The most contentious issue in the 2020 presidential election may not be illegal immigration, the growing threats from abroad, the federal budget, or any of the other myriad topics that dominate the news. The focus of arguments could be the conduct of the election itself.
Democrats are attempting to dramatically alter the political landscape by various means, including eliminating most safeguards on illegal registration and voting, and giving felons voting rights.
Democrat opposition to anti-fraud measures such as picture ID has led to past embarrassment. In 2016, even as the party vehemently opposed those seeking to use that concept to combat illegal voting, the DNC required those seeking to gain entry to the floor of its presidential convention in Philadelphia to have such identification.
Current attempts to gain advantage at the ballot box center on legislative initiatives.
The New York State Assembly has introduced a state constitutional amendment that would allow for Election Day registration. Obviously, this allows no time to review actual eligibility to vote.
California has been a center of the pro-fraud movement. The state automatically registers anyone dealing with its Department of Motor Vehicles. The Wall Street Journal reports that the state DMV acknowledges that this has led to incorrectly registered 23,000 voters. Since California allows illegals to get rivers licenses, that has presented a major threat to ballot integrity. The LA Times reported in April that over one million illegals have been granted drivers licenses.
The use of the controversial concept of “ballot harvesting” has led to major gains for California Democrats. The Independent Voters Network (IVN) describes what happened: “Ballot harvesting was used for the first time in November, and has clearly been advantageous to Democrats… The “minor” change was implemented when Gov. Jerry Brown signed the changes in AB1921 into law two years ago. Here’s what it changed: In the past, California allowed only relatives or those living in the same household to drop off mail ballots for another voter. Ballot harvesting allows anyone, even a paid political campaign worker, to collect and return ballots — ‘harvesting’ them. In Orange County alone, every House seat went Democratic. The chairman of the county Republican Party, Fred Whitaker, said: ‘…the number of Election Day vote-by-mail dropoffs was unprecedented — over 250,000, this is a direct result of ballot harvesting allowed under California law for the first time. That directly caused the switch from being ahead on election night to losing two weeks later.’
“ In interviews, Speaker Paul Ryan said ballot harvesting ‘defies logic…We were only down 26 seats the night of the election and three weeks later, we lost basically every California race’
“In August, a federal judge in Arizona upheld the ballot harvesting ban in Arizona. HB 2023 makes it a felony for anyone other than a family member, caretaker or postal worker to collect another person’s ballot and turn it in to election officials. Supporters of the measure defend it as a safeguard against potential ballot tampering.Eighteen states have outlawed ballot harvesting, and on the website Ballotpedia, Ballot harvesting is listed under the section ‘Voter Fraud.’”
Allowing a partisan campaigner to collect ballots is an open invitation to fraud.
Another strategy pursued by Democrats to enhance their election chances has been giving convicted felons the right to vote. A study by The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciencefound that the majority of felons register as Democrats.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) notes that “ It has been common practice in the United States to make felons ineligible to vote, in some cases permanently…”
An NCSL study found that:
- In Maine and Vermont, felons never lose their right to vote, even while they are incarcerated.
- In 14 states and the District of Columbia, felons lose their voting rights only while incarcerated, and receive automatic restoration upon release.
- In 22 states, felons lose their voting rights during incarceration, and for a period of time after, typically while on parole and/or probation. Voting rights are automatically restored after this time period. Former felons may also have to pay any outstanding fines, fees or restitution before their rights are restored as well.
In 12 states felons lose their voting rights indefinitely for some crimes, or require a governor’s pardon in order for voting rights to be restored, or face an additional waiting period after completion of sentence (including parole and probation) before voting rights can be restored.
The Report Concludes Tomorrow
Illustration: Pixabay