Are Elections Rigged? What Do You Think?

As you know we are in the midst of a political election for control of this country. It is for the Office of the President of the United States.

It is being waged mainly between the Republicans and the Democrats. Without getting in to my personal opinions regarding politics in general it is clear that this political race is nastier than ones in the past.

One of the candidates in the race has stated the election is rigged. His name is Donald J. Trump.

I am sure all of us has made observations about this race and have personal feelings and belief.

Naturally when Donald Trump states the election is rigged he is giving his opinion likely to mean the outcome of the election is not in the hands of the electorate or the voters. There are attempts to control it by others. The electorate is the body of voters entitled to vote in an election.

The question I put before the readers of this Hub article is what does the word "rigged" mean to you or include. This question is put to the members for comment as the election process and the many components or elements of the election is varied and may contribute to the term rigged. I ask the following questions regarding this election and many other elections.

* Is the election rigged or controlled if super delegates control who will be the nominee of a political party?

* Is the election rigged or controlled if delegates or super delegates control how votes are cast?

* Is the election rigged or controlled when the powers of be set the system to elect candidates by electoral college delegates and not by popular votes cast totally nationally in the election for a candidate?

* Is the election rigged or controlled by the general media by how they report the election?

* Is the election rigged or controlled by the media if they don't report facts or just rendered their own opinion or interpretation of events.

* Is the election rigged or controlled if political party will not support their own candidate.

* Is the election rigged or controlled if citizens are prevented from casting a vote due to a criminal conviction?

Note: According to Elizabeth Hull, Temple University Press in her writing or article "The Disenfranchisement of Ex-Felons" in 2006 1 in 43 adults is disenfranchised from voting. (It is unclear if this figure includes non violent offenders or those who have completed their sentence).

* Is the election rigged or controlled by uneven reporting of candidates and their stories?

* Is the election rigged or controlled by reporting stories in the media not investigated thoroughly?

* Is the election rigged or controlled by reporting surveys or polls using unknown sampling data with the intent to influence?

* Is the election rigged or controlled if a news network reporter passes questions to a candidate in advance of the debate?

* Is the election rigged or controlled by debates controlled by others with various interests?

* Is the election rigged or controlled by candidates themselves in their positions and attacks on their opponent?

* Is the election rigged or controlled if the reported million's of illegal aliens in this country manage to vote by various ways and various state and local requirements?

* Is the election rigged or controlled by the general public who don't demand better candidates or more information from these candidates?

* Is the election rigged or controlled when the best this country can offer for the highest office and most powerful office of the United States is Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton?

* Is the election rigged or controlled if their are knowing attempts to have live voters represent deceased voters or to register voters under different names?

How is the vote tallied from the local district where you live to where it comes to a central point for reporting nationally? Who and what is behind the scenes in this process? Can it be controlled along the way? Is it being controlled? Who among us actually understand this process of reporting? Can the computers be programmed to control the outcome? Who is monitoring this voting counting process? Why is this process not open for inspection and not transparent?

As you can see there may be multiple theories or explanations for what may constitute a rigged election. The decision is in the hands of each one of us. I ask that you vote in my poll below on the question, "Is the United States Presidential Election of 2016 Rigged In Your Opinion or Assessment?

Thanks for reading, voting, and any comments.