Voter Fraud 2020

Voter Fraud 2020?

The closest and most controversial Presidential election of my lifetime was Kennedy vs. Nixon in 1960. Kennedy won by the Electoral votes of Illinois, specifically by the Cook County vote (Chicago). This would be where Joe Kennedy Sr., a man with ‘alleged’ connections to the Chicago mob, had put a lot of his own money into the campaign of his son John. In the aftermath inquiry it was learned Kennedy had won Cook by votes brought in a day late, found in a closet, by a maid, who’d overlooked them, who was so embarrassed at her error she had killed herself. Unfortunately, as I recall the narrative, those ballots had accidentally been burned after being counted. Yep, going by memory, but it did happen.

In 1964, because my 21^st birthday was in October, I was able to early register for the Presidential election. I voted for conservative Senator Barry Goldwater, who lost to LBJ in what must be forever known as an incontrovertible ‘landslide’.

Before we moved to Indiana I tried to make a few bucks as an Election Judge, what with Republican judges being hard to come by. Yes, this would be way back when I could actually do things which went from 6:00 AM to after 10:00 PM. It was, at very best, a once-in-a-lifetime thing to do.

Overall the system worked well. Each voter’s signature was compared to the record by both judges, a ballot given to them by a third person, and they were pointed to the first open booth. If the voter requested assistance representatives from both parties had to be involved. The Democrat judge with whom I worked was a very old woman of at least 75 years. She had been through all this many times before, and didn’t think much of these new computer changes that didn’t require a handwritten “X”.

Ballots were dropped by voter into a locked box. About noon the police officer on duty (who had the only key) would empty the box into a locked bag which was then taken by two other cops downtown to voting headquarters. When voting closed at 7:00 PM we two judges went together to take the locked box downtown.

The years have come and gone, and I don’t suppose I’ve given much thought to voting lately. Voted once by mail due to health consideration. Last time I tried to vote I was unable (an entirely different story). Here’s what I think I know about all the voter fraud propaganda being put out there by my good friends in the Republican Party…

...Voter I.D. probably helps in the world of computers my long-ago co-judge feared

...Mail-in ballots are not the problem. They have been used for years in five states

...Individual’s committing voter fraud is rare at best, an urban-legend at worst

One of the things that old lady taught me is that if there was going to be fraud it would not be by the voters. The fraud she feared came after the ballots were cast.

There is fraud to expose if Party in control…

...purges the voting roles in specific zip codes without due notifications

...there is systematic illumination and/or late moving of voting places

...can’t seem to find enough qualified judges of the opposing party

...are able to find volunteer, well-armed polling place “monitors”

...judges are unprepared, voting machines and supplies lacking

...does not count ‘provisional’ ballots if ‘rules are not followed’

...oh, BTW, watch out for votes found in a closet a day late

There will be fraud and controversy in the 2020 election beyond anything we could have imagined in 1960. But, the fraud may be before the voting and after election judges go home for a good night’s sleep.