My Dad was born in Utah. Politically, Utah is considered a red state and has voted (and cast its electoral votes) for the Republican candidate for President since 1968. I assumed the reason was that they have more Republican voters than Democratic voters. This is how state elections are usually won.
Like Washington state, Utah also has a vote-by-mail system that some people say is flawed. Utah also allows undocumented immigrants to obtain a state driver’s license or state ID. Some people don’t like that either, as they believe this allows large numbers of non-citizens to vote in our elections. If that were true, wouldn’t Utah be voting more Democrats into office?
The real problem is that they have not provided any proof or evidence that their beliefs are true. In the presidential election of 2020, Republicans alleged massive voting fraud and challenged the result in over 60 court cases around the country. Every case was thrown out by the judge before trial due to the lack of evidence. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy group, has researched voter fraud in the U.S. and discovered only 77 confirmed cases of non-citizen voting in 24 years.
To solve this unproven problem, MAGA Republicans have done an about face and actually want to add government bureaucracy and costs by implementing a voting system that requires proof of citizenship. The real reason they want to do this is “gaming the system” (like redistricting) to improve their chances of victory in future elections.
Will Americans celebrate 250 years as a nation this year by standing in long lines to prove we are all citizens?
Darrell Anderson
Battle Ground
•••
Letters To The Editor
Email: letters@thereflector.com
Mail: The Reflector, Attention: Letters to the Editor,
209 E Main St., Suite 121, Battle Ground, WA 98604
