The Clock is Ticking on Ways to Fix the U.S. Election System
This column is not about relitigating the 2020 election. Joseph Biden is the duly certified U.S. President. Period. Now, let’s talk about the mess in which we find our election system. Let’s talk about voter fraud.
It does exist, claims to the contrary are incorrect. And discussions about voting integrity matter because we have about one year to decide how to avoid the confusion and controversy surrounding the 2020 election.
“Flagrant” election fraud has been “documented throughout this nation’s history,” according to the U.S. Supreme Court. And so it goes today. Voter fraud never went away, it just got more sophisticated. Both political parties have suffered.
Thousands of recent cases of voter fraud have been identified and more than a thousand people have been criminally convicted of trying to sway elections through bribes, intimidation, duplicate voting, impersonation of another or manipulation of absentee ballots. Judicial findings of election fraud have overturned contests in California, Missouri, Georgia, Texas and other states.
Facts are facts, yet it has somehow become taboo to even mention ways to strengthen election laws. Suggest that states should follow federal law and more diligently purge voter rolls and risk being charged with “voter suppression.” Recommend that all states require voters to show ID, as is the current practice in 34 states, and risk being labeled “racist.”
Seems as though any proposal to ensure election integrity is automatically condemned as “discrimination’ against minorities or the poor. Details on exactly how these proposals might discriminate seem vague.
Look, we need to determine exactly how this nation’s population should cast votes. In person only? Vote exclusively by mail? Should election day be changed to election week? It is a dense subject but, please, let’s not follow the 2020 paradigm.
As a run up to the pandemic-plagued 2020 election nine states and D.C. decided to mail out absentee ballots to all registered voters. That totaled 44 million ballots floating around, at risk of being lost, put in the wrong mailbox or stolen and returned with unauthorized votes.
In addition, 34 other states sent a ballot to anyone who asked, no excuse required. The infrastructure to deal with all that paperwork simply didn’t exist. Within the chaos the opportunity for fraud was ripe.
We now know that in the 2020 election more than 90 million absentee ballots were mailed out. Fifteen million went “unaccounted for,” more than a million were “undeliverable” and 560,000 were rejected for various reasons. So much for one person, one vote. There’s got to be a better way.
So instead of repeating that fiasco, how about following the lead of the 45 states and D.C. that offer pre-election in person voting? It is held as early as 55 days before an election, or as late as the Friday before election day, and weekend days are often included. And since polls show 81% of Americans support voter ID cards let’s require that too. With more time to vote and more fully identified voters the chance for fraud is reduced. Special needs citizens who cannot get to the polls can always get a mail-in ballot.
Also, if all states would purge their voter rolls of inactive, non-resident or dead voters that would help reduce the number of available names fraudsters could use to cast a ballot. But, beware, critics of voter reforms will always find some negative way to spin change.
Ohio, for example, published a list of 116,000 dormant voters who hadn’t voted for six years and didn’t respond to requests to confirm their residency. Activist groups wailed! The inactive were advised to either vote in the next election (2020) or confirm they were still eligible. Some 10,000 came forward to say they wanted to remain on the rolls. The media breathlessly spun that to say Ohio had “nearly purged 10,000 voters!” The state maintained it had lawfully reminded 10,000 citizens about their civic duty.
While the next election won’t choose a president, it will decide the all-important makeup of the U.S. House and Senate, and many other state and local elections. Don’t we want the most accurate, uncorrupted vote counts possible?
Trust in the current election system has eroded. The clock is ticking to enact common sense reforms. Can it happen before November 2022? Only if citizens demand it.
Mike writes:
You are so right with today’s article!
Your last sentence was the one that got me. You and people like you need to put out the ways others can help. I write to lots of people from our city councilwoman to our Senators and almost never even get an acknowledgment. Sad. We need to know how to make our voices heard. Thank you for getting the ball rolling.
Jdgarcia writes:
Ms Dimond:
Your editorial On election integrity was right on target. Great…
Ms. Diane:
Another excellent opinion article in the ABQ Journal. You would think that intelligent, logical citizens would seek to reach this end…
In all honesty, so many of your articles are so on point….have you ever given any consideration to running for political office? We could sure use common sense logic/judgement here in NM and in our nation…which seems to be lacking with our politicos, presently and has been for some time.
Good job…keep up the great work! (emailing the article to my contacts here and around the nation)
Robert Tepper
Albuquerque
2X Champ writes:
paper ballots only.
No hackable computers connected to the internet
no election workers staffed by political activists (Abrams) or funded by leftist techie oligarchs (Suckerburg) umm no chance for cheating there right?
legal ID required for all voters
back to standard rules for mail in ballots- no mass mail outs
no ballot harvesting
only legal votes cast or mail ins received as of close of polls election day count.
No more election weeks… or months. Want to make sure your vote counts? Show up at the polls or get your absentee in early.
Just a few thoughts
Hari Seldon
I’ve said it for years. Once you undermine people’s trust in the integrity of the election process, it’s game over for the Republic. We’re headed for massive upheaval. At least there will be an opportunity to rebuild on original Constitutional principles from the ashes.
Sean M writes:
Ok, I’ll say it… it is about the 2020 election and how the covid was used to literally breakdown the legitimacy of our elections by making it so Howard the hamster could cast a viable vote if Timmy decided he wanted to vote for Biden, with little in the way of verifying howard was even a human let alone a citizen…. so yes its about voter integrity,
but also yes it IS about 2020 and NO Biden is not the duely elected POTUS except in the world of sock puppets.
KC C writes:
I have 2nd amendment rights. I still have to fill out a Form 4473 every time I get a gun. I have to undergo an FBI (& state equivalent) background check (& I pay a fee for the privilege). Except under particular circumstances, I can’t loan a gun to someone else. And I have to report it to police within a particular time frame if my gun goes missing or stolen. Many, but not all of these result from state laws.
Yes, guns occasionally make it easier for bad people to do terrible things. Also, tyrants occasionally get voted into power. So if none of this violates my constitutionally protected rights (maybe it does ) why shouldn’t we have the same (or materially equivalent) voting & election safeguards?
johngruber48 writes:
How can we be confident in the 2020 election when all legal efforts to conduct thorough, forensic audits have been stymied and discredited even before one of them reaches a conclusion? No election system that doesn’t embrace robust audits can be trusted.
Julie Morin writes:
When you have one party who still after 8 months think an election was stolen, fixed, etc. then it doesn’t really matter how we fix the system, it will never be trusted. It is ridiculous that in this age of such extraordinary technology, we are still standing in lines for hours to just to vote. If we can file taxes and receive our social security online, sure we can figure out how to vote that way too.
Diane Dimond replies to Julie Morin:
I don’t think its fair, Julie, to say, “when you have one party who still thinks the election was stolen.” Do some Republicans still believe that? Yes. But the vast majority have accepted reality, like more than 50% of them. Automatically lumping everyone into one basket (of deplorables?) Doesn’t solve anything. IMHO
Julie Morin replies to Diane:
All I was saying is that now there is a precedent to think that if you lose an election (either party), that it was somehow stolen or fixed. And let’s be honest, there are more than just “some” Republicans that still believe it, especially when leaders of the party still push it. Next time, it will be more than just the Capital that gets invaded and more people will get killed.
Turk Guy writes:
The problem with the, “when you have one party who still after….. “ comment is that it goes both ways.
We heard for 4 years that Trump colluded with Russia to get elected. (Sour grapes, she’s a shoe in,…..here’s the questions before hand) Hillary Clinton pushed that excuse and still does along with many members of “one party.”
And now the other party is doing the same.
Both lost, both with some level of fraud….now move along. Let’s clean it up.
This article is 100 percent correct. Unfortunately I don’t think politicians want it to be corrected.
Julie Morin replies to Guy Turk:
Yes, I agree it is an issue with both parties, I should have clarified that. But then again I didn’t see people who were pissed Hilary lost storming the Capital or calling for the VP’s head, now did we?
Jimmy Clohessy writes:
YOU NEED AN ID IN ORDER TO:
Buy alcohol
Buy cigarettes
Open a bank account
Receive Social Security
Buy or Rent a House
Drive a Car
Get on an Airplane
Purchase a Firearm
Adopt a Pet
Get a Hunting License
Get a Fishing License
Visit a Casino ….and many more
YOU DON’T NEED AN ID IN ORDER TO:
Vote
SERIOUSLY, AMERICA?
Anne Skorski writes:
Election Day is a concept for a reason. Show up and cast your vote. Make it a holiday so everyone can get there. 55 days before election day should not be considered. Too much can happen – like the Hunter Biden lap top. If the media and big tech had not covered this up, American might not be under siege by communists.
twess33 writes:
Diane, we need more articles like this. I have Written my Congressman and Senators – with no results. No one cares – it’s back to business as usual. This issue is THE most important issue to me.
Well thought out and well-written piece. A refreshing change from what appears in much of the media today.
I have no problem with balloting on election day, or the process that I have used voting in advance. I do have a problem with mailed ballots. There is such an opportunity for others to intercede on behalf of the disabled and infirm. If the allegation is true that a mailman was caught disposing of a dozen ballots, then we have a problem. If even one person voted using the name of a deceased individual, then we have a problem. What will help? Showing some form of ID. Here in New Mexico, those who do not drive have been offered an official ID card that can be used. If the government can foot the bill for groceries, a legal ID should not be a stretch.