When Joe Biden dropped out, Donald Trump was headed for a landslide victory as traditionally blue states were suddenly thrust into battleground territory. Minnesota, Virginia, New Hampshire, and Maine were all at or approaching toss-up status, and Democrats were even getting worried about New Jersey and New York because of how tight the polls were getting in those states. Once Biden dropped out, things changed. Democrats received a jolt of enthusiasm and took a lot of those states off the battleground map.
But at least one of those states may still be in reach: Virginia.
Though there isn't any new Trump/Harris polling out of Virginia yet, pre-Biden drop-out polling showed Harris with either an uncomfortably small lead (compared to Biden's 2020 margin) or Trump ahead. It stands to reason that she's seen a boost there over the past two weeks, but it's also likely that things will settle down back to a pre-Biden dropout dynamic eventually.
With that in mind, it's extremely comforting to see that Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) has made a significant effort to ensure election integrity in the state. This week, he signed an executive order ordering that all votes for the 2024 presidential election be cast by paper ballot.
“The Virginia model for Election Security works. This isn't a Democrat or Republican issue, it's an American and Virginian issue. Every legal vote deserves to be counted without being watered down by illegal votes or inaccurate machines. In Virginia, we don’t play games and our model for election security is working,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We use 100% paper ballots with a strict chain of custody. We use counting machines, not voting machines, that are tested prior to every election and never connected to the internet. We do not mass mail ballots. We monitor our drop boxes 24/7."
This is extremely comforting news. We know all too well how questions about election integrity and chain of custody disputes cast a dark cloud of suspicion over the results of the 2020 election.
"We verify the legal presence and identity of voters using DMV data and other trusted data sources to update our voter rolls daily, not only adding new voters, but scrubbing the lists to remove those that should not be on it, like the deceased, individuals that have moved, and non-citizens that have accidentally or maliciously attempted to register," the statement continued.
In the executive order, Youngkin revealed that Virginia's Department of Elections (ELECT) has "removed 6,303 non-citizens from the voter rolls" between January 2022 and July 2024.
Trump was certainly happy about the move.
"The beautiful Commonwealth of Virginia, superbly led by Governor Glenn Youngkin, IS TAKING A STRONG LEAD IN SECURING THE ELECTION IN NOVEMBER — PROTECTING EVERY LEGAL VOTE AND KEEPING ILLEGAL ALIENS THAT HAVE BEEN LET INTO OUR COUNTRY FROM VOTING," he wrote in a post on Truth Social. "All votes will be on paper ballots and counted safely and fairly, not by machines connected to the internet — A big security risk. We must work hard to make sure the Election is FAIR and SECURE!!! EVERY STATE SHOULD FOLLOW VIRGINIA’S LEAD. We need volunteers to watch the polls - So important. The Election on November 5th will be the MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN OUR COUNTRY’S HISTORY. Thank you Glenn, GREAT JOB!!!'
Does this mean that Trump will win Virginia? No, but it does mean that it will be harder for Democrats to steal. And if Virginia's results are close, that might make all the difference.
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