Editorial: Dishonesty reigns among election deniers

How can anyone be a candidate for public office and ask for support from North Carolina’s 7.4 million legally registered voters and, in the same breath, say they don’t trust the conduct of the election or have confidence in the final tally?

Some candidates for public office, like Republican Senate candidate Ted Budd, continue to wrongly contend the 2020 election was “stolen.” He, like his patron former President Donald Trump, offer no verifiable proof. Every conjecture, fantasy and hair-brained accusation they’ve launched has been demonstrably shown to be without merit.

Yet, they persist and continue to say they lack faith in the system.

Trust is built on facts. The facts are those who administer our elections make sure vote counts are accurate and fair. They are open and transparent in showing the machines that count ballots operate properly and are not being tampered with.

Simply believing that there is cheating going on is about faith, not facts. Faith has its place in the United States – in houses of worship – not in polling places.

Among a significant share of Republicans it has become an article of faith – NOT FACT – that elections are not fair. Yet, these same people – particularly many of the party’s candidates for office – have yet to come up with a shred of proof to take their articles of faith and transcend them into indisputable facts.

This has to stop!

Elections aren’t reality game shows. They are the essential element by which citizens have the fundamental voice in how their government works.

It is damaging to our democracy for people – particularly those who wish to hold elected positions of representation and responsibility – to spread fallacies that do little more than baselessly breed distrust.

How can anyone offer themselves up for elective office who contends the system by which they hope to gain office is not fair? The reality is that, with such a contention, they disqualify themselves.

Breeding distrust in our elections doesn’t give any candidate or political party a partisan edge. It damages our democracy by using fiction and lies to corrode public confidence – no matter the politician or political party.

Honest people can debate facts and their impact. Dishonest people rely upon conjecture and belief. Our politics, community affairs and government need people who tell the truth.

Those who falsely preach our election system is corrupt and cannot be trusted are charlatans who shouldn’t be seeking public office and certainly don’t merit voters’ support.