"Discover why Republicans shouldn't bank on ballot harvesting for future victories. Dive into this insightful analysis by Arlinghaus & Doyle. Uncover strategies for winning elections authentically. Act now, read, and share your thoughts!"
Article Title: "Ballot Harvesting: A Risky Gambit for Republicans"
Credit: The Federalist
Author: Joseph Arlinghaus and William Doyle, Ph.D.
Date of Publication: May 19, 2023
Summarized by Chat GPT and Wayne McEachron AKA Osiris
1. Joseph Arlinghaus, the president and founder of Valor America, and William Doyle, Ph.D., a research director at the Caesar Rodney Election Research Institute, have written an article arguing against the adoption of ballot harvesting by Republicans.
2. The authors mention that some Republicans, frustrated with ballot harvesting, are advocating for their own ballot-harvesting operations for the 2024 election.
3. The authors critique the nuclear arms race analogy applied to ballot harvesting, arguing instead that it is more like biological weapons—an illegitimate means of waging war due to high potential for election fraud.
4. Arlinghaus and Doyle note the seeming permanency of the "emergency" election measures introduced in response to Covid-19 in 2020, which have reshaped elections to focus more on the quantity of mail-in ballots that can be distributed, harvested, and counted.
5. The authors point out that Republicans face a major disadvantage in the ballot-harvesting game, an uncomfortable reality that seems unlikely to change.
6. Arlinghaus and Doyle's research indicates that Democrats' ballot-harvesting operations played a key role in President Joe Biden's 2020 victory and were largely responsible for Republicans' disappointing performance in the 2022 midterms.
7. They discuss the complex, sophisticated, and costly nature of the Democrats' ballot-harvesting operations, which are largely misunderstood by Republicans.
8. The authors elaborate on the vast network of organizations supporting the Democrats' election operations and argue that there is no similar support structure in the Republican world.
9. Arlinghaus and Doyle suggest that even if Republicans gained the financial resources for their own ballot-harvesting operations, they would still face challenges in recruitment and leadership development to mount an effective counter to the Democrats' ground game.
10. In conclusion, Arlinghaus and Doyle make a call for opposition to universal mail-in voting and disrupting Democrats’ ballot harvesting through state legislatures and the courts.
Quotes:
1. Joseph Arlinghaus and William Doyle, authors of the article, state, "Nuclear weapons are arguably a legitimate means of waging war, whereas universal mail-in ballots should never be legitimized as a way of deciding elections due to the high potential for various types of election fraud."
2. Ned Ryun, a conservative opposed to the authors' views, says, “In all their objections [to ballot harvesting], none have described just how not engaging in harvesting will lead to victory. Not. One.”
3. The authors conclude, "Cheating, disenfranchising legitimate voters, empowering corrupt politicians and partisan activists, and making our elections less secure is not a prudent, rational, or legitimate path forward."
People Mentioned in the Article:
Additionally, the authors also mention two individuals, Mollie and Mark Hemingway, in a slightly indirect manner. They are not described further in the provided text, but their analogy likening ballot harvesting to a nuclear arms race is cited as a point of disagreement.
