A whole new respect for the electoral process

This semester I'm teaching an American Government class which is the best way to force yourself to relearn all those things about the American government you forgot from middle and high school.  

Working as an election official is also a great opportunity to learn more about elections and how American government works.

Lord knows that working one election makes me an expert in exactly nothing, but I did learn a lot and the experience has helped me better understand how difficult it is to commit election fraud and why people are unlikely to do it. 

For example, at least in my state, if an individual requests an absentee ballot and receives it but doesn't follow directions (and therefore screws it up) or loses/misplaces it, that individual cannot receive another one. 

If a person never receives an absentee ballot, the board of elections can/will cancel the first absentee ballot so the individual can vote in person provided an election officer calls them and verifies everything. However, since the first absentee ballot has now been canceled, even if the individual lied that they never received it and sent it in, with the goal of voting twice, that first ballot will not be accepted/counted. 

In my state, identification has to be shown, although it doesn't HAVE to be a photo id. It can be a passport or social security card or Medicaid card--something with a signature. 

Now, I know some people think not showing a photo id means it is easy for someone to vote multiple times, perhaps by lying and saying they are someone else. Or maybe they stole someone else's Social Security card? 

Here is why this is unlikely:

Poll workers stay the entire day at their election site (they cannot leave the property) which means they have been watching people come to vote all.day.long. In a "normal year" when there isn't a pandemic, fewer people go to smaller precincts which makes it more likely the workers would remember someone coming in twice. In this abnormal year, there were over 100 poll workers, which increases the likelihood that someone would notice a "repeat customer" should that happen. 

Is it possible for someone to go from precinct to precinct to vote multiple times? 

Yes, I guess it is possible, but what would motivate a person to do this given that election fraud is a Class D felony? My assumption is that if someone voted 5 times illegally, they would be charged for 5 Class D felonies, which means they could be looking at 25 years in prison. 

What is the likelihood of someone taking a chance on 25 years in prison to vote 5 additional times? 

Are 5 additional votes going to make a difference? Not likely.

And if only 5 votes are the difference between a candidate winning or losing, there would be a recount, which would mean greater scrutiny of votes. 

Is it possible? Well, sure. We've all heard of stupid criminals, but it is very, very improbable. 

Is it possible that election officials could commit election fraud? 

Each person who works at an election site must swear an oath to follow the US Constitution and their state laws in order to help people to vote. Some areas are able to pay their poll workers, while other areas do not have the funds to do this. 

I arrived at the precinct where I worked at 4:45 am and left that evening at 6:30 pm. My area pays its election officials (which I did not know until I got there that morning). I made around $14/hour before taxes. 

I can assure you that there is NO FREAKING WAY ON THIS EARTH THAT I WOULD COMMIT VOTER FRAUD WHEN I AM BEING PAID SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ZERO DOLLARS AND $14 AN HOUR. 

There is absolutely zero incentive for me to commit fraud. 

Right now, absentee ballots votes are being counted in multiple states, and there are mumblings about fraud. 

Again, as mentioned above, this is not likely. 

Could the election officers who are counting commit fraud?

Possible, but they, too, would commit a felony if they tried to tabulate incorrectly or not tabulate at all. 

Is an election official likely to do this? 

No....because what incentive do they have? If they work for the county clerk in their respective area, they would be committing a felony AND losing their job as a result of committing that felony. 

I sometimes hear mumblings about "illegals" voting, which is unlikely for a very important reason. 

Let's assume someone is living in the country illegally. This individual would want the government to not know where they are, what they are doing, right? 

If I am trying not to be deported, I'm very, very, very unlikely to go register to vote and show my id and, once again, commit a felony. 

All of this is to say that despite conspiracy theories, it makes very little sense for people to commit voter fraud. 

Tears...the day after

Today a few tears were shed in our household. The historical election of 2008 just got everyone's emotions in high-gear.

This morning, I asked D if he had told N about Barack Obama winning the election. When he told N, she said, "But I wanted John McCain to win," and then got quiet. All of a sudden, she walked up to me and burst into tears, saying over and over again, "But I wanted John McCain to win." It took a good 10 minutes to console her and calm her down. D said, "Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it," but I reminded him that they would likely talk about the results at preschool and better for her to be so upset at home than at school. I asked her if she wanted to draw John McCain a picture to send to him since he was probably sad too that he hadn't won. She told me what she wanted to say in her note to him. And here it is:

N's picture of John McCain

Dear John McCain, I am sad because you didn't win. I wanted

you to win and that's why I cried.

She even put a "Thinking of You" sticker and a "Feel Better Soon" sticker on his note. She mailed it this afternoon to his D.C. Senate office.

After I dropped her off at school, I proceeded to run some errands, all the while listening to BBC World News Hour on NPR. I'm not normally a weepy person, but listening to the reports and interviews with people as they watched the election coverage and after the election was called did get me a bit misty.

In less than 50 years, the US has moved from denying Blacks the right to vote to seeing a man of Black heritage become president. This fact combined with the powerful voter turnout and activism during this election do make me proud. It makes me feel that the US made a major developmental leap. We are a nation in its infancy, in a sense, but perhaps this takes us from crawling to toddling.

But I worry about so much enthusiasm and optimism on the part of the electorate. While I think Obama will do a good job....certainly no worse than his predecessor...I also know he isn't perfect, and he can't change the course of the entire US in 4 years. I worry that because he is the first Black president and one who invigorated his supporters with hope, he will be held to absolutely impossible standards and expectations. He is not going to make our society perfect. That is too much burden to place on one man's shoulders.

Although I didn't watch John McCain's concession speech, I have heard it was powerful and revealed the true maverick McCain, the one who apparently was hidden under a rock during the campaigning. I can't help but wonder how he feels, and if he thinks he was steered wrong. Of course, he probably had to accept being steered wrong to get the support of his party (all candidates do to some extent, I guess).

Suffice it to say, I am glad this election is over and the talk around our house can go back to the mundane and non-political.