Marek Warszawski
Fresno Republicans want to drop ballots at gun shops and smog stations? Let ’em
Wisecrackers call it a “self-own.” Slang for when someone unintentionally embarrasses themselves or harms their own interests.
Welcome to the self-own club, Republican Party of California and Fresno County. When it comes to embarrassing, shoot-thyself-in-the-foot tactics, these guys have good aim.
Whether those unofficial ballot boxes the Republicans installed (then removed) at seven Fresno-area gun shops, a gas station, a smog check station, a health club, a gift shop and their Shaw Avenue headquarters are illegal is a matter best left to the courts and Twitter experts.
But can we agree it’s exceedingly dumb? Heck, I say let ’em have at it and see what happens once all the ballots are tabulated.
Voter fraud is a serious subject, and if Republicans had placed drop boxes in disadvantaged neighborhoods throughout Fresno, that would be nothing to joke about.
This cockamamie scheme? C’mon. It’s nearer to slapstick comedy than dark arts.
I’ve tried (and failed) to wrap my head around the logic. Do Republicans honestly believe that registered Democrats and No Party Preference voters are going to have a sudden brain cramp and do what the local GOP tells them?
The rationale goes something like this:
“Jeez, I’ve been voting at the polls or by mail my whole life. But in 2020, the most important presidential election in decades, I’m just gonna to hand in my ballot at a gun store.”
Sorry, nobody’s that gullible. Correction: Some people might be. Who? Those folks who’ve convinced themselves our elections aren’t secure because they swallow whatever President Trump spoon-feeds them.
You know, Republicans — or at least the non-thinking variety.
Sowing government distrust
If those folks have so much distrust in government that they believe their votes have a better chance of being counted if collected at a smog check station than placed inside an official ballot drop box, who am I to stand in their way?
In fact, I’d encourage all like-minded individuals to submit their ballots at a smog check station. Just drop it into the mail slot and take your chances.
That’ll show George Soros.
Again, election fraud is a serious issue. My tone would be different if California voters faced the same suppression tactics enacted by shameless Republican governors in Texas and Georgia.
However, California Republicans don’t wield anywhere near that sort of clout. And with local leadership that openly encourages more trust in gun shops and gas stations than official ballot collection boxes, no wonder their numbers have eroded.
Lazy ballot harvesting
Illegal or not, these unauthorized boxes are a lazy form of ballot harvesting. Why lazy? Because legal ballot harvesting in California, the kind that sent TJ Cox to Congress in 2018, requires shoe leather. It requires volunteers and paid staff dedicated enough to canvass neighborhoods, knock on doors, collect ballots and submit them with the proper signatures.
If Fresno County’s GOP had that sort of ground game, they’d run the same playbook. (Evidently, Rep. Devin Nunes has people knocking on doors.) So these unauthorized ballot boxes are the “best” available option.
I wouldn’t put it past some local Republicans from trying to prevent Democratic or No Party Preference ballots from being counted. But if they want to want to suppress their own votes, let them go right ahead.
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