Illinois must fix shattered confidence in its election process. Solutions are simple. – Wirepoints

By: Mark Glennon*

Confidence of Americans in their elections is “notably one of the worst ratings” across the world’s democracies,” says the Gallup polling firm, which found lower ratings only in Chile and Mexico.

Regardless of whether you think our elections are clean in fact, don’t deny that public confidence in them has crumbled or that lost confidence, in itself, is dangerous – and potentially explosive.

And don’t think for a minute that lost confidence is limited to Trump supporters who deny the 2020 election results. Poll after poll says otherwise. A recent Public Affairs Council/Morning Consult poll found that only a bit over one-third (37%) of Americans believe the coming elections will be honest and open to all eligible voters. Another poll by the Angus Reid Institute found only a third of Americans saying they’d accept the results of the coming 2024 presidential election regardless of the victor. And a Rasmussen poll found that a majority of independents and a majority of Democrats, as well as others, are concerned that cheating will affect the outcome of the next presidential election. And here are 12 minutes of video of top Democrats from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on down denying election results.

Lost faith in elections means lost faith in government’s legitimacy, which is the dangerous part. It’s the route to extreme division and strife, perhaps leading to violence. And lost faith in government’s legitimacy may well be the path we are on, as other polls show. Last year, according to Pew Research Center, just 20% said they trusted the government always or most of the time. It’s hardly just conservatives, again, when it comes to lost faith in government. Only 25% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they trust the federal government always or most of the time, Pew found.

Illinois, however, has embraced the measures contributing to that lost confidence in elections.

Some were in a boast by Gov. JB Pritzker on election day lat month, writing this on Facebook and Twitter: “Here in Illinois, our elections are protected. We’re not scared of more of our people exercising their right to vote. That’s why we’ve expanded early voting, curbside voting, and made the vote-by-mail registry permanent to protect your fundamental right.”

Pritzker was mocked brutally for those claims in a huge number of responses, almost all of which were negative.

The consequences of lost confidence played out in the March primary election for Cook County State’s Attorney. That race attracted national attention because it pitted Clayton Harris, who opponents regarded as a criminal-friendly successor to Kim Foxx, against Eileen O’Neill Burke, who claimed to be for law and order.

But over a week after the election, the result remained unknown, with more mail-in ballots “found” after election day. There’s no evidence anything nefarious happened, but doubters understandably shrieked. Harris, initially trailing by a razor-thin margin, got second chances as those additional ballots were “found.”  Burke eventually won, but the mess was yet another embarrassment for Illinois.

Major democracies around the world long ago banned mail-in voting, except in cases of genuine need, because the opportunity for fraud and manipulation is just too easy. Illinois must restrict mail-in voting the same way. In-person voting is essential with only narrow exceptions.

Many Democratic officials, and even the federal government and media, have started to recognize the potential for abuse of mail-in voting. Regardless of whether you think mail-in voting is safe in fact, public confidence in it just isn’t there.

Another essential reform is a requirement for picture IDs. Dispensing with them is inexcusable. Claims that minorities are unable to get them are as insulting to minorities as they are foolish.

Then there’s the signature requirement. Most signature validation is done in Illinois on electronic screens. That’s farcical. Those signatures rarely match real ones. Experts who try to assess validity of signature often focus on where, in a signature, more pressure is applied, which screens do not capture.

How about non-citizens voting? It’s a felony, but does it happen?

I’ve spoken with a few election experts  who convinced me it has not happened to any meaningful degree. The conservative publication, Reason, also made that case.

However, concerns about non-citizens voting remain, and predictably so. It’s largely an honor system. A non-citizen unaware of the felony risk would likely get away with it because prosecutions are rare, and the government makes little effort to remind non-citizens of the law. Firm reminders and some prominent prosecutions would help, along with picture IDs and signatures, combined with certifications of citizenship for registration.

Finally, and by far most importantly, the vote count must be finished on election day. Dragging the process on for days or weeks thereafter has no excuse whatsoever. It creates a situation that should remind you of something Michael Jordan said: “I’ve never lost a game. I just ran out of time.” That is, the counting seems to skeptics to continue until those doing the counting get their preferred result, and messy court challenges sometimes arise.

Perhaps that’s just a matter of perception, but the public wants all voting to be completed on election day and they don’t trust results dribbling in thereafter. The solution is easy: However people vote, the tally must be completed on election day.

Election integrity – both real and perceived – is essential to government’s legitimacy and stability. Illinois, like the rest of the nation, better fix its problems now.

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.