Republicans are waving a red flag over possible "election theft" ahead of the November vote. They draw attention to efforts to cancel ID checks and ballot verification, the hiring of predominantly Democratic observers in some counties, and apparent attempts to create loopholes allowing illegal aliens to vote.
"Election theft has always been present in America," US economist and former Reagan administration official Dr. Paul Craig Roberts wrote. "In the 19th century, a vote could be bought for 50 cents and a half pint of whiskey. But in the 21st century, organized vote theft is a big business."
The economist pointed out that "normally, it does not matter to the ruling establishment which candidate wins, because the establishment owns both candidates." However, in 2016, 2020, and 2024, Donald Trump emerged as a player "outside the grip and control of the establishment. Therefore, to keep him out of office, vote fraud has been elevated to the fore," as per the economist.
Conservatives argue that the Democratic Party has launched full-fledged lawfare against the Republican frontrunner ahead of the election. The former president has been charged with a total of 88 felony counts in four criminal investigations, and found guilty of 34 of them. He is routinely vilified in the US mainstream press, and was most recently subjected to unfair "fact-checking" by ABC News during his September 10 debate with Kamala Harris, Republicans say.
How Can Elections Be 'Stolen' in the US?
Meanwhile, a silent battle over the 2024 election is already underway across the United States.
Instead of improving the democratic procedure's transparency, voting requirements have been loosened in recent decades, the pundit said.
"There are many ways to exploit the loose voting requirements in the US," Dr. Roberts wrote. "[In some states] an ID or proof of citizenship is not required in order to vote. Actual physical presence is not required to vote: it can be done through drop boxes on streets or mail-in ballots. Dead people still on voter rolls can be voted. People still on voter rolls who have moved out of the state can be voted. Voter registrations made when driver's licenses are issued to illegal aliens can be voted."
As of April 2024, 36 states required some form of identification to cast a ballot. Of these states, 21 asked for photo ID, and 15 also accepted non-photo ID. The remaining 14 states and Washington, DC did not require voters to present identification in order to vote at polls on Election Day.
For years, Democratic lawmakers have tried to ram "voting rights" legislation through Congress to water down or abolish election restrictions altogether. Democrats argue that strict ID rules and in-person voting, advocated by Republicans, prevent low income people, African Americans, and other minorities from casting their ballots.
What's worse, the assumption that black Americans are less likely to have proper identification instruments established a protocol leading to the issuance of Federal Identification Papers to illegal aliens.
According to Dr. Roberts, "it is still illegal federally for illegal aliens to vote, but some Democrat cities permit them to vote."
"The 3.6 million immigrant-invaders who cross the border into the US from Mexico each year are provided with federal IDs. These IDs allow states to issue them driver's licenses. Today, the practice is for the states to register the person to whom a license is issued on the voting rolls," according to the economist.
According to US polling company Rasmussen Reports, 52% of American voters don’t believe state officials have done enough to prevent voting by illegal immigrants.
In July, the polling company revealed that 62% of American voters were concerned about election cheating in 2024. Twenty percent of those residing in swing states complained that in 2020, they personally received more than one official ballot in the mail or received a ballot for someone who does not live at their address, as per Rasmussen Reports.
Why are Swing States so Important?
The fate of elections is usually determined in swing states, since solid blue and red states traditionally vote for Democrats and Republicans, respectively. Therefore, unfair political operators see major battleground states as their primary target.
The margins are thinner there, making it possible to potentially throw in fraudulent ballots, while the victory of a Republican or Democratic candidate there is also equally plausible and doesn't raise any questions.
Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have been named as pivotal in the 2024 election. All of them, except North Carolina, were won by Joe Biden in 2020 by a razor-thin margin, prompting cheating suspicions. Independent auditors and election integrity activists found multiple abnormalities and apparent irregularities in Arizona, Wisconsin, Georgia, and other swing states in post-election investigations.
Instead of addressing concerns related to the fairness of elections in swing states, there are efforts to further undermine election integrity there ahead of the 2024 vote, according to the economist.
Here are just a handful of the numerous legal battles unfolding in swing states:
"In Wisconsin, the Democrat State Supreme Court has overturned the legislative ban on 'drop boxes.' Drop boxes are placed on streets where anyone can deposit votes. As there is no certification, it allows fraudulent ballots to be stuffed in the boxes and to be counted as legitimate votes," Dr. Roberts wrote.
In the wake of the 2020 election, Georgia put in place a rule that requires every county to ensure ballots are not fraudulent before certifying the vote. However, the Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit in Fulton County, a Democrat stronghold, to overturn the rule, opening the door to counting invalid ballots. According to Democrats, the rule could be used by "election deniers" to hinder the election process.
America First Legal (AFL), a conservative public interest organization, has filed a lawsuit against all 15 counties in Arizona over their apparent failure to remove illegal aliens from voter rolls.
A Commonwealth Court in Pennsylvania on August 30 scrapped the enforcement of a state law that requires mail-in ballots to be properly filled in and dated. The case was brought in by liberal groups headed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania. The Republican National Committee struck back, asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to protect election integrity.
North Carolina's Board of Elections appealed an order from the state's Court of Appeals to remove former independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr.'s name from 2024 ballots last week. The board argues it doesn't want to spend additional money on new ballots, even though Kennedy's appearance on the ballot could help affect the outcome of the presidential race in the swing state, US media reports.
It turned out last month in Wayne County, Michigan, that of the 2,350 poll watchers hired in the populous county, only 50 were Republicans, while the rest were Democrats. According to Dr. Roberts, it is easy to get away with cheating in big cities, and Democrats are using this advantage:
"With Republican poll watchers outnumbered 47 to 1, Republican complaints are easily shouted down. The absence of Republican poll watchers is insurance that no claims of electoral theft can be made," he wrote.
Are Harris' Poll Numbers Deliberately Inflated?
According to Dr. Roberts, Kamala Harris' approval rating is deliberately inflated by polls and corporate press by oversampling Democratic voters, especially in swing states. Conservative commentators believe that this is done in order to lay the groundwork for potential election theft and make her victory there look more plausible.
"In order to hold on to power, Democrats have decided to steal the election. This plan requires the orchestration of belief among the voting public that Kamala is a strong candidate leading Trump in the polls. Thus, the polls are rigged for this purpose," Dr. Roberts wrote.
He drew attention to the fact that in 2020, when Kamala Harris campaigned for the Democratic nomination for president, she had zero support and was immediately eliminated from the first round. During her four years as vice president, she is rated as one of the worst and least popular in history.
"In less than one month the presstitute media elevated her from a non-entity to the favorite in the US presidential election," he noted.
The economist pointed out that Republicans are doing little to ensure election integrity and are more inclined to cover up the cheating than to make an issue of it in order to protect "America's reputation."
"To expose the scandal would weaken public confidence in the government when Washington is at the point of war with Russia, Iran, and China as well. It would harm conservatives' and the world's illusions about the purity of American democracy. In order to 'protect' America, Republicans and conservatives sacrifice democracy by covering up the loss of democracy," Dr. Roberts concluded.