We take peaceful elections for granted, but maybe we shouldn’t.
Violence associated with U.S. elections mostly occurred during campaigns and was precipitated by fraudulent electoral abuses.
The current election campaign
With respect to voter rolls and registration, the situation may be much worse. Reuters reported last month the complaints of civil rights and legal experts: “Millions of U.S. citizens, including a disproportionate number of blacks, will be blocked from voting … because of legal barriers, faulty procedures and dirty tricks.”
President Carter, who has organized many such <voter> monitoring efforts <said> “Some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida,” he wrote.
This election could end peacefully, as most U.S. elections have. But there are troubling signs: We have never had a close election whose outcome might appear fraudulent in a time of war when we could be struck by outside forces within our borders.
If Republicans attempt to steal the election again like they successfully did in 2000, millions of people can and should get in the streets. It won’t be a “tantrum” either, rather a legal and quite justified explosion of protest.