Debate about illegalities in the 2020 presidential election in particular – and American elections in general – needs to keep the focus.

Some in government or in the press have repeatedly and publicly missed the focus.

The House Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives has just removed as its chair a person who has – repeatedly and publicly – not only missed the focus but also taken the debate off track.

The now-former chair’s reason – whatever it may be – for these mistakes is irrelevant to the need for a new chair.

Let’s get this back in focus.

As this column has previously said, the 2020 presidential election is over, and there’s no changing the result.

So the focus isn’t backward looking. The point isn’t to excise illegalities in the 2020 presidential election with the goal of changing the result of the 2020 presidential election.

Rather, the focus is forward looking. The point is to excise such illegalities with the goal of preventing their recurrence, no matter whom or which political party they’d benefit.

Or to put this both more generally and more accurately: The point isn’t to excise illegalities in American elections with the goal of changing the result of the 2020 presidential election.

Rather, the point is to excise such illegalities with the goal of preventing their recurrence, no matter whom or which political party they’d benefit.

Let’s repeat that last clause: No matter whom or which political party they’d benefit.

¯ Does this mean we can’t discuss 2020 presidential-election illegalities? No. Understanding illegalities will facilitate efforts to prevent their recurrence.

Indeed, looking ahead – beyond the 2020 presidential election – includes fully reviewing illegalities in the 2020 presidential election, regardless of whether they changed the result, plus carefully and fairly restoring the rule of law to American elections, all with an eye toward preventing future illegalities no matter whom or which political party they’d benefit.

¯ Does this mean we can’t discuss 2020 presidential-election illegalities in detail? No.

For example, readers of this column just before Christmas 2020 will recall that Texas filed a complaint in the U.S. Supreme Court. The complaint includes a succinct explanation of some of the extensive evidence of election fraud in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Although the high court declined to accept the challenge, that was because Texas lacked standing to bring the challenge. The high court didn’t reach the merits.

¯ Does this mean we can’t talk about whom 2020 presidential-election illegalities benefited? No. Based on what we know so far, 2020 presidential-election illegalities appear to have overwhelmingly benefited Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden. And the illegalities are extensive.

Given the facts, genuine debate on these points appears unlikely to arise. Denying either point is – to put it mildly, perhaps too mildly – mistaken.

Yet understanding who benefited from the illegalities or that they are extensive is relevant not for the sake of changing the 2020 presidential-election result but for the sake of preventing illegalities from recurring, no matter whom or which political party they’d benefit.

In this sense, we must look ahead, not back.

Review of 2020 presidential-election illegalities and restoration of the rule of law to American elections in general will benefit from the constructive participation of Americans of all political persuasions.

This isn’t a time for those who should participate constructively either not to participate, or not to participate constructively.

This definitely isn’t a time for them not to participate, or not to participate constructively, just because, for example, past illegalities have cut — or future illegalities may cut — in their, or their political party’s, favor.

¯ Will reviewing 2020 presidential-election illegalities and restoring the rule of law to American elections in general be easy? Definitely not. Yet we should do both unless we want 2020 illegalities to recur.

Dr. Randy Elf joins those wanting to prevent future presidential-election illegalities no matter whom or which political party they would benefit.

COPYRIGHT ç 2021 BY RANDY ELF.