Andrew L. Urban
Many – including our PM Scott Morrison with his unsubtle public phone chat the other day (Nov. 12) with Joe Biden, whom he repeatedly called President Elect – are urging Donald Trump to just concede and go. They believe that no matter what skulduggery is unearthed in the Republicans’ probe into irregularities (to put it politely) among the millions of mailed in ballots, the result will be the same: Biden will be officially declared the next president on December 14 by the Electoral College.
But that misses a crucial point. As Trump has said, it is not just about whether it is “me or Joe” in the White House after January 20, 2021, but about the failures of the voting apparatus of the United States. The not so united about election laws States. The not so united application of the multifarious laws in 50 States. The not so united approach to ballot integrity.
In the last few days, observers of the Republican gathering of evidence to take to court will have heard of an array of ‘irregularities’, from an unconstitutional change to voting laws in one state (Pennsylvania) to computer ‘glitches’ that favour Biden in others, from affidavits by poll workers that accuse officials of urging illegal vote allocations or date changes, to the lists of dead people whose vote has been registered – and to the mystery of vast troves of Biden-only ballots in pre-dawn deliveries.
Whatever their party, whatever their choice, American voters cannot be satisfied with a system so cumbersome and so prone to rigging. It’s going the Democrats’ way today – but it can also work in favour of the Republicans next time. Better to know where the kinks are, better, surely, to see where it can be improved so the American nation can have full confidence in their vote being meaningful. With the Democrats’ track record of trying to unseat Trump for the past four years – whatever it takes – you can’t blame him for being suspicious.
With the massive increase in mail in ballots (over 60 million), it was always going to tempt the unscrupulous to try and ensure (or pervert) the outcome.