The Embarrassment of the Truth

A day does not pass without President Trump claiming – without any evidence whatsoever – that November’s election is ‘rigged’ because of rampant mail-in ballot fraud.  What else is new?  That's just part of Donald Trump's shtick - and we've been forced to listen to it for more than five years.       
 Nevertheless, it has gained some traction on various social media platforms as a source of fakery, agitprop and disinformation. 

Let's be absolutely clear - I am not saying that voter fraud DOES NOT exist.  It does. On a national scale it occurs in remarkably small amounts.    

There is this, lifted verbatim, from a Face Book page: 

Talked to a fellow I used to work with. He lives in Madison. Tells me his neighbor is trying to figure out how to handle 7- thats 7 absentee ballots mailed to her for her husband. Who died 3 years ago. All signed and ready to be mailed back.

What could possibly go wrong with other than in person voting? I'll let you figure that out.     

Ummm.  Let’s call it what it is.  A fairy tale. Basically a lie.

In Wisconsin mail-in ballots simply do not magically materialize out of nowhere. The meme about dead people makes it even more fanciful.

I hate to repeat myself but once-again let’s review how voting by mail works here in Wisconsin.

1.  If I wish to vote by mail I first have to be registered to vote 

2.  I have to provide acceptable photo identification 

3.  I have to initiate the request in writing 

4.  I have to do this for each election (it is not automatic)  

5.  The ballot is mailed to me 

6.  After completing my ballot I seal it in a post-paid return envelope  

7.  I sign the envelope (under penalty of perjury)  

8.  I have my signature witnessed by another adult 

9.  After mailing it I can track the return of my ballot online 

10.  Upon receipt by my Town Clerk the ballot is logged-in and further tracked  

11.  The signature must match the one on file with my voter registration 

12.  The address must match that on file with the registration* 

13.  One ballot per voter         

*Noteworthy is that addresses for voter registration are updated via Wisconsin DMV for both drivers licenses and state-issued IDs.  If you move you have to notify the DMV of your new address.  As a result - if you are a registered voter - your registration is also updated with your new address and your former registration at the old address if purged from the voter rolls.  You are unable to vote twice using a new and former address.  

This entire process is a product of Republican voting reform measures enacted into law under Governor Scott Walker's administration.  It is a solid system with little, if-any, opportunity for fraud. 

So please tell me where the forgery, fraud, foreign interference, ballot-stuffing, tampering, counterfeiting and ‘rigging’ of the election occurs? 

How does a guy dead more than three years pull this off?  The short answer is that this is fiction.  As proof, why would someone intent-upon committing voter fraud bother with mailing forged and signed ballots to a surviving spouse?  Not very creative.  And it won't work.    
 It is a small matter to conjure-up a fabrication and post it on Face Book or Twitter. The amount of wasted bandwidth amounts to nothing.  Call it what it is - a fanciful prevarication. A lie. And individuals who pull this stuff out of their ass are liars. 

Consider this tall tale might conceivably have happened.  Then by extension, a failure to report it to law enforcement or carry it through would be complicity to commit voter fraud. Crowing about it on social media would be really stupid. With a high probability of being caught and to your embarrassment and possible loss of employment you would join the small list of convicted Wisconsinites found on the link above.       

That you know to be the truth.

Here's a handy guide to fighting lies, fake news and other social media fabrications.