The Voting Thread (Procedures, Turnout, Legal Challenges)(Update: Trump to file suit in PA, MI, WI, AZ, NV, GA) (1 Viewer)

[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.

 

[insidejob]

You’re right, it would be hard to do whatever the plan originally was because it was exposed so quickly

And this was caught right away because the GOP boxes are a different color than the official ones

I do wonder why they didn’t just go all the way and make their boxes identical to the official boxes

The only thing I can think of is it provides a bit of an out - “these clearly aren’t the official boxes”

If their boxes were the same as the official ones I’d guess that would a whole different level of trouble

As it is maybe it’s like counterfeiting $200 bills
“It’s not my fault the store thought they were real”

Definitely not good, but definitely better than using fake $100 bills

“it’s not our fault people thought this box that is clearly not the real official ballot box was real

The actual problem is that absolutely nothing is going to happen to the California GOP for doing this in the first place. The FEC or the CA SOS should at the very least be able to fine the shirt out of those responsible for putting them up in the first place but we've heard absolutely nothing about that taking place. Why is it that politicians/parties get to break laws in plain sight but citizens get life in prison for three marijuana convictions (or used to in LA at least)?

Since nothing is going to happen to them, next time they will make the boxes identical and trash all D votes in the box so they can at least take back the down ballot elections since the federal elections - for president at least - are a foregone conclusion.

 

[zztop]

In Ohio, a Printing Company Is Overwhelmed and Mail Ballots Are Delayed (Published 2020)

The company was until recently flying a “Trump 2020’’ flag over its Cleveland headquarters. The problems it has had underscore the stress that mail voting has put on the nation’s election process amid the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

I'm not going to go so far as to say they willfully did it on purpose, despite their company flying a Trump 2020 flag at their office... but more than likely they are woefully inept. Still, this is worrisome. Some 30,000 ballots were mailed to the wrong addresses, counties scrambling to print them and have them mailed out for people to get them on time etc.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

In Ohio, a Printing Company Is Overwhelmed and Mail Ballots Are Delayed (Published 2020)

The company was until recently flying a “Trump 2020’’ flag over its Cleveland headquarters. The problems it has had underscore the stress that mail voting has put on the nation’s election process amid the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

I'm not going to go so far as to say they willfully did it on purpose, despite their company flying a Trump 2020 flag at their office... but more than likely they are woefully inept. Still, this is worrisome. Some 30,000 ballots were mailed to the wrong addresses, counties scrambling to print them and have them mailed out for people to get them on time etc.

All part of the master plan. The 3o,ooo voters who requested ballots that were then sent to the wrong address, will not receive their ballots in time to vote. After failing to get their ballots, they will attempt to vote in person, only to be told they can't because they requested absentee ballots. Then they have to fill out provisional ballots, but those won't be counted for weeks after they election and we all know what that will result.

 

[zztop]

All part of the master plan. The 3o,ooo voters who requested ballots that were then sent to the wrong address, will not receive their ballots in time to vote. After failing to get their ballots, they will attempt to vote in person, only to be told they can't because they requested absentee ballots. Then they have to fill out provisional ballots, but those won't be counted for weeks after they election and we all know what that will result.

It is very easy for my mind to go down that path.... and I just checked the county where those 30,000 were mis-mailed and apparently Allegheny County is overwhelmingly democrat leaning. Almost 2 to 1 in favor vs (R)

 

[insidejob]

It is very easy for my mind to go down that path.... and I just checked the county where those 30,000 were mis-mailed and apparently Allegheny County is overwhelmingly democrat leaning. Almost 2 to 1 in favor vs (R)

I'm sorry, but where the hell is the FEC? What is their actual function if it isn't to make sure shirt like this doesn't happen, and if it does, fix it immediately. These are the same 30,000 ballots that were mailed out "in error" like over a month ago in Ohio, right? (Please tell me they didn't do it multiple times - don't feel like reading the article right now, been driving all day.) Did Trump defund them too so this will undoubtedly go to his newly stacked Supreme Court? Heads should be rolling for this kind of "incompetence." Screw all of them. Burn the whole thing down.

 

[Devildog]

I'm sorry, but where the hell is the FEC? What is their actual function if it isn't to make sure shirt like this doesn't happen, and if it does, fix it immediately. These are the same 30,000 ballots that were mailed out "in error" like over a month ago in Ohio, right? (Please tell me they didn't do it multiple times - don't feel like reading the article right now, been driving all day.) Did Trump defund them too so this will undoubtedly go to his newly stacked Supreme Court? Heads should be rolling for this kind of "incompetence." Screw all of them. Burn the whole thing down.

Oh, you mean the 3 letter government agency that has no teeth to do anything about anything? The one where they report their findings and the government is all like, “yeah, well get to it?”

 

[insidejob]

Oh, you mean the 3 letter government agency that has no teeth to do anything about anything? The one where they report their findings and the government is all like, “yeah, well get to it?”

Yeah, actually. I'm fed up with the friggin shenanigans to suppress the Democrat vote that is happening in battleground states and is plain as day to anyone who has two eyes and half a brain. If this walking petri dish steals this election, I hope [MOD EDIT: let's find less combustible language to express such wishes]

 

[barbar]

In Ohio, a Printing Company Is Overwhelmed and Mail Ballots Are Delayed (Published 2020)

The company was until recently flying a “Trump 2020’’ flag over its Cleveland headquarters. The problems it has had underscore the stress that mail voting has put on the nation’s election process amid the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

I'm not going to go so far as to say they willfully did it on purpose, despite their company flying a Trump 2020 flag at their office... but more than likely they are woefully inept. Still, this is worrisome. Some 30,000 ballots were mailed to the wrong addresses, counties scrambling to print them and have them mailed out for people to get them on time etc.

This strikes me as being VERY shady. The company owner is a Trump true believer. This would definetely line up with their "own the libs" by any means necessary approach.

If it is innocent ineptness, then it's not much better.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Short overview of where each state stands
==================

The 2020 election may see the highest turnout in decades, though it comes at the same time as vast uncertainty about voting systems, mail ballots and the role of courts.

For the second consecutive cycle, Republicans see a path to victory that doesn’t include the popular vote.

And for the third cycle in a row, Democrats have designs on control of the Senate — but can win it only by flipping seats in states where President Trump is favored.

The electoral map is the largest in a long time, with once reliably blue states like Minnesota being contested by Republicans and once reliably red states like Georgia getting a hard look from Democrats.

All 435 House seats are up for grabs, with Democrats favored to retain control thanks to their supercharged fundraising and the president’s political weakness in most suburbs.

Thirty-five Senate seats are up, 24 of them held by Republicans...........

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/united-states-political-geography/?tid=a_classic-iphone&no_nav=true

 

[zztop]

This strikes me as being VERY shady. The company owner is a Trump true believer. This would definetely line up with their "own the libs" by any means necessary approach.

If it is innocent ineptness, then it's not much better.

The only thing stopping me from forming that conclusion myself is, that supposedly none of these printing companies know who is getting the ballots, or who the ballots are for. I don't really know how "blind" the printing and mailing process actually is however.

 

[MT15]

If the printing company is also printing the addresses, then it’s not very blind at all. It may be automated, though.

 

[Optimus Prime]

We’re doing our part

I’m a little concerned about rejected ballots

But step one, getting the ballots in early is being done

My girlfriend and dropped ours off and there was a steady stream of cars coming in to do the same

It was good to see
=================
A 72-year-old voter in Dayton, Ohio, said, “I’m angry about everything.” A retired veterinary technician in Detroit said she voted for one reason only: “Donald Trump.

To make sure he’s not reelected.” A federal employee who waited in line for 10 hours in suburban Atlanta explained simply: “I have three Black sons.”

Two weeks before Election Day, Black Americans have voted in striking numbers, helping to drive historic levels of early voting as mail ballots have flooded election offices and people have endured huge lines to cast ballots in person across the country.

In interviews in 10 states where early voting is underway, Black voters said this year’s presidential election is the most important of their lifetime — some calling it more consequential even than 2008, when those who were old enough went to the polls in record numbers to make Barack Obama the country’s first Black president.........

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/black-voters-2020-election/2020/10/18/bdc06ad0-0f3b-11eb-8074-0e943a91bf08_story.html

 

[Optimus Prime]

Interesting article on undecided voters

I tend to believe that most “undecided voters” have decided they just don’t want to say what their decision is for whatever reason
============================

The humorist David Sedaris, considering the psychology of the undecided voter, once envisioned a scenario on an airplane.

A flight attendant comes through the cabin offering passengers a choice of two meals: chicken, or a ”platter of s--- with bits of broken glass in it.”

“To be undecided in this election,” he wrote, “is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.”

Sedaris was writing about the choice between then-Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain in 2008 — a bitter election cycle that looks impossibly serene in retrospect.

This year, many people see the choice as something like chicken (boiled, unseasoned) vs. flying the plane into a mountainside.

How could anyone not be able to make up their mind between that guy and that guy?............

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/undecided-voters-are-driving-people-crazy-they-might-decide-the-election/2020/10/16/53ebb3bc-0cac-11eb-b1e8-16b59b92b36d_story.html

 

[bdb13]

Story isn't updated yet.. when does this extend the deadline until?

 

[MT15]

Three days after Election Day, with an Election Day postmark or no postmark. Not sure what that means, maybe deposited in an official Dropbox?

 

[xpuma20x]

Fire intentionally set inside ballot box in Baldwin Park, officials say

A fire inside a ballot drop box in Baldwin Park may have compromised dozens of votes.

abc7.com

I suppose this is one way of voter suppression. Just set it all on fire. At least CA has a tracker so you can see when your ballot arrives.

 

[MT15]

There is some pretty interesting conversation about the US Supreme Court weighing in on the PA state constitution. And how Barrett would have probably made the outcome different. It’s a whole thread.

 

[LA - L.A.]

There is some pretty interesting conversation about the US Supreme Court weighing in on the PA state constitution. And how Barrett would have probably made the outcome different. It’s a whole thread.

Justices Gorsuch, Alito, Kavanaugh and Thomas showing their true partisan selves. Believe people when they tell and show you who they are.

This is why it's important that nominees actually answer questions about the legal theories they subscribe to (not how they will rule on any specific case) and below is why who's on the Supreme Court matters more than who is president or who control's Congress.