All the preoccupation with felons voting is interesting, but perhaps focused on the wrong voting tragedy. Instead, we should focus on what may have enabled a party to overcome a legitimate choice of the voters:
* Anyone, legal or not, could cast provisional votes anywhere, anytime.
* Many ballots were destroyed/misplaced after counting, disallowing validation.
* Democrats were allowed to access voting records to seek signature affidavits.
* Republicans did not pursue absentee voters for affidavits.
The liberal provisional vote process may have allowed a party to drag in numerous invalid votes; “inadvertent” destruction of ballots after inclusion; a second chance to recover Democratic votes; and “misplacement” of some votes. Such a process probably skewed the election by far more than 129 votes, particularly in King County.
The election may very well have been illegitimate. At minimum, we need a nonpartisan, balanced committee of accomplished, ethical leaders to bring credibility back to Washington elections. Voting is a right and a privilege. If people do not plan ahead for absentee ballots or go to their voting precinct for identification, then they should not get to vote. A magnanimous system allowing anyone to vote anywhere is absurd and could accommodate demagogues.
Harvey Gillis
Snohomish
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