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It’s a matter of weeks before the presidential election, and critics are hollering that the country is experiencing election fraud, both in states across the country as well as an infiltration by unfriendly nations in other parts of the world. Is there any truth to these allegations? In a few instances, yes. But by and large, despite allegations from critics of the 2020 results, the election system has run smoothly.
Now some readers will disagree, particularly because of the onslaught of highly partisan criticisms that have continued over the past four years.
I know a little about how the election system works, since I was Louisiana’s chief elections officer for eight years back in the 1980s. Sure, we had the occasional allegations of vote buying in the Bayou State. Who can ever forget Governor Earl Long’s plea in his final days. “Oh Lord, when I die, please let me be buried in Louisiana, so I can stay active in politics.”
Is there any truth to recent charges that other countries, including Iran and Russia, have been meddling through the internet in the current U.S election process? Of course there is. And surprise, surprise! Why should it be any new revelation. Our country’s national security apparatus, including the FBI, the Pentagon, the CIA and the NSA, have been interfering in the elections of other countries for the last half century. The US. has been accused of attempting to sway the election results in a number of other countries, including Italy in 1948, the Philippines in 1953, Japan in the 1950s and 1960s, Lebanon in 1957, Russia in 1996, and in a number of South American countries in recent years including Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, and Guatemala just to name a few. So why should anyone be surprised that other countries might want to retaliate?
The Trump team’s charges of voter fraud, following the 2020 national election, have been exhaustively investigated and litigated with 86 legal challenges rejected by the federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. Many of the federal judges who rejected the election irregularities were appointed by President Trump.
What about the individual state efforts to investigate voter fraud? In Texas, the governor has formed and elections integrity unit as he alleges that over one million voters have been purged from the voter rolls since 2021. But elections officials in Texas explain that the removals from the roles were overwhelming voters who have died or who are no longer living at the registry address. Similar allegations were made in Georgia and North Carolina, but elections officials there found no evidence of illegal voter activity.
In Louisiana, there have been a handful of voter fraud convictions in the past ten years, mostly involving vote buying in local elections. Some of you readers may remember the 1979 gubernatorial election when Lieutenant Governor Jimmy Fitzmorris, running for governor in the first primary, swore that he had been denied a runoff spot because of widespread voter fraud. I had just been elected Secretary Of State, and I formed an elections integrity commission to fully investigate any such elections irregularities. No such significant violations of the law were found.
Readers may wonder why in federal elections, particularly in the voting for president, should individual states have different elections procedures. And yes, procedures do vary from state to state. In Louisiana, the Secretary Of State as the chief elections officer, oversees the printing of the election ballots in every parish. In our neighboring state of Mississippi, ballots are printed and distributed by clerks of court in each individual county. Hours when the polls are open can vary from state to state. In Louisiana, polls in federal elections open up at 6:00 AM. In New Hampshire, some towns start voting at midnight.
Why are states allowed to control the elections process? Remember, you do not live in America. You live in the United States of America. Congress, under the 14th amendment, has allowed each individual state to set the laws and run elections as they see fit, as long as there is no prejudice allowed in the process.
The election process across the country is not perfect. But for the time being, it is all we have. Whatever you think of it, just be sure you are registered to vote. There certainly is a lot of stake.
Peace and Justice
Jim Brown
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