Before anyone labels me, I’m a Canadian. Therefore, I am neither a Trump nor a Biden supporter. Also, I do not belong to nor support any political party in Canada. I do not adhere to any particular political doctrine or philosophy. Each one has its pros and cons.
I do admit, however, to being a political junkie. I enjoy watching the political process on both sides of the border, especially during election season (which I admit seems to go on forever). This interest stems from my involvement in political campaigns.
My election campaign experience
The first election I volunteered in was the 1968 Canadian Federal Election. I was part of the lawn sign crew for a candidate. Since then I have volunteered to work on numerous election campaigns as a communications/speechwriter, canvasser both door-to-door and telephone, and chaired numerous campaign committees including election day. I have also been a campaign manager on several occasions.
Is election fraud real?
Here’s a personal experience from an election campaign. You decide if there was voter fraud here.
I was election day chairperson for a candidate running in a winter by-election campaign (think January in Canada). I was going over the voter’s list and noticed an address in the riding had over twenty registered voters living there. Being the great detective that I am :), I suspected something might be amiss.
I paid a visit to the address and noticed there was a condemned notice stapled to the boards nailed over the front door of the house. All the other windows and doors were boarded up as well. I noted there were no footprints through the snowdrifts on the sidewalks leading up to the front or back doors. There was no helicopter pad on the roof, so I assumed no one had been in or out for quite some time. Oh, and all the people registered at the address had other addresses around the city but, miraculously, had moved to the riding just in time for the by-election. Many were on the membership list for the political party of our main opposition.
I reported this to the Chief Returning Officer for the riding who said she would investigate and get back to us. She didn’t. There is no doubt she was on the same party membership list.
The funny part is, that the other campaign didn’t have to cheat. They had held the riding for decades. They held a forty-point lead throughout the campaign and victory was assured. In fact, they could have run a cocker spaniel in the by-election and won.
Why did they cheat? I have encountered people like this before in campaigns in every party. My only conclusion is they are political zealots who will do anything to win an election.
In the past while, we’ve heard a lot of talk in the media and elsewhere about election fraud. This is nothing new. Election fraud is always alleged by the losing side—regardless of the political party. Sometimes it’s a legitimate claim while other times the party or candidate wants to shift the blame for a loss. Politicians of every stripe have whined at one time or another about ballot box stuffing, corrupt voting machines, or a myriad of other frauds.
I’m sure you’ve noticed the winning side never complains about election fraud. After the election, they compliment the process and say things like: “This election was one of the most honest on record” or “This election is a true reflection of the people’s wishes”.
Complaints about election fraud by losing politicians, political party officials, pundits, and pollsters don’t hold much weight with me. They will all whine and snivel that the loss was due to cheating by the other side.
What really matters is complaints from ordinary voters. This evidence plays a major role for me in determining if there was widespread election fraud. My rule of thumb is the more complaints from regular folks, the more fraud there was.
These are the clear indicators an election was fraudulent:
Thousands of voters show up at the polls on election day only to discover someone had cast a ballot in their name
People living in apartments complain they received numerous mail-in ballots for all the former tenants
A multitude of dead people voting (more than normal, that is)
People casting multiple ballots
Nursing home residents complain the staff filled out ballots for them
People dropping off bundles of ballots in the middle of the night at drop boxes or polling places
Barring one political party’s poll watchers from witnessing the voting process and the vote count
Screening off windows or otherwise restricting the voting area before and during the ballot count
Stopping the vote count on election night before all the ballots are counted
Illegally connecting voting machines to the internet
Any type of election fraud is not only dishonest but also dangerous. If people believe the electoral system isn’t fair and equitable, they’ll think their vote doesn’t count and withdraw from the process. Then, you no longer have a representative government and open yourself up to the possibility of a dictatorship.
So, how do we fix it?
First, we have to change our attitude.
Voting is a privilege, not a right. A right is absolute and cannot be infringed. A privilege on the other hand is granted if certain conditions are met. A good example is a driver’s license. You are granted the privilege to hold a license to drive if you meet the age requirement and pass a written and road test. We obtain the privilege to vote as a result of our citizenship—either birthright or naturalized.
Pass tough electoral laws
The best way to prevent election fraud is to enact strong legislation dictating exactly how the electoral process is conducted. More importantly, is to enforce those laws and impose strict penalties on those who break them.
Keep the list of electors up-to-date.
This helps all the political campaigns and makes the poll workers’ jobs easier on election day. Not on the voter’s list? You can show up with your valid government-issued ID or be sworn in at the poll.
Only allow mail-in ballots from the military or citizens working or living permanently out of the country
Then, require the out-of-country voters to obtain a proper ballot at their military base, or from a consulate or embassy by showing ID. The mail-in ballots must contain a signature and a photocopy of their valid government ID. If not, the ballot should be considered as spoiled and not counted.
Any politician or political party who mails out a multitude of ballots and then allows any ballots mailed back to be counted—wants to cheat. Oh, they say it is to ensure everyone gets to vote. That’s a load of bulls**t. They don’t care about that. Everyone, including my Aunt Martha, knows mailing out ballots is one of the easiest ways to commit election fraud.
Proper ID must be mandatory in order to vote
Who doesn’t have proper ID? Everyone is required to show ID to rent a car, buy a house, or even obtain a fishing license, so why not in order to vote? Contrary to what some politicians say, the requirement for voter ID is not undemocratic, it’s actually the opposite. A requirement for voter ID is necessary to ensure that candidates are elected by the majority of legal voters. That’s the basic element of a democracy.
Voting is by hand-counted pencil-on-paper ballots
This eliminates voting machines altogether. It is very difficult to cheat when a voter receives one ballot and marks the candidate(s) of their choice with a pencil. Politicians who want to cheat with voting machines say the process of counting the votes is too slow. Numerous jurisdictions around the world use pencil-on-paper voting and have election results within a few hours of the polls closing. And often a lot quicker than some U.S. states that use machines.
No midnight ballot drops
Most jurisdictions have laws stating that after the polls are closed, only ballots located within the polling place are to be counted. This seems like a good idea, huh? Counting ballots dropped off after the polls close (and especially in the middle of the night) is one of the clearest indications of election fraud. Jurisdictions that do not enforce this requirement want to cheat.
Poll Watchers
Every political party should have a representative at each poll or precinct to watch the voting process and be present to watch the ballots being hand-counted after the polls close. During their training sessions, I taught our poll watchers to challenge any ballot that didn’t clearly indicate a candidate. I also told them to disallow improperly filled-out ballots for our own candidate. Some of my poll watchers raised their eyebrows at that. I explained that the election campaign ends when the polls open for voting on Election Day. Their job was no longer political. They were there to ensure an honest and fair election—for all the candidates.
Now you know what to watch for…
Politicians or jurisdictions who don’t enact and enforce stringent election rules do so for a reason… and it’s usually because loose election laws or non-enforcement of laws, allow them to cheat and win. Politicians like this put winning ahead of integrity and they wonder why people don’t trust them.
You will also notice how the spin doctors on television will twist the election results to suit the narrative of their political masters:
If their party lost, the election was stolen. If their party won, the election was fair and honest.
The message never changes.
I’ll leave you with this…
An old-time Quebec politician Maurice Duplessis and his campaign team were notorious for cheating in elections in the 1930s and 40s. After a winning election campaign, the media noted that Mr. Duplessis received more votes in his riding than the actual number of people who lived there. When they asked him what he attributed that to, Mr. Duplessis replied, “Enthusiasm.”
Until next time, remember curious and skeptical is a good place to be.
Steven J. Daniels
The Skeptical Investigator
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