Pranking Democracy — The GOP’s Ploy to Screw with Vote Counts

Democrats are urging voters to return mail ballots immediately to allow vote counting to progress at a timely pace. By contrast, Republicans are telling voters to keep mail ballots until Election Day, so they can stop Democrats from allegedly manipulating vote counts. This GOP malarkey is yet another example of how Republicans would rather burn democracy to the ground than defend it.

Holding on to one’s mail ballot is a transparent attempt to invent proof of how vote-by-mail programs are defective, even if the issue is the fault of the claimant. Of course, the GOP is the fiscally-responsible party, right? So how are they okay with costing voters more in tax dollars by employing election workers longer than necessary? It’s bad enough that extremist threats of violence against election workers dissuade those who might otherwise be willing to serve.

But wait. Delayed voting also results in long lines at the polls, confusing media coverage, premature victory claims, bogus fraud accusations, and more general distrust of the election process. Now about those long lines. Did you know every additional hour a voter waits in line decreases the probability they will vote in the next election by 1%? Whoops, that sounds like unintended consequences…for Republicans. Hey, it’s all in good fun when you’re “owning the libs.”