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At some point we will all have to accept the election results.

Posted on by L. Dreeye
At some point we will all have to accept the election results.

Citizens must seek reliable information. Do not assume that all statements are true. Don’t jump to the conclusion that any development means the end of democracy as we know it.

Editorial staff of the magazine “Register”
| Des Moines Register

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  • Democracy sometimes means moving forward without solving all the issues.
  • The US electoral apparatus is largely trustworthy.

This spot on the register was often reserved for rousing calls to vote on the Sunday before the presidential election. Participate and play your role in the management process.

Iowans should definitely exercise this right. It is not too late for eligible voters until the polls close at 8pm on November 5th. Iowa allows same-day voter registration as long as the person has the correct identification or a registered voter from the same precinct verifying it.

More: Missed the Iowa voter registration deadline? You can still register to vote at the polls.

But voting is not the end of a citizen’s responsibility. An orderly democracy requires supporters of the losing candidate to face the facts and acknowledge out loud or silently that the other person will be sworn in in January. In other words, it is appropriate to actively advocate for accurate ballot counting and judicial review of possible irregularities. But when these processes are exhausted, it is time to accept the result and stop criticizing.

This is not just another run-of-the-mill editorial board joke to put our differences aside and come together after a tough election. This is an expression of serious concern about the already made insinuations – and in some cases, loud statements – that a certain outcome of the presidential race is supposedly illegitimate.

Democracy sometimes means moving forward without solving everything

America’s electoral apparatus is good at collecting all eligible votes and counting only those. Small discrepancies are usually the result of error rather than fraud. There are many statements to the contrary, but there is no evidence. Even if the process is not entirely flawless, acknowledging the outcome is the right thing to do. The alternative is frightening: a rapid escalation from “the will of eligible voters has not been reflected” to “declared winners have no legitimacy” and “extra-legal maneuvering or even political violence may be required to maintain democracy.”

No matter how tumultuous American politics may be right now, it is absurd to argue that the only possible next steps are abandoning the rule of law or starting an insurrection.

The American election is not a fraud like what we see in Russia and other countries. The expected difference in Kamala Harris’s race against Donald Trump is extremely small. Like many others, we will quote Al Gore’s statesmanship in 2000 because his actions were exactly what was called for. The democrat and his team have staked out their positions in the political and legal spheres. These cases led to Gore losing in the US Supreme Court and in Florida, after which he graciously relented.

It’s worth noting that in December 2000, George W. Bush was not found to have won the vote in Florida outright; the trials ended because the established rules for challenging the results had exhausted themselves, and Gore was the loser. Unfortunately, Democrats disputed the results of the January 6th election. But two weeks later Bush was inaugurated, and that was the end of it. If Tuesday’s election results in narrow margins in one or more states, and votes are counted and recounted painstakingly over several days, a lawsuit is appropriate. But that must be it.

Events in late 2020 and 2021 following Donald Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden demonstrate the bitter fruits of rejecting the election results. What we have learned since January 2021 only underscores how horrific and dangerous the Trump-inspired siege on the US Capitol was as we watched it unfold in real time. The most generous interpretation of the cause of the riot is that protesters wrongly equated dissatisfaction with COVID-related changes to voting procedures with evidence of outright fraud and disenfranchisement. A more plausible interpretation is that Trump and his team never intended to let Americans elect Biden. This strategy will never be acceptable.

If Trump does not win a second term, this time he will have the opportunity to do everything right and, having exhausted the legal challenges, step aside without further controversy. Harris must make the same smart choices if she loses.

The US electoral apparatus is trustworthy

It is difficult to analyze the flow of polls and early voting data from the November 5 vote. But if the clear winner is Harris or Trump, anyone who says “this result is impossible” is lying. The line can be very thin. And every campaign has more than its fair share of poll watchers and lawyers to argue its case in the coming weeks. But when that dust settles, elected officials must get to work on behalf of their constituents. Citizens should seek reliable information rather than jump to conclusions that every decision signals the end of democracy as we know it.

Once that dust settles, elected officials must get to work on behalf of their constituents. Citizens must seek reliable information. Do not assume that all statements are true. Don’t jump to the conclusion that any development means the end of democracy as we know it.

We do not pretend to predict the future. But we can say with confidence that Iowans and all Americans should feel good about the vast majority of people who are committed to holding free and fair elections and the mechanisms they have put in place to make it happen.

Free and fair elections can involve big issues, such as the recent burning of ballot boxes in the Northwest or a blow to voting rights like in Virginia. Or it could raise concerns about voting issues here in Iowa, for example. But news reports show heroic efforts to find voters whose ballots were spoiled and help them obtain new ballots. And the dispute over Virginia’s removal from the voter rolls suggests plausible motives on the part of competing parties. A free and fair election does not depend on whether the courts were right or wrong to side with Virginia.

We all had a lot to learn from the 2020 election and its aftermath. It is not inherently suspicious when a lead fluctuates due to new vote counts starting the morning after election night or even in the days following. This is how votes are counted. After the election, the courts give plaintiffs a fair hearing and then make decisions that we must live with.

“Winning” is not the only consideration. Accept the result. The alternative is dangerous.

Lukas Grundmeier, on behalf of the Register editorial board

This editorial represents the opinions of the Des Moines Register editorial board: Carol Hunter, executive editor; Lukas Grundmeier, opinion editor; and Richard Doak and Rox Laird, members of the editorial board.

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