Dear Editor,

State and county Republican officials in California authorized more than 50 fraudulent ballot drop-boxes in at least three counties. An Orange County Republican official posed next to one box marked ‘Official Ballot Drop Off Box’ and urged voters to contact him to find other ‘convenient locations’ to leave their ballots. 

County election officials are responsible for the establishment, security, and chain of custody of drop-off ballots. Installing unauthorized boxes is a felony with a penalty of two to four years in prison. The California Secretary of State and Attorney General sent cease-and-desist orders to the Republican Party state, Los Angeles, Fresno, and Orange county offices to remove the boxes forthwith. The Republican Party defied the order.

Hector Barajas, spokesman for the California Republican Party, claimed that the boxes were not illegal. In a CNN interview Barajas said, “We’re going to continue this program. If you want to take us to court, then we’ll see you in court.”

Texas has one of the most restrictive Voter ID laws in the country. Before the 2016 election it was ruled unconstitutional multiple times, but the Federalist Society SCOTUS allowed it to be enforced anyway. In 2017 a U.S. District Judge ruled that it ‘purposely’ discriminated against minority voters. After minor revisions, Texas still lost multiple times in court. They finally got where they wanted to be, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most right-wing in the land, with six Trump appointees, five by W. Bush, six by Reagan, and two by H.W. Bush, which upheld the Texas law. 

Texas has had a statewide mask mandate since July, but Republican Governor Greg Abbott declared an exemption for…POLLING PLACES. This obvious voter suppression move could have no other motive. A U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the exemption ‘created a discriminatory burden on Black and Latino voters’, who face a higher risk of severe illness and death from coronavirus. State election administrators didn’t even bother to enforce the District Judge’s order, trusting the same 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to step in and support Abbott, which it did.

After months of intentionally disabling the U.S. Postal Service, by having his super donor Postmaster General dismantle super-sorting machines and displace 23 top agency officials, Trump and the Republican Party are trying to get the courts to invalidate mail-in ballots that don’t arrive by Election Day. 

This election-rigging is working. The Washington Post reported that more than 10% of absentee ballots mailed by voters in swing states had not arrived after three days. 

In states that expect a very close outcome, such as Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas, the Trump campaign and the Republican Party have filed lawsuits to have late-arriving ballots discarded. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already obliged. On Thursday, October 29, while the ballots are already in the mail system, they ruled that Minnesota mail-in ballots not received by 8 p.m. on Election Day will be separated and potentially removed from the final vote totals. Minnesota had made a seven day exception, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The courts can potentially suppress the laws or rules in 22 states and the District of Columbia, AFTER THE BALLOTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN MAILED! These states and the District count late-arriving ballots, as long as they are postmarked no later than Election Day. Nine of the 8th Circuit’s eleven judges are Trump and W. Bush appointees (Federalist Society).

By the time we read this, we will know if we have a chance at Democracy again, or if the schemes have been successful. 

Gene Strandberg
Gilpin County