As we move to the Congress certifying the Electoral College results on Wednesday lots has been happening and what probably has some weird appearances internationally.

Both sides in recent elections have claimed election irregularities. This heavily dates from 2000 where it was another close election and we ended up with a fight in Florida over hanging chads that the Supreme Court decided. From that point a heavy emphasis was put on doing electronic voting with Congress providing some funding. Georgia and the rest of the states left the old mechanical voting machines and paper ballots behind except for paper for absentee.

Now we have been in fights for four years that many wanting paper ballots back, forgetting the issues of not clear marked ballots and determining voter intent, and have seen in this election these issues reappear with a heavier absentee ballot voting (largely form pandemic) and some states like Georgia going to an electronic and paper ballot system. In Georgia that means you mark your choices electronically, a paper ballot marked is printed (the choices you just made were not counted) and then you review the ballot (to reduce chances that what you thought touched with marker or finger is what machine saw) and then you put in scanner when it is actually counted. Problem is many people never review what is on the ballot (treat it like the legal agreements you approve to use software) and so they do not know if error was made. The paper ballot is kept and can be scanned or hand counted if re-count needed (which both ways were done in Georgia this year in presidential election).

Both sides have claimed over these same years that the voting is manipulated by foreigners (Democrats said Russians manipulated in 2016 and 2020 and Republicans say Chinese manipulated in 2020. The machines should never be allowed to be connected to network or Internet at least 30 days before starting to be used after they are set up and verified correct and it appears that the Dominion machines which several states including Georgia violated this year there by giving a way for hackers (Russians, Chinese, party operatives, plain old hackers just messing, etc.) to get in. Both parties have claimed illegal voting etc. occurring for several elections so they need to look together on how to clean up the elections and not just looking at 2020 but also those before such as 2018, 2016. I get emails weekly for a long time now complaining about gerrymandering, bad machines, etc.

Both major party candidates had large legal teams this year prepared to question any and all either problems or perceived problems. Which is their right and their obligation to their supporters. Both sides have claimed for several elections now their are voting proprieties of all types. Candidates on both sides choose to not concede losses and continue to claim election was stolen. Abrams as the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia in 2018 has refused to yet concede that race. Trump refuses to concede the race this fall. Elections are not for people that have thin skin and not willing to accept loses. It goes with the territory that losses will occur if you reach out to do the best and aim high. I have run in lots of elections in different places and am proud to say I have won many (latest was to being vice governor of the Kentucky Tennessee Kiwanis now (leads to being governor in two years) but I have also lost many elections and the latest of those was two years ago when I lost my race for vice governor. there is a time to celebrate, a time to support others (the one who beat me is governor now and I am his vice governor), a time to know you made changes possible although lost and a time to conceded you did your best but were not number one. Elections are not Oprah Winfrey shows where every one wins.

We now have the odd place of the current serving administration claiming the lection was rigged and stolen from them by a presidential candidate who has been out of office for four years. When we talk about rigged elections internationally it is always that the ones in power rigged the election using their powers being in office to rig the results and keep them in power and the complaints are from the opposition that lost their bid to take over. Here we are seeing the group in power claiming the election was stolen from them by the party out of power claiming votes stolen, machines rigged, etc. At least in Abrams case in 2018 she was running on out of party ticket against in power part nominee who controlled elections and her claim was lots of voter intimidation and suppression. This situation has to really appear strange this year to people in dictatorships and banana republics that the candidate in power is trying to claim the election was stolen from him when he is in office already as president. This is opposite the situation we are always seeing in those countries.

Congress votes Wednesday to confirm the Electoral College results Wednesday and there are lots of squabbles on what can can and cannot happen. Lets first recall that this is not the first Electoral College confirmation in recent memory to have members of Congress object.

First that is their Constitutional right. We need to follow our Constitution and protect our rights including rights during the pandemic even if not easy to do. We also need to follow the rules of the Constitution and make sure as voting arguments fault the rules are what is followed. We are a nation of laws not men (if you were a Jaycee you will remember that line, which means we follow our laws not what a king or someone else says is way done.

In 2004 and 2016 Several Democratic members of the House objected, however following the rules that require Senators to object also, none did, their objections died. Now we are told Republican House members (some claim 140 but doubt anywhere near that) and Republican Senators will object (I suspect just a couple) and if they do they doo, the rules say those votes must be reviewed an we need to, just as in other elections when House members complained if a Senator had joined them, the complaint should have been reviewed.

Lets get this settled and start behaving like adults across the political spectrum and not drag this out for four years like we have seen the Russian complaints and allegations have been for the past four years. Lets look like a republic that is the light on the hill for the world as Reagan challenged us to be.

Dwight