South Carolina Lawmaker: ‘Minority Clerks’ To Blame For Electoral Irregularities

I have always believed there were irregularities in the 2020 election – many of them foisted upon us by the Covid-19 regime and the dramatic escalation of voting by mail. Having said that, these irregularities were never conclusively proven – and certainly were never proven to have changed the outcome of the race.

Does that mean the 2020 election was legitimate? No … and every time I read a mainstream media article shouting down credible criticisms I am reminded to keep raising those questions.

Still, the bottom line is former U.S. president Donald Trump and others who claimed the 2020 election was stolen never made their case – as evidenced by the fact his own appointees to the U.S. supreme court ruled against him.

What did they prove? That America has a long way to go to ensure the sanctity of the ballot – and public faith in the outcome of our elections. Which is why in the aftermath of the disputed election my outlet began pushing hard for reform.

“Whether you think the 2020 election was on the level or not, we should all believe in the principle of unus civis, una suffragium – ‘one citizen, one vote,'” I noted at the time. “Nothing is more indispensable to the notion of representative government than trusting the process by which our representatives are chosen.”

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Unfortunately, those pushing the stolen election narrative keep sounding sour notes. For example, state representative Rob Harris of Wellford, S.C. – part of the SC Safe Elections group – recently took to an online chat group to offer up an interesting theory regarding alleged irregularities in the Palmetto State.

According to Harris, the problem is … black election officials.

“Fact: 100 percent of problem precincts had minority clerks,” Harris wrote in the chat group, specifically referencing the November 2022 election in his district (S.C. House District 36).

Wait … what?

I’m sorry but … is this guy serious?

Harris was unopposed in his 2022 reelection bid. He captured 97.97 percent of the vote in the general election – or 8,607 of 8,785 ballots cast.

Is he seriously saying his own race was rigged? By black poll workers?

I did some back-of-the-napkin math and discovered there were forty-eight poll workers in Harris’ district last fall – ten clerks and 38 poll managers. Five of these clerks were white, four were black and one was Asian. Of the poll managers, 31 were white and seven were black.

Is Harris really alleging the existence of a race-based conspiracy amongst the minority election officials in this group?

Perhaps he was just race-baiting … something I condemn no matter which side is doing the baiting.

Again, Harris was unopposed in 2022. And zooming the lens out further, not a single election in all of Spartanburg County was even remotely competitive last fall. GOP straight ticket voters outnumbered Democrats by more than a 2-to-1 margin and the closest race in the county – the top-of-the-ticket governor’s election – was decided by a whopping 32.83 percentage points.

It was a Republican romp.

But we are not to trust these results because of … black people?

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RELATED | DAYS OF OUR CONGRESSMAN SAGA

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Again, I am not saying we do not need a dramatic overhaul of our electoral processes. In fact, I’ve been saying that for years. In May of 2020 – seven months before the contested fall election – I addressed the issue of mail-in voting extensively, arguing that if properly implemented it could actually be more secure than in-person voting (especially if it created a more definitive “paper trail” of ballots requested and cast).

Does that mean I think mail-in voting should replace conventional elections? No …

“Voting by mail should never replace in-person voting,” I noted at the time. “Should it be an option for those who legitimately need it? Absolutely. And should it be available to anyone based on voter preference? Perhaps. But elections should still be held on election day – and people who are able to vote in person should do so.”

Beyond that, mail-in voting should be upon request only. In other words, only those who specifically ask for an absentee ballot should be sent one – with narrow windows for receipt and return. Also, submission of a valid photo identification should always be part of the application process – along with a sworn oath or affirmation acknowledging criminal culpability for any misuse or fraud.

No valid ID, no ballot.  No signed oath, no ballot. Period.

I understand these proposals are not to the liking of Harris and others who want hand-counted, hand-marked paper ballots – with counts publicly observed and videotaped.

They just don’t trust the machines – even though there has been zero evidence of rigged elections in the Palmetto State.

But whatever your proposed election reform solution (and my news outlet is welcome to any idea) advocates like Harris hurt their credibility with bizarre race-based claims.

Seriously … if someone is rigging an election (or trying to), does their skin color make any damn difference?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.

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