More on the 2022 Big Steal

by Stephen Lendman

As long as most US voting is electronic and/or by mail-in ballots, rampant election fraud is virtually guaranteed.

An open, free and fair process depends on same-day voting.

It's by immediately tabulated/verifiable paper ballots — with receipts given individuals casting them.

Anything less delegitimizes the process.

US citizens aged-18 or older (aged-16 for some local elections) are eligible to vote if registered as required by all states — North Dakota the exception where registration is not required.

Non-citizens, including legal permanent residents may not vote.

In 2020, over 5 million US citizens, mostly people of color, were unfairly disenfranchised because of one or more felony convictions, including for minor offenses like illicit drug possession.

The 14th Amendment's equal protection clause is a meaningless figure of speech for the nation's most disadvantaged and abused.

In Richarson v. Ramirez (1974), the US Supreme Court upheld the disenfranchisement of convicted felons by a 6 - 3 majority — dubiously claiming no 14th Amendment infringement.

Justices Thurgood Marshall, William Brennan and William O. Douglas alone dissented.

Democracy in America is also a meaningless figure of speech in a nation where rights, according to the rule of law, are only afforded to the privileged few at the expense of the general welfare.

On Tuesday, Florida stood out as an example of how an open, free and fair process should be conducted.

While not perfect because mail-in ballots are allowed, "Florida is a paper ballot state, leaving an audit trail for every vote cast."

"Voters mark their paper ballot by filling in an oval next to their choice."

"An optical scanner reads a paper ballot, tabulates and securely transmits a copy of the results."

"The optical scanner includes features to secure sensitive components and election files." 

"Operating system controls limit and detect unauthorized access, and safeguards, such as data encryption and digital signatures."

Counties throughout the state are required to follow established security procedures.

Pre-elections, counties must perform what's called a logic and accuracy test — to assure ballots are correctly prepared and tabulated.

Post-elections, counties are required to perform a voting system audit — to assure procedures were accurately followed.

Counties may either tabulate ballots manually or by an automated independent audit.

Whichever method is chosen, results are open to public inspection.

To vote by mail, registered Florida residents must mail, fax or include a signed scanned attachment to an email — sent to the Supervisor of Elections.

Or a ballot can be requested by phone or in person at the above's office.

A request must include proper ID, information able to be verified.

It must be submitted within 10 days of an election and received no later than 7:00 PM on election day.

No system is perfect.

They can all be improved.

Florida's process is likely best among the 50 states.

Separately, residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and US Virgin Islands are US citizens.

Their executive, legislative and judicial systems are similar to how the 50 states operate.

Their residents pay federal taxes, but are denied representation like their counterparts in the US.

Each of the above territories elect one non-voting House member.

They have no Senate representation.

They're separate and unequal in breach of the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

What applies to the unconstitutionality of separating children by race in US public schools should hold as well on what relates to voting.

According to Title 52 - Voting and Elections:

"All citizens of the US who are otherwise qualified by law to vote at any election by the people in any state, territory, district, county, city, parish, township, school district, municipality, or other territorial subdivision, shall be entitled and allowed to vote at all such elections, without distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude; any constitution, law, custom, usage, or regulation of any state or territory, or by or under its authority, to the contrary notwithstanding."

No US citizen, wherever residing, should be disenfranchised for any reasons, except perhaps for clear evidence of illegally colluding with another nation.

All US voters should be guaranteed the right to have their ballot accurately included in the officially announced total.

Yet rampant election fraud occurred time and again in federal, state and local elections at least since the early 19th century.

Grand theft Election 2020 by undemocratic Dems was the most brazen example of a hugely debauched system.

And they were at it again on Tuesday — preventing what would and should have been a nationwide red wave by rigging the process in one state after another.

Florida dodged their chicanery by measures in place to prevent it.

If all states operated like Florida, midterm results would have been worlds apart from how they turned out.

With Republicans likely heading toward a slim House majority, GOP Judiciary and Oversight Committee chairmen should conduct probes to expose electoral fraud by Dems and call for holding responsible individuals accountable for what no one should tolerate.

If things turn out this way, it'll be an important step in the right direction, short of a game-changing moment.

Achieving the latter would require a dismantlement of the current system, perhaps a constitutional convention to replace what's too debauched to fix.