Donald Trump is the type of person to always claim fraud when he loses, but, nevertheless, I think it’s a good idea to closely examine America’s voting system. There IS room for fraud–by either Democrats or Republicans. Perhaps even the Republicans cheated more than the Democrats in this election. How would you know?
I could EASILY sign and date my mail-in ballot and sell it to someone. Though of course the solicitation of these transactions would likely be uncovered fairly easily as well. So it’s unlikely this could happen large scale.
My biggest concern is actually the discretion inherent in deciding whether a mail-in ballot signature matches what’s on file. I could see Republicans deciding to be more stringent on this and Democrats deciding to be less stringent, since mail-in ballots overwhelmingly favor Democrats.
People’s signatures change. Especially when you’re young and when you’re elderly. I remember being concerned in the past that my mail-in ballot might not be counted because the signature I used was so different from the one on file from when I was 18!
Also, mail-in ballots make the voting process a lot less anonymous. Your name is literally next to your ballot! This sure makes it easier for domineering or abusive spouses to guarantee their spouse votes how THEY want. And this is just one example of how this lack of voting anonymity could be exploited.
In terms of poll watchers, I have to agree that it’s not very meaningful if the poll watchers are not close enough to see what’s going on. I have to be honest and say that I don’t have a very clear idea of how things go inside the ballot tabulation centers. Maybe there are additional checks on the system that keep the counting honest. I would really like to gain a clearer understanding on how exactly that system functions.
But yes, as citizens we should have a good understanding of how the system works and what measures are in place to keep the system honest. And when those integrity measures are not followed, we ought to protest, because if the proper procedures are not followed, we can no longer guarantee that the results are legitimate, even if they are. It’s like buying a Pringles tube and realizing the seal is missing when you get home. Maybe it just slipped off on its own and the chips are fine, or maybe someone tampered with the chips to intentionally poison people. Are you gonna eat those chips?
So it would be good for America to get to the point where everyone understood exactly what procedures are in place to keep the voting system honest, and where we all collectively become concerned when those procedures are violated.
I’m not saying to declare a conspiracy whenever you hear a report of something not going according to proper procedure. Honest mistakes happen and not all reports are credible. What I’m saying is that it’s dangerous for Americans to assume without verification that their voting system is functioning honestly. There is a level of healthy skepticism when it comes election integrity.