By Sydney Armstrong, Delta College Student Submission
Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig recently spoke at Delta College. He explored his book, How to Steal an Election, and addressed the threats we might be facing in this year’s election.
During his lecture, Lessig talked about the 1960 election between candidates Nixon and Kennedy. He discussed their correlation with the state of Hawaii–the recounting of votes when an error was spotted. This error resulted in Kennedy being named the official winner after a recounting of votes had occurred.
Lessig emphasizes the significance of this event. On election day both political parties went to the Iolani Palace to vote. Lessig explains that democratic electors signed a certificate that said they had been duly and legally appointed when they were not.
These electors were the first-ever fake voters of the twentieth century. This also happened on Dec. 12, 2000 when the Supreme Court decided Florida’s way of recounting votes was unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court had decided there was no time left to submit votes. On that day Bush was 537 votes ahead according to the polls. So, the next day the nation woke up to find George Bush had been elected president because of the Supreme Court decision.
The point Lessig was making is that we need to recognize that when the appointment of electors is uncertain, we need to take the time to correct the wrongdoing. This is the only way as a nation we will be able to move towards a better democracy.
