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Election day is approaching, and a lot of people are stressed out about it. They are stressed by the outcome and stressed by the possibility that we know the result.
Election officials worry that “everything has jumped out” is not a condition for a country to be if you want a peaceful transfer of power, or a continuation of it. This makes us vulnerable to misinformation, which can take a life of its own. We are dry tinder for a scrub rumor.
And there are a lot of people who play with matches. Foreign adversaries and domestic agents of chaos seek out opportunities for chaos. The president has always sowed the seeds of doubt, claiming he would only lose if there was fraud (although fraud on a scale sufficient to tip an election is as likely as I’m struck by lightning, twice) .
Just days ago, the President attempted to deceive voters by suggesting that if there is no final vote count on election day, it will be because there has been some mischief.
There is never was a final vote on election day.
Even at the best of times, the American voting process is rocky – long lines, bad machines, voter suppression, and a signature match check system that looks like a relic of the carbon copy era.
But officials who count the votes worry as much (or more) about misinformation as they are about problems with the actual vote. Unfounded rumors of cheating mar the result. This weakens the winner’s ability to do their job.
“Of all the viruses that attack the vulnerable nervous tissue of a nation at war, rumor is the most malignant,” Life magazine wrote in 1942. During World War II, the Franklin Roosevelt administration attacked rumors like a public health crisis because they undermined national unity.
Today, at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, they are making a similar effort against rumors. “The last line of defense in electoral security is you,” said director Chris Krebs.
Officials at all levels of government advise this for election day:
- Don’t pass on all the scandals.
- Listen to sources you trust.
- Do not confuse delays with wrongdoing.
We’ve been meeting here like this every Sunday for the past six weeks, and now the elections are upon us. my last message before arrival of results? Be patient.
See also:
Story produced by Ed Forgotson. Publisher: Chad Cardin.
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