I believe that voting integrity is of the utmost importance in keeping “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.” If the “people” do not have confidence in their vote being counted and having the power it is supposed to have, it weakens our republic. This has possibly never been in question more strongly than now—at this time, our time, in history. I believe there is currently an active two-tiered system of justice, maybe even three. The Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol trespassers are being prosecuted as treasonous criminals, while the left’s Antifa extremist group has burned down parts of cities, attacking businesses with impunity. It is also discouraging to the integrity of our elections when there is talk and consideration of noncitizens being allowed to vote. This weakens citizens’ confidence in their votes being valued and causes doubt about whether their vote matters. This makes some or all of these issues mentioned (which are just a few of many more not mentioned) an attack on the integrity, or a call to question, our very important and cherished voting system.
Along with an increased suspicion of voter fraud, there is not a lot of reporting of voter fraud investigations. There needs to be more awareness of the issue and more robust investigations. If people who don’t qualify as legal voters (i.e., convicted felons, not U.S. citizens) vote, we need a dedicated system in place to identify, prosecute, and publicize these offenders. This would bring a source of confidence to legal voters in our voting system.
Another way to ensure that votes are made by legal voters and to build more confidence is to require an ID to vote. Requiring a legitimate, legal government ID is about the simplest way to bring security to our voting system. The popular argument against requiring an ID is ridiculous, that this alienates those who cannot get IDs from voting. You need an ID to buy bullets, buy alcohol in most places, drive, book into a hotel, get a bank account, get into most nightclubs, buy a can of spray paint, be in our military, and conform to many other requirements.
It is very important to our future at every level of government that we enforce our voting laws, require a valid ID to turn in a ballot, minimize harvesting (i.e., two ballots maximum for drop-off ballots for people who cannot get to a polling location), and secure ballot counts. We need to give confidence to legal voters that every vote is very important and that the integrity of our voting system is perceived by voters as solid and as unviolated by nefarious sources as possible. If we cannot secure our voting, and if voters do not have confidence in the integrity of our system, our republic is in great jeopardy.
In Huntington Beach, California, many are preparing for the 2024 elections. In 2022, the council flipped from a 6–1 progressive-leaning council to a more conservative council of 4–3. The 2022 election sent a message that most residents did not like or approve of the direction of the previous council by an overwhelming vote for four new conservative candidates. The current council has a simple direction and that is to serve the citizens and businesses of Huntington Beach first and discourage outside entities (i.e., state progressive government) from dictating destructive and overreaching mandates. Huntington Beach can govern local issues (housing, homelessness, events) best for Huntington Beach. This seems to be a simple concept, especially with the City of Huntington Beach being a charter city. But there have been efforts from some within the city and outside the city who seem to feel differently and want to let the state impose its will (like that of socialism) and dictate and mandate how Huntington Beach is governed.
To prepare for the 2024 election, the more conservative and pro-Huntington Beach side of the political groups will be trying to secure three more seats to serve the citizens and businesses of Huntington Beach, and the other side will try to keep its left-leaning seats. Both sides will be forming plans to convince the voting citizens of the advantages of supporting them. This will entail much effort on both sides as the views on the issues vary greatly. For the leftist side, it will mean maintaining some of its minority influence and its Newsom-supporting interest at the city council. The conservative side will be trying to maximize the citizens’ local voice and keep Huntington Beach as the conservative suburban, beachfront community it wants to be.