In elections we trust not, say many Americans

Distrust, deepened by divisive rhetoric, is stoking a crisis of confidence in the US

- Bhagyashree Garekar

WASHINGTON - In what could be called the "bamboo hoax" of the 2020 presidential election, auditors in Arizona scanned thousands of ballot papers for evidence that these had been pre-filled, stuffed in boxes and shipped from China to secure a Joe Biden win.

The claim, based on the alleged presence of bamboo fibre as proof of Chinese interference, was made by pro-Trump conspiracy theorists. No fraud was uncovered, but the sentiment it fed is rampant today, with the election less than 30 days away.

Distrust, deepened by rhetoric that is austerely dubbed as "divisive" by the media, is stoking a crisis of confidence in the country's imposing yet curiously fragile election infrastructure.

Like in 2016, a stressor this time is the presence of an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. Unlike then, illegal immigration has leapt from the sidelines to the main stage in 2024. It is the top issue after inflation.

The Trump campaign claims that some of these non-citizens will attempt to vote and sway the election in favour of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair Lara Trump sent out a text message on Oct 10 warning of illegal voting. Her pitch for donations dovetailed into a plea to Republicans to turn out in large numbers to ensure - in her words - that the victory is "too big to rig".

Experts on the electoral system argue that the idea is far-fetched.

"I don't think there's evidence that voting by non-citizens is a large problem," Dr John Fortier, an expert on election administration at the American Enterprise Institute, told The Sunday Times.

"But I will say that our voter registration lists are not perfectly clean," he added. "People sometimes get on the list as non-citizens."

No one can say how many. This uncertainty stems partly from the country's sprawling, decentralised election system, a patchwork of state-run operations that do not always communicate seamlessly.