Hello, and welcome back to the Fight to Vote.
During Tuesday’s chaotic debate, which included Donald Trump refusing to condemn white supremacists, one section really leaped out at me. As a Fight to Vote reader, this will probably come as no surprise to you, but it was about the fairness and integrity of the upcoming US election.
DoJ’s rush to report on ‘discarded ballots’ raises fears of pro-Trump bias
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If you missed it, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump and Joe Biden: “How confident should we be that this will be a fair election, and what are you prepared to do over the next five-plus weeks?”
What did Trump say?
After weeks of undermining the election, the president answered as expected. Here are some choice quotes:
“As far as the ballots are concerned, it’s a disaster.”
“They’re sending millions of ballots all over the country. There’s fraud. They found them in creeks. They found some, just happened to have the name Trump just the other day in a wastepaper basket.”
“I think I’m counting on [the supreme court] to look at the ballots, definitely.”
What’s the truth?
The president cited ballot snafus occurring in various states. Yet none of these instances are proven examples of voter fraud, and hinge almost entirely on human error. For example:
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Thousands of New York City residents were sent ballots in the wrong envelope due to a vendor error.
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Ballots in New Jersey had mismatched signatures, a process already rife with problems and inconsistencies.
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North Carolina accidentally sent voters two absentee ballots each.
How about Biden?
Biden’s message was a little simpler: “Show up and vote. You will determine the outcome of this election.” You can watch his full appeal to voters here.
Meanwhile, over at the census
On Wednesday, a judge demanded that the Trump administration respond to accusations from census workers that they have been told to end operations early.
The census is a huge undertaking that happens every 10 years. With the help of thousands of outreach workers, the US Census Bureau attempts to count every living person in the US. These numbers then inform how to apportion electoral districts and where to allocate money.
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This year, the census has been derailed by the pandemic, many states are lagging far behind in counting – and the Trump administration hasn’t made it easier. While a federal judge ruled that the census should continue until the end of October, government officials are calling to end the census count early on 5 October.
Critics say this could be disastrous.
Why the 2020 census could be a disaster:
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Hard-to-reach communities, such as undocumented residents, could be left uncounted.
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Congressional seats would be allocated based on misleading information.
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Communities might not receive vital money for schools, roads and other infrastructure.
If it sounds like things are a bit messy, you’re right. But one way to avert your own democratic disaster in the election is to know as much as possible about your ballot.
Voting by mail? Here are three key things to do
Track it. In many states, you can track your mail-in ballot to make sure it reached the election office and was counted. Business Insider has a good breakdown of how to do this in the states that offer tracking.
Sign it. Several states require that you sign your ballot and/or the envelope your ballot comes in. This is very easy to mess up, so make sure you read the instructions to figure out how to sign your ballot. If you make a mistake, here’s a list of states that lets you fix it.
Time it. It’s best to turn in your ballot as early as possible, but if you’re running closer to the deadline make sure that your ballot is at least postmarked by the correct date. Some states require that it’s sent in 14 days before election day! Here’s a guide.
Last but not least, this meme that came out of the debate should provide some humor/doom (you pick):
The Hill
(@thehill)
Joe Biden: «Will you shut up, man?» #Debates2020 https://t.co/oXZEIYMzl6 pic.twitter.com/Lm7gkXUPAC
September 30, 2020
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