Arthur C. Donart, Ph.D., wrote this essay.
Recently I received a copy of The Epoch Times in the mail. At the bottom of the front page in bold print was this, “Accuracy & Integrity: The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 as an independent newspaper with the goal to restore accuracy and integrity in media.” That sounded good enough, but just above it was an article titled, “Election Integrity Watchdog Finds 10.99 Million 2022 Midterm Mail-In Ballots ‘Unaccounted for in California.”
The author was Rita Li, who also writes for a Chinese Language paper. I would like to know more about her; she also writes for NDT (New Delhi Times), an on-line right-wing paper.
The source for her article was an organization called, Public Interest Legal Foundation, which was founded in 2012. According to Wikipedia, PILF states it “is an American Conservative legal group based in Indianapolis, IN, which is known for suing States and local Governments to purge voters from election rolls.” SourceWatch says, “The Public Interest Legal Foundation is a right-wing, Indianapolis-based, ‘public interest law firm’ that fights to purge voter rolls and spreads misinformation around voter fraud.”
SearchWatch reports that J. Christian Adams, President and General Center for Media and Democracy Counsel of the organization, was a member of President Donald J. Trump’s “election integrity commission.” The organization is funded by a group that in earlier times could have sounded like the “Who’s Who” of the John Birch Society.
Having worked as an election judge for three elections, I know how mail-In ballots are handled. If people apply for a mail-In ballot in time, one is sent to them. If it is returned to the election authority in time, it will be counted, and their name will go on a list that their precinct receives–so those people cannot vote twice. If their ballot is not received by the election authority in time, or if they lose it, they can still go to their precinct and vote.
So, who knows where “California’s 10.99 million 2022 midterm mail-in ballots” ended up? Maybe the recycle bin.
Spreading false “news” like this has only one purpose: to destroy faith in our democracy.
A good reporter would check their sources, and a good Editor would spot shoddy work.
Judging from the rest of The Epoch Times articles, I determined it to be a propaganda piece “disguised” as a newspaper. Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing.