Defeat Election Fraud By Voting In Person On Election Day

Before I heard about this story I had already decided to vote in person. Up until the 2020 election I had always voted by mail. However, when I watched one candidate campaign endlessly in front of huge crowds, while the other hid in his basement and supposedly won, my mind was changed.

Back in August, Cynthia Harris, a Democrat, and a former Orange County Commissioner, filed a sworn affidavit With the Secretary of State’s office. In it she alleged that there has been a long running ballot harvesting operation taking place in the Orlando area. Harris claims that liberal organizations have been paying ballot collectors $10 for every ballot they collect, specifically targeting African American Communities. Obviously, the collection and delivery of ballots by any third party is illegal in Florida.

Based on these allegations, the newly formed Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS), Created by Governor DeSantis, has determined there is enough evidence to warrant a criminal investigation and has turned the case over to The Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement.

Harris who lost her election for county commissioner in August, claims to have known for years about the ballot harvesting in central Florida African American communities. She even claims to have recorded a ballot collector that came to her home in 2017. Even more compelling is that she claims to have obtained the script the collector was given by the people in charge of the operation.

The first thought that came to me concerning this was that if Harris has known about this for years, why not come forward sooner? I’m just spit balling here, but apparently she only became compelled to speak out when the harvesting affected her personally.

It seems that after the August primary Harris had finished in second place. Since the front runner did not receive at least 51% of the votes a runoff was required. After a recount, she had supposedly lost 14 votes, which meant she ended up in third place and was excluded from the runoff.

If that was what was needed to motivate her, so be it. The important thing is that she did come forward and the truth is out.  She also disclosed some other interesting facts about the harvesting process.

“So what happens is in our community when absentee ballots are mailed, you the candidate or any political party can find out when the absentee ballots are mailed and to whom. What happens is these ballot harvesters, they know which batch has gone out, they go to the door and they ask you for your absentee ballot”

“Well, in communities that don’t look like me, no one does this,” (apparently referring to white neighborhoods.) “But in our community it’s kind of like an accepted practice that the man is coming by to pick up my absentee ballot or the lady is coming to pick up my absentee ballot.”

“Ballot brokers typically work up to a year in advance.” The brokers visit individuals in their residences and assists the individual with filling out a request for a mail-in ballot. After the mail-in ballot arrives, the voter is instructed to wait for the ballot broker returns to the individuals residence. They are asked to not seal the certificate envelope.”

“In rare circumstances, if the voter has filled out the ballot and sealed the envelope certificate, the ballot broker will take the ballot and then steam open the sealed envelope The ballot broker will either correct any votes, if necessary, that were not voted according to their wishes or just throw them out.”

In her affidavit, Harris provided emails, video footage, receipts and other information to substantiate her claims.

Harris, who has also worked as an election poll observer, is troubled by the fact that there is no control over harvested ballots and the ease by which they can be altered or destroyed.

“You know, it’s just utterly ridiculous that people don’t understand that once that ballot leaves your hand and it’s not placed in the mailbox, or it’s not directly given to the supervisor of elections, you don’t know where it goes. It’s possible that they throw them away. We’ve seen evidence of that.”

“You see them steam open the ballots and then they mismark them so that if it’s not for their candidate, then that ballot is spoiled. So when people think that the numbers are low, it’s really not low, it’s just that someone has intercepted before it gets to the proper authorities.”

Obviously this is not confined to one state. This is happening nationwide and not just in African American communities. Nursing homes and other vulnerable citizens are also at risk.

This is frightening and needs to be taken seriously. From the time I was in grade school I was told that our most precious right was to be able to cast a vote for those who would govern us. Yet, we don’t punish those that are caught in that manner. Most get off with a fine, or community service. Some do get very minimal jail time, but certainly not enough to deter them from infringing on this sacred right.