False claims of voter fraud insult Kansas City election workers who made voting safe
The eyes of Lauri Ealom, the Democratic director of the Kansas City Election Board, were misty. Her lips quivered.
She was speaking to “PBS NewsHour,” along with a handful of other election officials across the country, about the security of the November elections. All said the same thing: The 2020 vote count was accurate, safe and reliable, no matter what President Donald Trump, or anyone else, claims.
“I get choked up talking about it because this was really important,” Ealom told the national audience. “My team really stood for something. I’m proud to be a part of this team. At least I know that, for a time in my life, I truly lived with a real purpose.”
The allegations from the president, and some of his supporters, that the 2020 election outcome was determined by illegal ballots is easily refuted. To date, audits and recounts across the country have revealed a handful of errors, but no evidence of widespread fraud or changes that will affect the results.
The charge defies logic. Why would someone steal the presidential election, but not Senate or House seats? And why would fraud only be a problem in contested states? It makes no sense. The baseless claims need to end.
More than 150 million people voted in the Nov. 3 election. As a percent of the eligible population, turnout was higher than at any time since 1908.
More than 3 million Missourians cast ballots and 1.3 million Kansans. It appears Missouri and Kansas will set records for presidential votes cast.
That turnout is encouraging under any circumstances. In the middle of a pandemic, it’s miraculous. That reflects the hard work of election officials, who cobbled together a system of mail-in votes, early voting, and in-person balloting that made it easy to participate.
It’s especially remarkable that Missouri’s turnout was high despite procedural roadblocks backed by the state’s Republicans, including Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. The state needs election reform and should pursue it next year.
Scott Schwab’s work as Kansas secretary of state was solid, and the state’s voting blueprint remains sound.
As with any election, minor mistakes were unavoidable this year. But procedures are in place to catch those errors and correct them. There is no evidence — none — that the election was stolen.
President Donald Trump’s continuing claims to the contrary were initially amusing, and largely harmless. Anyone who thought the president would leave quietly or react graciously hasn’t been paying attention for the last four years.
But Ealom’s emotion shows us that the fraud claims have now become corrosive and dangerous. They directly insult the work of local election boards and the people who have worked tirelessly to ensure a free and fair election this year.
Hundreds of our friends and neighbors literally risked their personal safety to work at polling sites across the region in November. They worked long hours for little pay. They believed it was their civic duty to help us cast our votes.
“I don’t know that any of us signed up to risk our lives for people to vote,” Ealom told PBS.
To now claim those workers were somehow part of a massive fraud slaps every one of them across the face. It is deeply shameful and unnecessary.
The Star Editorial Board asked Ashcroft and Schwab, both Republicans, to comment on the fraud claims. Through their press offices, both claimed the election was fraud-free — in their states. They made no comment on allegations from other states, which again ignores facts and logic.
Both secretaries should come forward now and say firmly and publicly that the national election results were accurate and fair, and the presidential race is over. That’s as true in Michigan and Georgia as it is in Missouri and Kansas.
President-elect Joe Biden will take the oath on January 20. He was chosen by the people, and the states. President Trump, and his allies, should stop pretending otherwise.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM.