world 052621

Vermont Elections are Safe and Secure
By Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos
The big lie, perpetuated by former President Trump and
some of his supporters, is that our elections are not secure.
These dangerous and disingenuous claims are made without
evidence to support them. The former President and his supporters
have filed over 60 lawsuits across the country to try to
steal the election. All but one were dismissed or ruled against
because of a lack of evidence.
The claim that mailing a ballot to every active, registered
voter will make our election system less secure is grounded
in the same unfounded logic, yet the same trumped up voter
fraud fearmongering is being used to try and stop S. 15,
which will make the mailing of ballots to every voter a permanent
feature of general elections. In reality, Vermont’s
elections process is very secure.
In fact, the MIT Election Performance Index state rankings
for 2016 and 2018 ranked Vermont #1 and #3 respectively in
election administration.
According to the experts, the 2020 election was the most
secure election in US. history, and the most scrutinized.
Across the country, interest in and observation of election
procedure has never been higher.
As states and voters increasingly relied on vote by mail, we
did not see any evidence of increased rates of voting irregularities
or election rigging.
What we did see was record shattering turnout despite the
health challenges presented by a global pandemic.
Vermont voters overwhelmingly embraced the steps we
took to make our elections safe and secure. Over 75% cast the
ballots mailed to them early or by mail, and voter turnout was
the highest in history.
If enacted, S. 15 will make the mailing of ballots to all
Vermont voters a feature of future general elections. Its passage
received broad support by Republicans, Democrats,
Progressive and Independents.
Our democracy is stronger when we all participate. The
mailing of general election ballots to all voters will make our
elections more accessible for all Vermonters, regardless of
political party or viewpoint.
Voting by mail has been a part of U.S. elections since
before the Civil War. Many Vermonters serving active duty in
the military rely on it to securely cast their ballots. In the last
10+ years we have seen voting by mail grow substantially
here and across the country.
Yet rates of fraud have remained the same: infinitesimally
small. In Vermont, Town Clerks referred 7 potential cases of
2020 voter abnormalities to my office. Only one was found to
be actionable: a voter attempted to vote twice to prove he
could dupe the system. He was caught and his test only
proved that the system works. It was reported, investigated,
Ikiru (To Live) – 1952
HHHH
After World War II, the victorious allies held a War
Crimes trial in Japan, just like the one in Nuremberg.
The culpability of high-ranking Japanese officials
was far less clear than the Nazis.
In Japanese culture, decisions are made by consensus. So
it’s hard to know exactly who came up with the bad ideas. And
it’s doubly hard for wise people who know they are bad ideas
to stick their neck out and veto them.
It wasn’t one man’s idea to invade China; it happened incrementally
and haphazardly. Due to the lack of planning, the
hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers were ill-equipped
and without food. The looting and massacres were not a coordinated
plan; they were a result of a pathetically unplanned
invasion.
There were sensible Japanese officers who recognized that
going to war with the United States was suicidal hubris. But
none of them had the guts to criticize the consensus decision
to attack Pearl Harbor.
Japan’s consensus culture looked unbelievably dumb to a
brave individualist like Akira Kurosawa. His classic film
“Ikiru” is about a Japanese man – Kanji Watanabe – who
finally stops going with the flow.
In the very first scene, the narrator tells us that Mr.
Watanabe has incurable stomach cancer.
For decades, Watanabe has been working as a mid-level
bureaucrat in Tokyo’s Public Works department. It sounds
kind of important but it isn’t. Because of Japan’s consensus
culture, nothing ever gets done. Watanabe is just a paper
pusher who pretends to look busy all day.
Now that he knows he is dying, the old man suddenly realizes
that he has completely wasted his life.
Sounds depressing, right? Not at all. Kanji Watanabe immediately
decides to change everything. On the first night, he
goes out to Tokyo’s red-light district and blows money on saké
and prostitutes. Then he strikes up a sugar daddy friendship
with a fun-loving young woman from the office.
• • •
• • •
and prosecuted.
If S. 15 is enacted, ballots will only be mailed to active
registered voters, directly contradicting the ridiculous implication
that ballots will be sent carelessly around the state. The
Post Office will not forward ballots for people who have
changed addresses; those undeliverable ballots will be
returned to the Town Clerk.
Advancements in technology and policy have made our
voter data more accurate than ever. Online and automatic
voter registration provides a constant stream of updates as
voters relocate, and we receive data from other states when
voters move and register.
For an early ballot to be counted the Clerk must receive it
in the certificate envelope, with a signed affidavit that the
voter is who they say they are. These envelopes contain other
voter data, including a unique identification number and barcode
specific to that voter.
These certificates are signed under the pains and penalties
of perjury. Voting someone else’s ballot is a crime which carries
substantial penalties.
When the Clerk receives a ballot, the voter is checked off
the entrance checklist as having voted. Since we track the
data for every ballot that is mailed out, if a second ballot
shows up anywhere in the state for that voter, we can investigate.
For someone to commit voter fraud, they would need to
know where and when to find another voter’s ballot, steal it,
perjure themselves by signing the envelope, get it back to the
Clerk without leaving a trail, and be certain that the voter will
not attempt to vote or that the Clerk will not catch on, while
facing severe penalties if caught.
All to change the results by a single vote - it’s just not
worth the high probability they would be caught.
In the 2020 general election, we sent ballots out to all
Vermont active voters, yet we did not hear of a single instance
of voter impersonation.
It would be wrong to lump all opponents of S. 15 in with
the ‘Stop the Steal’ conspiracy crowd who are using UV
lights to search for bamboo fiber on ballots, but the arguments
are the same and share a lack of evidence. They also pose the
same serious risk: unduly undermining voter confidence in
our election process.
Let’s not fall into that trap.
Vermont is poised to become one of the most voter friendly
states in the entire country, at a time when legislatures are
using conspiracy theories and outright lies to restrict the
constitutional rights of their citizens.
We have an opportunity to do better, and to be a beacon for
the nation, showing what truly accessible and secure elections
look like.
Finally, Watanabe decides to use his governmental position
for good for the first time. He personally spearheads an initiative
to fill in a malarial swamp in a poor neighborhood and
turn it into a playground.
Sounds like a sentimental Movie of the Week, right?
Actually no.
The final act isn’t about Kanji Watanabe at all. It takes place
at his wake.
Watanabe’s playground has transformed a neighborhood for
the better, and a room full of fellow bureaucrats try to comprehend
how and why he did it. But they never understand. It’s
amusing to watch them fumble their words to try to remain in
the consensus. They admire Watanabe’s personal initiative,
but they can’t imagine going out on a limb themselves.
Kurosawa demonstrates how pathetic it is to have an entire
country of followers who are pathologically averse to demonstrating
leadership or originality.
“Ikiru” is a tear-jerker. But it’s also a vicious anti-Japan
takedown. Mid-20th Century Japan had serious fundamental
problems and the great Akira Kurosawa doesn’t pull any
punches in diagnosing them.
At its heart, “Ikiru” is an ode to rugged American individualism.
Cowardly consensus culture clearly was not working
for Japan.
This serves as public notice
of unpaid and
abandoned storage units at
LinBrooke Storage, Inc.
933 South Barre Road
South Barre, VT
Saturday, May 29th
12 noon
Unit #7005 Ben McCall 5x10
Unit #9A Bob Fassett 5x10
Unit #4 Brent Rossi 10x15
Unit #165 Marsha Burke 5x12
Unit #6033 Ben Brown 5x10
Unit #68 Junior Corbett 10x15
Unit#66
Unit#6034
Unit#7029 Mark Cosgriff 5x10
EXTRA ROOM
STORAGE
P.O. BOX 474
WATERBURY, VT
05676
extraroomstorage@
gmail.com
UNLESS THE PAST DUE
BALANCE IS PAID PRIOR TO
NOON ON SATURDAY, JUNE
5, 2021 THE CONTENTS OF
THE FOLLOWING STORAGE
UNITS WILL BE SOLD
IMMEDIATELY IN A PRIVATE
Kristin Hall 10x10
The Mark Cosgriff Benefit 5x10 Shop
AUCTION FOR
NON-PAYMENT OF RENT:
15 Cottage St., Barre 479-4309
*All sales are final. Buyer MARSHA BLAIS B-61
has 48 hours to remove all ROBERT FASSETT
items. Cash Closed or card only. for Renovations A-8, F-70, F-39
$175 security deposit
The CVMC Auxiliary Bene-Fit Shop NICK will HAGGETT be closed A-14
required and returned upon
inspection October of the empty 29th unit. through November WILLIAM HOWARD 6th.
D21, D48, H47, H50
For more information
RUTH LAKE B-3
contact LinBrooke New StorageShop Hours
CINDY PLANT F-93
802-479-4144
We will reopen Wednesday, November 7th with new shop hours:
See you there!
DARLENE VEAL A-18
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MASKS & SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIRED
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May 26, 2021 The WORLD page 13