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Know your rights: Vote Fair 2024 empowers you to guard against election fraud
A new website called Vote Fair 2024 will empower voters to stay informed on election integrity issues in their state and to hold their election officials accountable to process and count votes quickly and fairly, one of the organizers told Blaze News.
Many Republicans responded with alarm when Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, appeared to tell "Face the Nation" last week that only "70%, maybe even 75%, of all the vote totals" from his state would be reported by 8 p.m. on election night.
It turns out that Raffensperger's comments were widely misunderstood. The full context of his statements reveals that the 70%-75% figure referred only to the share of the total vote represented by early voting.
Raffensperger later clarified that nearly all Georgian votes — with the exception of military and overseas ballots postmarked by Election Day — will be tabulated by election night.
"Early absentee and early in-person votes will be reported by 8 p.m. on Election Day," he said, according to the Center Square. "Election Day votes are reported a few hours later. Votes of military and overseas citizens have until Friday to arrive if postmarked 11/5. That’s the law. We follow the law and the Constitution, always."
'To ensure that only legitimate U.S. citizens vote and that results reflect the true will of the people.'
Only about 21,000 military and overseas ballots were requested this year, Raffensperger claimed, so Georgia appears to be on track to provide fast, accurate election results in accordance with SB-189, passed earlier this year.
Cleta Mitchell, founder of the Election Integrity Network and a senior fellow with the Conservative Partnership Institute, isn't taking any chances. Through the FAIR Election Fund, Mitchell and others at EIN developed Vote Fair 2024, a website that not only gives guidance for voting on state referenda across the country but offers calendars that make plain when votes must be counted and reported in key swing states.
What is Vote Fair 2024?
First and foremost, Vote Fair 2024, unveiled earlier this week, is concerned with protecting American election integrity and preserving the gravitas of the right to vote.
"Fair elections are the cornerstone to ensure that only legitimate U.S. citizens vote and that results reflect the true will of the people," the website states. "We must require proof of citizenship and support measures that retain the partisan primary system."
The website also excoriated the practices of "no excuse" absentee voting as well as ranked-choice voting, claiming both pose a significant risk of voter fraud.
Conservative voters, however, will likely appreciate the practical voting information the website offers.
For one thing, the website offers a breakdown of proposals related to election integrity that will appear on the ballot in 17 states. Some of these proposals are straightforward, using clear language that average voters can understand without conducting extensive research.
Others are more obtuse. For example, Arizonans will have the opportunity to consider Proposition 140, which has the following descriptive title:
Requires direct primary elections for partisan offices to allow each recognized political party to nominate and place on the next general election ballot as many candidates for each office as there are open positions. Provides that direct primary election laws enacted by the legislature supersede inconsistent city laws.
It might be difficult for some voters to discover under what circumstances city "direct primary laws" have been "inconsistent." Others reading that title might also stumble over the explanation about the purpose of direct primary elections.
'These protracted periods of voting before the election and the protracted period for receiving and processing ballots after the election are simply ridiculous and only provide opportunities for mischief.'
While Vote Fair 2024 gives a helpful rundown of the pros and cons of the bill, it also provides clear direction to conservative-minded Arizonans regarding Proposition 140: "Oppose — Vote No." It provides similar guidance for voting on the other election-related propositions in Arizona and elsewhere this year.
'Here's what the law requires': Election calendars for swing states
Perhaps the most valuable information Vote Fair 2024 offers, however, is all the election-related deadlines in key battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In a statement to Blaze News, Cleta Mitchell explained that the calendars clearly delineate "the post-election dates for receiving, processing, curing, counting, and reporting ballots" in those seven states.
On an appearance on "Blaze News Tonight" last week, Mitchell told hosts Jill Savage and Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson that, in short, the calendars "will say, 'Here's what the law requires.'"
During that appearance, Mitchell expressed particular concern about state elections officials who have projected lengthy vote-count times in 2024. Earlier this month, officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, suggested that vote counts in some local races might not be known for nearly two weeks.
Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates insisted that such long vote-count periods are not evidence of wrongdoing. "It unfortunately does lead to people speculating about what might be going on," he said, according to KJZZ. "But number one, I come back to this, I will 100 out of 100 times take accuracy over speed."
'Never leave a polling place after you've checked in unless you also check out.'
While Arizona law permits early votes to be processed and tabulated as soon as they began to flow in, voters there have so many propositions to consider this year that their ballot is four pages long. Such long ballots increase processing times, officials said.
"With races that are going to be tight, it’s going to be difficult, and people may need to have some patience," said Jennifer Liewer, deputy elections director for communications.
Mitchell is dubious. "These protracted periods of voting before the election and the protracted period for receiving and processing ballots after the election are simply ridiculous and only provide opportunities for mischief," she said in a statement to Blaze News.
"We ought to be saying, 'No ... that is not going to happen,'" she added on "Blaze News Tonight."
Indeed, the Arizona calendar at Vote Fair 2024 reminds voters that vote tabulation has been going on for weeks, ostensibly implying that they should not tolerate unnecessary delays. "Tabulation of ballots may begin immediately after received and then delivered to early election board," it says.
October 9 is also marked on the Vote Fair 2024 calendar as the day when "Early Ballot tabulation begins" in Arizona, reminding voters to vote early to be sure their votes are cast and counted.
To help guard against potential problems, Mitchell does advise voters to cast their ballots early if possible. "We say to everybody, 'Go to your polling place in advance and vote early in person.'"
"Make sure you stay, and ... make sure you check out," Mitchell said on "Blaze News Tonight," addressing early voters in Arizona and elsewhere. "Don't let them say, 'This glitch has cost you your ability to vote.' Never leave a polling place after you've checked in unless you also check out."
Know your rights
Just this week, voters waiting in line for ballot applications in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, were turned away hours before the 5 p.m. deadline on Wednesday. A judge was so disturbed by the incidents of possible voter disenfranchisement that he extended the deadline until Friday at 5 p.m.
The ruling came about after several Pennsylvanians of good faith captured on video what appeared to be attempts to suppress the vote. They then shared those videos on social media. Not only did these ordinary citizens demonstrate remarkable courage in the face of possible voter intimidation, but they knew their rights and weren't afraid to stand up for them.
'We are in desperate need of restoring trust in our elections.'
Vote Fair 2024 offers voters a similar means of staying informed about their rights as well as the responsibilities of local, county, and state election officials.
"These are the dates that will be in effect for 2024," Cleta Mitchell told Blaze News about the Vote Fair 2024 calendars, "and we wanted the public and the media to have the information available to be able to follow along. It may be a while in some states before all the votes are received, counted, and reported."
Unfortunately, the calendars offer only the information as mandated by law on a state-by-state basis, not necessarily what may be in the best interest of election integrity.
"Note that there are extended post-election deadlines in some of these states," Mitchell's statement to Blaze News continued. "So the election process extends well past Election Day, unfortunately."
Still, the calendars and the information on state-level, election-related referenda are important resources in the waning days of election season.
Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson is encouraged that Mitchell and others of influence are taking action in the fight for free and fair elections.
"As trust in our institutions continues to decrease in America, we are in desperate need of restoring trust in our elections. This should not be a partisan issue, although the problem was created by partisan efforts to change and game the system," Peterson said in a statement to Blaze News.
"Cleta Mitchell has been at the forefront of the movement to establish a fair and accountable common-sense voting process, and efforts like this are vital to stabilize politics in our country."
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