In MAGA world, the expression "vote fraud" is not about fraud – it's about legal voters voting who aren't MAGA.
Let's be clear about what Trump is really up to. This gift article is a column by Jamelle Bouie from the New York Times.
The Real Reason Trump Never Stops Talking About Voter Fraud
Donald Trump knew as well as anyone that he had lost the 2020 presidential election fair and square. He knew there was no conspiracy to commit voter fraud — no mysterious mail ballots, no “illegal” voting, no suspicious activity in key swing states. When he told his supporters that the election had been “rigged,” he was lying. His monthslong effort to “stop the steal,” culminating in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, was an exercise in deception. And we know it was an exercise in deception because Trump’s aides and allies said so. On the record. Under oath.
When Trump doesn't get what he wants, he lies and yells a lot. Right out of the Goebbels playbook.
There are two possible public Trump reactions to election results: 1} WE WON or 2) IT WAS STOLEN. He's not just a sore loser, he's intentionally trying to undermine elections.
As he often does, President Trump washed away all doubt when, in a recent interview with Kristen Welker of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he raged against supposed fraud. “The election was rigged,” he said of the 2020 contest. “It was a dirty election. And it’s happening again in California.” American elections, Trump continued, are “like a third-world country.” Recall that last year, Trump targeted Los Angeles with National Guard troops and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. And consider the regularity with which the president says things like, “if you import people from Third World Countries, you quickly become a Third World Country.” The logic is straightforward. A city of immigrants, like Los Angeles, must also be a city of voter fraud, even if those immigrants are legal voters, entitled to participate in the political process. “Voter fraud” is not about fraud. It is about who votes and how. It is about the breadth and scope of the political community. It is, as with most MAGA obsessions, about who can call themselves Americans — entitled to govern as equals — and who are mere subjects. Trump’s obsession with voter fraud is just another expression of the reactionary populist belief that the people who inhabit a place are not equivalent to the people, who are entitled to rule.
Trump's whining and yelling about "Third World Countries" is just code for racism. From Trump's perspective, you're not a real American unless you're white and preferably male.
We should treat this contretemps in Los Angeles, as silly as it is, as a dress rehearsal for what will probably happen in November, if and when Republicans lose control of Congress. Any result short of victory for Trump and his allies will be denounced as “fraud.” Not because there is anything wrong with the system, but be because, as they see it, this is their country and theirs alone.
Contrary to what the doomers and Chicken Littles say, there are things we can do. The first thing is to ignore those doomers and Chicken Littles, they are probably MAGA AI bots anyway. But also...
Vote early AND in person. Almost every state now has early voting, take advantage of it. Trump flunkies currently run the USPS. The flow of mail can be manipulated. Even in better times, things can get lost in the mail. Natural disasters can disrupt or delay service. When you personally see your ballot inserted into a ballot box or vote counter, you can be sure you've voted.
Volunteer to be a poll worker. The hours are terrible but you do get paid in most jurisdictions. Contact your board of elections or county clerk. Some places allow high school juniors and seniors to serve as poll workers. We need honest and impartial individuals running elections at the local level.
Let local officials know you want no interference in elections from the feds. Elections are a state and local responsibility and ICE or other federal intimidation have no business in them.
A regular reminder that authoritarian Viktor Orbán was booted out of office in April's Hungarian election despite his attempts at extreme gerrymandering and control of most of the media. His control of the electoral system could not prevent opposition leader Péter Magyar from winning a supermajority in parliament.
Double check to make sure you are registered. If you have moved since the last election or will move before the next one, you must register at your new address – even if you just move across the street. Voter registration is totally geographic, don't give some MAGA official a technical reason to prevent you from voting.
