[EL] Can we say elections are stolen?

[Paul Lehto]

Whether we can say elections are stolen can only be answered knowing the
context and the evidence for a specific allegation.

However, it is nevertheless a true statement that "*it is easy for an
election official or other person with access to electronic voting machines
to steal an election.*" A large number of video demonstrations can be
found, some of which could be considered to be tutorials. Please advise if
anyone wants links. This is why transparency is so critical.

Here is an example of an electronic election reaching the wrong result
because voting machine programming swapped the candidates. Most likely
human error but it could have been intentional.
https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/politics/20111028_South_Jersey_voting-machine_incident_makes_waves.html


It is a good practice to add by who or what an election was stolen when and
if this term is justified. We can all think of abuses of the term "stolen"
as well. Again, the context and the evidence possessed are critical. Notice
pleading standards of information and belief may be relevant.

When I talk about this I urge people to realize that regardless of whether
the inaccuracy is a glitch, human error, or an intentional criminal act, *the
damage to democracy is the same when the wrong result is announced*. The
questions of intent raised by the term "stolen" are relevant mostly to the
criminal law and to questions of blame. So long as (which is usually the
case) the relevant law does not require pleading and proving intentional
fraud, the language of intent can be safely dispensed with.

Entire books have been written on the history of election fraud and stolen
elections. See Deliver the Vote: A History of Election Fraud, an American
Political Tradition. - Tracy Campbell - Google Books
https://books.google.com/books/about/Deliver_the_Vote.html?id=v_cJij9bGykC

YouTube currently suppresses videos alleging even "historical" stolen
elections. This is improper censorship of history. Our country has long
prided itself on not having secrets of this type where the truth can never
be told.

Paul Lehto, J.D.

On Fri, Jan 8, 2021, 11:47 AM Margaret Groarke <
margaret.groarke at manhattan.edu> wrote:

> David Becker earlier today suggested that both sides of the political
> divide drop the language of "stolen" elections.
>
> I've been thinking about this a lot lately.
>
> Is it never legitimate to say that an election is stolen? What would be
> the conditions that would allow us to call an election "stolen"?
>
> If someone engaged in illegal acts which caused the outcome of the
> election to shift from one candidate to another, would that not be
> stealing? Would there be legal acts -- passing legislation that served to
> disenfranchise your political opponents, let's say -- that constituted
> stealing? Or is that something else? Should the fact, as David proposed,
> that the courts considered and rejected the allegations of illicit actions
> make it inappropriate to call an election stolen? I'm thinking, again, of
> Rick Hasen's discussion of the GA gubernatorial election in *Election
> Meltdown. *
>
> Clearly, it's a problem when a large number of Americans believe that a
> legitimately conducted presidential election is not legitimate. Does it
> reduce the possibility of this if the supporters of Dino Rossi or Stacy
> Abrams stop calling the elections they lost "stolen"? Do we want to
> establish a clearer definition of what would constitute a "stolen"
> election? Was the North Carolina 9th a stolen election?
>
> Is there any reason to believe that if Democrats didn't use the language
> of stolen elections, Trump and Giuliani wouldn't be using it now?
>
>
>
>
> --
> *Margaret Groarke*
> *Professor, Political Science*
> *Coordinator, Community Engaged Learning*
> https://jaspercommunityengagement.blogspot.com/
> Make an appointment to talk with me
> <https://manhattan.starfishsolutions.com/starfish-ops/dl/instructor/serviceCatalog.html?bookmark=connection/13271/schedule>
> Bronx, NY 10471
> Phone: 718-862-7943
> Fax: 718-862-8044
> margaret.groarke at manhattan.edu <name.name at manhattan.edu>
> www.manhattan.edu
>
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