Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Opinion: I’m a veteran. We need to defend election system from lies that would destroy it.

Pillars of the Community member Adam Wallace pens an op-ed about his participation in the initiative and his faith in the election system.

I’ve spent my life serving this country, first in the military and then in law enforcement. One thing I’ve learned through all that experience is this: When people stop trusting the system, the consequences are serious. Trust is hard to rebuild once it’s gone. And right now, we’re at a point where that trust is eroding fast.

Earlier this year, I joined Pillars of the Community, an initiative that brings together people like me from a diverse set of backgrounds and political preferences – including veterans, community leaders and everyday citizens – who care about our country and the preservation of our democracy. I had the chance to meet directly with the people responsible for running elections in our state who took time to explain the processes in place to make our elections as secure and transparent as possible. They also took questions and provided reasonable explanations to the concerns some of us had.

I’ve spent my life serving this country, first in the military and then in law enforcement. One thing I’ve learned through all that experience is this: When people stop trusting the system, the consequences are serious. Trust is hard to rebuild once it’s gone. And right now, we’re at a point where that trust is eroding fast.

I also heard from legal experts from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty who described an in-depth review of the 2020 election they conducted. Despite concluding there were things that could be done to improve election administration – like reforming who is considered “indefinity confined” – they explained the 2020 results were accurate and could be trusted.

After my review and learning from others, here’s what I know for sure: Our election system is secure. From the moment you register to vote, your information is checked and verified. You can’t just walk in and cast a vote without showing identification and confirming your eligibility. Voting machines aren’t connected to the internet, which makes hacking a non-issue. Mail-in ballots are carefully tracked from start to finish, backed by tamper-proof seals and documented every step of the way.

Read the entire op-ed at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.