By Mark Weyermuller –
This past Tuesday was a beautiful day for baseball as the Chicago Cubs played the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. It was also Primary Election Day in Illinois to select party nominees for the upcoming midterm elections in November. The attendance for the game was around 38,000, with several thousand more in the neighborhood they call Wrigleyville.
Watch a video I took of a "secure" ballot box at Chicago's Wrigley Field last Tuesday:
More below …
I was surprised to a “secure” ballot election dropbox sitting out in the open about 90 feet from one of the entrances to the ballpark. It appeared to be guarded by two young people who I was told were employed by the Chicago Board of Elections. I watched off and on during the day as people brought up ballots to drop in the box, it appeared no photo identification or signature was required to leave ballots in the box.
About 7:30 p.m. one person showed up to empty the “secure” ballot box. They opened the box which had a padlock on it and put the ballots into a bag. Some paperwork was signed with the two people watching the box then left. The man took the bag and placed it in a white van that said “Board of Elections.” He then drove off.
I not saying there was any appearance of impropriety. With an estimated 2250 precincts containing polling places manned by election judges and poll watchers, one might question why we need “secure” ballot boxes spread throughout the city. There was a voting location two blocks from the location at a school and a post office about five blocks away.
If you ask, most people want honest and fair elections. There is no doubt that many Americans had issues with the 2020 election process and results. While it’s important to make it easy so everybody can vote, how much security is given up?
Many believe more security can be added by doing one-day election voting while maintaining the long-standing practice of absentee voting. This would require a photo identification card. In addition, mail-in, drop-off, and early voting might need to be eliminated or at least have multiple layers of security added. The voter rolls need to be audited before the elections.
The question is are we doing everything possible to have honest and fair elections? General Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
Mark Weyermuller also known as “man on the street” is a small business person, retired real estate professional, law & order supporter, tax payer advocate, and conservative activist in Chicago. He is a citizen journalist, frequent guest on talk radio, speaker at public hearings, and regular contributor to Illinois Review.
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