Our View: Elections likely won't be rigged

During the past week, we’ve received a few phone calls from concerned residents regarding the upcoming general election.

The calls stem from one concern in particular: the legitimacy of the results. Fears ranging from Russian influence hijacking local results to the dead rising from the grave to cast their ballots are out there, but we think the election will remain untainted.

Sweetwater County Clerk Dale Davis said it wouldn’t be impossible to influence an election in the county, but said it would be extremely difficult to pull off. A nefarious party would have to hack into the individual machines themselves, which would be difficult as they’re not connected to the internet. Results are also verbally reported after they’re sent to the courthouse through closed modem system. In essence they would have to be physically tampered with in a way that would escape detection while the polls are open. This would then have to be replicated in every voting precinct in every county across the state. A very tall order indeed.

Secretary of State Ed Murray also weighed in on this fear, saying the elections would not be rigged. His comments echoing statements made by the state’s county clerks association.

“Wyoming’s voting process is protected from beginning to end. There are many safeguards that the Secretary of State’s Office and county clerks have put in place to maintain the integrity of each person’s vote,” Gwynn Bartlett, Carbon County Clerk and President of the County Clerk’s Association of Wyoming, said in the media release from the Murray’s office.

In any other election, this wouldn’t be an issue. However, due to repeated claims from the Donald Trump campaign, people are questioning the process and believe the election will be compromised by forces wanting to push his opponent into office. Hillary Clinton is projected to have a major lead over Trump in opinion polls of likely voters.

Claims the elections will be rigged are a way for Trump to save face in a campaign that looks more like a traveling dumpster fire than an organized attempt to win the highest office in the United States.

We encourage people to get involved and even question how the process works in an attempt to educate themselves. However, claims the election will be rigged without a shred of evidence to support them only damages the most fundamental aspects of politics in the U.S. -- the idea that a person’s vote will count.