Letter: Election fraud complaints require proof

Published 1:30 am Saturday, August 1, 2026

Editor,

It is no surprise that Trump chose a prime-time presentation to pathetically attempt to resuscitate his delusion of rampant voting fraud in the 2020 election he lost. He unleashed insults, accusations, and proclamations, all devoid of a modicum of evidence, all of which he can claim a First Amendment right to promulgate. It is noteworthy that he meticulously avoided any specificity regarding accusations aimed at individuals or entities which could be challenged in court. He made that mistake in 2020 and was indicted by juries of his peers in both federal court in Washington, D.C. and state court in Georgia.

We happen to benefit from a judicial system which requires evidentiary proof of such accusations. The fate of two of his most ardent MAGA minions is not lost on Trump and his handlers. Ex-New York mayor Giuliani was held to account for knowingly lying about alleged 2020 voting fraud, resulting in a judgment against him close to $1.5 billion. His pathetic pleading in court to keep his Super Bowl ring collection was repugnant. When Giuliani came groveling to Trump for money for legal fees, Trump rebuffed him.

Then you have Fox New darling and Trump lackey, Tucker Carlson. When he was forced to provide evidence in court regarding his promulgation of Trump election fraud conspiracies, he managed to get fired and saddled Fox News with a lawsuit judgment of $799.5 million.

Post 2020 election saw Republican plaintiffs filing76 suits claiming voter malfeasance. Only one insignificant case managed to provide a semblance of judicial credibility, the rest dismissed as meritless, a legal term determining a case void of facts or legal precedence. Judges, indignant and appalled at the unethical behavior of these lawyers, ordered official reprimands, license suspensions, disbarments, financial fines, probations and jail sentences. This preponderance of evidence has proven impotent with the American public in general with 28% believing the steal conspiracy, and a staggering 50% of republicans adhering to blind Trump allegiance.

Sadly, many of these lawyers received presidential pardons and prestigious appointments in the Trump administration. British historian Alan Bullock’s statement about Hitler’s assent to the German chancellorship proclaimed, “the gutter had come to power,” seems as relevant today as it did in the 1930’s. Those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it.

Jack Gribble

Oak Harbor