Pubs work on plans to outright steal next election.

[Vrede too]

Congress: Don’t let Trump block vote-by-mail (petition)

Texas Ordered by Judge to Allow All Votes by Mail, ACLU Says

Repugs like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and PINO are bad for democracy and Americans' health.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about voting and preparing for the November 3, 2020 general election. I appreciate hearing from you.

The novel 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought substantial uncertainty to all Americans. This includes understandable concerns about individuals’ personal safety when casting their vote. The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCBOE) announced on April 13, 2020, that North Carolina will continue the traditional method of voting. This includes absentee by-mail voting, in-person early voting and in-person voting on Election Day. The NCBOE also stated that states who use vote-by-mail warned North Carolina that it would take years to change laws, train staff, update technology and purchase high-speed equipment to count vote-by-mail ballots. I am pleased to see that State and local leaders are taking these concerns seriously and taking the necessary steps to ensure voters can safely vote in-person on Election Day.

As your Senator, I am working to keep all Americans safe during this uncertain time. Voting is a fundamental right of all American citizens who meet constitutional eligibility, and we must vigorously protect that right. Under Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution the states – acting through their elected officials – are responsible for establishing election laws to protect the integrity of the democratic process and maintain public confidence in elections. It is not the role of the federal government to mandate a one-size-fits-all approach that fails to provide states with the flexibility necessary to administer elections in their state. During this uncertain time, states are in the best position to determine the effect of COVID-19 on any upcoming elections and their voting plan for keeping voters and polling staff safe while also ensuring the integrity of our elections.

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. The CARES Act included $400 million in election security grants for states to use to prepare for COVID-19 related issues for the 2020 general election. States are required to match 20% of the federal money with state funds. States have access to the CARES Act funding immediately to support state-by-state election needs. This includes purchasing supplies and infrastructure for voting such as additional mail ballots, envelopes, and postage costs. Additionally, this funding can be used to purchase supplies such as cleaning supplies and other resources to protect both election workers and voters during in-person voting on Election Day.

Please know, I will continue to work with federal, state, and local partners to monitor the effects of COVID-19 on the November 3, 2020, general election. If the Senate considers additional legislation in the future I will keep your thoughts in mind.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about other important issues.

Sincerely,

Thom Tillis
U.S. Senator (R-NC)

IF it's true "that states who use vote-by-mail warned North Carolina that it would take years to change laws, train staff, update technology and purchase high-speed equipment to count vote-by-mail ballots," I'm okay with it if the feds don't mandate "vote-by-mail" for all states in Nov. That said, I do expect them to make absentee voting as easy as possible, including removal of the 'for cause only' mandate in some states (not NC).

[Vrede too]

Trump threatens to withhold aid to 2 states over expanded voting by mail

President Trump on Wednesday threatened to halt federal funding to Michigan and Nevada over the distribution of absentee ballots in those states amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that has left more than 90,000 Americans dead.

“Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election,” Trump tweeted. “This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!”

Both Michigan and Nevada are considered potential swing states in the November election.

The president followed up with a tweet tagging Russ Vought, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows; and the U.S. Treasury Department.

Trump’s threat to halt funding was issued hours after floods forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in central Michigan. He didn’t specify what kinds of federal aid he would stop, or cite a legal basis for the action.

The president is scheduled to visit a Ford ventilator-assembly plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced a plan to send applications for absentee ballots to all registered voters in the state ahead of its elections in August and November....

Translation: There is no legal basis.

... There is no evidence that voting by absentee ballot leads to more voter fraud. Trump himself voted by absentee ballot in the Florida primary in March. Yet he continues to rail against the practice.

During a coronavirus briefing at the White House last month, Trump said he was opposed to mail-in ballots because “people cheat.”

“No, mail ballots, they cheat,” he said. “OK, people cheat. Mail ballots are a very dangerous thing for this country because they are cheaters.”

PINO and the Repugs know that they can't win on the issues. So, they rely on massive voter suppression, gerrymandering, dark money, Russian assistance, and now even trying to make Americans choose between their health and their votes.

[Vrede too]

Repug fraud, again:

Feds: West Virginia mail carrier altered ballot requests

A West Virginia postal carrier has been charged with attempted election fraud after eight mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots had their party affiliations altered, including five from Democrat to Republican, federal prosecutors said Tuesday....

[billy.pilgrim]

Repug fraud, again:

Feds: West Virginia mail carrier altered ballot requests

A West Virginia postal carrier has been charged with attempted election fraud after eight mail-in requests for absentee voter ballots had their party affiliations altered, including five from Democrat to Republican, federal prosecutors said Tuesday....

Similar to Acorn. No votes were altered, just applications.

[Vrede too]

Similar to Acorn. No votes were altered, just applications.

Nope, quite different.

Repug WV mailman: Altered the absentee applications of real people. This would have affected the comms the real voters got from both parties AND the absentee ballots they would have received for the June 9 primary.

ACORN: Poor people that were paid by the registrant invented fictitious voters, often with obvious and laughable names like Mickey Mouse. No one voted using those names or was ever going to. The victims were not real voters or the public. Rather, ACORN was first defrauded and then eventually destroyed.

[billy.pilgrim]

Similar to Acorn. No votes were altered, just applications.

Nope, quite different.

Repug WV mailman: Altered the absentee applications of real people. This would have affected the comms the real voters got from both parties AND the absentee ballots they would have received for the June 9 primary.

ACORN: Poor people that were paid by the registrant invented fictitious voters, often with obvious and laughable names like Mickey Mouse. No one voted using those names or was ever going to. The victims were not real voters or the public. Rather, ACORN was first defrauded and then eventually destroyed.

it would affect the Primary - you are right there and Acorn itself didn't commit or encourage fraud. I used their name as a poor shortcut example of what individual Acorn employees did.

Some of the ACORN fraud was using phone book names and addresses of actual voters and would have had also affected communication with the parties.

While I'm here:

I'm against Acorn and all other taxpayer funded get out the vote programs.

The government isn't responsible for getting you to go vote and should leave it to the private sector.

The government does have the responsibility to insure that all who are qualified have easy convenient access to the polls, to candidate information and to seeing that all votes are counted accurately.

The fact that Acorn was needed is evidence that the government isn't doing its job.

[neoplacebo]

Similar to Acorn. No votes were altered, just applications.

Nope, quite different.

Repug WV mailman: Altered the absentee applications of real people. This would have affected the comms the real voters got from both parties AND the absentee ballots they would have received for the June 9 primary.

ACORN: Poor people that were paid by the registrant invented fictitious voters, often with obvious and laughable names like Mickey Mouse. No one voted using those names or was ever going to. The victims were not real voters or the public. Rather, ACORN was first defrauded and then eventually destroyed.

it would affect the Primary - you are right there and Acorn itself didn't commit or encourage fraud. I used their name as a poor shortcut example of what individual Acorn employees did.

Some of the ACORN fraud was using phone book names and addresses of actual voters and would have had also affected communication with the parties.

While I'm here:

I'm against Acorn and all other taxpayer funded get out the vote programs.

The government isn't responsible for getting you to go vote and should leave it to the private sector.

The government does have the responsibility to insure that all who are qualified have easy convenient access to the polls, to candidate information and to seeing that all votes are counted accurately.

The fact that Acorn was needed is evidence that the government isn't doing its job.

When the "government" acts in the form of GOP schemes and efforts and actual passing of laws that restrict the ability of citizens to vote, it is VERY important that SOME organizations act to oppose those efforts. Whether it's the "government" in the form of Democrats and Independents or the courts or by non profit advocacy groups makes no difference to me.

[billy.pilgrim]

Similar to Acorn. No votes were altered, just applications.

Nope, quite different.

Repug WV mailman: Altered the absentee applications of real people. This would have affected the comms the real voters got from both parties AND the absentee ballots they would have received for the June 9 primary.

ACORN: Poor people that were paid by the registrant invented fictitious voters, often with obvious and laughable names like Mickey Mouse. No one voted using those names or was ever going to. The victims were not real voters or the public. Rather, ACORN was first defrauded and then eventually destroyed.

it would affect the Primary - you are right there and Acorn itself didn't commit or encourage fraud. I used their name as a poor shortcut example of what individual Acorn employees did.

Some of the ACORN fraud was using phone book names and addresses of actual voters and would have had also affected communication with the parties.

While I'm here:

I'm against Acorn and all other taxpayer funded get out the vote programs.

The government isn't responsible for getting you to go vote and should leave it to the private sector.

The government does have the responsibility to insure that all who are qualified have easy convenient access to the polls, to candidate information and to seeing that all votes are counted accurately.

The fact that Acorn was needed is evidence that the government isn't doing its job.

When the "government" acts in the form of GOP schemes and efforts and actual passing of laws that restrict the ability of citizens to vote, it is VERY important that SOME organizations act to oppose those efforts. Whether it's the "government" in the form of Democrats and Independents or the courts or by non profit advocacy groups makes no difference to me.

Oh, I couldn't care less who advocates get out the vote, as long as no taxpayer dollars are spent and everyone has equal legitimate access to vote - no matter their status or condition

[Vrede too]

Oh, I couldn't care less who advocates get out the vote, as long as no taxpayer dollars are spent and everyone has equal legitimate access to vote - no matter their status or condition

Some parts of govt work to discourage that.

Outrage as Mississippi election commissioner complains 'the Blacks' are registering to vote in high numbers



Haha, pitiful racists, you're even losing in Mississippi and your officials are whiny idiots. Awww.

[Vrede too]

Fact-Checking Falsehoods on Mail-In Voting

If you are among the tens of millions of Americans who intend to vote by mail this year, you’re facing a deluge of misinformation about the integrity of that voting method.

Much of it is coming from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly attacked state efforts to expand voting by mail. He uses language meant to discourage it, mischaracterizing mail-in ballots as “dangerous,” “unconstitutional,” “a scam” or rife with “fraud.”

His comments are not true. There have been numerous independent studies and government reviews finding voter fraud extremely rare in all forms, including mail-in voting. The president is making these claims to lay the groundwork for possibly not accepting the voting results, going so far as refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses.

Here’s a fact check to help debunk some of the common misperceptions and falsehoods.

Absentee ballots are more secure than mail-in ballots. False....

Votes are being cast on behalf of dead people and pets. False....

Mail-in ballots will lead to a ‘rigged’ election. False....

But there was this one time ...

[Vrede too]

Conservative hoaxers face charges over false voter robocalls

Two conservative operatives were charged Thursday in connection with false robocalls that aimed to dissuade Black residents in Detroit and other Democratic-leaning U.S. cities from voting by mail, Michigan's attorney general announced.

Jacob Wohl, 22, and Jack Burkman, 54, each face four felony counts in Detroit, including conspiring to intimidate voters in violation of election law and using a computer to commit crimes, Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

The calls falsely warned residents in majority-Black Detroit and cities in at least four other states that if they vote by mail in the Nov. 3 election they could be subjected to arrest, debt collection and forced vaccination, Nessel said....

The charges carry the potential for years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. The computer charges carry up to seven years apiece, while election law violations could bring up to five.

Nessel’s office warned the public about the calls and launched an investigation in August after thousands of Detroit residents received them....

The pair was behind 85,000 calls nationwide, including nearly 12,000 in Detroit's 313 area code, Nessel said. Similar calls also blanketed urban pockets of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and New York, she said. She encouraged anyone who received such a call to file a complaint with her office.

Wohl and Burkman have a history of supporting President Donald Trump and attacking his opponents....

LOCK THEM UP!

[billy.pilgrim]

Stack the 85,000 charges and try separately.

[Vrede too]

Texas Ordered by Judge to Allow All Votes by Mail, ACLU Says

Repugs like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and PINO are bad for democracy and Americans' health.

Texas AG Ken Paxton took bribes and abused office, top aides say in call for federal investigation

Top aides of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have asked federal law enforcement authorities to investigate allegations of improper influence, abuse of office, bribery and other potential crimes against the state’s top lawyer.

In a one-page letter to the state agency’s director of human resources, obtained Saturday by the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network, and KVUE-TV, seven executives in the upper tiers of the office said they are seeking the investigation into Paxton “in his official capacity as the current Attorney General of Texas.”

The Thursday letter said that each “has knowledge of facts relevant to these potential offenses and has provided statements concerning those facts to the appropriate law enforcement.” ...

[Vrede too]

Facebook finds pro-Trump group helped make hundreds of accounts to spam comments with attacks on Biden

Facebook has removed hundreds of fake accounts tied to right-wing group Turning Point USA, which enlisted a now-banned marketing group to flood comment sections of news stories to attack Joe Biden and Democrats while praising Donald Trump.

The social media company announced on Thursday that marketing firm Rally Forge had worked with Turning Point USA to make 200 profiles and 55 pages on the platform and 76 on Instagram, beginning in 2018 and continuing through 2020....

Facebook banned Rally Forge from its platforms, while Turning Point USA remains active, with nearly 2 million followers.

The organisation’s founder Charlie Kirk was the first speaker at the 2020 Republican National Convention.

In June, the president addressed a rally at a megachurch in Phoenix hosted by the group....

Sleaze.

[Vrede too]

California Republicans are allegedly setting up fake 'official' drop-off boxes to harvest ballots

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla's office has received complains about what appear to be unauthorized ballot drop boxes in Los Angels, Orange, and Fresno counties, and it appears from social media posts that California Republicans have set them up to collect ballots, The Orange County Register reported Sunday night. The metal boxes, which purport to be "official," have been reported at local political party offices, churches, and headquarters for GOP candidates.

"Operating unofficial ballot drop boxes — especially those misrepresented as official drop boxes — is not just misleading to voters, it's a violation of state law," Padilla said, and a felony condition would land perpetrators in prison for two to four years. County elections officials and registrars are solely empowered to set up and maintain drop boxes in accordance with strict state security rules.

The California Republican Party did not response to the Register's requests for comments, nor did individual GOP operatives who have implicated themselves on social media. But the state GOP has "been defending the practice in replies on Twitter, alleging the process was made legal under a 2016 law that allows California voters to designate a person to return their ballot for them," the Register reports....

Slate judiciary staff writer Joseph Stern sees something a little more nefarious than just trying to make it more convenient for Republicans to vote. "California Republicans are allegedly creating fake drop boxes and tricking voters into depositing their ballots in them," he tweeted. "Apparently they're trying to prove voter fraud is real by committing actual election fraud." ...

Brazen sleaze.

[Vrede too]

Federal judge bars Ohio from limiting ballot sites to one per county

A federal judge on Thursday blocked an order by Ohio's Republican secretary of state limiting the number of absentee ballot drop boxes to one location per county, a move civil rights groups decried as a last-minute attempt to erect yet another barrier to safe and accessible voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The scathing decision by Judge Dan Polster of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio came in response to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's directive (pdf) earlier this week prohibiting counties from establishing ballot drop boxes "at any location other than outside the board of elections"—an order similar to one issued by Texas' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last week, prompting rights groups to sue.

"While it may be said that the 7,903 registered voters in Noble County may find a single drop box location sufficient, the record demonstrates that the 858,041 registered voters in Cuyahoga County will likely not," Polster wrote in his 26-page ruling (pdf). "The Secretary is continuing to restrict boards from implementing off-site collection, and he appears to be doing so in an arbitrary manner."

"We are in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century coupled with reasonable concern over the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to handle what will undoubtedly be the largest number of absentee voters in Ohio's history," Polster continued. "The Secretary has not advanced any legitimate reason to prohibit a county board of elections from utilizing off-site drop boxes and/or off-site delivery of ballots to staff."

[neoplacebo]

Opps! I had thought this fascist attempt by Texas GOP had been thwarted, but thanks to trump appointed appeals court "judges" counties in TX will have only one ballot drop off box in each county.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/appeals-cour ... 38775.html

[Vrede too]

Opps! I had thought this fascist attempt by Texas GOP had been thwarted, but thanks to trump appointed appeals court "judges" counties in TX will have only one ballot drop off box in each county.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/appeals-cour ... 38775.html

They detest democracy.

As Arizona, Texas and Georgia become less white, voter suppression could keep these states from turning blue

Or not.

Trump has turned Texas and Arizona purple, maybe even blue, Republicans worry

[billy.pilgrim]

Opps! I had thought this fascist attempt by Texas GOP had been thwarted, but thanks to trump appointed appeals court "judges" counties in TX will have only one ballot drop off box in each county.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/appeals-cour ... 38775.html

They detest democracy.

As Arizona, Texas and Georgia become less white, voter suppression could keep these states from turning blue

Or not.

Trump has turned Texas and Arizona purple, maybe even blue, Republicans worry

That'll work well for the 5 million people in Harris County.

[Vrede too]

Opps! I had thought this fascist attempt by Texas GOP had been thwarted, but thanks to trump appointed appeals court "judges" counties in TX will have only one ballot drop off box in each county.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/appeals-cour ... 38775.html

How ride-share services are helping vulnerable voters get to the polls: 'Their voice is just as important as ours'

Free or discounted rides.