The Truth about America’s Elections

Since his first political appearance, Donald Trump has been one to cause controversy throughout America. Whether that be due to his obnoxious tweets or seemingly unrealistic accusations of other politicians, he has been the focus of many tabloids since the start of his political campaign. However, many of the policies he believes in are not as crazy or as unheard of as they may seem. 

America has long since been an influential country. A trait that the government used to interfere with other countries’ elections as to back candidates that they can gain the most from. In fact, between 1946 and 1989 America had actively backed candidates in no less than 62 foreign elections and not all of these politicians were big fans of the democratic way of thinking but did appeal to the state’s government at the time. An example of this being President Clinton’s backing of Boris Yeltsin during the Russian presidential elections in 1996. 

Before Clinton’s interference, Yeltsin was not exactly supported by the Russian population due to his involvement in the increase of unemployment rates and inflation. Due to a drastic change fuelled by the American influence, Yeltsin did end up winning the election but there were multiple claims made saying how the win was only possible due to voter fraud. These claims almost became fact once Michael Meadowcroft, an election overseer in Europe, all but confirmed the accusations. Meadowcroft explained how in Chechnya roughly 1 million people had voted during Yeltsin’s election in his favour even though the area homes less than 500,000 adults at the time. With questioning evidence such as this, it does make you question the government’s role in democracy and how much of an influence they have on the outcome of a political election. 

According to Trump, the government plays a major role in the outcomes of elections, or at least the democrats play a bigger role than he would like in his results, going as far as to claim that after his first presidential debate between him and Hillary Clinton the polls were purposely skewed against him. With twitter claims such as ‘early voting in FL is very dishonest’, it is clear to see that Trump took the idea of voter fraud and maximised it to work in the favour of the Republicans.

This play on ideas was never all his own though. Trump’s advisor Roger Stone suggested to Trump that he emphasises the fact that the ‘system is rigged against citizens’ so that any loss against Clinton would be justified as voter fraud. With data showing the growing concern for legitimate election results over the years with both Republican supporters and politicians, it is no wonder this particular advice worked in Trump’s favour.

Since Trump’s election in 2016, several Republican leaders have admitted to using this concern to gain supporters. In fact, representatives of the party have tried to come up with ways to make it difficult for Democratic voters to cast their vote on election day for years by insisting on the introduction of the requirement of an ID in order to vote in certain states. In other cases, the hours in which the voting station is opened has been limited. These changes have mostly been implemented in areas where the Democrats would have the upper hand. This only makes voters question the hypocrisy of Republican Rand Paul’s claims of Russians interfering with the 2016 presidential elections when the Republicans themselves have interfered with the same election by putting limits on voters. 

Voting fraud has been proved to be rare in the US after a study conducted by Justin Levitt showed that there were only 31 incidents of voter impersonation in more than a billion votes in any election between 2000 and 2014. However, even though voting fraud may be rare, there is a vast amount of evidence to show that the American elections are still rigged and have been for years. What we need to realise is that voter fraud has only ever had a minimal effect because of the vast number of fraudulent votes that would have been required to make a real change to the outcome of the results. Now I’m going to share with you how elections are actually being rigged. Prepare to be shocked.

While Trump may be the current voice shouting about rigged elections, other Presidents have not exactly been quiet about it either. As Obama said in a 2008 talk, ‘whenever people are in power they have this tendency to try and tilt things in their direction’ and while this may seem like a bold statement, the way that George Bush became president may support what both Republicans and Democrats have been saying for years. 

It’s publicly been mentioned on a number of occasions that Bush was a member of a secret society called Skull and Bones, which since has produced other politicians that have run for president. On the night of Bush’s election, his opponent; Al Gore, was winning the votes in most states. However, halfway through the election night, it was announced through Fox News that Bush was predicted to win the election in Florida. Then the announcement of the new president was made by Bush’s first cousin John Ellis who was in charge of Fox News’ decision desk the night of the election. During a short interview, Bush himself said in full confidence ‘we are going to win Florida, mark my words.’ This raises the question of whether this is coincidence or whether a decision was already made to make Bush president regardless of how many votes he got. 

Of course, we may never know exactly if Bush was lacking in votes in Florida, as the woman in charge of counting the votes on election night was also the woman who was in charge of his presidential campaign. As Obama was saying, people in power try to make the election fall in their favour. This, of course, makes us question the whole system of democracy and its reliability in modern government. 

Democracy, as defined by the official Cambridge dictionary, is when power is held by an elected representative or its people. If Trump’s accusations are true, paired with the suspicious nature of Bush’s presidential election, then the rigging occurring in America’s elections completely contradict democracy as a concept which is what the country prides itself on. In relation to Trump’s continuous accusations of rigged elections, if such things have happened before with Bush’s win then who is to say they will not happen again? There may be more truth to Trump’s words than first seems.

To add fuel to the unravelling fire that is slowly destroying America’s democratic state, another questionable presidential win is that of Ronald Reagan in 1981. Clinton Curtis, a computer programmer from Florida had testified in front of congress that there are computer programmes currently whose sole purpose is to rig elections. These are not new programmes. Before Reagan even won his election, he was already published in Webster’s dictionary as the 40th President of the United States. While some may see this as a mishap, it does seem a little coincidental that Webster’s dictionary had Reagan’s win ready to publish before it was announced. But how would they know he would win?

Barry Smith, a Christian Preacher, spoke in a 2000 interview about the New World Order. In this interview he stated that ‘the presidents in America are not elected, they are chosen beforehand’. While this explains how Webster and other sites were able to publish the correct presidents before they were elected, what is most shocking is the invalidations of the people’s votes which is what democracy relies on. It is one thing to partake in widespread voter fraud but it is another to deem the citizen’s vote as pointless due to the next president being decided before any election. 

Obama himself has said how regardless of the political stance of an individual, whether they be a Republican or a Democrat, at the end of it all the American government is all on the same team. In any other context this may be a reassuring statement that helps to bridge a divide between the two parties that have split the country in half. However, once being presented with all the possibilities that demonstrate the rigging of various presidential elections throughout history, statements such as these makes you question how put together the government is. 

In a way, it is good that Trump has shone a strong spotlight on the truth of the American elections. Even though he has done so through a very Republican lens going as far as blaming the unfair results on illegal immigrants and other such minorities, it has made a wider group to question the legitimate nature of their vote and how much influence they have on who the next president will be.