Evidence Underscores Dysfunctional Electoral System
Election dysfunction for the midterm elections is serving to increase the harassment of the people while further deepening the crisis of legitimacy of the electoral system itself. Local election workers whose job is to verify the eligibility of voters at polling stations and keep ballots secure, are being harassed as never before, photographed, their license plates recorded and many receive death threats. Since the 2020 election, more than 1,000 messages to election officials have been documented across the country intimidating them, including more than 120 that could warrant criminal prosecution.
The
threats are not based on any actions by the election workers but
rather
fomented by widely promoted stories by elected officials in the
monopoly media concerning the 2020 "Big Steal," or "Big Lie."
Groups
like "First Amendment Auditors" in Maricopa County, Arizona,
which
includes Phoenix, for
example, circled the elections department building, in tactical
gear.
They photographed county workers, and their vehicle license
plates. In
other cases, individuals stalked workers and used social media
to
threaten county election officials.
The promotion of the "Big Steal" propaganda and its counterpart that elections are "free and fair," serve to hide the long-standing fraud of U.S. elections, while fomenting these divisions at the local level. What is not discussed is that working people have no say in selecting candidates, or setting the agenda, or having their solutions heard and discussed. Voter suppression and the negative campaigns and the millions and billions needed to run for office are all par for the course and mean that elections are routinely stolen and far from fair.
The first-past-the-post method of counting votes also means presidents and other congressional representatives are elected by a small percentage of the eligible vote.
A further indication that elections are being used against the people while also not resolving conflicts among the rulers is the fact that many Trump-backed forces are running for the position of Secretary of State. Since the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed after the fraud of the 2000 Bush/Gore election, the Secretary of State is responsible for giving final approval of the vote count and certifying corresponding electors for the Electoral College. While electors are supposed to reflect the popular vote, the Secretary of State can use the police powers of the office to challenge and reject the count, certify electors for a different candidate, call for audits and recounts, etc., as was demanded by Trump in various states like Georgia and Arizona in 2020.
Indiana, Arizona, Michigan and Nevada, considered among the presidential battlegrounds, have candidates running based on using the office to help ensure Trump wins while also greatly limiting the right to vote, such as eliminating mail-in ballots, early voting, etc. The Biden faction is openly expressing concern that for the 2024 presidential election, there are actions by election officials to refuse to certify the vote, it "could set off a constitutional crisis." They are pumping tens of millions of dollars into these races.
In states like Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas, where the Secretary of State is appointed by the Governor, the election for Governor is playing a similar role.
The reality is that there is already a constitutional crisis as the constitution has failed to block the dysfunction of existing governing institutions. Its prerogative powers paved the way for the current deepening of the crisis. Since the Bush/Gore elections it is anarchy that has been raised to authority, as reflected in the many contending authorities evident in the elections, in dealing with voting rights, immigration and more.
With
a government of police powers, not only do elections and
institutions
like Congress, the courts and presidency lack legitimacy, the
rulers no
longer even concern themselves with legitimacy. Their concern is
to
succeed in usurping the power of the presidency. As the many
on-going
conflicts
within their ranks show, the rulers are acting to ensure the
chaos and
divisions unleashed are increased, so as to divert from their
impunity
and inability to solve problems. Instead, they can blame the
existing
set-up and justify use of yet greater police powers and impunity
as
necessary to
"restore order," and protect "national security."
Given current conditions where violent civil war is brewing, the efforts by both factions are to block the peoples from developing an effective political movement in their own interests, and instead line up pro and con for one faction or the other. Biden claims "democracy" can be preserved by defending the constitutional form while breaking its bounds using police powers, while Trump promotes disregarding the constitution all together as necessary to "save America." Both preserve the existing war economy and pro-war actions of the ruling class as a whole, both call for use of police powers with their impunity, lack of accountability and criminalizing of resistance, both strive for U.S. world hegemony, simply using different tactics.
The problem before the people is not lining up behind one or the other or being drawn into debates as to which is worse but persisting and broadening the fight for peoples' empowerment. The election is one arena for this, but so are the many other battles being waged to defend the rights of all, which put the interests of the people front and center and demand a democracy that does the same.
(Voice of Revolution)
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 44 - November 8, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520445.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca