Montana Viewpoint: Here’s to a fair a just election

Jim Elliott

I’m penning this column earlier than the election, and you might be studying it after the election and right here’s my prediction; the losers will likely be sad and the winners will likely be completely satisfied.

I additionally predict that there will likely be no less than one winner someplace, who won’t take sure for a solution and can demand an investigation into supposed irregularities in their very own election for the sake of precept.

And I additional predict that such an individual could have received by a sizeable margin as a result of no person however a idiot would wish to problem their win in a detailed election. Sure, there will likely be those that will consider that whether or not their candidate wins or loses, someone cheated, and the winners ought to have received by extra and the losers ought to have received, interval.

In Montana the curious factor is that the individuals who have demanded investigations into election integrity are members of the political occasion that swept the state within the 2020 election, when Montana Republicans received each statewide race by extensive margins.

President Trump received Montana with 56.7% of the vote, Steve Daines took his Senate seat by 55%, Rosendale his Home seat by 56.4 %, Gianforte received the Governorship with 54.4 % and all different statewide contests went Republican by comfy margins.

As well as, the Republicans took management of the State Senate and Home by equally comfy margins. However persons are trying into “election irregularities”. Nicely, they are saying they’re trying into “election irregularities” but it surely appears to be like extra like they’re attempting to gum up the works.

Nationally, some are requesting voters to vote late within the day. This from a narrative within the November 4, 2022 Idaho Capital Solar: “On Gab, a far-right social networking platform, a person with virtually 6 million followers wrote on Oct. 22: ‘VOTE IN PERSON on NOVEMBER eighth! VOTE AS LATE IN THE DAY AS YOU CAN! This helps make it more durable for the DEMOCRATS to cheat and create pretend ballots.’” (Capitalization within the unique doc)

The entire thing jogs my memory of an individual who thinks their partner is having a secret romance. To show it the suspicious particular person goes round peeking into home windows, following the partner from a secure distance to see the place they go and who they meet, hiring detectives, cross inspecting their buddies, in brief getting the products on the partner.

And every little thing they see and listen to factors to the inescapable undeniable fact that, sure, their partner is having an affair! The proof is there for all to see besides nobody else sees the proof as a result of there isn’t any affair there, besides within the thoughts of the offended partner.

That particular person is so sure that they’re being cheated on that every little thing discovered is proof optimistic of what they wish to consider. An individual who has their thoughts made up can’t be satisfied in any other case. If you would like a reputation for it, that is known as “Affirmation Bias” the place solely data that helps the idea is accepted. So, regardless of how open, honest, and trustworthy an election is, if somebody believes it’s crooked, it’s.

The Heritage Basis, a revered conservative group of lengthy standing, maintains a database of identified election fraud circumstances. It’s not exhaustive, but it surely offers a sign of the speed of election fraud in America. They record one case in Montana which occurred in 2011 the place a person solid his spouse’s title to her absentee poll.

The county election official in contrast the signatures, was suspicious, and known as the spouse to inform her that she thought her signature had been solid. At the moment I used to be Chair of the Montana Democratic Social gathering and the lady got here to me for recommendation about what to do. “Nail him!” I informed her, and he or she did. Not but listed as a result of it has not but been lastly disposed of is the case of two international nationals who voted within the 2021 mayoral election within the city of Dodson in Philips County, they, too, have been caught.

Montana election officers, Republican, Democrat, and non-partisan, take delight within the job they do in sustaining democracy and deservedly so. They’re there to serve the Republic and her voters and deserve reward, not harassment.

Montana Viewpoint has appeared in weekly and on-line newspapers throughout Montana for over 25 years. Jim Elliott served sixteen years within the Montana Legislature as a state consultant and state senator. He lives on his ranch in Trout Creek.