Carter Center Calls POTUS Election Rigging Claims “Unfounded and Irresponsible”; Jimmy Carter Slams Candidates Who Tout Said Nonsense
Without naming any specific candidates, the Carter Center issued a multi-point rebuttal for why there is no reason to believe the POTUS elections will be manipulated. Instead, the NGO said con artists feeding their ego while masquerading as presidential candidates and peddling paranoid crap about voter fraud are committing an “irresponsible” act.
President Jimmy Carter said in the statement:
“The Carter Center has observed more than 100 elections around the world, some of them quite problematic. However, allegations of potential rigging of U.S. elections, as well as of widespread voter fraud, are baseless, serving only to undermine confidence in our democratic processes and inflame tensions.”
Noting that there will almost assuredly be “isolated administrative incidents”, the Carter Center also said a few hiccups does not a fraudulent election make.
On a totally unrelated note: Trump, who claims to be a tough-minded whatever-he-is, has a long history of crying about “rigged” competitions against him. Truly the whole world doesn’t like his petulant self. What a pity.
You can read the entire statement below.
But for all of you being played by an oleaginous huckster this election season, just remember: all of this is what they want you to believe.
Carter Center Statement on the Integrity of U.S. Elections
For Immediate Release
Contact: [email protected]
ATLANTA – Recent claims about rigging of U.S. elections are unfounded and irresponsible. Based on our knowledge of the electoral system in the United States and of the many independent analyses of U.S. polling processes, The Carter Center has great confidence in the overall administrative integrity of U.S. elections. Checks and balances within our electoral system exist to protect it against manipulation. These include processes and checks before and after election day to ensure the integrity of the election process, such as pre-election testing of voting technology and postelection audits that take place in some states; the widespread presence of agents from both parties in polling stations; and the broad access to election results given to the media and the public, enabling transparent reviews of the election results. The American electoral process also benefits from the hard work and dedication of hundreds of thousands of poll workers and election officials, who represent both parties and ensure the integrity of the voting and counting process.
“The Carter Center has observed more than 100 elections around the world, some of them quite problematic,” said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. “However, allegations of potential rigging of U.S. elections, as well as of widespread voter fraud, are baseless, serving only to undermine confidence in our democratic processes and inflame tensions.”
The Carter Center notes that no election is perfect and that there will be isolated administrative incidents in U.S. elections as in every election conducted around the world. However, these incidents should not call into question the integrity of the entire election. While The Carter Center is not observing elections in the United States, a number of reputable nonpartisan organizations are observing and will issue public reports of their findings after the election.
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Perhaps Mr. Carter can address this one: “A short History of white people stealing elections,” by the liberals at VOX. http://www.vox.com/2016/10/19/13305260/rigged-election-history-racism
Or this one: “Helping steal the 2004 election wasn’t enough. Down by double digits and facing a career-ending election, Ken Blackwell accuses Ted Strickland of being pro-pedophile, possibly gay.” By the liberal Josh Marshall https://web.archive.org/web/20061107202635/http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010430.php
Or this one: “Kerry Told Me He Now Thinks the Election Was Stolen” by the liberal Mark Crispin. http://www.democracynow.org/2005/11/4/mark_crispin_miller_kerry_told_me
And who’s making all the insinuations about “Russian meddling?” Your team.
I suppose that’s all just “con artists feeding their ego while masquerading as presidential candidates and peddling paranoid crap about voter fraud,” though.
Carry on.
I will probably have to stand in for President Carter:
1. Racism existed, we have largely addressed that (to varying degrees of success). Your point?
2. I don’t think Joshua Micah Marshall is or was running for anything.
3. Ditto Mark Crispin Miller.
4. Commercial security companies and the FBI aren’t exactly “our team”.
Writers are going to write. That’s not the point, and I don’t think the Carter Center gets too involved with that. But when prominent candidates claim rigging during their campaign, they need to have some supporting info. As they say in the science world- extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Trump has offered none.
Your trolling game is really slipping, Mikey.
Hi Ed, long-time listener first-time caller. Thanks for making me look up “oleaginous”.
Just so I’m clear:
1. I’m not supporting Trump, I’m not voting for him, and I’m not defending his comments. Frankly, I think they’re stupid. And they’re a sign his campaign is losing.
2. I’m old enough to remember the “stolen election” charges from Al Gore supporters in 2000, From Kerry supporters in 2004, and the continuation of those accusations in 2006. I remember who screamed about “Diebold!” from 2000 until 2008. Miracle of miracles, it stopped then.
3. So I’m glad to know that it’s perfectly acceptable for liberals to say that elections get “stolen,” it’s just not ok for Trump to say it. Glad to know that y’all serve up standards as doubles.
4. Assange was a hero of the left, until he started wiki-leaking documents that didn’t flatter Hillary Rodham Nixon, who now claims it’s all a Russian conspiracy to help her opponent. But talk of “stealing” elections by candidates during their campaign is out of bounds unless Democrats do it. Thanks for that double as well!
5. Ed is still a cretinous asshole who can go eff himself.
On the matter of clarity too… I’m neither a liberal nor on anyone’s team.
But do you really think the nominee of a major political party who is actively undermining the faith in our democratic process for no reason whatsoever other than they’re a sore loser playing their supporters is the same as a semi-paranoid minority of a party?
My my my aren’t you getting testy these days, Mike.
The claims of electronic voting machines in general being flawed have not miraculously gone away. It’s still there. Most states have moved to a paper backup system (but not Georgia) so it’s at least maybe a little better. But criticism of the system is non-partisan and not based on who might be winning or losing. It has been an ongoing drama ever since 2000, and that criticism has led to improvements in the system over the years.
I think there are not as many obvious issues as there were when the machines were first rolled out, and that is probably good. But the big overarching issue still exists in places like Georgia: There is no way to conduct a recount or audit the votes. All you can do is look at the precinct totals and compare them to what is reported by the county and see if they match. There are no ballots to look at.
And most paper ballot advocates will feel the same way regardless of who wins.
Who went to court in 2000 in Florida to request a hand recount in four specific counties? You can go look it up.
Trump didn’t say if the results in Florida happen to be close enough to trigger an automatic recount and if that recount turns out to be even closer than initial results that he might consider going to court. He said he’d let you know if he accepted the election results.
For someone who says he’s not in Trump’s corner, you sure post as if you’re on the payroll.
Well this is devolving into a semantic game, but I will say this; Gore followed the procedure as provided by the law. He wasn’t claiming anything was rigged. He just asked for a close result to be re-counted. There were a lot of issues with that election in Florida that justified a recount. But the count was done (pretty much), the court had their say, and Gore accepted the result.
If Trump has reason to call for a recount, that’s fine. That’s the procedure. But Trump is claiming in advance that it’s rigged, with no evidence.
Interesting that Gore only called for recounts in heavily Democrat counties? Why not all? Something about dangling nads or something. Thank God the supremes stopped the genuine theft of a presidential election!
Are you trying to say that Gore should have been non-partisan? You are naive.
If Bush wanted to ask for recounts in some places he was welcome to. Instead, if I recall they asked to stop recounts.
In any case, asking for a recount is part of the established process. That is not really related to general claims of a rigged election weeks beforehand with no evidence.
Even the thought of Gore has me howling!! Good Lord if that wooden Indian had ever been president!!! Remember whe he asked Bush about Dingell-Norwood in one of the debates? Bush should have said “a strong shot of penicillin should take care of that!” Lol!