Elections, and the Transfer of Power

Yes, I know. Another serious bit. But I promise, this will be the last of a political nature – at least, until after the election.

“And to the republic for which it stands.”  Our national pledge of allegiance. We are a country of elections. As a republic, we elect people that elect others, as the Electoral College does every four years.  We base this principle on the British parliamentary system, because a pure democracy would be a bit unwieldy for our large and diverse citizenry of more than 300 million.  And over the years, we’ve refined and adapted the process, moving from just white, landowning males to almost everyone that wishes to vote.  We’ve moved from a system in which state legislators elect national ones to one in which we all cast our ballots for the president as well as national, state, and local leaders.  The vice president, in the early days of the old Federalist party, was the second highest vote-getter, as was John Adams. Now, of course, the president chooses a running mate, in hopes that the two will get along. 

Even the primary system is a late arrival to the process.  Before that, of course, delegates to the conventions selected the party’s standard-bearer, with, so history records, a huge amount of backroom wheeling and dealing.  A lack of transparency.  Now, the conventions are largely each major party’s pep rally, ratifying what we already knew.  Speeches meant to energize the party’s faithful.  Not a bad thing, because we should be excited about our elections and our electoral process.  

While we may not have agreed with an election’s outcome, we accepted it.  We allowed the transfers of power to happen. The disputes ended on Inauguration Day. Often, we’d see the outgoing president sitting down to coffee at the White House with the newly elected one as they shared conversation.  They didn’t need to like each other, and often didn’t, but it was a cordial moment. At the Inauguration, the outgoing president would stand on the stage, graciously watching the new president taking office.  New members of the House and Senate would be sworn in and take their seats. Until . . . . .

Yes.  Until 2020, when a defeated president refused to accept defeat.  He contacted state election officials and literally begged to “find more votes”.  Lawsuits were filed – more than sixty of them, all going nowhere.  No actual compelling evidence of election fraud anywhere.  Or of the massive voter irregularities that were claimed.   On election day, there was a transition, but it was preceded by an angry mob attacking the capital.  A spectacle the world hasn’t seen since perhaps the French Revolution or Russian mobs storming the Winter Palace. The defeated president left town before the ceremony, vowing vindication and a triumphant return.  

Ever since, the former president has denied that he lost, up to and including his debate with the Vice President.  He still claims that many of the illegal votes were given to his opponent, and that many more votes for him went uncounted.  Once again, no documented evidence, or any valid information to back up his claims.  His debate opponent, in a highlight moment, stated that he’s “having problems processing his defeat.”  Indeed, he is.  The larger question for our country is the very notion that elections lack validity.  They rely on our trusting the results.  Every so often, Russia will hold “an election”, and Vladimir Putin wins in another landslide.  We raise an eyebrow and remind ourselves that it’s not our country.  Russia had veered slightly toward democracy when Boris Yeltsin was elected, but that’s really the last time we can say the Russian people had a voice.  Opposition leaders there have a tendency to die mysteriously. Venezuela held a presidential election this past July, with questionable results.  President Maduro has claimed victory, while outside observers have said that claim is highly suspect and his challenger has fled to and sought asylum in Spain.  Once again, not much election integrity or faith in the process.

Just a brief word about the Electoral College.  It has been tested over the years, and come under fire as victors there didn’t actually win the popular vote.  But we have to remember that it was created by the Founding Fathers as one more “check and balance” on the election process. We also should remember that the Founding Fathers, inspired as they were, weren’t big fans of equity or diversity.  Many were slave owners, and so they wrote into the Constitution that enslaved people could not be “citizens”, and only counted as 3/5 persons for census. That in itself is interesting.  Southern planters needed enslaved Africans to be counted for purposes of representation, but not to have any say in governance. Voters chose “electors”, who in turn elected legislators and heads of state.  It was an attempt to provide fairness in representation, just as the House is represented by population, while the Senate provided parity for the smaller states.  At some point, American citizens may in fact petition to eliminate the Electoral College, or we may decide to leave it alone because it would take a constitutional amendment to make a change.  

This election year, voters have choices across the political spectrum.  We are all suffering from what I call, “election fatigue”.  We’re tired of the campaign ads, with their big doses of fear and loathing. Candidates for office, particularly if they’re not the party in office, tend to highlight the negative, doing their best to drive a wedge between perception and reality.  Their issues become inflated to the exclusion of others.  Their campaign ads feature images designed to instill alarm and fear.  But, to quote FDR, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  That was in the depths of the Great Depression. We’re considerably better off today. Some candidates call up recollections of a time, to quote Ira Gershwin, “when the livin’ is easy.”  Was there ever such a time?  The simple answer is, no.  Every period had its challenges.  We can’t let perception overcome reality.  Our elections, and our election process is a model for the world.  It isn’t infallible, and it isn’t without issues.  But it’s worked for hundreds of years, and there isn’t evidence that there is anything untoward that would change the outcomes.  Let’s let the system work.  Let’s include as many Americans as possible into the voting process, whether on voting day or before.  Let’s let all of the votes be counted, and let’s accept the final results with dignity, not a third world country in the midst of a power grab.  It’s in our best interests to have faith in our elections.  Of greatest importance, let’s be as fair and honest as we can be, letting our election officials do their jobs in peace with the respect these volunteers deserve.