Will Our Votes Be Counted?

How big of a concern is mail-in voter fraud in the November election? In a CNN interview yesterday, U.S. Attorney General William Barr pointed out the very serious problems with proposed state-wide, or “universal” mail-in ballot systems because of the pandemic: “We are playing with fire.”

Just how big of a fire? As FRC’s second episode of Pray Vote Stand 2020 made clear, not only is the potential for voter fraud massive in a proposed state-wide mail-in scenario, but voter fraud has already happened time and time again in past elections.

The Left likes to say that voter fraud is a “myth,” but the facts beg to differ. The Heritage Foundation has tracked 1,296 cases of voter fraud in the last four years, which they say is almost certainly not all of them. In the last four national elections, 28 million mail-in ballots went missing. How big of an impact could this have? Consider this: the last presidential election was decided by less than 80,000 votes across a handful of states. In addition, things have gotten so bad with inaccurate mail-in voter lists that dogs and cats are now receiving mail-in ballots.

Right now, there are only four states that have used the state-wide mail-in ballot method, but because of the pandemic, more states are considering using this method, which is ripe for fraud. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton knows all about this type of fraud happening in his home state. “Two thirds of voter fraud cases deal with mail-in ballot fraud,” he said during the webcast. “We know for a fact that mail-in ballots create a higher risk of fraud and do go at the credibility of elections.” As one woman in Hawaii pointed out during the webcast, there is also the problem of people like her who have lived in different states receiving multiple ballots from those states. It seems that the old sarcastic adage to “vote often” may not be that hard to do after all in a state-wide mail-in scenario.

So what can concerned voters do about election integrity and to ensure their vote counts? General Paxton was clear: “Voting in person is the safest thing to do” and is best way to “ensure that our elections are fair.”

We’ve made it easy for you to register to vote in your state if you have not done so already. Simply go to PrayVoteStand.org/register to register and to access resources on how to host a registration drive at your church as well as the legal dos and don’ts for churches. It’s particularly important to encourage everyone in our spheres of influence to register and to vote, since four out of 10 Christians do not vote in presidential elections.

The broadcast also featured words of encouragement and conviction for believers. World Missions President for Church of God in Christ, Bishop Vincent Mathews made it clear that Christians must not waver in their knowledge of the truth: “We say that God must be supreme. Truth is objective. It is not subjective and relative.” Pastor Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas echoed a similar message, emphasizing how much elections matter for believers, particularly with the issue of liberal state officials shutting down churches during the pandemic while keeping bars and abortion facilities open. As Graham pointed out, the tumultuous and divisive times we live in demand that all believers take a stand in the public square: “Vote your conscience. Vote your convictions. We say vote your faith. Vote your Bible, and then stand. We cannot be silent and we cannot run away.”

SBC Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd reiterated the need for repentance and for deep and prayerful examination or our consciences based on the Book of Haggai: “I believe this is the call to the American church today from our Lord and our God. He is saying, church, think carefully about your ways … America, think carefully about your ways.”

And be sure to watch the entire second episode of our Pray Vote Stand 2020 webcast.

COLUMN BY

Dan Hart

Managing Editor

Dan Hart is the Managing Editor for Publications at Family Research Council. His writing has appeared in such outlets as National ReviewThe FederalistFirst ThingsThe StreamThe Christian Post, the National Catholic Register, and others. Before joining FRC, he served with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he worked to promote vocations to the clergy and religious life. His previous endeavors included serving as Associate Editor of iPhone Life Magazine and also in conference implementation at the Food and Drug Law Institute. Dan received a B.A. in English from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons, freelance writing about music and culture, reading, golf, and playing guitar.

EDITORS NOTE: This FRC-Action column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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