The Mystery of the Missing Votes

A Terrible Tale of Voter Suppression. (Plus "A Letter to Kamala.")

The Mystery of the Missing Votes

by C. A. Matthews

Living with a mystery series writer (check out my husband’s Veronica Nash series), I watch many (and I mean many) mystery movies, TV series, and the like. I’ve never been the biggest fan of mysteries since some feature “copaganda” with their noble-minded police detective sleuths showing off how damn smart they are. Putting that fault aside, I watch mysteries in order to learn more about how to plot a story as well as learn interesting science facts that occasionally pop up. I find an interesting twist in the tale or an outright surreal ending (like in a Twilight Zone episode) enjoyable, too.

Unfortunately, many mysteries are poorly plotted. If I can guess “whodunnit” within the first ten minutes of a mystery movie/TV show (or first chapter of a novel), then it’s safe to say it’s crap and needs a re-write. I mean, how the heck should anyone figure out the mystery so quickly? Mediocre mysteries are the worse. There’s no use reading the rest of the book or watching the next hour and half of silly red herrings if you know who the murderer/kidnapper/thief is already. I’ve got better things to do with my time.

Which brings me to what I do with my time these days—I try and solve real life mysteries of the political kind. In this season of post-election blues in the US, I submit for your approval the following: The Mystery of the Missing Votes or A Terrible Tale of Voter Suppression.

In New Jersey, Green candidate for Congress Ben Taylor was ahead of his duopoly competitors with 50,000+ votes, but a second later the screen said that Taylor was behind and had only 3,000 votes. What happened to his lead? Did his votes all die a mysterious death? Are alternative candidates not allowed to have more than 3,000 votes total, causing Taylor to lose this chance of becoming the first ever Green Party Congressmember?

In Illinois, Green write-in candidate for Congress Chibu Asonye discovered that St. Clair County, the ninth most populated county in the state, did not allowed any write-ins on their ballots. Those votes could have been tossed. This essentially robbed Asonye of votes in an area with a large African-American population in the East St. Louis metropolitan area.

In Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose declared votes cast for Jill Stein would not be counted. Yeah, it seems he’s that powerful! The reason LaRose gave for this outlandish stunt is that someone asked to withdraw the name of a placeholder vice president that was needed for the ballot petitioning process (since petitions had to be circulated for signatures months before Dr. Stein chose her VP). The placeholder’s name should have been replaced with Butch Ware’s name, Stein’s veep choice, but LaRose pretended not to understand the intent of the request.

The withdrawal of the VP placeholder’s name wasn’t requested by a signed and notarized letter, so legally it was not a valid document and should have been refused. LaRose went ahead and told all Ohio polling places to post signs announcing that votes cast for Jill Stein would not be counted because Stein herself had withdrawn, not simply the VP placeholder candidate’s name needed to be withdrawn and switched to Rudolph “Butch” Ware.

Can you imagine how many possible votes were robbed from Dr. Stein in Ohio, a state with 8 million voters? Not every Green voter withheld their vote from Jill Stein on Election Day because of the posted notices. And those who voted early had already cast their ballots for Stein, but with the Frank LaRose’s interference none of these votes have been added to Stein’s nationwide total.

The state total for Green candidates is important in and of itself because Ohio rescinded its recognition of the Green Party as a “political party” after 2018 because Greens didn’t have a candidate running for state or national office reaching a certain percentage of the last presidential election results. Ohio Greens had reached and surpassed the state percentage before, and so the percentage was upped. LaRose might have been afraid that Jill Stein’s votes could have helped the Ohio Green Party regain recognition as a party.

Ohio Greens are not taking this election interference lying down. They are contemplating their legal options and tabulating all the votes that Ohioans did cast for Jill Stein to add toward her state and national totals. As of today, votes for Dr. Stein haven’t been tracked down in all 88 counties. Oddly enough, some counties are not posting their vote counts online, which is unusual since the results of elections are supposed to be made public by law.

(Below are some public results from a small town in Maine, a state that has ranked choice voting. RCV encourages voters to vote their first choice and rank other candidates to keep the ones they don’t want to win from winning. See how many didn’t want a genocide enabler to win?)

Mysteriously missing votes are strong evidence of some very serious voter suppression and/or election interference going on in the US, but who are the culprits?

I remember missing precinct vote counts and entire boxes of paper ballots going missing during the 2016 DNC primary for Bernie Sanders. Could the ballots that went missing mysteriously given Sanders sufficient votes to win the Dem nomination that year? He was clearly the favorite candidate among more progressive voters going into the primaries.

We’ll never know for certain who “killed” Bernie’s chances in 2016, but he appeared on the floor of the DNC convention in Philadelphia later that summer with a rather anxious look in his eyes and a mark on his face that looked like he had been hit. He then conceded to Hillary Clinton. The ever unpopular Clinton went on to lose to Donald Trump, soon to become US president yet again in 2025.

You have to wonder what the world would be like today if those missing votes for Bernie Sanders hadn’t mysteriously vanished. But before you place all the blame on the “dirty Dems” consider that Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is a Republican in a very Republican state. Is the GOP above reproach when it comes to doing dirty tricks to keep other candidates off the ballot?

(It’s a rhetorical question. Everyone knows the answer is, “No, Republicans are every bit as capable and willing to commit election interference as the Democrats are. We’re not stupid.”)

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has a fairly dirty aura about him anyway. He supported the passage of 2023 Ohio Issue 1, which would have made it substantially harder for voter-led initiatives to amend the Ohio State Constitution. In other words, LaRose doesn’t want Ohio voters to have a say in what their state Constitution can and cannot do with the people’s right to propose ballot initiatives. Not counting any votes of a Green Party presidential candidate to deny voters options for president and prevent state recognition of the Greens as a political party in Ohio sounds like something right up his alley. (Breaking News: Frank LaRose’s name is on a short list to replace outgoing Senator JD Vance once Vance is sworn in as Trump’s vice president. Ugh!)

The mystery of our missing votes is as easy to solve as any mediocre mystery story—it’s the dastardly duopoly whodunnit, of course! Duopolists belong to the twin parties of “War and Wall Street (and genocide in Palestine)”. They don’t care for competition at the ballot box. They live to make their masters, the oligarchy, happy. They won’t allow any newcomers with ideas of being a “people-powered party” gain traction in an election, let alone allow the mainstream media press to mention them in an election year (unless it’s to spread baseless smears). When you look up the synonym for “sore losers” in your online thesaurus don’t be surprised to see the RNC and DNC symbols. The duopolists know down deep they’re losers even as they make doubly sure the vote totals are in their favor.

What can Americans do to prevent these mysterious incidents of missing votes from occurring in the future? Is there anything that can be done since the US government is firmly in the hands of the duopolists, and the duopoly hates competition? Is there anything that can be done since the duopolists in power are firmly in the hands of AIPAC and the military-industrial complex?

It’s so obvious. Whatever Israel wants, Israel gets. The genocide in Gaza this past year has convinced a large portion of Americans that their country doesn’t work them—it works for the profits of the war machine at the expense of hundreds of thousand innocent lives. Duopoly candidates such as Kamala Harris willingly flushed their political careers down the toilet by ignoring the horrors of the genocide they enabled because it pleases AIPAC, which pays them good money. The needs of the people, both at home and abroad, are secondary to the amount of cash these corrupt politician-puppets can cram into their pockets, money given via their wealthy friends who run the PACs/Super PACs.

The Abandon Harris group had the right idea: Don’t vote for the duopolists. Vote for alternative party candidates and independent candidates who don’t take AIPAC/MIC money and don’t condone genocide. Looking at the election results, it appears many voters took the suggestion seriously. In fact, if all the “mysteriously missing votes” are ever discovered and attributed to the correct Green candidates, it might give evidence that theirs was quite a strong and effective strategy.

In any case, it’s a strategy that bears repeating in upcoming local, state, and off-year federal elections. After all, if Americans want to claim they live in a “democracy” then preventing different political party candidates from having their chance to be elected doesn’t make sense. Rigging elections against non-duopoly candidates just isn’t “democratic” or polite, now is it? It’s not like we live in a plutocracy or an oligarchy, right?

To put it simply, there are other ways of “winning” besides vote totals that are infinitely more productive and earth-shattering. Once the public’s confidence is lost in a particular candidate or party, they’re pretty much on their way out. Possibly forever.

Election 2024 could be the death knell of the duopoly.

More and more American voters (and non-voters) are seeing through the charade the duopoly has been playing for decades now, and they want nothing more to do with it or them. These voters are open to other voices and parties that put the people’s needs first before the CEOs’ (and their paid off politician-puppets’) profits. They’re not falling for the lies and accepting the blame for the duopolists’ evil deeds anymore.

If Americans want to bring about a truly happy ending to The Mystery of the Missing Votes then we’ll never place our trust in any group or person who doesn’t support publicly-funded elections. We will only trust those who work hard to bring the reign of Citizens United to an end. Barring that, we could always get out our DIY guillotine instructions and start hammering away as we organize to take back our country from the oligarchs who continue to destroy it for their own pleasure.

The choice is ours which ending it will be. Choose wisely.

A Letter To Kamala

(From a peace email list I’m on. I thought it summed up things very well.)

Dear Kamala:

  It's Sunday, November 10. Five days since your shocking loss of the election. These are the headlines at al-Jazeera this morning:

   * ‘We are entering the fifth week without food, water, or medicine’

   * Netanyahu says has spoken with Trump three times in past few days

   * Incoming Israeli defence minister sets eyes on Iran

   * Arab and Muslim leaders convene in Saudi Arabia to discuss wars in Gaza and Lebanon

   * Amsterdam police says it will arrest people defying demonstration ban

   * Photos: Aftermath of an Israeli strike in the Lebanese town of Almat

   * ‘Without warning’: Israeli attack kills dozens in Gaza, including children

  There's something missing from the headlines this morning, Kamala: you.

   You see, my liberal friends were adamant that I must vote for you insisted that you were our last, best hope to stop the Genocide. You know, the Genocide against Palestine, that you euphemized into a haze of ambiguity while tens of thousands died. The Genocide where you presided over the Senate and helped ensure that billion of bucks in weapons, was it 500 plane loads and countless shipping containers full, went to Israel.

   My liberal friends told me that, no, really, Kamala gets it. Kamala has to pretend that she's on board with Israel. You just wait, they said. The day after she wins the election, she'll send a huge signal to Netanyahu and the rest of the butchers that it's time to stop. Kamala gets it. She's powerless right now because, well, this is politics, American style. Maybe you disagree, they insisted to me, but Kamala is gonna be our first woman of color president, hell, she's a woman and she's naturally more empathic than us guys. She's itching behind the scenes to stop this, to take charge. She can't stand it, either. And Kamala won't hesitate. The day after she wins the election, right there in the middle of the celebration and relieved smiles, her first act as president-elect, she's gonna tell half-wit Joe that we've paid our political dues to AIPAC and the Zionists, but it's time, we must, we must, Joe, everyone says it would take just one call from you, and now, I think it could come from both of us, to get on a secure line to Bibi and tell him to stop. To wind this down and quit. Stop splattering blood of innocents all over the region. Come on, Joe, this has gone too far, too long.

   But then you lost, Kamala. And today, you're Vice-President of a failed, dying presidency. But for 71 more days, you'll be the top ranking U.S. executive with a clear mind. And a conscience. You're still young in politician years. You're smart and attractive and you could still govern us all as a future president, Kamala. I'll bet you're thinking about just that.

   But it's November 10, Kamala, and you haven't said a single, solitary, humane thing about the Palestinians. You still have enormous power and a bully pulpit and the planet is aching for an end to the most astoundingly punitive genocidal regime in 80 years. You could have had the attention of the entire world focused on you the day after the election, or the day after that, or the day after that. You might have belatedly and apologetically taken the most radical stand of your life by saying, "Mr. President, end the bloodshed. Your legacy is a legacy of blood. Show the world that we have souls, Mr. President. Stop the genocide. Stop it now, not tomorrow, now. Please, Mr. President. The American public has just told us very clearly that Genocide is an unforgivable election strategy."

    I guess you've made liars out of my liberal friends, Kamala. They nearly convinced me that it was ok to vote for you because you just weren't that way, that this wasn't your Genocide, you had to deal with the complicated politics of it, but in the end, you would show that Democrats have a heart, that they aren't hopelessly deaf fascists, that they aren't utterly compromised, soulless ghouls.

     And it's November 10, Kamala. Thousands more Palestinians and Lebanese people have died since your concession speech from starvation, infection, complete lack of medical relief, bombs, shootings, shrapnel, bullets, flames, falling buildings, infectious disease, malnutrition. 

    It's November 10, Kamala. I will not forget that when you might have stood up for what we Americans lie to ourselves about -- that we have honor, integrity, humanity -- you didn't. Even after losing an election where you remained obediently silent about the most monstrous wrongs of the age, you've shown us that you remain captive, slave and enabler of them. Dare I remind you that you are a bona fide war criminal co-conspirator. 

    Even now, after losing the election horribly, you don't understand that you have nothing redemptive to say. Americans love a story of redemption, but yours is, and apparently will remain, the story of Genocide. If you want to run again in four years, the historical truth will be more clear than ever that you stood by and co-presided over the Genocide. Future young voters will avoid you like, well, Genocide.

     It's November 10, Kamala. Though you may not realize it, your political career is over. Your judgment is terrible. Good riddance.

                               Terry L.

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Israeli Forces Kill 78 More Palestinians in Gaza Over 48 Hours https://scheerpost.com/2024/11/10/israeli-forces-kill-78-more-palestinians-in-gaza-over-48-hours/

US F-15 Fighter Jets Arrive in Middle East as Part of Buildup Aimed at Iran https://scheerpost.com/2024/11/10/us-f-15-fighter-jets-arrive-in-middle-east-as-part-of-buildup-aimed-at-iran/

IPC warns of Imminent Israeli-caused Famine in Gaza, with 133K facing “Catastrophic Food Insecurity” https://scheerpost.com/2024/11/10/juan-cole-ipc-warns-of-imminent-israeli-caused-famine-in-gaza-with-133k-facing-catastrophic-food-insecurity/

Biden's Legacy Is Genocide, War, And Nuclear Brinkmanship https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/bidens-legacy-is-genocide-war-and

United States Practiced Nuclear War on Election Night https://worldbeyondwar.org/united-states-practiced-nuclear-war-on-election-night/

Congress Is About to Gift Trump Sweeping Powers to Crush His Political Enemies https://theintercept.com/2024/11/10/trump-nonprofit-tax-exempt-political-enemies/

70% of victims of Israeli genocide in Gaza are children and women: UN https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/11/08/736860/Palestine-Gaza-UN-Gaza-Volker-Turk

Erasing 'Any Sign of Life,' Israeli Demolition Teams Razing Entire Villages in Lebanon https://www.commondreams.org/news/lebanon-destruction

New Reporting Details 'Large Scale' Use Of Human Shields By Cowardly Israeli Military In Gaza https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-human-shields-gaza

Maccabi Israeli Fans Run Amok in Amsterdam Before Clash youtu.be/1ezSAmdeGD4?si=ZIK7s8WHXfFqSH_x

The Evil Warmongering Zionist Won (No Not That One, The Other One) https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-evil-warmongering-zionist-won

Patrick Lawrence: Notes of a Non-Voter https://scheerpost.com/2024/11/09/patrick-lawrence-notes-of-a-non-voter/

Jill Stein: “Kamala Harris has no one to blame but herself” youtu.be/0PfoOdjQ6jo?si=2Gn-OI7R2fR1eX0g

Oh No, Now The US Will Have A President Who Does Bad Things https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/oh-no-now-the-us-will-have-a-president

The “Greater Israel” Project Is Now in Full Swing

How close is the Israeli army to collapse? https://electronicintifada.net/content/how-close-israeli-army-collapse/49851

Holocaust Harris deserved to lose https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/holocaust-harris-deserved-to-lose

Israel’s Genocide Day 398: Israel Admits It Is Depopulating North Gaza https://popularresistance.org/israels-genocide-day-398-israel-admits-it-is-depopulating-north-gaza/

Israel Keeps Finding New Ways To Play Victim While Committing Genocide https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-keeps-finding-new-ways-to

A year late, the Guardian finally permits us to use the term 'genocide' https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/a-year-late-the-guardian-finally

The Air In Gaza Smells Like Corpses https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-air-in-gaza-smells-like-corpses

Trump Puts An Appropriately Ugly Face On A Very Ugly Empire https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/trump-puts-an-appropriately-ugly

Tyranny & Lessons On Resistance From Novelist Sinclair Lewis https://mark192.substack.com/p/tyranny-and-lessons-on-resistance

Post-election interview/chat between Jill Stein and Butch Ware instagram.com/reel/DCKLZmUy5Ml/?igsh=ZzR3ZjcxejQ1eWMz