The Voting Thread (Procedures, Turnout, Legal Challenges)(Update: Trump to file suit in PA, MI, WI, AZ, NV, GA) (6 Viewers)

[Lapaz]

There is a lot of push-back from Trump on voting by mail, but most states allow it, and 1/3 allow it without any excuse. His rationale is that it will lead to vast fraud, but of course that isn't his real reason. His real reason is that he thinks it will be worse for conservatives, but studies have shown that states that have instituted much broader voting by mail haven't had any statistical changes in party voting.

Stanford study: Mail voting doesn't benefit one party over another

Coronavirus-spurred limits have intensified a push to allow more mail balloting in November.

www.politico.com

Voting Outside the Polling Place: Absentee, All-Mail and other Voting at Home Options

Most states offer at least one method for any eligible voter to cast a ballot before Election Day. While some states provide early in-person voting, this webpage addresses absentee voting and all-mail voting.

www.ncsl.org

Although, normally voting by mail doesn't affect party votes, I bet it might this year if we have another resurgence of Covid, because I think the right is much more apt to discount the virus than the left. I know that is why Trump is against it.

Whether you're left or right wing, expanding mail in votes is the right thing to do to reduce the likelihood of spreading the virus, to expand voter participation, and to make it easier for those that do show up to stay distant. It will also allow any people with susceptibilities to remain safer. I think voting by mail could be made extremely secure by having people vote using traditional postal mail, coupled with requiring a confirmation either by phone, email or text. If done by phone, then voters can provide confirmation that can include confirming their form number. If done by email or text, it can include a picture of their form, and then confirmation that that was their form. Rather than staffers individually calling people, this can be automated by having voters call the number, text the number, or email the address provided to them on their form. A website can even be created with a database of those that have voted, and perhaps a link to allow people to confirm their vote was correctly registered. For people without computers, a site can include a means to access the database over the phone with some confirmation information. These types of systems are used extensively by banks and other sites that need security, so I think they are mature enough to use. We could even use such a site for people to confirm their vote on the day of the election.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

So whatever this dismantling of the USPS may be it's definitely working.

A package was shipped to me on July 10th from Dallas (7-hour drive). It's out for delivery today.

 

[Farb]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/nyregion/nyc-mail-ballots-voting.html


Election officials in New York City widely distributed mail-in ballots for the primary on June 23, which featured dozens of hard-fought races. The officials had hoped to make voting much easier, but they did not seem prepared for the response: more than 10 times the number of absentee ballots received in recent elections in the city.

Now, nearly six weeks later, two closely watched congressional races remain undecided, and major delays in counting a deluge of 400,000 mail-in ballots and other problems are being cited as examples of the challenges facing the nation as it looks toward conducting the November general election during the pandemic.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and other officials are trading blame for the botched counting in the city, and the Postal Service is coming under criticism over whether it is equipped to handle the sharp increase in absentee ballots.

Granted, this is from 8/3 and has probably been discussed. If you want to be sure to have your vote count, go to a polling station (with ID) and vote. Otherwise, you cannot be sure your voice will be heard.

 

[brandon]

Granted, this is from 8/3 and has probably been discussed. If you want to be sure to have your vote count, go to a polling station (with ID) and vote. Otherwise, you cannot be sure your voice will be heard.

What about our overseas military? Doesn't their right to vote matter?

How will we ensure their voices will be heard?

 

[insidejob]

U.S. postal service reorganization sparks delays, election questions

A shakeup of the U.S. Postal Service is leading to mail delays, union officials said on Tuesday, heightening concerns that an ally of President Donald Trump is destabilizing the service as millions of Americans consider whether to cast their ballots by mail in the Nov. 3...

www.reuters.com

New Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has donated $2.7 million to Trump and his fellow Republicans since 2017, has ordered operational changes and a clampdown on overtime in a bid to fix the financially troubled service, which reported a net loss of $2.2 billion in the last quarter.

The reorganization, introduced in July, has resulted in thousands of delayed letters in southern Maine, as delivery drivers follow a new directive to leave on time, even if the mail has not been loaded, said Scott Adams, who represents about 550 workers as the president of American Postal Worker Union Local 458.

Another new directive requires mail carriers to head out on their routes immediately in the morning, carrying only packages and letters that were sorted the night before, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. That is requiring some carriers to double back to pick up a second batch later in the day, said Kimberly Karol, president of the Iowa Postal Workers Union.

Pretty good write up on what's happening with the USPS and how it's screwing up everything.

 

[insidejob]

I really, really hope they're successful with this.

 

[Saintamaniac]

So whatever this dismantling of the USPS may be it's definitely working.

A package was shipped to me on July 10th from Dallas (7-hour drive). It's out for delivery today.

I sent a certified letter from Laplace to McComb on August 1st. It still shows in transit.

 

[Complex Kid]

'A Conspiracy to Steal the Election, Folks': Alarms Sound After Postal Worker Reports Removal of Sorting Machines | Common Dreams

The removal of key equipment from Post Offices should be viewed as nothing less than "sabotage," said one observer.

www.commondreams.org

The head of the Iowa Postal Workers Union alleged Tuesday that mail sorting machines are "being removed" from Post Offices in her state due to new policies imposed by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor to President Donald Trump whose operational changes have resulted in dramatic mail slowdowns across the nation.

Asked by NPR's Noel King whether she has felt the impact of DeJoy's changes, Iowa Postal Workers Union President Kimberly Karol—a 30-year Postal Service veteran—answered in the affirmative, saying "mail is beginning to pile up in our offices, and we're seeing equipment being removed."

 

[superchuck500]

 

[brandon]

It's these moments of honesty sprinkled in the midst of all the lies that truly reveal the man.

 

[Saintamaniac]

And Republicans and trump supporters will stand by and not say a word. These people don't give a damn about the constitution or this country. They only care about keeping power and owning the libs. If Obama was doing something like this, hell if Clinton tried something like this, they would be armed in the streets. Remember this. Remember that Republicans heard trump say these words and said nothing. Every current republican should be voted out of office.

 

[EmBeeFiveOhFour]

The recently appointed Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, owns between $30 million and $75 million in stock in a logistics company (that bought his own private company for over $600 million) which serves as a contractor to USPS. Somehow deconstructing the USPS piece by piece to either make it more reliant on private contractors (which makes him $$$) or boosting potential competitors to USPS (which makes him $$$) is not a conflict?

He also has a ton of Amazon stock options that will trigger if the USPS can bungle their shipping enough to make their stock price fall.

The never-ending corruption of this administration is breathtaking and it will never matter one bit to the 35-40% of the country who are complete rubes.

 

[Nebaghead]

It's these moments of honesty sprinkled in the midst of all the lies that truly reveal the man.

I’m sure he was kidding, sarcastic or it was taken out of context. Which excuse will it be this time?

 

[EmBeeFiveOhFour]

 

[donato]

On the other hand all this coming out being so public so early gives a lot of warning to would be voters that they’ll want to vote in person. So as disgusting as it is I think it’s going to just piss off non-Trump voters even more and you’ll see more in-person voters.

 

[Saintamaniac]

On the other hand all this coming out being so public so early gives a lot of warning to would be voters that they’ll want to vote in person. So as disgusting as it is I think it’s going to just piss off non-Trump voters even more and you’ll see more in-person voters.

If I have to put on a complete hazmat suit to vote, then so be it. I'm voting his arse out of office and into jail. Hopefully some of his enablers will see jail time as well.

 

[insidejob]

This particular tweet isn't about the election being vote by mail, but rather how much he's destroyed the USPS already and how it's affecting veterans specifically.

Imagine how much worse it'll be by November at the pace it's going. Don't vote by mail unless the oversight committee can reverse all the crap he's done to dismantle the USPS so far and do it quickly. Vote absentee and drop it wherever you have to.

 

[bdb13]

On the other hand all this coming out being so public so early gives a lot of warning to would be voters that they’ll want to vote in person. So as disgusting as it is I think it’s going to just piss off non-Trump voters even more and you’ll see more in-person voters.

I agree. This drum needs to be beaten like hell through election day because it's pretty obvious that if it comes down to mail-in-ballots the shenanigans they're pulling will probably be too much for the Democrats to overcome. I can only imagine that things like extended delays with the USPS will hit heavy Democratic areas way more severely than they do Republican ones.

But yeah, the only solace here is that Trump isn't smart enough to not say it and that somebody like the Lincoln Project could be very effective with this.

Bad guy? Yeah, but evil genius he is not.

 

[Saintamaniac]

A judge has ordered Trump and Republicans to put up or shut up about voter fraud in Pennsylvania. Sad part is that everyone knows they are already full of shirt with regard to voter fraud. Now it will have the power of the judicial to force them to back up their claims.

Judge orders Trump campaign to produce evidence of voter fraud in Pennsylvania

Judge orders Trump campaign to produce evidence of voter fraud in Pennsylvania | CNN Politics

A federal judge in Pennsylvania told the Trump campaign and the Republican Party that they must produce evidence they have of vote-by-mail fraud in the state by Friday.

flip.it