Mail-in Elections Off to a Rocky Start: 'Where Is the Democracy in This?
Officials in South Carolina and New Jersey are battling problems with voting by mail at a time when Democrats across the nation are pushing for an increase in the practice.
President Donald Trump has pushed back against states that are trying to implement systems where all voters get ballots by mail.
“The United States cannot have all Mail In Ballots. It will be the greatest Rigged Election in history. People grab them from mailboxes, print thousands of forgeries and ‘force’ people to sign. Also, forge names. Some absentee OK, when necessary. Trying to use Covid for this Scam!” Trump wrote in a Twitter post on Sunday.
The United States cannot have all Mail In Ballots. It will be the greatest Rigged Election in history. People grab them from mailboxes, print thousands of forgeries and “force” people to sign. Also, forge names. Some absentee OK, when necessary. Trying to use Covid for this Scam!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2020
According to WNBC, Paterson, New Jersey, was a hot spot of allegations of corruption after residents claimed that they never voted in this month’s local elections, despite records showing they mailed in a ballot.
“We did not receive vote by mail ballots and thus we did not vote,” voter Ramona Javier told the station.
”This is corruption. This is fraud,” she said when shown a list of names of people who voted, including her name, according to WNBC.
She said she has eight relatives and neighbors who are listed as voting who say they never received ballots.
City Councilman Luis Velez told WNBC there are more cases like Javier’s.
“Where is the democracy in this? Where is the fair process?” Velez said, demanding that the FBI and state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal take action.
“FBI and Attorney General – you went to school just because you want to be a law enforcer? Then enforce the law,” Velez said. “Lock them up. Show them that we have law here and that no one can be above the law.”
In addition to the allegations from Velez and Javier, postal workers reported finding bundled ballots, 800 of which were thrown out by the Passaic County Board of Elections, WNBC reported.
Frank Filippelli, an unsuccessful city council candidate, called the election “an embarrassment,” according to NorthJersey.com.
“If the city’s residents don’t trust the electoral system, if they think it’s rigged, they are not going to want to vote and they not going to trust the people who are declared winners,” Filippelli said. “If we have candidates who are willing to steal votes to get elected; what are they willing to do when they get in office?”
South Carolina was experiencing a different issue with its absentee ballots. Some ballots from Charleston County ended up in Maryland, according to the Post and Courier. Voting is already underway for the June 9 primary elections.
South Carolina Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire pointed the finger at the printing company, SeaChange.
“We’re not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling that they can handle this,” Whitmire told the Post and Courier. “We are actively seeking sustainable solutions.”
The mess comes after some residents in Greenville County received the wrong absentee ballots when the Democratic presidential primary and a special election for sheriff were conducted 10 days apart.
The issue of absentee ballots could loom large in South Carolina, because Whitmire said it has 20 percent more absentee ballots than in 2018.
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