. With security features including fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, voice identification, Personal identification Numbers along with driver license numbers that will improve election security in the coming years. With AI’s advancements I believe our election security measures will reduce or eliminate election fraud.
I NEVER want to see elections online. If they can hack the FBI, NOTHING is safe.
And Democrats will oppose every safety measure you propose as “racist” or some other BS.
🎯👍
JUST HAVING FUN WITH THE FOLLOWING…
1. All votes being cast by dead people MUST be signed by the deceased.
2. Illegal aliens may cast only one vote per day.
3. Transgenders may vote twice: once as male and once as female (or vice versa).
4. Voters with multiple pronouns may cast one vote per pronoun.
Pretty funny, Vince.
Very Creative!
The Question is will Dead People be able to vote, they always have been able to in the past, It is a Philadelphia Tradition!
Thank you for the details. The ballots in that building likely have a good chance of reflecting an accurate count. However, the validity of each ballot is still an open question beyond what you’ve shared. There are valid concerns around ballot harvesting and other methods of collecting, delivering, and counting ballots that may not meet standards of validity. Voter ID is essential, whether for in-person voting or requesting a mail-in ballot, to ensure that only citizens participate.
Systems like automatic voter registration during driver’s license applications—regardless of citizenship—and the lack of voter ID requirements do not inspire confidence in the system. Most people want fair elections, though some may not. Calling those who question the system’s overall security names does not help. Voting should be a right reserved for citizens, and if that basic point isn’t agreed upon, then the rest of this discussion may be futile and, to me, diverges from the principles of democracy.
I am not happy with the expansion of so-called voting “rights,” such as harvesting and drop boxes. I have addresses this in a previous column headlined something like “An 8-point voting plan.” You can look it up.
HOWEVER, that does not mean that I do not believe that cheating is relegated to minor margins. Why do I think that? There is no evidence to support allegations of large-scale fraud.
How U.S. voting machines became safer than ever.
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-us-voting-machines-clear-ballot/?cmpid=BBD110424_TECH&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=241104&utm_campaign=tech
Thanks for posting this, H.