The Fraud of Voter Fraud Accusations
By Sam Billot, Senior, iPreparatory Academy
By Sam Billot, Senior, iPreparatory Academy
So, once again, 2020 has come for all Americans to partake in the democratic process known as voting. We all know what voting is, who doesn't? Who hasn’t raised their hand in an elementary class voting for the best show-and-tell?
Voting, while a bit messy, in most cases, especially in a highly regulated, democratic nation is a perfectly fair process. It is important to note that voter fraud accusations happen in EVERY election-- most are baseless accusations of problems that arent even there in the first place. For example, the losing side tends to accuse the winning side of doing things like ballot stuffing or throwing away votes. According to reporters at the New York Times, in an article November 17, 2020 article “The Times Called Officials in Every State: No Evidence of Voter Fraud,” Republican poll watchers claim to have witnessed fraud when the reality was that they were doing basic covid-19 safety measures and nitpicks with the data entry. These claims, time after time, investigation after investigation, are never authentic as they are meant as tactics of propaganda. It can also be used as a way to antagonize the “other side” by making them look undemocratic and unauthentic.
For the 2020 Presidential Election, at the time of this publication, Democratic candidate Joe Biden won 306 Electoral Votes versus incumbent Repbulican Donald Trump with 232. Mr. Trump and certain groups have been trying to undermine the integrity of the vote, calling it “Fraudulent” or “They didn't let us watch the count,” even going so far as to lodge lawsuits. So far, there has been absolutely no evidence of voter fraud in any way, all of his suits have been thrown out due to a lack of evidence..According to NBC News Online, “Of at least 36 cases to have been filed, including some not directly involving Trump but which could nonetheless affect his standing, at least 25 have been denied, dismissed, settled or withdrawn.”
For the 2020 Presidential Election, at the time of this publication, Democratic candidate Joe Biden won 306 Electoral Votes versus incumbent Repbulican Donald Trump with 232. Mr. Trump and certain groups have been trying to undermine the integrity of the vote, calling it “Fraudulent” or “They didn't let us watch the count,” even going so far as to lodge lawsuits. So far, there has been absolutely no evidence of voter fraud in any way, all of his suits have been thrown out due to a lack of evidence..According to NBC News Online, “Of at least 36 cases to have been filed, including some not directly involving Trump but which could nonetheless affect his standing, at least 25 have been denied, dismissed, settled or withdrawn.”
Additionally, the procedures to ensure a fair and impartial election is described by one state, the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The main way votes are counted fairly is with the “sample, hand-to-eye” count, which is a small, by hand count in 2 districts of each state. This count is then compared to the overall result to see if there was an error in the count.
Election officials are not allowed to “call” the election, the Associated Press, a non-profit news organization, are the ones who call the election state by state. Voting by mail has always been a part of the election for people who can't leave their house for some reason. This election, many people cannot vote in person due to covid-19, so voting by mail is completely necessary this election.
According to BallotPedia, 5 states have all mail voting, Colorado, Hawaii, Utah, Oregon, and Washington. Most states track the mail, but in some states the votes cannot be counted until election night delaying the final results. Mail in voting is a very effective system, according to an article from wbur, The rate of voter fraud through mail in voting is lowered due to protections like automated signature matching.These signatures are collected through documents like a drivers license renewal document. Another way mail in votes are kept safe is by the curing process, this is the process where a ballot with incorrect information is sent back to the voter so they can fix some incorrect information.
Overall, what matters most is that you vote when you can. Vote for your senators, your mayors, and most importantly, vote for the president. Famously, in 2000, the election of Bush vs. Gore came down to about 500 votes here in Florida. This just goes to show how important the vote is, where an election with 320 million people can come down to just 500.