The Election Was Secure. Why Rush Electoral Reform?

Voting was probably never easier than it was in 2020, and we saw record turnout. Both parties are taking away the wrong lessons.

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You wouldn’t know it from how Republicans and Democrats are talking, but the 2020 election was actually a success.

During a pandemic, we had a national election with record-breaking turnout. The presidential candidate receiving the most votes in both the Electoral College and in the popular vote was rightly declared the winner and sworn in on schedule. There was no evidence of fraud that would have changed the results. The election was certified and tallied by Congress mostly on schedule.

Yes, that “mostly on schedule” elides the fact that Donald Trump spent months trying to steal an election he lost, culminating in a deadly insurrectionist mob swarming the Capitol.

But as terrible as that was, nearly everyone in a position of real responsibility and accountability, from former Vice President Mike Pence down to officials in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, did what the law and the Constitution required.

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  1. Ed K

    I’d like to know which Republicans—-let’s name names please—-believe they can’t win without “severely restricting minority access to the ballot box.” The Democrats want you to believe this is true, but I doubt it. If there are actual Republicans who believe this and are motivated by this, we need to know who they are so we can have a “national conversation” to stop that.

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    Ms. SSM

    ‘It would also help their cause if Republicans in various state legislatures weren’t actively working to make it harder for Democrats—disproportionately black and Latino Democrats—to vote.’

    Yeah. That would help. But something tells me appealing to their better angels isn’t going to work. If it did we would never have needed the first voting rights act. So instead I’m going to rely on federal legislation as it’s historically been what’s protected my voting rights. Is this current bill the best? No. But is it better then letting states like my own sweet GA run rampant. Absolutely. This is a no brainer for me. Voting is the whole bag. It secures all other rights. If states aren’t going to protect my right to do it then I want the feds to step in.

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    Will Bates

    The Federal Government clearly has a vested interest in maintaining free and fair elections. Federal government intervention is the only reason blacks were grantedvthe ability to vote in the south.

    So when a cabal of state-level Republicans launch a nationwide, concerted campaign of voter suppression - and don’t give me this baliney about it being about election integrity, some of them have said the quiet parts out loud - it clearly warrants a federal response.

    HR1 isn’t it. Its too much. But if our elections have any chance of being free and fair, this Republican tactic must be stopped. If they are to win, they should win by actually winning. Otherwise the U.Scis a failed republic.

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    BrettH

    Nice piece, thanks Jonah. Record turnout and both sides are freaking out because it’s all a
    race to the bottom for now. My current view of both parties is: why let reality get in the way of politics.

    I’m not willing to carry water for any of these clowns. You’re right, our political elite are anything but. It’s like watching high school cliques try to one up each other in sophomoric fashion.

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    Pat Riot

    Here's a handy resource outlining the post-2020 Republican onslaught to suppress the vote nationwide. This report outlines 253 Republican-backed bills in 43 states to make voting harder to do and no more secure than it is already:

    https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/2021_BCJ_REPORT_CongressCouldChangeEverything_R3.pdf

    With this much legislative activity, I think it's fair to say that *this* is what Republicans are primarily going to work on for the next four years.

    Think about that for a moment: 30 years ago we were arguing in favor of an economic structure in the USA that would make all Americans more prosperous--lowering taxes in order to make businesses grow, employment rise, and standards of living go up. This was the positive message from Republicans.

    Now it's Mr. Potato Head to win the primary election and voter suppression to win the general.

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  6. Mirabelle

    There should be a law that states that if you have people waiting longer than an hour to vote, next election there will have to be no-excuse mail-in voting offered. Let me go further: with the lack of funds so many communities have, let's go to no-excuse mail-in voting across the states to save money for our communities.

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    Victor Clairmont

    Well, it’s about power and solidify voting structures more favorable for democrats to be elected.

    That’s all this is, power politics. So I basically agree with your statements here Jonah.

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  8. DanB

    I don’t think voting should be made easier-if your vote needs to be “harvested” then how likely are you to have put forth the effort to educate yourself to make wise voting decisions.

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    1. Tim Johnson

      How very Big Government of you. Please let me know when you think I'm 'educated' enough to vote.

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      1. DanB

        Running elections are a government responsibility in anyone’s book, so not sure what your point is. If you can’t rise to the occasion of getting yourself to a polling place on a specific day known months in advance, or place your own absentee ballot in your own mailbox, then I’d prefer you not vote. Voting shouldn’t be a spur of the moment decision.

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    Jake

    I think more evidence is needed for whether or not voter suppression actually happened. Increased turnout does not mean there was no suppression. It does at least mean it was not powerful enough to decrease the number of votes cast.

    Of course, HR 1 is still insane, with the political speech restrictions and the campaign donation money. But I feel like there's not a great argument against some of the election stuff, and that's coming from someone who really distrusts the demos.


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    1. Tim Johnson

      The campaign donation money is silly, but I'm unclear what political 'speech' restrictions there are - i've only seen the complaints about divulging donor names, and i'm all for more transparency in politics.

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    rlritt

    I think Democrats in Congress are responding to the reaction of Red states' attempt at making voting harder. Every investigation showed hardly any election fraud, yet they are making voting harder in their states.

    One complaint I don't understand is how voter ID makes elections safer. Someone said if you don't require ID'S people who aren't registered will come in and vote using the name of someone who is registered. This is ridiculous. First off you have to have the same signature and there are questions to be asked that need to be answered.

    But it might happen once or twice but not 1,000's of times, which is what would happen to overthrow an election.

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    1. Ed K

      FWIW, when I tell my European friends that ID is not required to vote in many states, they think that is insane. They cannot understand why it wouldn’t be required.

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        rlritt

        When I lived in France 40 years ago you couldn't go anywhere without an ID. Even walking your dog. The police could stop you anytime day or night and ask to see your ID. If you didn't have it they could take you to the police station to verify your identity. We don't do that here. I'm not saying one is better than the other. Just different..

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      Steve Gordon

      Keep in mind, the Dem's response in 2021 is actually the recycled HR1 from 2019, which is weird since they had such a great election in 2018. Again in here in WA, which is part of what they're trying to HR1, it's ALL mail-in voting. So once you get registered, the ONLY safeguard is the signature (which they're actually pretty good at matching). You get registered when you get a driver's license, with nearly zero vetting, and then you're can vote in every election as long as someone can sign you ballot.

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      Pat Riot

      The difference in voter fraud propensity between states with draconian voter ID requirements and states with no requirements is... ZERO.

      Only the insane would risk a felony conviction for one stupid vote, and as we saw in the last election, invalid votes stick out like a sore thumb. This is the core lie told by Republicans for the last two decades. It's never been about voter fraud.

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        Steve Gordon

        I don't think invalid votes stick out nearly as much when the voting is done 100% by mail, or "harvested" by political activists as is done in CA. We also have same day registration and there have been people convicted of registering and voting in multiple jurisdictions in one day. It's stuff like that hurts the integrity of the system, even though it almost never enough to actually sway a big election. But it does sway some local elections that matter to people.

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          Pat Riot

          Virtually ZERO fraudulent votes found in California. Virtually ZERO.

          NO significant difference between California and Republican voter-suppressed states in terms of voter fraud.

          By "people" you mean, "a dozen or two in the last 20 years", and most of these don't come with jail sentences because they were simple mistakes.

          Thanks for playing, "Stop the Steal 1.0"...

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            Steve Gordon

            I can't comment much on CA, but was at dinner with a top GOP operative from there who had some anecdotal stories that seemed sketchy. We do have a challenge going in WA where voters moved into a district mysteriously right at the deadline that moved a Leg district. I'm no "Stop the Steal" devotee as you dismissively insinuate, but I do think there's some ground level games that get played (both ways) that are harmful to the integrity of the process.

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        rlritt

        People who complain about elections should get off their duffs and sign up to work the elections. I started to do it because of the Al Gore incident. I wanted to understand why there was so much confusion.
        It really opened my eyes and I saw how seriously the poll workers take their jobs. They work really hard. I once stayed until midnight. The pay is a minimal flat rate for the day. When you consider you have to get there at 5 am and work to at least 10 pm.

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