UPDATE: #RespectTheVote

Troll’s amorality make him very dangerous, but his laziness, lack of imagination, and overweening sense of entitlement put constraints on that threat. His bark is almost always worse than his bite. He is using his office to broadcast conspiracy theories and undermine faith in the election, but his power to tamper with the vote is very limited.

Troll is telling lots of lies about the dangers of “vote by mail” (which is the same as absentee balloting, despite Troll’s ridiculous assertions to the contrary), but there is no reason that such a system should be more vulnerable to fraud than any other. The only way significant fraud can be accomplished would be to: 1)steal or counterfeit ballots on a large scale (bottom-up fraud) which would be easily detected and interdicted; 2)slow or interrupt the delivery or collection of ballots (top-down fraud) which would require the complicity of the Post Office.

Top-down fraud is a real (the only real) danger, because the man at the top is a proven liar, cheat, and criminal who is clearly capable of doing anything, no matter how vile, in pursuit of power. The good news is that his power to cheat comes under powerful constraints. The conscientious professionalism of postal workers. The vigilance of Democratic lawmakers and governors. The patriotic integrity of (some) Republicans. The informed activism of we, the citizenry.

So what is the takeaway? We should be active and vigilant, but we should remain positive and avoid panic. We should write to (see below) and urge our elected officials to monitor preparations for the election and to countermessage aggressively against Troll’s campaign to undermine faith in the election. The latter is especially important. We need officials of all parties to repudiate Troll’s slanders against the electoral process.

In this regard I am going to stop using the “protect the vote” hashtag. Wandering around the web, I see that it is being deployed by Trollkins as much as by his opponents. This is a measure of just how cunning Troll can be when he applies himself. By threatening top-down fraud he gets his opponents to do his messaging for him: “the election is suspect.”

The election is NOT suspect. We have the power to defend its integrity, and therefore we can be confident, if and as we exert our ordinary powers as citizens, that the election will be free and fair. That should be the message moving forward: vigilance is warranted, but confidence is amply achievable. #RespectTheVote

I have sent a copy of the following message to my Congressional delegation (Cory Booker-D-NJ, Bob Menendez-D-NJ, Chris Smith-R-NJ), governor (Phil Murphy-D-NJ), and State Secretary of State (Tahesha Way). I give permission to anyone who desires to copy part or all of it for communications with your own representatives and government officers.

Dear ______,

        The integrity of our electoral process has never been so much in doubt. The President of the United States has repeatedly impugned the credibility of the upcoming election and made veiled threats suggesting he will delay or impede the process of voting. At a time when our nation is deeply polarized and beset by simultaneous economic and public health crises, a discredited or illegitimate election would fatally undermine the foundations of our democracy. We must secure the integrity of the upcoming election or risk the end of the American experiment.
       I seek immediate, open, broadly publicized, and credible assurances from you that stringent measures are in place to safeguard the voting process. All citizens must have equal and unimpeded access to the franchise, all votes must be faithfully received and accurately recorded, and the election must transpire in a timely fashion according to constitutional mandate.
       The eyes of the nation are upon you and the entire government in which you serve. If you fail in this duty millions will take note and take action. In the short term, any violation of the integrity of the election will incite massive civil dissent. In the longer term, we citizens will exact a steep political price from any officials, regardless of partisan affiliation, who fail us so egregiously.
         Please give me your reply, informing me of your plan of action and of any steps I as a citizen may take to assist you to this end. Thank you for your attention to this matter, I hope otherwise that this message finds you well.

                Yours sincerely,

                 Andrew Meyer