Suppression, Supprussian Russian, Ression; Who Can Keep It Straight?

Pem Schaeffer

Broken records and overplayed election narratives; but what about the inability to count votes on a timely basis?
Pem Schaeffer: Watching Rep. Jim Cliburn drone on about “the degree of voter suppression” taking place this time around reminded me of what broken records the lefties in the Democrat party are. Ironically, vinyl records (remember LPs?) are undergoing a renaissance of sorts, at premium prices, from what I can tell.

As for me, thinking back to my fraternity parties in the early 60's, where “records” were routinely marred beyond sober enjoyment, makes me forever grateful for the arrival of CDs, though even these have become passe' as digital downloads have become the norm.

Still, Democrats can't help but keep us in a time warp by getting the needle stuck in the “voter suppression” groove. Voter suppression, click, voter suppression, click, voter suppression click. You get the idea. Are they kidding? Could you lay out some examples, please? And rain doesn't count, nor does a fixed election “day” as opposed to a floating election “month.” If you don't have the presence of mind to know when the election is, or to see to it that you take advantage of the opportunity, then there isn't much we can do for you.

Speaking of “long playing” records, can you believe that Rep. Adam “Schifltess” Schiff cranked up his Victrola and played his “Russian” tracks over and over again as a response to the Hunter Biden “Oops” revelations? Thank goodness the listening public had about all they could take of that “tune” without a danceable beat, and Joey B went back to using the Aviators as his primary distraction.

Now, if you don't mind, can we talk about election conduct? As far as I know, a “national election” is the sum total, or aggregation, of the individual state elections. If I have that wrong, please speak up now. I also believe that all states have elections at least every two years, though Presidential elections only occur every four years.

I'm also old enough to recall that elections have historically been conducted on Election Day, which I believe is established by the Constitution, and is the same in each state. Pretty simple so far, right? I can recall walking with my parents down to the local poll, which in my town was the Fire Station, and watching as they voted. I don't remember, however, that election outcomes took 5, 6, 7 days or more to determine conclusively. Somehow, in those days of Ralphie and Randy, officials were able to tally the results without much ado.

Sure; absentee ballots have existed for a long time; I used them because I was often out of town on Election Day itself. The ballot had to be submitted on a timely basis so it could be counted no later than Election Day, with all the real time ballots. Maybe crises occurred under these protocols, but I don't remember any. (I'm not considering possible recounts caused by challenging of very close results, which can obviously delay the final results, but only in specific races.)

So here we are in November, 2020. Suddenly, all kinds of talk about not knowing the results for 6, 7, or more days beyond the actual election because of counting delays is surfacing, not to mention longer delays because of legal challenges. I give up; what's the problem?

Besides same day voting, what are the other options? “Early voting,” which in my location is the equivalent of in person “absentee” voting, because it uses the same documentary protocol. “Absentee voting,” which involves specifically requesting a ballot by some deadline well before Election Day, and requires returning the ballot in time to be tallied during Election Day conduct. Last is “Voting by Mail,” the widespread practice this year of mailing out ballots, unrequested, to the general voting populace. Clearly, this has to be done substantially ahead of Election Day, and should require return of the ballot by the same deadline imposed on Absentee voting ballots, so they can be counted on Election Day with all the other ballots.

So here's my problem. Unless we suddenly created millions and millions and millions of voters beyond what we had in recent elections, why is it we can't get everything counted on a timely basis and announce results beginning late on Election Day with final results certified no more than say....12 hours after the closing of the polls? Everything is computerized these days, for crying out loud, so there is no excuse for running out of adding machine paper or similar histrionics.

And by definition, the total ballots to be counted cannot exceed those that would be cast if everyone had to vote in person on Election Day at the polls.

The difference now between that scenario is that a huge percentage of the ballots are arriving BEFORE Election Day, and instead of waiting for everyone to show up whenever they like, these early votes can be counted immediately (or beforehand, dammit!), so the challenge of coming up with the final results is less ominous than it would have been under traditional election conduct!

IOW, what the hell is the problem? Everything argues for the process of counting being easier and faster, but officials act as if it has somehow become much harder and slower.

While I would never suggest that mischief is somehow afoot here, readers more cynical than I could easily be excused for wondering just how many rotten eggs there are in the Denmark where our elections take place.

Stand by for the worst seems to be the best advice, for reasons that escape me.
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Pem Schaeffer is a retired engineer who progressed to a position in business development leadership in defense electronics. He lives and writes in Brunswick, Maine, and blogs ot The Other Side of Town.

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