By SUZANNE DOWNING
The left and the right side of the political spectrum are going in different directions in terms of making elections secure. From Alaska to Georgia, and from local elections to statewide races, progressives are trying to create a system that relies on the honor of voters and campaigns, as conservatives want controls in place to prevent fraud.
In Anchorage, Alaska, a city that has been run by a far-left Assembly and mayor for the past six years, the municipality moved to all-mail-in ballots for local elections starting in 2018, and people who have moved away from the state now get votable ballots across the country from Alaska’s largest city.
This has raised questions about the integrity of the voter rolls as those who haven’t voted for years in Alaska are surprised to see ballots in their mailboxes in Arizona, Colorado, and Maine, to name a few. Questions are being raised by conservatives — and only conservatives — about how prone the system is to fraud, with ballots in the wild and ballot harvesters now paid to fly into the state and work specific multi-family neighborhoods.
At the state level in Alaska, voters are facing a “jungle” primary that voters thought would improve elections. There is now no separate primary ballot for the Republican Party candidates, as there has been for decades. Since this measure passed (pushed by out-of-state progressive money), the Alaska Republican Party has not fought for its right to maintain its own primary ballot as a matter of freedom of association, as it has fought for and won in the past (Wayne Anthony Ross vs. State of Alaska).
Then there’s a ranked-choice system in the Alaska General Election in 2022. No state has ever tried to have citizens vote a jungle primary and then switch to a ranked-choice ballot general election, and it’s sure to cause confusion.
Trying to explain how this new election scheme works to normal Alaskans, even politically attuned ones, is not easy: They’ll vote for their favorite in the primary, but when it comes to the general, they will have to choose their first, second, third, and fourth choice in all races.
Those candidates who perform poorly will be tossed and the voter’s choice will work its way up the ballot, as some voters will essentially get to vote more than once in this scheme. The tabulation will be done by machine, and no hand recounting can occur because of the reassignment of votes. Voters will have to trust the machines.
In Seattle, the election experiments have reached the absurd: The city has started charging taxpayers to fund mayoral candidates through “democracy vouchers.” This led to an extremist, anti-public safety candidate being awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars to push his bizarre anti-social platform, which includes defunding the police by at least 50 percent, and implementing rent control on residential and commercial property. Taxpayers are having to pay for this mayoral candidate’s campaign, because his ideas cannot stand on their own.
Thus, “democracy vouchers” force taxpayers to pay for ideas they may diametrically oppose.
In Texas, Democrat lawmakers followed the orders of their leader in the State House last and snuck out of the Capitol building before a bill to restore integrity to voting could pass.
Robbed of a quorum, Republicans were not able to roll back the Covid-19 voting liberal abnormalities put in place last year. Also under the Republicans’ bill, mailed-in ballots would require a state ID number or at least the last four digits of one’s Social Security number, as added security to ensure actual citizens are voting in a state whose borders are being overrun by immigrants.
The bill would ban the practice of “vote harvesting in exchange for compensation,” something all states should do, and tightens the rules around voter fraud. Why don’t Democrats think this is a good security measure?
The Texas bill would prevent tabulating machines from being connected to a wireless internet connection. It would require mailed-in ballots to be reported separately from traditionally voted ballots.
In Georgia, new laws require voter identification for absentee ballots, and officials can’t mail out ballots to all voters without voters requesting them, as is being done in Anchorage. Also, campaign workers can’t go through the lines at balloting locations and offer people food and drink as a form of electioneering, and election offices can’t take money from liberal foundations to run their operations, as many did in 2020.
Florida’s new voting integrity law also limits the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots, and also limits ballot harvesting of absentee ballots. It adds a requirement that voters requesting absentee ballots do so every two years, rather than every four, preventing quite as many dead people from voting.
Across the nation, progressives are trying to make elections less secure, as if elections should be based on the honor system, while conservatives are trying to patch the loopholes that progressives are exploiting to get the outcomes they want.
The outcomes wanted by conservatives? Simply to restore faith in free and fair elections. It is not too much to ask.
Suzanne Downing writes for NewsMax, Must Read Alaska, and Must Read America.
Are there no plans to question the ranked-choice voting scheme that was “pushed” on us Alaskans? Will there be a challenge to the validity of this absurd voting “regularity?” One can only hope for some sane reasoning in this world of outrageous divisiveness.
Progressives are so smart! They already know what is best for the masses that elections really are not necessary. Just look at their success stories in from Venezuela to Zimbabwe. They generally only have to win once and their policies insure that they will never lose again (except when those nasty Bronson observers interfere).
If this Republic is to survive with something resembling liberty for the people, progressives must be stopped and their policies crushed. Voter apathy allowed this to happen in Anchorage (low information voters) and only education of the populace before progressive policies are cemented in place will save us. Every instance of progressive politics taking power, from Syracuse in 366 BC to Hitler in 1933 AD (garnering under 44% of the votes) has ended in massive disaster for the people. People ignorant of history will repeat it. Do we really want another French Revolution?
I do find it ironic that any legislation that would decrease the chance of fraud, (and in so doing reduce the complaints of and charges of election tampering), is roundly denounced by mostly ONE SIDE of the aisle.
For those on that side who want to increase unverified voting and think that minorities are incapable of obtaining IDs (all those illegal drivers, oh my!), can you please chime in and inform us why LESS identifying of voters (dead or alive) is a bad idea? No, we don’t need the ad hominem of those you disagree with.
We just need a reasoned response why some of us are being unreasonable to request that you ID yourself before you cast a vote. We welcome reasoned responses. Can someone help here?
I would first ask was there wide spread voter fraud in Alaska and is there proof of voter fraud. As I remember Trump had 60 court cases which were all thrown out. No proof whatsoever.
SCOTT REES, it is deeply ingrained in the progressive ideology that minorities are inferior in every way and intellectually incapable of following the same rules or simple instructions to do things like obtain an ID or figure out a ballot in person. They relegate minorities to paternalistic government programs because they consider them incapable of even the most mundane functions in life, like being able to feed themselves, provide for their own housing or provide their own medical care (not applying to those owed by the nation in compensation for losing their sovereignty).
George Bush called it ‘soft bigotry of low expectations’ but some might almost think it is ‘white supremacy’. After all, they are the party of the KKK, and Lyndon Johnson specifically stated that his Great Society was meant to ‘keep them in their place with enough to get by but not enough to get ahead.’
Unfortunately, poorly informed voters, who I optimistically believe had good, if misguided intentions, were tricked into voting in favor of Prop 2 to eliminate the so called “dark money” donations. In the same way that voters are often faced with choosing between “the lesser of 2 evils”, manipulators have stepped up their game by combining opposing ideas into 1 ballot measure. While it appears to create a compromise ie.willingness to accept the bad with a little good in return, in actualuality it makes the whole thing bad. Compromise leads, at best to stagnation, and at worst full on failure. This is the same reason Congress is stagnant and failing. Too many opposing ideas combined into one enormous bill so that everyone is feeding off of everyone.
You want a do-over too? Jeff in Tok says Alaskans were pushed into it and you say they were tricked. Cry us a river here!
The stupid just screams out on here sometimes.
Scott, you’re not being unreasonable at all to anyone who believes our republican democracy is the best form of government ever instituted among humans. But those complaining aren’t thinking about anything short of a takeover and overthrow of the America we know and love – and replacing it with a communist hellhole that only benefits a few while enslaving the rest of us. The left is just plain EVIL.
A Good read.
The new rules work for all people
Red, Yellow, Black and White.
Stop the woke, racist bull.
One vote, in person with ID.
End of Story
Why would a Democrat espouse election integrity knowing that they get into office by cheating? This is purely counterintuitive. Kill the goose that lays the golden egg? C’mon man. Even the Democrats with Alzheimers seem to have this one figured out.
Look folks, Suzanne is right on the money with this article. We the people need to stop complaining and take action just like the folks in Arizona! It will be a grind and yes we are all busy trying to raise our families and just live but these leftists are not resting until they have shredded your constitutional rights and taken everything from you. I intend to do my part in ending this debacle. We are the majority and just need to stand up and get busy. We can restore our nation and our elections with some hard work and teamwork. Let’s organize and do our part because our children are depending on us!
How amusing and ironic it is to see Republicans preaching to others about – – wait for it – – Integrity, and all the while pushing the Big Lie.
Whidbey Thedog, lack of integrity knows no party-just look at Trent Lott and Paul Ryan. Some of us want non-partisan honesty in our governance and party symbol does not matter.
Yes Bill Yankee, I believe that if the 2 issues had been separated on the ballot, as they are clearly 2 unrelated issues, the results would have been different. Nice job resorting to taunting and name calling though. That strategy always works when you hit that mental dead end and have no rational arguments to contribute to the discussion.
Andrew Troy, cry ‘racist’ is the last gasp of a desperate progressive.
Andrew, you are certainly entitled to think “the results would have been different,” but that’s your opinion and tough noogies to you. Also, former president Eisenhower always had trouble dealing with the fact that half of folks have IQs of less than 100 and I’m suggesting your ilk is proof positive.
Bill Yankee, I’m not sure how you define my “ilk”, but if I understand what you mean, I am sure that my ilk would say the same about your ilk. So, let’s keep it simple in order to obtain the best results considering what we have to work with over all. Each eligible voter takes an ID to their assigned voting location and casts a vote for the candidate of their choice by using a pen to mark on a piece of paper. Each vote is carefully and honestly counted and added to the tally. When complete, the tally is written on paper, and delivered to the next tally location, and so on up the chain of command until they all reach the electoral college. The electoral college then certifies the votes and casts its final vote. Simple. No electronics, no internet, no magical algorithms. Seems that even a “low IQ” voter could have faith in the integrity of that.
Let’s not forget that former President Eisenhower also warned us against the dark forces and dangers of the military industrial complex. THAT is what my “ilk” is fighting against.
You believe your ilk was tricked into voting for something they couldn’t understand and I believe it’s because they would have to be seriously low-watt bulbs to be that easily tricked.
Elections have consequences, plain and simple. I can certainly see why you (and Don Trump) are needing do-overs on them (elections), but good luck there.
I do agree about Eisenhower’s warning on military industrial complex.
Bill Yankee, sadly there are many who pay little attention to the issues other than what they see between stupid shows on Nickelodeon. We will never educate them. The larger issue is fraud, ALA Gabby Ledoux. You may jeer because your crazy guy won this time, but when the next crazy right wing narcissist thinking themselves divinely appointed slimes into office you will likely sing a different tune. Fraud happens, just ask Gabby (good luck with an honest answer there). I saw it and I participated in a younger life, as I have earlier stated. To keep our system of governance and our liberty there must be confidence in both our elections and government. Yesterday a poll posted showing confidence in our voting system under 50%, and in our elected officials under 10%. This cannot stand if we are to continue as a nation of law. Or do you prefer a one party system garnering 99% every election. Be careful what you wish for.
Nothing but gibberish AK!
Suzanne take note, an old edition of IE, never updated, allows replies!
Bill Yankee, let me use simpler terms for you: some people cheat.
Some believe themselves so righteous that they must take charge because it is their destiny-Divine Right Of Kings. They are supremacists of whatever flavor, believing themselves superior to the rubes of the masses, and as such believe that they must lead the rubes to the proper path (using any means) and that the rubes are so inferior, so stupid that they are incapable of proper leadership decisions. Liberals believe in Plato’s idealism(which has failed every time it was tried) and believe themselves to be the philosopher class, the high elite ruling over the ignorant worker class. Most liberals are atheists believing in no higher power than themselves to which they are responsible, only to themselves and their righteousness, worshiping false idols at every step-‘the trees are singing, mother Gaia, the universe speaks to me.’ They are narcissists and thus have no reason to listen to anyone who disagrees. Liberals are the puppies with closed eyes of the joke, so it goes that once their eyes open they become republicans (I could argue the fallacy of that).
So these words may be gibberish to you because you refuse to see any point of view other than your tiny little tunnel vision perspective likely fed to you by Rachael Maddow and Brian Stelter. Perhaps you can be no more educated than a cockroach because any words varying from your dogma are beyond comprehension-gibberish. But I retain the hope that perhaps one day your eyes may be opened to see the world beyond your back yard, and care for mankind beyond your little progressive circle. I believe enough to take the time to respond.
.
More gibberish AK.
‘There is none so blind
As He who will not see
We must not close up minds
We must let our thoughts be free
For every hour that passes by
You know the world gets a little bit older
It’s time to realize that people lies
In the eyes of the beholder
And everything is beautiful in it’s own way
Like a starry summer night
On a snow covered winter’s day, sing it children
Everybody’s beautiful in their own way
Under God’s Heaven
The world’s gonna find a way’
Ray Stevens
Perhaps one day you will choose to open your eyes…Hee hee
More cowbell, AK!
Wow Bill Yankee. Sorry to agitate you so, but truth will set you free!
Who is agitated?
You’ve been falling all over yourself attempting to show something that nobody has asked for. Hilarious though.
Tough noogies!
Comments are closed.