::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

BY JESSE JACKSON October 25, 2016 Donald Trump, falling behind in the polls, with his campaign imploding around him, now says the election is “rigged.” He refuses to say whether he will accept the verdict of the voters. Just as he tried to undermine the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency with the malicious and false “birther” issue, now he’s gearing up to assail the legitimacy of Hillary Clinton’s presidency with the “rigged election” issue. In fact, his charges directly contradict the truth. We know what a “rigged” electoral system looks like. At the founding of this country, the electoral system was rigged: Only rich, white landowners could vote. Slaves, native Americans, women and white men without property were denied the right to vote. That was a system rigged to protect those with property from the threat of democracy. When the Civil War ended slavery, the Southern states created poll taxes, white primaries, grandfather clauses, literacy tests and othe...