Let鈥檚 all vote, then wait for the recounts
It鈥檚 time to vote.
It鈥檚 also time to claim there鈥檚 voter fraud everywhere.
Lots of Republicans are ready to pounce on election officials from coast-to-coast.
They鈥檒l see victory where it isn鈥檛 鈥� thanks to Donald Trump.
According to FiveThirtyEight.com, of the nation鈥檚 552 Republican nominees, 199 of them still deny the fact that Joe Biden beat Trump in 2020.
So, we can expect there鈥檒l be lengthy, widespread challenges to basic math all across America.
It鈥檚 been that way since Mr. Trump started claiming the 2016 vote would be rigged 鈥� months before a single ballot had been cast.
Hillary Clinton graciously conceded defeat on Nov. 9 (the day after the election). But Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, soldiered on.
Stein commenced fundraising activities for ballot recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, on Nov. 23.
Who do you think objected to that?
Yep! You guessed it. 鈥淭he people have spoken, and the election is over,鈥� grumbled Trump.
Reviewing: 15 days after the election that swept him into office, he was calling for an end to recounts, because he鈥檇 won. But two years after he lost an election 鈥� and by a lot 鈥� Mr. Trump still isn鈥檛 willing to admit he lost.
He鈥檚 a special kind of childish.
But there鈥檚 more.
There鈥檚 always more.
America wasn鈥檛 prepared for a president who鈥檇 quibble about the number of people who attended his inauguration, compared to that of his predecessor. That鈥檚 what they got on Jan. 21, 2017.
Trump鈥檚 first full day in office.
Within a week he went Full Metal-Trump.
He vowed to begin a federal investigation into (alleged) voter fraud in three states 鈥� California, New Hampshire, and Virginia.
He lost California by 4,269,978 votes.
It didn鈥檛 matter that he won the entire election. He lost California 鈥� big. His ego took a hit and that鈥檚 all he cared about.
During his first meeting with congressional leaders, he talked about there being as many as 3 million to 5 million illegal immigrants who found their way into voting booths 鈥� and (having nothing better to do with their time, I suppose) they pulled levers for Hillary.
Trump stewed about the election (he won) until mid-May when he signed an executive order that created the 鈥淧residential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity,鈥� which was designed to find the millions of fraudulent votes that would enable him to claim he鈥檇 won the 2016 presidential election by a shutout.
That鈥檚 right.
The 鈥淎dvisory Commission鈥� was tasked to find that Hillary Clinton hadn鈥檛 gotten one single stinking vote.
In fact, according to him, she hadn鈥檛 even been on the ballot.
Of course, I鈥檓 making that up.
In reality, Trump wanted the world to know that he was far more popular than Barack Obama and that Clinton woman. So, he formed a committee of hired vote miners to prove it.
He enlisted the services of Vice President Mike Pence, and that wild-eyed illegal immigrant hunter 鈥� Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach 鈥� to fan out across the republic and find the unfindable 鈥渇raudulent votes.鈥�
To no one鈥檚 surprise, the 鈥淎dvisory Commission鈥� never found a single fraudulent vote.
It disbanded and filed a final report with a section about voter fraud, that was, according to reports, 鈥済laringly empty.鈥�
It鈥檚 no wonder Trump doused fuel on the 2020 presidential election with bogus claims of widespread voter fraud.
What wasn鈥檛 expected was that those bogus claims would live for two years and spread to become a pandemic of lies across the country.
The other day, Trump wrote on his preferred social media outlet, Truth Social, that, 鈥淚 beat Crooked Hillary Clinton, and then beat Biden by much more. Fox is afraid to say what REALLY happened in that farce of an Election 鈥� IT WAS RIGGED AND STOLLEN.鈥� (That鈥檚 a direct quote. I know stolen only has one 鈥淟鈥�.)
So, when you walk into the voting booth tomorrow, be prepared for the torrent of claims of voter fraud, if your preferred candidate beats a Republican.
Mr. Trump has taught lots of crybabies how to cry.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.