Editorial: Faith in the process

On this the morning after the most dynamic presidential election in our lifetime, we probably still don’t know who won between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Unless, that is, the Iowa Poll results last Saturday were a harbinger, showing Harris with a three-point lead in the apparently red Tall Corn State, in which case we know it is likely to be a landslide for Harris.

If the winner is not known by now, conditions are ripe to sow confusion in an attempt to subvert the democratic process.

Beware and stay cool. We have been through this before, and the Republic stands.

First and most important, we know our election officials are honest. BV County Auditor Sue Lloyd is nothing if not honest. She takes her role as commissioner of elections most seriously. She is a Republican but not nearly as politically motivated as Secretary of State Paul Pate. He, too, is a pretty straight shooter by modern political standards. We do not worry that he will queer the vote somehow.

Pate identified potential non-citizens who registered to vote, and is turning those records over to authorities for prosecution. The timing was curious right before an election, to make people think that undocumented immigrants are stealing our vote. They’re not. A judge ruled that his questions are appropriate, and the registrants in question will be allowed to file provisional ballots while their eligibility is determined. We have to trust that process. It should have happened sooner, but politics ain’t beanbag and Pate knows it. He’s making his plays within the rules.

Our elections are staffed by neighbors who know us. The vote is canvassed by the board of supervisors and certified by the secretary of state. Any number of poll watchers, party officials and lawyers are peering closely. It’s not as if you can unload a van full of Venezuelans at the Auditor’s Office and expect they will make it through. A legal resident of Marshalltown voted in a city election and was charged by Attorney General Brenna Bird because he is not a citizen. Why anyone would jeopardize their legal residency to vote in a city council race defies our understanding, but that is what the charge says. It is the only case we are aware of.

People who aren’t supposed to vote know what the risks are. They don’t want to be deported. We know the system is secure.

If you don’t think those poll workers are tough and diligent, we remind you of the two Black ladies in Georgia who were slimed by Rudy Giuliani and now own his Manhattan brownstone plus his big pinkie ring.

Plenty of checks are built in.

People claim that it’s rigged. If you lose, they must have cheated. That’s what losers want you to think to erode the walls guarding the process. It demands a sort of cynicism in which you lack faith in the likes of Sue Lloyd or those stout poll workers in Georgia. Yes, mistakes can be made. Honest ones. A box of ballots can be misplaced for a day. It has been done. It is always discovered because of checks like the canvass.

When you erode the faith in some, you chip at the foundation of community.

Those who say before the vote is tallied that it was all cooked by cheats is to say that you cannot trust your neighbors in Storm Lake. That someone is out to steal your birthright. That is not being honest with yourself. When you start lying to yourself, all sorts of bad things happen.

Such claims have never been credible here because we know each other and believe in each other. Democracy is ultimately an act of faith that the process is true. Trust is essential.

Skepticism is healthy. Be assured that the poll workers and watchers had their eyes open. They know everyone is watching them.

That should lead to trust that the process, while subject to human error, is inherently sound. The democratic experiment continues its run. It survived an all-out assault in 2021 on the steps of the Capitol. Faith in the process prevailed as courageous members of Congress stood fast and certified the election of Joe Biden. Whatever the result, we must presume that the process is fair and secure as it can be since it is run by people of good faith. When we embrace the results as real, win or lose, we unite as a community. That’s what America needs most right now.