Election integrity returns to the national conversation

As we approach another presidential election cycle — one of the most pivotal in our nation’s history — the issue of “election integrity” will rear its ugly head once again, no matter on which side of the aisle you stand.  Without rehashing past elections (local, state, or presidential), it is clear that irregularities have occurred and perhaps determined a winning candidate.  To deny this is naïve.

It is no secret that many of our election laws and practices were manipulated by the Democrat party under the guise of mandated “social distancing” during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.  Well, the pandemic is by all accounts over, and life appears to have returned to “normal,” yet the loosened requirements for voter registration and voting remain in many jurisdictions.  Why have we not returned to the pre-pandemic laws and regulations?  The answer is obvious: the laws benefit the voting habits and practices of one political party over the other.

During the pandemic, many Western democracies did not alter voter registration or voting requirements, as did the United States.  In France, for example, voters use the same system that’s been used for generations: paper ballots, cast in person and counted by hand.  Despite periodic calls for more flexibility or modernization, France does not allow mail-in voting, early voting, or voting machines as the United States does.

Mail-in voting in France was wisely banned in 1975 amid fears of fraud.  Voters make their choices on the day of the election in a booth, with the curtains closed, then place their ballot in an envelope that is then put into a transparent ballot box.  They must show photo identification and sign a document next to their name to complete the process.  Voilà — perhaps there is a lesson there for the États-Unis!

Research shows that the integrity of our country’s elections compares poorly to other democracies.  A recent report published by the independent Electoral Integrity Project found that U.S. elections from July 2012 through December 2018 rated “lower than any other long-established democracies and affluent societies.”  Each country in the index was given a score out of 100 based on assessments of the quality of each of its elections — including categories such as electoral laws, voter registration, and voting process.  The U.S. score was 61 — the same as Mexico and Panama. 

Yes, Democrats will cry foul and level the usual epithets against Republicans, but if Americans are ever to regain faith in their government and elections at all levels, the sanctity of elections must return.  Without free and fair elections, the bedrock of our republic, we will simply fade away like many of the great civilizations before us.  Simply put, where there is no election integrity, there is no freedom, and where there is no freedom, there is anarchy.

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