Kathy Boockvar recently joined the folks from “Howtown” to lend her election expertise to dispel pervasive myths associated with elections in America. Throughout the episode, host Adam Cole walks through a veritable “choose your own adventure” scenario where he pretends to be intent on finding a way to “steal” the election in Pennsylvania. Though Cole purports to employ an array of distinct tactics, Boockvar – along with Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein – weigh in at every turn with the safeguards in place that would prevent Cole’s success.
Together, Boockvar and Bluestein walk through the protections in place to prevent, discover, and prosecute voter fraud. Whether a voter casts a ballot by mail or in person, there are complex, multi-layered, and bipartisan processes, cross-checks, and audits to make sure that every eligible voter can cast their one vote securely, and have it accurately counted.
While Cole realized how challenging it would be to commit fraud, which helps explain why it is so rare, he came to the conclusion that one of the most effective ways to interfere with the democratic process would be to stoke uncertainty and fuel suspicion, leading to threats and violence. Boockvar and Bluestein confirmed that the current prevalence of distrust and conspiracy theories have led to threats against election workers, as well as dangerous efforts to interfere with the electoral process. As Boockvar stated, “I think that misinformation and disinformation and that intentional fueling of distrust are what I see as really the biggest threats to our democracy.”
Check out the video below and watch as Cole tries – and fails – to steal Pennsylvania’s election – but succeeds in illustrating all the checks and balances involved in our elections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7tcuE2TP0 And watch other videos from Howtown, the “how do they know” show, determined to dig into evidence behind commonly held claims.
