Stogie1020 wrote:It started with "There is NO evidence of ballot manipulation"
Then it became "There is no WIDESPREAD evidence of ballot manipulation"
The thing is, all you need to do is throw a single county in a few swing states and blammo, you got a winner.
so, as always I respect your politics, as you know.
Indulge me here before you consider it nit picking, please.
The charges that have been levied for several years (since
prior to Trump winning!) have been alleging a widespread organized campaign by Democrats that stole the presidential election from Trump and
would have been the cause had he not won the first time(huh?)...and so far, 8 years into it, there has not been a single substantiated claim. Several promoters of the conspiracy have even admitted their willingness to advance lies in an effort to change the election.
This is not to say there have not been individual instances of voter fraud in likely every election...typically a handful of people are convicted nationally, ironically they are far more often to be pro-GOP cases (DMV inadvertently posted a link to a conservative site several years ago that provided the complete record going back several years).
More often transgressions have been limited to people being registered to vote in more than one place, almost always because they neglected to unregister when they changed residences, but also almost always did not realized it and did not attempt to vote multiple times. There were a few cases early in Trump's term when several of his staff members were shown to be examples of this. When I posted about this ages ago, a few people here discovered they too were registered in more than one place! I believe that many places have since found ways to make unregistering automatic, but I can't swear to that. They should, though.
Here's the potential nit picking part: the case involving Callaway is more of an example of "for profit" crime than "for power" crime...he has been paid by Dems and Reps alike to cheat, and this case was actually for a GOP candidate!
But it's not really the kind of case that Trump and Trumpers have been alleging for nearly a decade now.
Your last sentence is still just pointing out possibilities, it doesn't show a clear way that it has happened as Trump et al have claimed. But it's good to uncover potential threats, that's how they can be corrected and strengthen trust in the process.
It sounds like career criminals like Callahan have been clever enough to find loopholes in local systems that are unexplainable. For example, where I live I receive a mailing with a form to fill out to request mail-in ballots for specific elections and/or election cycles, which I fill out and mail back in (or drop off at Town Hall). I then receive my mail-in ballot(s) and either use them or vote in person. One may try to do both, but there is a system in place that will automatically reject whichever attempt was second. It is inconceivable that random people can pick up ballots to deliver to voters...I'm betting the case you shared will lead to correcting that insane system.
My last thought on election fraud is that people who disparage Biden by citing dementia and worse also are trying to make me believe he is a criminal mastermind who has been stealing the GOP's lunch for years.
I say, pick one! Can't both be true as they are claims that can not coexist in one old man.
As to trusting the mail...absolutely. I mail and receive checks and stuff and have never had an incident. I even mail small amounts of cash for young relatives birthdays and the like. Tax returns and other yuuugely important documents go certified mail.
I'd also trust the mail for ballots...and there is even a locked box right in front of Town Hall where I live.