The ’22 election is in the rearview mirror … mostly … since mail-in ballots are still being counted in places like California and Arizona and Colorado. It’s November 16th --- exactly 8 days after the election and ballots are still being counted. What kind of third world country performance is this?
Now, I have heard it said that as long as we have mail-in voting, Republicans will be at risk of never winning an election again and I agree! We really need to take an introspective look. Since the election of 2020, when we were in the midst of the pandemic, we have allowed the laws of the states to be changed to permit the mass mailing of ballots to voters and to permit the voters to return their ballots through the US Postal System. It really did not make sense then; but, we did it because we did not understand the pandemic and possible implications (or not) of gathering to vote at the time. In retrospect, it probably was not necessary.
So, in 2022, we have institutionalized the mail-in ballot.
Here in Maryland, the State legislature made it a regular part of voting and not only can the ballot be returned in the US mail, but the state government has placed collection boxes for these ballots all over the state. And while other states have different rules for their mail-in ballots, it appears that the mail-in ballot is the weakest link in the US voting process.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, mail-in voting was only available to a few … US military personnel serving outside their home state or in an overseas location and those who might be confined to home because of illness or age. In fact, we routinely called these “absentee” ballots and not mail-in ballots although they were returned to the appropriate polling center through the US mail. Because of the more limited distribution, the postal service was able to process these ballots in the course of their normal business and the ballots were then available to election officials to verify in a timely manner. All of that changed in 2020.
State legislatures all over the country either decided on their own or were coerced by operatives of the Democrat Party to change their laws to allow for the mass mailing of ballots to voters … in some cases, even if the voter did not request one … and to have the ballots returned through the US Mail to election officials.
Needless to say, the US Postal Service, which can barely process the normal mail, was in no way ready for the flood of ballots that hit the mail in November of 2020. Ballots were lost. Ballots were late. It was an impossible task to verify voter identity and eligibility.
Ballot harvesting was rife and drop boxes for the ballots were not monitored. In some cases, “chain of custody” was completely compromised. Ballot arrival dates for “postmarked” ballots were different from state to state. Any of these leaving plenty of room for speculation regarding the accuracy and “fairness” of the mail-in voting effort.
On to the elections of 2022 … and there is not much to say about improving the overall sanctity of the vote using mail-in balloting. In case after case, across the country, we are treated to the same results … Republican candidates are substantially out in front of their Democrat opponent on the day after the election. AND THEN, the mail-in ballot counting starts. And in a matter of days, sometimes weeks, we see the Republican candidate slowly, but steadily, lose ground until the counting is over and the Democrat has won. We all saw this effect in the Arizona Governor’s race as well as the Nevada Senatorial race … and it is a common occurrence in states like California, Oregon, Washington and Michigan.
You see … it is difficult, if not impossible, to tell exactly when a ballot was processed by the Postal Service. The rules say the ballots must be “POSTMARKED” by midnight on the night of the election.
Fair enough --- until you realize that while almost every step of the in-person voting, as well as the validating of mail-in ballots, requires representation from both political parties be present to insure no “hanky panky” occurs. However, while in-person voting has such mechanisms, there is no such mechanism in place for the “processing” of mail-in ballots at the mail facility. In the State of Maryland, for example, the mail-in ballots are not even processed by the Board of Elections until two days after election day. Plenty of time to harvest late or unused ballots, get them in the mail, and ensure that they are postmarked midnight of election day. Remember … no one is watching the Postal Service and its union members.
On November 16, 2022, a full EIGHT (8) days after the election, here was the headline in the Patch, an on-line publication emanating from Annapolis: Haire Concedes, Pittman Declares Victory: Anne Arundel Executive Race … Jessica Haire (R) conceded to Steuart Pittman (D) in the race for Anne Arundel County executive. Pittman overcame an 11,000-vote deficit. The Patch goes on to tell us that: Pittman trailed Haire by nearly 11,000 votes after early voting and Election Day tallies. He mounted his comeback when officials started counting the mail-in ballots. Pittman led Haire by 192 votes Wednesday at 9 a.m. Haire, the outgoing County Council member for District 7, expects that gap to grow. Election workers still have to count the rest of the mail-in votes, most of which were sent by Democrats. Those ballots are still trickling in. … “Ballots are still TRICKLING in”?! Say what?!
We are told they are all postmarked properly … so, it just begs the question: where have they been and why are they “TRICKLING IN”? Well, we don’t know where they have been or when they might have been postmarked in any number of postal facilities, but the pattern is clear. When you need the requisite number of votes to make a close race end in your favor … you can depend on the US Postal Service and the Postal Union to solve the problem.
Even closer to home … On November 9th, this was the headline from WYPR in Baltimore: No clear winner yet in race between Democrat Trone and GOP Parrott … As of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, Parrott held a slight lead with 51% to 49% when roughly 71% of votes were counted according to The Associated Press. Fast forward to November 11th and here is what we see: WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Republican State Delegate Neil Parrot, who hoped to win the race for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, conceded to Democratic incumbent Congressman David Trone on Friday….
Now, I want to be clear, not everyone is a participant in this type of activity and there are many who would sooner quit than be a participant. But the stakes are high and the anonymity of the postal processing rooms, in the widely dispersed postal facilities, cannot be overstated.
If we do not get tighter control of the mail-in ballot, we can expect that those who seek power at any cost will continue to find ways to use this process to their own advantage and given the “White Gloves and Party Manners” approach taken by Republicans in these races, we can be sure that it won’t be them winning their races. Fixing this needs to be a priority of state legislatures across the country, especially in those states with conservative legislatures. If they don’t fix it, they are at their own peril. And so are we!
I couldn’t agree more. The way things are being run in democrat run states are rife for cheating and changes need to be made ASAP.