Nichol: Loose fraud talk is an insult to dedicated election workers

Everybody is talking about voter fraud and election fraud these days. Did millions of undocumented immigrants vote for Hillary Clinton, as President Donald Trump claims? Did the Russians hack our elections systems and social media to tilt the election for President Trump, as some on the left claim?

Many people seem to have opinions on these questions, but unfortunately, some are outrageous and unsupported by the facts.

Frankly, much of what I hear from both sides is a terrible insult to the 40,000 frontline poll workers and local government officials who work so hard to make Wisconsin’s elections fair and honest. These are not faceless bureaucrats running our elections; they are our friends and neighbors, and they deserve our trust.

For eight years, I was a member of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board, which oversaw Wisconsin’s elections until it was replaced by the current bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission in 2016.

During that time, I had the privilege of meeting many local officials from all parts of our state and learning about the extensive training they receive to administer elections. These conscientious public servants take great care to ensure that the statewide voter list is accurate and up to date, including the removal of people who have died or been convicted of a felony. And, whether they agree with the law or not, they faithfully enforce the voter ID requirement to prevent the largely nonexistent crime of voter impersonation.

While I was on the GAB, we were also responsible for testing and certifying electronic voting equipment before it could be sold for use in Wisconsin, a job we took very seriously. People talk glibly about hacking, but what many do not understand are the extensive procedures used to conduct public tests of electronic voting equipment before each election, and to secure that equipment to ensure no one can tamper with it. Wisconsin randomly audits the accuracy of voting equipment after major elections, and we have never seen any evidence of mischief. Nor did the statewide recount of the 2016 presidential election uncover any fraud.

Are elections perfect? No system ever is, and the excellent election officials we have in Wisconsin recognize this and are always working on improvements. But those who seek to make political hay or distract the public by questioning the legitimacy of elections do our democracy a great disservice.

Wisconsin’s voters should be confident in the integrity of elections. Instead of crying fraud when you do not agree with election results, why not be a poll worker to become part of our proud tradition of clean, open and fair elections?

Gerald Nichol of Madison is a former Dane County District Attorney and Dane County Circuit Judge. He was an original member of the former Government Accountability Board and served as its chairman.