We should not have to live this close to election theft
Whose votes does the Trump campaign seek to throw out? Mine, among others.
Before I explain how I voted and who I am, I must start with a basic principle. It is always wrong, unethical and antidemocratic to throw out the vote of any qualified, non-fraudulent voter. Anyone who argues for retroactive re-interpretation of technical voting rules in order to deny a vote is prioritizing partisan advantage over fairness and decency toward fellow citizens.
I voted in the November election by absentee ballot. On Sept. 2, I applied for my absentee ballot by email to the City of Milwaukee Election Commission and received a reply the next day confirming that my application was received. My photo ID is on file with the city commission. I received my ballot by mail, I filled it out, my wife witnessed it and I personally deposited it in a city ballot drop box on Oct. 7. The drop boxes were authorized by the Wisconsin Elections Commission, an agency created by Republican legislators and Gov. Scott
Walker.
I checked myvote.wi.gov (the Wisconsin Elections Commission site) and it shows that my ballot was received on Oct. 8.
The Trump campaign has now — weeks after the election — asked the courts to throw out my ballot.
Why? Because they seek a post-election ruling that drop boxes should not have been approved by the commission. Given the security measures put in place and the risks of COVID-19, this would have been a dubious argument if raised before the election.
But it’s outrageous to seek to apply it after an election to invalidate votes already cast.
The fundamental premise of these lawsuits is deeply unethical. It is never right to throw out the vote of a qualified voter based on after-the-fact changes in laws and procedures.
Yet here is Trump’s repugnant sleight of hand: He would turn a legal ballot into an “illegal” ballot after the voting is finished. He hopes the courts will flip the election to the candidate who got fewer Wisconsin votes.
The litigation targets voters in only two of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Trump is happy to count votes cast the same way in other counties. Only Wisconsin’s two largest and Democratic-leaning counties are targeted. Cynical and unprincipled? You betcha.
People read in the paper about the Trump campaign and allies losing case after case and they think, “The courts are doing their job. The election results can’t be overturned.” This is an incorrect reading of the headlines. We should not have to live one judicial ruling away from the theft of an election. The Wisconsin Supreme Court voted 4-3, not 7-0, in its latest cases.
Let’s consider the context of Wisconsin judicial elections. Too many members of the Supreme Court owe their election to two factors: huge and active partisan support and massive amounts of money from donors with an intensely partisan agenda. I don’t trust them to decide my voting rights. Even if you do trust them, isn’t it sad to have to rely on the courts to keep democracy on the rails?
What do you call a country where the ruling party tries to retain power by throwing out votes for the opposition? Not a republic or a democracy. Welcome to the U.S. in 2020, where if President Trump and his allies get their way, personal retention of power replaces all principles.
This should not be partisan. Robbing people of their votes is wrong whoever does it. And it’s wrong regardless of how the person voted. Both Biden and Trump voters are entitled to have their votes counted — in every county. Unfortunately, right now, this shameful conduct is coming from the Republican side, so they are the ones who must be called out.
We need to put a face on the voters who would be disenfranchised by these lawsuits. Here’s mine: I am a taxpayer, a homeowner, an active community volunteer and a retired executive from one of the state’s great companies, Rockwell Automation. I have lived in Waukesha, Wauwatosa and Milwaukee. My wife and I raised our two daughters here. Now President Trump and his allies seek to invalidate all of our votes.