Our voting system is secure 

National elections are conducted by individual states under our long-standing federalist system. To properly exercise their duties, state officials must adhere to the constitutional rights of all American voters. Strong checks and balances have been built into the process over the generations.

In recent years, however, political fraudsters have tried to shake our confidence in the system. Mostly, they have failed. The 2020 election results came out valid, despite absurdly false claims ultimately rejected in court. A sense of trauma persists, however, amid signs that manipulators and extremists haven’t given up.

On the cusp of this Election Day, there is ample reason for the people to keep the civic faith. For one thing, the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022, passed in response to attempted finagling by the Donald Trump camp after the 2020 election, should block a perversion of the certification process. Meanwhile, the impressive boom of early votes across the nation suggests the robust belief among Americans that their ballots will be counted as they were cast.

But some crimes against liberty elsewhere in the country still raise fears — as the perpetrators intend. Hundreds of ballots were destroyed or damaged at drop boxes widely used in the Pacific Northwest. True to their mission, election officials are doing their best to find ways to counteract the attack — by searching through damaged ballots for information to contact voters about getting new ones.

PRECAUTIONS BEING TAKEN

That was the case last week in Vancouver, Washington. In Portland, Oregon, the site of similar vandalism, fire suppressants reportedly shielded more than 400 ballots — all but three that were in the box. Officials said they were using “unique identifiers” on ballot envelopes to find those three voters and send them replacement ballots.

For those going to the polls, and for employees on the scene, security precautions in some states include deploying more police, supplying bulletproof vests to personnel, and even drone surveillance. Four years ago in Maricopa County, Arizona, the most populous swing county in the nation, protesters — some carrying guns and chanting “let us in” — surrounded the municipal vote tabulation center, terrifying workers and interrupting the count. The sheriff says this year there will be security fences and a significant police presence, including rooftop snipers if needed.

Given past MAGA provocations, concerns extend beyond next Tuesday. In January, when Congress certifies another presidential election, extra security is planned at the Capitol to avert another insurrection. The Department of Homeland Security has deemed Jan. 6 a National Special Security Event. The District of Columbia will get additional federal resources as requested. That goes, too, for the Jan. 20 inaugural.

Violence and fear aside, there have been numerous legal disputes over what procedures should be in place and how to enforce them.

Virginia removed 1,600 names from its voting rolls; officials said they were simply enforcing commonwealth law to purge noncitizens from the rolls. Lower courts found the purge a violation of federal law barring such removals within 90 days of elections. But the Supreme Court last week ruled, 6-3, for Virginia. Making the issue murky was that the lower courts earlier found the citizenship status of all these voters hadn’t been checked as a first step, so that some eligible voters had been purged.

Errors can morph unnecessarily into controversies in this atmosphere of partisan suspicion. In Oregon, election officials took 1,259 people off the voter rolls after it was determined they hadn’t proved U.S. citizenship. Oregon’s Department of Motor Vehicles signs up drivers to vote, not all of whom were citizens. Of those said to be ineligible, a total of nine voted in elections since 2021, according to The Associated Press.

FIGHTING SEEDS OF DOUBT

The tension and doubt is constant. In Georgia, Trump infamously tried and failed to browbeat secretary of state Brad Raffensperger into altering 2020 results. In public, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani defamed two election workers by calling a security video of them performing routine duties proof of cheating. He was ordered to pay $148 million in damages after exposing them to threats.

National Republicans are trying to set up legal challenges in advance. One example: Arizona allies of Trump adviser Stephen Miller are testing the occult theory that judges can nullify election results due to “failures or irregularities” by local officials.

Trump himself is stage-managing expectations for a crucial swing state. “Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before,” Trump warned falsely Wednesday on his social media account.

Election bureaucrats in different states, from appointed commissioners to lower-level clerks, are under intense pressure. Whether Republicans, Democrats, or neither, they have front-line jobs essential to defending democracy, requiring integrity. They deserve our respect.

A recent Brennan Center survey reported 38% of local election officials have experienced threats, harassment, or abuse for doing their jobs. The survey said more than a third of these officials knew one or more individuals who quit at least in part due to safety concerns.

If state and local officials give in to blatant intimidation, Americans lose what has made us exceptional. As always in the U.S., we can still vote with confidence. So far, amid an energetic early turnout, there’s reason to hope and believe the results will truly reflect the popular will regardless of who wins.