This week’s news that Leslie McCrae Dowless, the political operative in Bladen County, is now facing additional felony charges is good news.

Dowless, along with 10 others, allegedly ruined the 2018 general election for not only Bladen County, but for a good chunk of North Carolina’s southern tier — to the point that the 9th Congressional District has gone the better part of a year without any representation in Congress.

It’s also added fuel to the fire for those who think elections, in general, aren’t on the up and up.

Let’s not get hung up on the fact that Dowless et al were working for Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris. Dowless has worked for both Republicans and Democrats over the years, and there is little reason to think that his modus operandi was any different OR that his employers didn’t know.

Making it even less of a GOP problem is that Dowless is being represented by a long-time Democratic Party supporter in Cynthia Singletary, whose son recently spent a term as Bladen County’s Democratic Party chairman.

But Dowless and ilk like him are hardly the root of the problem.

When such efforts like Early Voting and Get Out The Vote are created, they are quickly prone to corruption by those who try to outsmart the system and gain an advantage. Like the printing of counterfeit money and stealing identity theft, the envelope pushers are finding new ways to do it.

We all should know what kind of corruption is being perpetuated with Early Voting, absentee ballots and vote hauling efforts. We should also know it’s not merely happening in one county or one state. Almost any kind of election, or at least the results of it, is big business. And big business often leads to corruption.

Early Voting has been going on in many states throughout the country for a long time, but it has hardly created a dramatic rise in the number of new voters — and the percentage of registered voters casting a ballot has been a consistent ebb and flow for decades. Instead, a majority of those taking advantage of it are choosing it as an easier way to cast a ballot.

While Early Voting and absentee ballots appears on the surface to be a logical program for those who will be out of town on election day or for those who may be physically incapacitated, each continue to give rise to deceit — and we wonder if the trade-off is worth it.

Get Out The Vote efforts, which has commonly resulted in vote hauling, is another matter.

Holding a voter registration effort is a valid part of GOTV, but it rarely stops there. Too often, party zealots will offer rides to those who will vote their way — sometimes in exchange for material things, services and even money.

Giving residents quicker and easier ways to cast a ballot is a worthwhile measure. Down the road, that may mean voters will only need access to a computer and a Social Security number. But right now, there are far too many individuals out there who are constantly learning newer ways to cheat the process.

Putting them behind bars where they belong is necessary, but reconsidering the real roots of the system is now paramount.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We learned about honestly and integrity, that truth matters, that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules … and success doesn’t county unless you earn it fair and square.” (Michelle Obama)