If our elections have been corrupted, can we vote our way back into good governance? According to a Monmouth University poll, 44 percent of Americans feel we don’t know enough about the 2020 election to know who legitimately won. Trust in elections is critical, because a peaceful transfer of power depends on broad acceptance of election results. Yet trust is slipping, because there is ample reason to remain suspicious.
Minnesota has same-day voter registration. Anyone can show up at their appropriate polling place on the day of election and register to vote. They merely need to present official documentation showing that they are a resident of that precinct … or have another resident of the precinct vouch for them. That’s where things get interesting.
In 2008 I was patiently waiting in line to vote in a suburb of Minneapolis. As I watched, a bus pulled into the parking lot and disgorged about 50 people who marched to the election official to register to vote. The driver of the bus then proceeded to vouch for each of the people he had driven to the polls. The incident did not improve my confidence in the integrity of Minnesota elections.
In his documentary, 2000 Mules, Dinesh D’Souza used video surveillance and geo-fencing to document thousands of instances of what appeared to be illegal ballot box stuffing. D’Souza convincingly showed people traveling from NGO offices, to ballot drop boxes, and then depositing arm loads of mail in ballots, in swing states where it is illegal to do so.
It’s not like these are historical events which no longer happen. Just last week it was reported that 2,700 illegal aliens are registered to vote in Texas. Other states are refusing to share their voter roles with the Department of Justice.
None of these (or numerous other examples) prove that any particular election has been stolen. But these examples do prove that we can’t know that none have been stolen. Our country’s leadership isn’t supposed to be entrusted with constitutional powers because we kinda, sorta, think they may have been elected.
The reality is that election fraud is happening. We just don’t know how much it is affecting outcomes. Columnist Hugh Hewitt offers a strategy to overcome the problem: win outside the margin of fraud. While “beating the cheat” is a valid campaign objective, the need to do so is not particularly comforting.
Every illegally cast vote is a dilution of our rights a citizens, and an inching towards tyranny. We shouldn’t have to “beat the cheat” to be a self-governing republic. Elections are supposed to be a contest of ideas, not a contest of fraud vs “get out the vote” efforts.
We arrived at this sorry state because incumbency is profitable. Elected officials arrive in Washington as middle-class public servants. Within a few terms in office, they are magically transformed into the wealthy ruling elite. Naturally, they prefer that elections are tilted in their favor.
Our elected officials tighten their grip on their offices by using our money, to undermine our ability to self-govern. As DOGE revealed, government money flows by the billions to NGOs which use the money to influence elections directly (via lawsuits) and indirectly (via propaganda).
The integrity of our elections is further eroded by those in government, who are fans of bigger government. In recent years, our own Department of Justice has refused to investigate election fraud, and has filed lawsuits against redistricting and voter ID. US citizens can’t even get on an airplane without proper ID. Why has the DoJ been opposed to proving citizenship to vote?
Back to my original question, worded slightly differently: If our electoral rights have been subverted, can we vote our way back to free and fair elections? If electoral decision making is no longer a reliable expression of the will of the people, what other avenue do we have for self-determination?
In their wisdom, our founders provided a check on federal government corruption – the states. When all else has failed, there remains a peaceful means to stop an out-of-control federal government. The states can collectively exercise their Article V power to impose corrective actions on Washington.
We simply need to encourage our state legislatures to do their duty. If we don’t, and trust in elections continues to fall, what kind of nation will we leave our children? Will we empower them to be citizens, or condemn them to be subjects?
Author Bio: John Green is a retired engineer and political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He spent his career designing complex defense systems, developing high performance organizations, and doing corporate strategic planning. He is a contributor to American Thinker, The American Spectator, and the American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.
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