Across the country, politicians with more ambition than integrity are trying to explode Americans’ trust in our elections.
Taken individually, many of these attacks seem harmless, even amusing. Collectively, however, they constitute a concerted effort to undermine the trust that is necessary to the survival of any form of democracy.
We will no longer have a republic built for the people, by the people, if the people have no trust in the system by which we choose those to represent us in government.
Consider the case, for example, of two Republican candidates running for a county council seat in Greenville County, South Carolina. The losing candidate, Joe Dill, cried fraud, and he asked county Republican officials to overturn the primary election results and name him the winner.
And they did.
So then Joey Russo, the real winner, appealed to state Republican officials to overturn the decision of the county Republican officials.
And they did.
Then Dill called the state Republicans’ decision illegitimate and promised further action, unless his victory was restored, or a new election was held.
Or take the gubernatorial primary in Nevada, where a losing Republican candidate for governor also made unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. He demanded a statewide recount.
He finished 11 percentage points behind the winning candidate. The recount confirmed his loss. Unfazed, the loser continues to yell fraud and threaten lawsuits.
It’s not surprising that claiming voter fraud is the go-to reaction of losers because it’s been adopted by so many Republican leaders and former President Donald Trump.
THIS POLITICAL strategy puts us on dangerous ground.
In some circles, it’s now considered unAmerican and disloyal to abide by the decisions of voters. Trump’s supporters are urged to smear, threaten and bully election workers, and at the same time destroy Americans’ trust in their elections.
Attempts to overturn elections and sow distrust in Nevada, South Carolina and elsewhere are fueled by the lies and antics of Trump, but the campaign has grown far larger than one election or one man.
More than a year’s worth of court cases, audits and investigations show plainly and clearly that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. The election was fair. Trump lost.
