Cornerstone Crumbled

Our right to free and fair elections is a cornerstone of our democracy and is guaranteed to us Americans in the Constitution of the United States.  But lately the “free and fair” part has come under scrutiny.  Everyone knows what happened, right?  But for posterity and from a somewhat unbiased observer, I’ll recap (never mind the arrogance in this statement…its all in fun).  Hold onto your outrage a moment.  These are the facts…

President Trump lost the election on November third.  As was his right, he asked for recounts in some states which were a little close in their counts… nothing changed.  As was his right, he asked for more recounts… again, nothing.  Then he sued these states on grounds that their elections were not “free and fair.”  Apparently he believed some of the votes were not counted appropriately.  In some cases he asserted some voters were not qualified to vote in the election… either they were not American citizens, or they were not alive on November third, or they did not follow that states voting laws.  He also asserted that mail-in votes should not be counted because they did not follow state election law.  Either the votes were received too late or the custody of the vote was not properly maintained, etc.  To be honest, I lost track of all the reasons President Trump sued to change the election.  For those interested in researching the shit-show, here’s an unbiased source:  https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_2020_Election_Help_Desk:_Tracking_election_disputes,_lawsuits,_and_recounts

But the courts all supported the election results.  Trump had lost and was not happy about it.   And boy, did he let himself be heard.  He can really draw the press…talk about a love/hate relationship.  Since his supporters believe him much more than they believe the liberal media or even more than they believe their own state election officials (especially but not limited to the Democrats), they bought the story he was hawking… the election was stolen by Biden/Harris and the Democrats.  Years of selling the notion of fake news and alternative facts had paid off.  But the rule of law in this country is supreme.  Once all those court cases were done and the smoke cleared, Biden was still on top. 

Then on January sixth (for better or worse), Trump and his supporters met at the Ellipse outside the Whitehouse.  He announced it the day before…

I will be speaking at the SAVE AMERICA RALLY tomorrow on the Ellipse at 11AM Eastern. Arrive early — doors open at 7AM Eastern. BIG CROWDS! pic.twitter.com/k4blXESc0c
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2021

The content of that speech on January sixth became the basis for the debate that fueled outrage between Republicans and Democrats for the foreseeable future.  We all know what happened next.  Thousands of Trump-supporters including paramilitary groups called the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys stormed the Capitol building, halting the election confirmation (for a little while), threatened to HANG THE VICE PRESIDENT, injured dozens of Capitol police officers, and scared the pants off of some elected members of Congress.  We’ve seen the video…there was nothing peaceful about it.  In short, it was a shit-show of the highest caliber.

Did Trump incite a riot or a protest?  Did he instigate the violence which claimed the life of a civilian and injuries to many capitol police officers?  Was he the leader of an insurrection of the US government?  These are questions which tend to rely on opinions for the most part.  The Senate acquitted him during the impeachment, but if we agree his election trials were fair, then we must also agree his impeachment trial was fair…as I said earlier, the rule of law is supreme.

Up to now, I’ve only stated facts and questions, right?  Is there anything here which can be disputed so far?  Probably (after all, Bill Clinton disputed the word “is”).  In any case, I’ll assert that these words are true and let you dispute them if you prefer.  I’ll approve any comments you offer (unless you’re trying to sell me SEO or something).

That’s the meat… lets get to the juice….

The truth is, it doesn’t matter what the truth is.  Now that it has become well established that the media is biased (and we know that social media was never objective), the truth is only a matter of opinion.  These days you can pick your facts like you pick your flavor and brand of toothpaste on the grocery shelf.  Show them the transcripts, parade out the witnesses, shove the evidence in their faces…they won’t see it, they won’t hear it.  Welcome to the Misinformation Age friends and neighbors.  It’s the age of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, Photoshop and CGI.  This is where we each decide what reality is and what it isn’t.  Its where our perceptions (our basic connections with the world) are under siege by illusions and lies on every digital screen.  But all that is for another post…suffice it to say, people will believe only want they want to believe from whatever source fits their ideologies.

If a third of voters believe there actually was widespread fraud, does it even matter whether it’s true or not?  If the legitimacy of our elections is questioned and belief is beyond evidence, then our democracy is also in question.  Worse than that, it’s a literal joke, prime for hundreds of biased memes to be proliferated across the WWW.  So, we get “revolutionaries” attempting to restore our democracy even by violent means.  I’d say it’s not surprising.  It’s not even appalling if you look at it from the Trumpist point-of-view.  Honestly, if I believed Trump, I’d be pissed too.

Whether it happened or not, the perception must be addressed.  Disenfranchised voters need to see a “Free and fair” election with their own eyes.  Otherwise, every election will be frauds and the next one might see the other side crying “foul!” 

When I walk into the poll, I have my photo ID and my voter registration card in my hand at the ready.  I’m willing to show it to any poll worker who asks.  Just like when I’m renting a room, or getting on a plane, or buying a firearm…they need to know who I am in order to grant me access.  I’m okay with that…doesn’t bother me in the least.

I’ve heard the arguments… some citizens are not able to get a photo ID for several reasons:  some are too poor to pay whatever fee is required to get a state-issued ID, some are physically unable to get to a location where IDs are issued, some work full-time and cannot get away to go get an ID.  I’ve heard the argument that it’s black and brown people who have the most difficulty getting a state-issued photo ID, and that is why Republicans are trying to make photo IDs required at the polls…they don’t want minorities to vote. Dems are calling it “voter suppression.”

I don’t know…maybe its just me, but isn’t voting more of a responsibility than a right?  I mean, when I get up in the morning on the first Tuesday in November, I think to myself, “aw geez, I gotta go vote today.” Its not, “Oh boy! I get to go vote today!”  Isn’t it supposed to be something you are obligated to do as a citizen rather than a reward?  So, shouldn’t we make every effort to get it done?  C’mon, people…go get an ID if all you need it for is to vote!  But no, we have neighborhoods where volunteers have to go door-to-door registering voters, making it easier on the people who would not bother otherwise.  I say if they can’t make an effort, let ‘em stay home and watch reality TV or whateverthehell. 

The price in Texas is $16 bucks for your standard state-issued photo ID…its only $6 for seniors. You’ll pay that to take a date to the afternoon matinee (without snacks). Not too bad in my opinion. I’d pay that to maintain my right to vote in a free and fair election.

I’m kind of good with mail-in voting for those people who legitimately can’t make it to the polls on election day.  But how do we verify it’s a legal vote?  How do we verify the chain of custody of their ballot if the voter is not in-person at the polls.  It must be verifiably legitimate or there will be trouble.

And early voting…for whatever reason if someone will be out of town on election day…sure, no problem.  Show up a couple weeks early with your photo ID and we’ll get your vote counted. We’ve done this for as long as I can remember… no sweat.

Voting machines…yeah, they can be hacked.  There’s plenty of opportunity for fraud in a digital election.  We have criminals hacking banks…why wouldn’t they be able to hack a voting machine?  That said, I don’t believe it happened this past election (at least not enough to change the outcome), but it would not have surprised me.  I say, as long as its already electronic, lets have elections on-line.  But you still need a way to prove your identity, and you better make sure its safe and prove it to the skeptiest skeptic.  Otherwise, lets go back to paper ballots.

Okay, what about this…what if when folks show up to vote and cannot produce the required photo ID, they get their picture taken (dirty from work or hair up in curlers or whatever), they get digitally finger-printed (there’s an obscure pun…ALL finger-prints are “digital” technically), and they get verified on the spot with the DMV or they get verified as soon as possible.  Then, a photo ID card arrives in the mail (keep our postal workers working) at no cost (except to the tax-payers…that’s the price for “free and fair”).  Final vote counts may take a week or more, but so did the last election…and that one is still contested.

The point is, we can’t just let this slide or we’ll be dealing with questions every time and our elections won’t be worth those of third-world nations run by dictators.  Blame the orange asshole or blame the “demoncrats”…makes no difference.  It has to be legit beyond question or it not worth a hanging chad.

-Big Steve