Don’t vote by mail!

Dear Friends,

Check out this week’s podcast, including my appeal to Iowans to VOTE AT THE POLLS!

“Wait, Ed,” you ask. “What are you saying? “Vote at the polls? Mail-in ballots are safe, and with the pandemic in full swing, we shouldn’t take unnecessary risks and show up in person on Election Day.”

I concur that mail-in ballots are safe. I concur, too, that the pandemic is a risk. My concern is not with reality but with perception — with a threat to the very foundations of our democracy more serious than the coronavirus:

Donald J. Trump.

I don’t fault the Iowa Democratic Party for encouraging people to vote by mail. I certainly don’t fault postal workers, who continue to do everything they can to assure timely mail delivery, despite President Trump’s efforts to undermine the US Postal Service.

The truth we must understand is, win or lose, Donald Trump will never concede the election. He is banking on enough delays with the mail-in vote count that, eventually, the victor will be decided by either state legislatures in swing states or the newly packed US Supreme Court.

A prompt and decisive resolution to the election is in the best interest of democracy — and that means turnout at the polls.

A recent Associated Press poll found that 53% of Joe Biden’s supporters plan to vote by mail while only 43% of Trump’s supporters plan to do so. That means in most swing states, including Iowa, if things continue along this track Trump will receive more Election Day votes than Biden.

Mail-in ballots might sit at the post office or county auditor’s office for days, maybe even weeks, as Dictator Trump declares victory over and over and over again, with his army of Fox News and talk-radio allies reenforcing the lie.

As we learned from Adolf Hitler, if you repeat a lie often enough — especially a big lie — impressionable minds are more inclined to believe it. Trump’s lies about mail-in ballots will continue through and past Election Day.

According to The Washington Post, “More than 100 times this year, President Trump has peddled false claims or imaginary threats about voting by mail.”

Since Trump is going to base his claim to victory on Election Day results, we need to beat him at that game.

Ditch your mail-in ballot and show up at the polls on November 3. Put on a mask, a shield, even rubber gloves. If it’s cold, wear your winter gear in case you have to stand in line outside. If you exercise appropriate social-distancing precautions, voting at the polls is probably less risky than going to the grocery store. (But remember, if you’ve requested and receive a ballot, you must surrender that at the polls in order to vote in person.)

Each election cycle, many candidates on the ballot say, “This is the most important election ever.” Well, this time it’s true.

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CLICK HERE FOR SEPTEMBER 28 PODCAST

Here’s our line up with time stamps:

(01:10) Don’t Vote by Mail;
(14:02) Russian Internet Trolls Are at It Again;
(26:32) The Intersection of Climate and Militarism, with Bob Gould;
(39:01) No Justice No Peace, with Eddie Mauro;
(52:17) Tomato Talk, with Kathy Byrnes, Birds & Bees Urban Farm.

CLICK HERE to watch our segment with Kathy Byrnes on Facebook.

Please support the local businesses and non-profits who help make this program possible. Click on their logos elsewhere on this site. Visit Story County Veterinary Clinic, Bold Iowa, and Birds & Bees Urban Farm.

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– KCEI 90.1 FM (Taos, NM)

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