On Nov. 23, 186 Republican legislators from across the country signed a letter demanding there should be an audit of the results of the 2020 election in all 50 states. Sixteen of these lawmakers are from N.C., including Harry Warren and Wayne Sasser, two of our own local representatives.

When interviewed in the Post, Warren’s explanation for signing was that, “It’s important to understand that an inordinate number of people across the country are convinced the 2020 elections were compromised. While I don’t expect an audit to change the outcome of an election, it would provide ample opportunity to determine systemic vulnerabilities.”

It seems to me what Mr. Warren may be trying to tell us is he doesn’t actually believe this nonsense, but since a large proportion of the Republican base seems to believe the 2020 election was fraudulent, it makes good political sense to play along. Besides, who knows if something could turn up? In fact, Trump and his allies have already lost 64 of 65 legal challenges in their attempt to overturn the election.

It is interesting that even though the letter called for an audit of the results in all 50 states, apparently none of the N.C. signees requested that our state be included in the recount. Sasser explained it wasn’t worth the effort since “the governor would veto any bill we passed to do that.” While I’m sure his assumption is right, I doubt this is the real reason why these Republicans decided not to pursue an audit in N.C. First of all, Trump won N.C. So, why call that into question? More importantly, an audit in N.C. would challenge the legitimacy of these legislators’ own elections.

My parents were children during the Great Depression and my father, like millions of other Americans, rushed off to war as soon as he could. Like many, he was only a teenager and told me once that he was afraid it might end before he could enlist. I’m sure that most, however young they were, understood they were fighting to defend our country’s freedom, and in America our freedom is dependent on a functioning democracy. That these legislators could so nonchalantly, without any objective evidence, undermine the very foundation of our democratic system is unforgivable.

— Keith Townsend
Mt. Ulla