I had a hard time answering this question⬇️ because it brought back an unpleasant memory: The time I tried to explain on Twitter that the voting machines in Georgia were secure.
So before I answer this question, let me tell you a story.
First, my credentials. I monitored polling places and machine vote tabulation in Nevada as a volunteer poll watcher in 2016 and 2018. In 2018-2019, I did volunteer work for the voter protection group in Georgia (through the Georgia Democratic Party). One of my tasks in GA was to revise the legal manual with the new information about the machines and procedures after the court-ordered changes in 2019.
One day on Twitter, in response to a question someone asked me, I explained that the procedures in Georgia combined with the Dominion machines made the voting secure.
To say I got push back is an understatement. Here is a sampling of the responses I received:
What you have to understand is that this pushback came from the left. From Biden voters. Trump critics.
People told me to pay attention to experts and believe science. I think I know how the misinformation happened. There were lots of lawsuits filed about the old machines in Georgia. A court ordered the state to change its system by 2020. When the state purchased Dominion machines, activists submitted briefs arguing against the machines. So left-leaning Twitter experts read the briefs, took the arguments as facts and the experts as the final authority, and tweeted out the information.
Here’s the thing, though, about legal experts: Both sides have them. The side defending the machines presented their own experts.
The court took a middle road. I read the court’s decision and worked on the legal manual and came to believe that the court made a good decision. Could it have been better? Sure. But I was persuaded that the court’s orders would secure Georgia’s voting system.
I got lots of questions about the machines because of all the Twitter experts telling people that Georgia’s machines were insecure. (To quote one expert, the machines were a “national security danger.”)
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to try again to tell Twitter the machines were secure. Nobody like being called names, me included.
So I came up with two solutions. First, I put the question first on my “FAQ” page: That way I could send people to the page without having to get into arguments.
I worried about spreading fear about the machines because (in my view) voter suppression is the greater danger, and telling people voting is not secure can suppress the vote.
Trump learned that the hard way, as Georgia Secretary of State explained:
Second, I came up with an argument that allowed me to hide behind respected authority: Stacey Abrams. My argument: Why did Stacey worry about voter suppression in Georgia and not the machines? She should know, right?
When it became clear that the machines used in GA are secure, I thought WHEW! Then I got this question:
We see right away that this is hope-porn:
This came from a Democrat:
This caused me to do some thinking about fear-mongering and paranoia and conspiracy theories. It’s hard to talk about this because Trump came close to destroying democracy in America. Another term would have done it. So we have real worries.
It’s just that people tend to worry about the wrong stuff. It can be hard to sort out what to worry about. Also, obviously conspiracy theories and hope porn exist on both sides of the political spectrum. So here’s my advice for elections and saving democracy.
Volunteer to work in your local elections. Elections are held and monitored locally (actually, I was also called a liar for saying that):
If you don’t believe me, volunteer. You’ll find out. If you can, run for local office. Be the person in charge.
Second, follow Stacey Abrams’s example: The way to win elections is to register voters and get them to the polls. Register voters. Do it. For the next two years. Finally, don’t spread fear about the voting process, particularly before an election.
I’ve only see this kind of thing on social media:
I’ve never seen it covered by any major news source. If you (or someone else) has information, turn it over to a reputable journalist. If I don’t see something in a major news source, I don’t waste time.
This smart comment was a response to the “McConnell won because of fraud” Tweet example I included:
The GOP has become the party of QAnon and OANN. That leaves us to be the smart party able to distinguish innuendo and suggestion from fact.
Beware when someone says, “This is true. I don’t know why the major media isn’t covering it.” Journalists love a good scoop. Some of it is hope porn. We want to believe our candidate would have won, but for fraud. It feels better than “the majority wanted someone else.”
Also remember that fear-mongering and hope-porn peddling are ways to get clicks and be popular. Neither are healthy or productive.
