Back in 1968 during the Democratic National Convention, anti-war protesters in the streets chanted, “The whole world is watching!” as Chicago cops thumped them with billy clubs.
Nowadays, the whole world seems to be watching Georgia’s State Election Board as Donald Trump’s three so-called “pit bulls” on the panel continue their efforts that would help their hero steal the next election if he comes up short again.
The once-obscure board is now white hot with national notoriety as the MAGA majority on Monday passed more rules to try and give election deniers a better foothold in the upcoming 2024 election.
The marathon meeting — I finally gave up at hour 9 — was replete with the usual hours-long public comments and “hearings” where citizens can propose petitions for rule changes to the state’s election regulations. It’s a bizarro world of suspicion, acrimony and “I do my own research.”
The meeting came on the heels of the election board being snubbed by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr, both of whom are Republicans.
Raffensperger said these “last-minute” procedure changes by unelected officials are “misguided attempts” to “delay election results and undermine chain of custody safeguards.”
And Carr on Monday noted he’s not going to reopen an investigation into Fulton County’s 2020 recount, which is the Great White Whale of MAGA election deniers’ existence.
On Monday, the board’s Trumpy Trip voted to create more steps before election results can be certified.
One rule would be to have a meeting at 3 p.m. the Friday after the election to verify vote counts, although military and overseas ballots are still coming in at that time. Votes are usually certified the Monday after an election.
Another part of the rule mandates that boards investigate discrepancies between the number of votes cast in a precinct and the number counted. Also, the votes from that precinct can’t be counted until a wide-ranging, somewhat nebulous investigation is completed.
The new rule also says if any discrepancies are discovered and cannot be corrected or explained, then election boards must figure out a manner to compute the votes. Also, “board members are allowed to examine all election-related documentation before certifying the results.”
This comes after the board two weeks ago voted to allow county election board officials to conduct “reasonable inquiries,” without ever defining what’s reasonable.
This all sounds, um, reasonable at first glance. You want vote totals to be correct. I used to be a bank teller and had to balance out my drawer at the end of each day, so I get it.
But real life in elections is sometimes a bit untidy.
In 2020, more than 500,000 citizens voted in Fulton County in the presidential election and all elections have screwups. I did not say fraud, I said “screwups,” as in errors. Poll workers check off the wrong person. Absentee voters cast a ballot and worry it didn’t arrive in time, so they go in and vote. The electricity in a precinct goes off, so voters are given paper ballots.
Fraud is very, very infrequent, even though the Stop the Steal squads say otherwise.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Proponents of these rule changes argue they’re trying make sure things are on the level. It’s the Democrats they worry about. But my nagging concern is they want enterprising election board members to keep investigating, keep digging, keep asking for new documents, keep pointing that there’s “something” there.
The more “chaos” is created and the more doubt and suspicion is cast on normal and relatively minor discrepancies, then certification of election results can be questioned. And if the election results are still uncertain, or if “questions” persist, then who knows what some wily state legislators might try to pull off?
In 2020, a group of suspicious-minded state senators tried all sorts of investigative/hearing chicanery to question the results of Trump’s loss in Georgia.
These moves are simply a way to better enable this year’s subterfuge if Georgia’s presidential election results are close and Trump ends up on the short end. It’s a nice foundation to try and steal an election.
Georgia is again in the crosshairs and all the major media outlets are paying attention to our State Election Board.
As an example of Georgia’s high profile in this matter, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley sent out a press release lauding the board for taking steps “critical to securing the election in Georgia and correcting its long history of chaos.”
The main “chaos” in 2020 was the work of the losing candidate. By “chaos,” I believe the chairman meant “we want chaos if needed.”
Whatley also congratulated Trump’s pit bulls for “common sense safeguards to ensure the election system is fair, accurate and transparent.” In fact, his press release noted “common sense” twice, and several of those speaking at Monday’s hearing also used the term.
I’ve been around long enough to know if someone keeps telling you it’s “common sense,” then you’re about to get screwed.
