"I believe that voting rights and making government work for everybody, the core issues to the Sec. of State role, shouldn’t be partisan issues."
Shemia Fagan, Candidate for Oregon Secretary of State
In yesterdays post I contrasted the comments of Democrat Shemia Fagan and Republican Kim Thatcher on the subject of vote-by-mail. In doing so I left out an important part of a word in Fagan's statement, reversing her meaning in that sentence. I left out her contraction "n't." Fagan meant voting rights and making government work should NOT be partisan issues.
I am sorry and embarrassed. It was my error, not hers.
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Shemia Fagan
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Candidate Fagan's website addresses directly the current attack by President Trump on universal access to mail voting, a system that has been long practice in Oregon. The Oregon Secretary of State position has a position of importance in this controversy as the top election official in a state that actually does the kind of voting Trump says leads to results so fraudulent and unreliable that they can be ignored. The Secretary of State is an eyewitness to the process. That official's affirmation that the vote he or she supervises is corrupt and unmanageable and the results unreliable would have credibility as a call to the Oregon legislature to change the system, and a signal nationally that Oregon had made a grave mistake trusting vote by mail. Alternatively, if the Oregon Secretary of State stands by the process and said it worked well, then it contradicts Trump's assertion that the universal mail-in voting is corrupt.
The Oregon Secretary of State's position has consequence. The validity of mail-in voting will likely be center stage in the national debate on election night and the days after, if the election is close. Trump has signaled he will contest the results if he isn't the winner, arguing that mailed ballots stole the election from him. Trump said, "the only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged."
Fagan's website includes this statement:
"Shemia has made it easier for every Oregonian to exercise their fundamental right to vote by eliminating barriers and increasing access to the ballot.
Oregon’s proud tradition of voting by mail is under attack from Donald Trump. Shemia is running for Secretary of State because she knows it’s never been more important to protect and expand our fundamental right to vote in Oregon."
Republican candidate Kim Thatcher said Oregon's system is "pretty good" but warned that other states without Oregon's experience may have problems of the kind Trump says invalidates elections with significant mailed-in votes. Her full statement is in yesterday's blog post.
Meanwhile, a flood of other news:
Biden raises $383 million, largely from internet requests for money.
Amy Coney Barrett continues to look poised and Democrats look frustrated and helpless.
Trump continues to hold rallies, described as "super-spreader events" by Democrats. Few attendees wear masks or attempt social distancing. The Trump campaign contrasts these events with Biden's.
Baron Trump caught COVID.
Fauci urges families to reconsider Thanksgiving plans. Trump further distances himself from Fauci.
Trump urges "suburban housewives" to support him, saying that he has "saved the suburbs" from being ruined by the wrong kinds of people moving in.
The NY Post publishes a controversial story on Hunter Biden. The Trump campaign tweets about it. Twitter locks down the Trump campaign for violating their standards on misleading information. Trump campaign calls foul.
Fox and Breitbart publish stories about lost and mis-handled mail.
2 comments:
I'm happy to be corrected but it seems to me that to be effective a VBM fraud would have to be extremely complex. It would first have to be in a very close, less than 1% election, which would require thousands if not tens of thousands of forged votes. The wider the margin the more would be required, likely triggering suspicion and then more scrutiny. One would need all those votes to have false identities to back them up in the case of a challenge. Most states require a recount if the margin is .5%, which also would put attention on possible frauds. Polling isn't perfect but a count that strays from the expected would also be suspicious.
Republicans keep raising the issue, but it seems like a total red herring.
If this pandemic has taught us anything, it's that national VBM should be instituted going forward. Voting has become the DMV of politics and that's not good for democracy.
Then there's the GOP in California setting up private, unsecured, unsanctioned ballot drop boxes. They are contesting Cease and Desist orders, inviting a court challenge. Isn't this a criminal (felony) activity? Why the "Cease and Desist?" Why aren't there arrests and confiscations? Talk about creating a diversion for fraud claims.
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