As the calendar turns to August, the campaign to delegitimize the 2020 Election has begun.
We ask that you do not buy into it.
President Donald Trump formalized the campaign with a tweet on July 30, writing “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
To emphasize the message, he then pinned it to the top of his timeline.
Leaders on both sides of the aisle quickly dismissed the notion, stating Federal elections were still held on time during times of war.
But the question you as a voter should ask is this: Why is the President raising an issue that he is not telling the truth about and has not legal authority to change?
Simple answer: It was meant to be a distraction for the 24-hour news cycle of that day. And that is really what President Trump is attempting to do when he raises election fraud issues.
Like any good politician, his goal was to reframe a bad news day. This particular day, unemployment claims were up again, it was announced that the U.S. economy contracted at a historic rate, Senate Republicans working with the White House were unable to produce a deal to extend unemployment insurance or provide aid to states that desperately need it and three former presidents were to eulogize Rep. John Lewis, whose fight for voting rights was the centerpiece of his political career.
While we have raised issues about mail-in ballots, it has been more about the mechanics and the process of making sure every one who wants to can. The President of the United States goes way past that, questioning the validity of votes cast, the cornerstone of our Democracy.
The month’s ahead will be filled with substance and silliness—from both sides—when it comes to the campaign for President. In August alone, Joe Biden will pick his running mate and both parties will hold their conventions that will decide their policy platforms candidates will run on.
As these days go by, be an informed voter by looking at issues from both sides of the aisle. Choose candidates up and down the ballot that you have vetted. All candidates have web sites that feature where they stand on the issues of the day. Research them, the issues important to them, and then choose the candidate you believe is the best choice going forward for New Jersey and America.
Then cast your ballot in the way you feel most comfortable—absentee, possibly mail-in or at a polling place—with the knowledge that it will matter and it will be counted. Don’t fall for the noise that it won’t.
Of course it’s a rigged election, Emperor Donald; it is you and your supporters who are rigging it with various local assists. Everybody who finds the would-be Emperor’s behavior distasteful, on this and host of other issues, must be sure to be energized to and beyond November 3rd and vote him and his enablers out by overwhelming margins that can counter his trash-talking the election, foreign and domestic interference, gerrymandering and a host of other extreme challenges to our democracy. Only then will we have a chance as a nation to survive into 2021 and beyond. As the article says, don’t buy into the Trump myths; he’ll say and do anything, true, false or in-between (mostly the last two) to retain power. Shame on him – and on the minority of voters who somehow managed to get him into office.