Letter to the Editor
Dale Burton- Prosperity, WV (LOOTPRESS) What would occur If Americans did not trust the validity of our election results?
On Election Day 2020, mass amounts of American citizens lined up to vote for the candidate they felt would best represent them in a variety of elected government positions. They voted for the candidate(s) that will fight for them, that align with their political ideology, the candidates that best exemplify their own desires for the next steps to be taken within local, state, and federal government. The results of those decisions will have an impact on the lives of more than 328 million Americans. Each vote cast is done with great trust that the vote is filed, counted, and applied as was intended in the voting booth. Americans also trust that every vote that is counted is counted with integrity. That trust is predicated on our election officials only counting votes that are legally cast, are counted once, with each vote having the same qualifications as the others. There is one set of rules.
What if Americans did not trust these things to be true? What if our election integrity was called into question?
Flashback to 2016: Democrats pound the Trump Administration over perceived Russian interference in the election. The “left” proceeded to fight the validity of the results for 3 ½ years without any evidence of the Trump Administration being involved only later for it to be proven that Democrats were organizationally involved in spying on the Trump campaign and running interference of their own.
Fast forward to 2020: There have been hundreds of reports of voter fraud throughout the country over the past 13 days. There have been numerous instances where transparency of the vote tabulation was denied. Voters are questioning the validity of tens of thousands of mail-in ballots received after deadlines, backdated to meet deadlines, and other considerable counting irregularities. This, after 3 ½ years of trying to remove a duly elected President from office through manipulation, deception, fabrication, and coercion. People have a right to question what they have observed as foul play in our election process. It is not just our right, but it is our duty.
Is any of this true? Are our elections protected and not susceptible to fraud? Perception is important concerning elections. We sat in our homes last week and listened to Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris call for unity within our country. If they truly valued unity, they would call for each and every vote to be counted correctly and transparently in order to preserve the perception of integrity in our elections. If the left wants unification, it is time for them to join with the right and demand transparency. They should support auditing and recounting the vote. You cannot unify 328 million Americans when half of them do not recognize the election results as legitimate. The last few years are a prime example. The only thing to do now is verify the vote. Don’t just recount the vote, but audit it. Allow the American people to view the process. Let the courts rule on the constitutionality of the guidelines, allow bipartisan oversight, televise the audits, and live with the result. It is vital to our Republic that our election results are trustworthy and verifiable. This is an option for our country. Neither side should be fighting this. There is no candidate or race that is worth the loss of the integrity of our election system. If our government refuses to preserve our Republic then it is up to the citizen to demand it.
So, to answer the original question: If Americans did not trust the validity of our election results, what would occur? We are answering that question right now with either our apathy or our actions. A call for an audit of the vote at a time when the process is at its most vulnerable is appropriate and necessary to preserve our confidence as a society in our election process.
Preserve the perception of our election integrity. Transparently audit the vote.