The Forever Vote

In May, Trump eliminated the position of cybersecurity coordinator on the National Security Counsel. Nothing has replaced it, and all intelligence agencies have sounded the alarm that the voting process is every bit as vulnerable to hacking as it was in 2016.

Such continued vulnerability certainly appears deliberate. This has caused me to wonder whether, shortly before the midterm (though possibly before the 2020 presidential election), Trump might suddenly see the light and warn the nation: Our elections are vulnerable! Can be HACKED! Can’t have a vote that’s rigged — MUST SECURE!

He would sign an EO delaying national elections until such time as a designated government agency or committee can deem them to be secure. The Republican congress, as invested as Trump is in not being ousted by angry Democrat and disaffected Republican voters, would back this.

It’s consistent with Trump’s pattern of creating a crisis, blaming someone for the crisis, and “solving” it in a way that solidifies policy or political advantage in his favor. Subsequent  determination of secure elections would never transpire, and ensuing accountability would attenuated by the attention devoted to putting out the fires of other burning crises.

One reason I don’t find this scenario outlandish is because the Republican congress is clearly not concerned about the public reaction to their policies. They haven’t viewed  defection from within their own ranks as consequential. For some time now they have avoided their constituencies at town halls.

They aren’t acting like delusional martinets who don’t realize how unpopular they are, and they don’t act like a soon-to-be-evicted party that’s trashing the house before the new tenants arrive. Look at Mitch McConnell’s long-game actions and success. He’s the chief strategist of a group that clearly has no uncertainty about being around in 2020 to run interference for Trump, and feels no accountability to his increasingly disaffected base. Maybe they know the fix is in. Or maybe they know there’ll be no vote.

On Trump’s end, delaying the vote would be a substantial stepping stone toward moving to extend the term of his presidency — a desire he’s already expressed.

In any case, such a proposition — allegedly for our own good —is something to watch out for.