.jpg)
Not a Single Trace of Fraud in the American Presidential Election
Published in El Pais
(Brazil) on 11 November 2020
by Yolanda Monge (link to original)
State officials claim that the process and the counting were all above-board.
Fluid, without any setbacks and with assurances. That is how state and election officials described the Nov. 3 election and subsequent ballot counting that led to Joe Biden's victory. These statements hit Donald Trump's claims of voter fraud, despite no evidence having been found so far, head on. The truth is that the president, before the first ballot was even counted, spent weeks creating doubts about the integrity of the process and questioning mail-in-voting, even though both of these have had a long history of success in American electoral history.
The president has still not recognized his defeat in the presidential race, despite his adversary having 279 electoral votes against the 217 in favor of the Republican. There are still 42 undecided electoral votes, but they would not be enough for Trump to reach the magic number of 270. Furthermore, the president began immediately filing lawsuits and questioning the system in places in which vote-by-mail turnout was massive but he didn’t win.
All that despite the fact that Nebraska, North Dakota and Montana, all of which delayed the vote-by-mail deadline due to the impact of the pandemic, flipped to the Republican side. The president said nothing about these three cases, which were favorable to him and used the same system as the other states.
“The 2020 general election was one of the smoothest and most well-run elections that we have ever seen, and that is remarkable considering all the challenges,” said Ben Hovland to the Associated Press. Hovland is a Democrat nominated by Trump to the Election Assistance Commission who closely works with members of the administration.
Meanwhile, the GOP`s top leaders have shown that they are willing to continue Trump’s challenges of the results as long as necessary, despite the fact that, until now, most of the denouncements and lawsuits, filed by a White House in denial, have been rejected by the judges. According to the latest information, those lawsuits that are still pending have not shown any evidence that would consider there was a crime that could revert the result of the election.
In Wisconsin, where Biden beat Trump by a negligible margin, the highest election official, Meagan Wolfe, stated that her cabinet did not receive any reports of problems during the election or complaints involving irregularities. The same happened in Michigan, where the state attorney general, Democrat Dana Nessel, guaranteed the legality of the results. “Let me be clear — the November election in Michigan ran as smoothly as ever,” Nessel explained. Nessel added that the only thing happening is speculation and conspiracy theories, which she considers absurd.
Reward
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that election staff from both parties in dozens of states said that there is no proof of fraud or other irregularities that would have affected the results of the 2020 presidential election. On Monday and Tuesday, The New York Times contacted election officials in each state to ask if there were suspicions or evidence of votes that may be considered illegal. A total of 49 states declared that there weren't any problems. Officials contacted in Texas were the only ones that did not respond to the NYT’s investigation.
The accusation of fraud persists without any evidence. In addition, Trump and his bet on electoral chaos suffered a major setback on Tuesday, when it was reported that a postal service worker who previously claimed he had seen ballot tampering in Pennsylvania denied his original accusation. Furthermore, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on Tuesday, nearly 80% of Americans, half of whom are Republican voters, said that Biden was the winner.
The final result is not yet defined in North Carolina, where Trump leads with 50% against Biden’s 48.7%; in Arizona, where the Democrat leads with 49.4%, against the president’s 49%; and in Georgia, where the president-elect leads with 49.5% against the Republican’s 49.2%.
Georgia’s secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, confirmed on Wednesday that the state will recount all of its ballots. Raffensperger said that the margin is so narrow that the recount will be done “by hand.” According to state law, candidates have the right to request a recount if the margin of the result is 0.5% or less.
As much as the number and facts indicate otherwise, Trump’s fervent supporters continue to claim that there was fraud. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick offered up to $1 million in exchange for evidence that could prove that there was fraud. “Pursuit of voter fraud is not only essential to determine the outcome of this election, it is essential to maintain our democracy and restore faith in future elections,” Lt. Gov. Patrick said in a Twitter post. “Anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and final conviction of voter fraud will be paid a minimum of $25,000.”
The President Appears To Commemorate Veterans' Day
World War I ended on Nov. 11, 1918, on what would be known as Armistice Day. In the United States it is celebrated as Veterans' Day and the president honors the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, on the other side of the Potomac River. Since last Thursday, Trump has not been seen in front of the cameras. On that day, he addressed the country about the election results in a broadcast that most new channels cut off, alleging that his claims were false.
Under a persistent rain, which in the moment of silence in memory of those fallen was the only thing that one could hear, Trump started his Wednesday in Arlington. Until then, he was taking refuge in the White House, ruminating furious declarations about the voter fraud that prevented a second term for him through Twitter. He split his time between leisure time, assembling a battalion of attorneys to file lawsuits where he suspects there was foul play, and playing golf at his golf course in Virginia.
The anthem played and the commander-in-chief raised his hand in a military salute. To his side, vicepresident Mike Pence placed his hand on his chest, in compliance with his civilian status. It was impossible to not remember other times of divergence between Trump and the military. Such as in 2018, when he refused to visit a cemetery of American soldiers killed during World War I in France because other than ruining his hairstyle — it was raining on that day — he considered the dead to be “losers” and “suckers,” The Atlantic reported.
Trump went to Arlington this Wednesday with no mask, denying yet another reality that prevails in the country, a pandemic that sums over 10 million cases and 240,000 dead.
Fluid, without any setbacks and with assurances. That is how state and election officials described the Nov. 3 election and subsequent ballot counting that led to Joe Biden's victory. These statements hit Donald Trump's claims of voter fraud, despite no evidence having been found so far, head on. The truth is that the president, before the first ballot was even counted, spent weeks creating doubts about the integrity of the process and questioning mail-in-voting, even though both of these have had a long history of success in American electoral history.
The president has still not recognized his defeat in the presidential race, despite his adversary having 279 electoral votes against the 217 in favor of the Republican. There are still 42 undecided electoral votes, but they would not be enough for Trump to reach the magic number of 270. Furthermore, the president began immediately filing lawsuits and questioning the system in places in which vote-by-mail turnout was massive but he didn’t win.
All that despite the fact that Nebraska, North Dakota and Montana, all of which delayed the vote-by-mail deadline due to the impact of the pandemic, flipped to the Republican side. The president said nothing about these three cases, which were favorable to him and used the same system as the other states.
“The 2020 general election was one of the smoothest and most well-run elections that we have ever seen, and that is remarkable considering all the challenges,” said Ben Hovland to the Associated Press. Hovland is a Democrat nominated by Trump to the Election Assistance Commission who closely works with members of the administration.
Meanwhile, the GOP`s top leaders have shown that they are willing to continue Trump’s challenges of the results as long as necessary, despite the fact that, until now, most of the denouncements and lawsuits, filed by a White House in denial, have been rejected by the judges. According to the latest information, those lawsuits that are still pending have not shown any evidence that would consider there was a crime that could revert the result of the election.
In Wisconsin, where Biden beat Trump by a negligible margin, the highest election official, Meagan Wolfe, stated that her cabinet did not receive any reports of problems during the election or complaints involving irregularities. The same happened in Michigan, where the state attorney general, Democrat Dana Nessel, guaranteed the legality of the results. “Let me be clear — the November election in Michigan ran as smoothly as ever,” Nessel explained. Nessel added that the only thing happening is speculation and conspiracy theories, which she considers absurd.
Reward
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that election staff from both parties in dozens of states said that there is no proof of fraud or other irregularities that would have affected the results of the 2020 presidential election. On Monday and Tuesday, The New York Times contacted election officials in each state to ask if there were suspicions or evidence of votes that may be considered illegal. A total of 49 states declared that there weren't any problems. Officials contacted in Texas were the only ones that did not respond to the NYT’s investigation.
The accusation of fraud persists without any evidence. In addition, Trump and his bet on electoral chaos suffered a major setback on Tuesday, when it was reported that a postal service worker who previously claimed he had seen ballot tampering in Pennsylvania denied his original accusation. Furthermore, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on Tuesday, nearly 80% of Americans, half of whom are Republican voters, said that Biden was the winner.
The final result is not yet defined in North Carolina, where Trump leads with 50% against Biden’s 48.7%; in Arizona, where the Democrat leads with 49.4%, against the president’s 49%; and in Georgia, where the president-elect leads with 49.5% against the Republican’s 49.2%.
Georgia’s secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, confirmed on Wednesday that the state will recount all of its ballots. Raffensperger said that the margin is so narrow that the recount will be done “by hand.” According to state law, candidates have the right to request a recount if the margin of the result is 0.5% or less.
As much as the number and facts indicate otherwise, Trump’s fervent supporters continue to claim that there was fraud. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick offered up to $1 million in exchange for evidence that could prove that there was fraud. “Pursuit of voter fraud is not only essential to determine the outcome of this election, it is essential to maintain our democracy and restore faith in future elections,” Lt. Gov. Patrick said in a Twitter post. “Anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and final conviction of voter fraud will be paid a minimum of $25,000.”
The President Appears To Commemorate Veterans' Day
World War I ended on Nov. 11, 1918, on what would be known as Armistice Day. In the United States it is celebrated as Veterans' Day and the president honors the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, on the other side of the Potomac River. Since last Thursday, Trump has not been seen in front of the cameras. On that day, he addressed the country about the election results in a broadcast that most new channels cut off, alleging that his claims were false.
Under a persistent rain, which in the moment of silence in memory of those fallen was the only thing that one could hear, Trump started his Wednesday in Arlington. Until then, he was taking refuge in the White House, ruminating furious declarations about the voter fraud that prevented a second term for him through Twitter. He split his time between leisure time, assembling a battalion of attorneys to file lawsuits where he suspects there was foul play, and playing golf at his golf course in Virginia.
The anthem played and the commander-in-chief raised his hand in a military salute. To his side, vicepresident Mike Pence placed his hand on his chest, in compliance with his civilian status. It was impossible to not remember other times of divergence between Trump and the military. Such as in 2018, when he refused to visit a cemetery of American soldiers killed during World War I in France because other than ruining his hairstyle — it was raining on that day — he considered the dead to be “losers” and “suckers,” The Atlantic reported.
Trump went to Arlington this Wednesday with no mask, denying yet another reality that prevails in the country, a pandemic that sums over 10 million cases and 240,000 dead.
Previous article![]( "Trump’s Revenge on His Own People")
Next article![]( "Can Biden Do It?")