As you know, we have an election coming up rather quickly in which millions of Americans will head to the polls to cast their vote. However, given the somewhat disastrous results of our last national election, there are none too few who don’t exactly have faith in our voting system.
Now, this could be because their preferred presidential candidate didn’t win, despite having more votes early on than Biden did. Or it could be because since then, no small number of election fraud cases have been found and addressed, which could have changed the outcome of a few local elections and quite possibly even the big one…
Whatever the cases, there is some concern that the same could happen again come November.
But don’t just think those concerned are only those on the political right, you know, the ones who were gypped out of a legitimate president in 2020.
Instead, there is a growing number of those on the left who are worried that the “Big Lie” has and will interfere with the midterm cycle and the counting of votes. The biggest concern is that biased poll workers will try their hand at influencing the vote in the direction they want the nation to go.
According to a brief from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank based in Washington, DC, “There is mounting concern that temporary election workers recruited and trained by organizations with nefarious intent may undermine security and trust in the election process.”
The brief noted that since 2020, several “isolated incidents” of such have occurred.
In one case, Cleta Mitchell, a conservative lawyer who tried to help Trump overturn 2020 results, was found recruiting only right-wing poll workers. Another case found a Republican in Kent County, Michigan, guilty of two felonies for attempting to tamper with election computers during the state’s August primaries.
Naturally, this has led some to believe that much of the same kind of action should be expected from conservative poll workers in the upcoming election. Of course, these are likely the same people who are dumb enough to believe that over 8 million people voted to put Sleepy Joe in office.
Nevertheless, their voices have been loud enough for such concerns to be heard and addressed.
Thankfully, there are those like David Levine, a fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund. Levine, while admitting that “election deniers” and misinformation are indeed an unfortunate part of the political landscape of today, it doesn’t mean we need to treat every poll worker or conservative as a potential bad actor.
As he points out, “rogue poll workers” are few and far between. Of the nearly one million poll workers in 2020, only a few had nefarious intent. And since then, there has been even less, especially since everyone and their mother seem concerned about election integrity these days.
Additionally, the few such cases have been quickly identified and addressed, Levine says.
And for those who are still concerned about just election officials who want to ensure the most security and integrity during the upcoming poll times, there are efforts and procedures to put in place that will dissuade anyone with less than honest intentions from acting out on those thoughts.
First and foremost, this means giving each poll worker proper training, no matter how temporary or their personal political loyalties, which should include codes of conduct and oaths of intent. This not only lets poll workers know right off the bat that misbehavior will not be tolerated but also covers the election office should someone deviate from their oath.
Another good idea, and one that Levine highly favors, is the insistence that poll workers complete any and all tasks in teams or at least pairs. This ensures that no one worker is left alone with voter information, ballots, equipment, or anything that could jeopardize the integrity of the election.
Unfortunately, voter fraud will likely always be part of our elections. But hopefully, through safe and secure processes like these, as well as people actually getting out there and voting, this election will be more trustworthy than the last – no matter what the Democrats fear we are going to do.
