First we had “One man, One Vote!” It was the rallying cry of the 1960s. Based on the correct premise of equity and fairness for all citizens, “One Man, One Vote!” helped Americans realize that we should remove all inappropriate obstacles to America’s Ballot Box and ensure equal representation for all citizens when establishing voting districts.

America’s citizens demanded elected officials do the right thing. And we did.

Then came the era of political correctness, when the political engineers gerrymandered voting districts to achieve their preferred outcomes; and the social engineers fiddled in so many aspects of public life that many Americans simply went along.

For example, the social engineers worked on the individual’s thought, speech and expression, in the name of gender neutrality. “One Man, One Vote” became “One Person, One Vote!” And, yet, it seemed to make reasonable sense. And it does.

Now, a new reality is knocking on the door of America’s consciousness, and we better open the door and our eyes to the danger in every voting district across the nation. Americans must come together around the “One Citizen, One Vote, One Time!”

Americans must demand elected officials again do the right thing to secure America’s Ballot Box. Every citizen has a civic role to play in this endeavor.

Americans need to remember what we learned about civics in school and help younger Americans learn and accept their personal civic responsibility to ensure the survival of our country, our political system and our freedoms.

America’s Ballot Box is the cornerstone of our founding. The ballot box cannot be left in the care of the un-caring; every citizen must actively be on guard to protect it from the manipulators of voting fraud. The nation will be splintered if we close our eyes or look away from the activities of these people. Everyone must act propitiously and effectively to deter and prevent those who attack the ballot box whenever and wherever:

• The dead vote,

• The living vote more than once,

•The aged and infirm are “assisted with their vote selections,”

•Non-resident college students are bused in to register and vote at the same time, and the list goes on.

You, no doubt, will remember the previous examples in reports from around the country during past election cycles. And, you will remember, too, the numerous instances of individual behavior that promulgated the illicit voting, including:

• “Vote Brokers” secure registrations and/or votes from various groups with money, gifts, etc.

• Candidates behind in polls are replaced after the state’s legal deadline has passed.

• State judges obfuscate state law to circumvent legislative deadlines.

• Party hacks include invalid names in packaged absentee ballots.

• A political party turns a memorial service into a partisan political rally.

• A candidate’s staff surreptitiously gains access and tape records an opponents’ private meeting, and when found out, denies doing it; later, confronted with evidence doesn’t apologize. Then, a prosecutor, from same party, is “not sure law was broken.”

• A candidate’s spouse brings clothes, etc., to a reservation as part of voter registration.

• Certain selected immigrants are accelerated to citizenship to increase party registration and votes.

• Ineligible citizens are permitted to vote.

• Non-citizen residents are permitted to vote.

• Illegal aliens are permitted to vote.

Competitive election campaigns, in which candidates present public policy proposals based on their personal principles and party philosophies help stimulate public discussion and debate.

Candidates who engage citizens with their vision, imagination and policy solutions and engage their opponents in open, honest debate deserve to be heard, deserve to be respected and deserve the consideration for support by those citizens who are legitimately eligible and properly registered to vote.

Candidates who fail to do so, or candidates, campaigns or supporters, who seem to do so but utilize any of the inappropriate activities examples above do not deserve the support of any citizen.

When more American citizens understand, accept and, as a personal civic duty, execute the responsibility to secure the ballot box, we will, as a nation, be on the way to once again do the right thing.

The rallying cry of One Citizen, One Vote, One Time is also the guiding principle officials at all levels must use to both repair the damage already done to the ballot box and protect it from the manipulators who, even as you read this, continue their efforts to further splinter it.

More on this next week.

Richard Olivastro is president of People Dynamics, an executive leadership development company, is a professional member of the National Speakers Association and founder of Citizens For Change. He can be reached at Rich@Olivastro.net.