Political Cartoons: 2022 election vote counting, insecurity and turnout

Three elections headlines for your consideration after you scroll through our selection of related political cartoons:

1. Most candidates for top election posts are against hand counts

“The vast majority of candidates running to become their states’ chief election officers oppose hand counting ballots, a laborious and error-prone process that has gained favor among some Republicans embracing conspiracy theories about voting machines.

“An Associated Press survey of major-party secretary of state candidates in the 24 states found broad skepticism about hand counting among election professionals of all ideological stripes. Of 23 Republicans who responded to the survey, 13 clearly said they opposed implementing a statewide hand count of ballots instead of a machine count.” Click the headline to read more by Nicholas Riccardi | Associated Press

2. Threats to US election security grow more complex

“Top U.S. election security officials say protecting the nation’s voting systems has become increasingly challenging since millions of Americans embraced unfounded conspiracy theories and false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential race.

“With the midterm elections just days away, the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, and other officials say they have no evidence that election infrastructure has been altered by hostile actors to prevent voting or vote counting, compromise ballots or affect voter registration accuracy.

“But they’re not lowering their guard. Disinformation is rampant. Foreign rivals are capable of potent cyber mischief. And the insider threat is considered greater than ever. On top of the physical threats and intimidation of elections officials — which is authorities’ overriding concern — security experts are particularly worried about tampering by those who work in local election offices or at polling stations.” Click the headline to read more by Frank Bajak | Associated Press

3. So far, Californians aren’t rushing to vote early

“With just days to go until Tuesday’s election, the state has yet to see a big surge of people voting early — but experts say numbers will pick up as the deadline approaches for Californians to choose a new governor, weigh in on seven ballot measures and cast a vote in multiple congressional races.

“Only 17% of ballots had been returned as of Friday, according to Political Data, Inc., which tracks voter data from every county in California. With little time remaining until Nov. 8, that’s a far cry from the 55-60% overall voter turnout expected in this election. A low turnout could give a bump to Republicans in competitive races, as historically the GOP tends to do better when fewer people vote.

“But the low numbers also could simply reflect voters procrastinating.

“Turnout so far has been higher in some parts of the Bay Area — 23% in San Mateo County, 22% in Santa Clara County, and 20% in Contra Costa County.  San Francisco and Alameda are about average, at 18% and 17% respectively, according to Political Data, Inc.” Click the headline to read more by Marisa Kendall | Bay Area News Group