Voting Law Proposals and Voting Rights Efforts (1 Viewer)

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    MT15

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    This is, IMO, going to be a big topic in the coming year. Republicans have stated their aim to make voting more restrictive in just about every state where they have the means to do so. Democrats would like to pass the Voting Rights Bill named after John Lewis. I’m going to go look up the map of all the states which have pending legislation to restrict voting. Now that we have the election in the rear view, I thought we could try to make this a general discussion thread, where people who have concerns about voting abuses can post as well and we can discuss it from both sides. Please keep memes out of this thread and put them in the boards where we go to talk about the other side, lol.
     
    One thing that HAS to happen is that election finance laws need to be strengthened and actually enforced. Musk is undoubtedly in violation of a whole slew of them, and then tonight I read this.



    Full text of crypto bro’s admission:

    “We get the U.S. election results in 6 days, and no matter how you slice it, it will be the most pro-crypto congress ever.

    But we're not slowing down post-election.

    Today I'm announcing that @coinbase has committed another $25M to support Fairshake PAC, which they will use leading up to the 2026 midterms to elect pro-crypto candidates.

    We're also supporting @standwithcrypto in their stretch goal to reach 4m advocates by the 2026 midterms.

    The crypto voter is already a force to be reckoned with, but it will continue to grow.

    We're going to keep showing up to protect our customer's rights and help get sensible legislation passed in major markets around the world.”
     
    Musk promoting Russian disinformation about GA election procedure.

     
    WASHINGTON (AP) — Hacking a local election system in the United States wouldn’t be easy, and secretly altering votes on a scale massive enough to change the outcome of the presidential race would be impossible, election officials have said, thanks to decentralized systems, paper records for nearly all ballots, exhaustive reviews, legal due process and decades of work by American election officials, volunteers and citizens.

    But foreign actors and domestic extremist groups looking to meddle in next week’s election can target a much weaker link: voters’ perceptions and emotions.

    Those intent on undermining confidence in U.S. democracy don’t have to change any votes if they can convince enough Americans not to trust the outcome.

    It’s a possible scenario particularly concerning to intelligence analysts and officials tasked with protecting America’s election: An adversary tries to hack a state or local election system and then releases a document — perhaps a fake one or even material that is publicly available — and suggests it’s evidence of vote rigging.

    Or, a video is crafted showing someone supposedly hacking into a ballot scanner, voting machine or a state voter registration system. But it hasn’t happened, and it would not be true.

    It’s called a perception hack, which may or may not include an actual breach of voting systems but is made to appear that has happened. In some cases, minor information might be stolen — enough for a video to appear legitimate — but it does not change votes.

    A related threat involves fake footage supposedly depicting election workers destroying ballots.


    In either case, the goal is the same: to generate confusion, distrust and fear.

    Governments at all levels have worked to strengthen election infrastructure in recent years.

    The human brain, however, remains hard to defend…….

     
    Musk is already promoting Russian-sourced videos purporting to show voter fraud. I’m not seeing a huge response yet. When will we see action taken?
     
    Julia Ramsey is used to a deluge of election-related mail. Campaign mailings have clogged her Pennsylvania mailbox day after day for months, but one she received this week stood out from the rest.

    It made Ramsey feel like she was being "vote shamed."

    The mailing was among millions sent this week by a pair of tax exempt organizations, letters purporting to be "Voting Report Cards." They show whether each recipient voted in recent elections, as well as a table of what appears to be redacted neighbors' names, addresses and voting histories.

    "Remember, who you vote for is private, but whether or not you voted is public record," read the letters, sent by the Center for Voter Information and Voter Participation Center. "We're sending this mailing to you and your neighbors to share who does and does not vote in an effort to promote election participation."

    On social media, and in interviews with CBS News, recipients have complained the letters are "creepy" and the tone "threatening."

    But the organizations' president, Tom Lopach, said they're a useful way to drive voter turnout, and have led to millions of voter registrations in previous years.

    "Through the testing we've done with randomized control trials, what we see is that the tool that most effectively motivates people is having an understanding of what their neighbors are doing and feeling like it is a societal norm to do what other people are doing," Lopach said.

    He said the two organizations have sent some 113 million mailings this year. The Voter Participation Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, focuses on people who "underrepresented in our electorate," Lopach said, "such as people of color, young people, and unmarried women." The Center for Voter Information, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, "focuses on folks who are not in those three populations, but who share the values of wanting a representative and inclusive electorate," he said.

    Before leading the Center for Voter Information, Lopach worked for Democratic senators and governors for two decades. Republicans have frequently pointed to Lopach's history as evidence for their claim his organizations are aligned with Democrats. Lopach said the Voter Participation Center is required to be nonpartisan, as 501(c)(4) tax exempt organization.

    "We walk hand in hand with our lawyers on everything we do to ensure we are complying with the law," Lopach said.

    The "Voter Report Card" mailings this week caught the eye of the office that oversees elections in New Mexico.

    "If you got a 'Voter Report Card' in your mailbox recently, here's what to know," the office of the New Mexico Secretary of State wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday. "These mailers come from the Voter Participation Center and/or the Center for Voter Information and are not affiliated with NM's county clerks or the Secretary of State."

    "No one, not even election workers, can tell your ballot choices — but your voting record is public information," the office wrote. "If you want to be removed from future mailings of this kind, follow the directions on the bottom of the mailer."

    Ramsey said she tried calling the phone number at the bottom of the mailer.

    "I called because I wanted to complain, and it just went right to voicemail," said Ramsey.

    "I don't like that it's shaming people," said Ramsey, who previously worked for Democratic causes, but plans to vote for a third party candidate this year. "It's just sort of that tactic of like, 'We can look it up and throw it in your face.'"

    New Jersey resident Erika Kiera described the "Voter Report Card" she received as "threatening" and like "a comparison as to who is "better than who" with regard to voting attendance."

    "They state underneath the addresses that they will be reviewing records after this election to determine whether or not you voted, which sounds like they are watching me," Kiera said. "And I question, what are they going to do if I don't vote? Are they going to write me and try to threaten or shame me? Are they going to tell my neighbors?"..............



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    Musk is already promoting Russian-sourced videos purporting to show voter fraud. I’m not seeing a huge response yet. When will we see action taken?
    Unfortunately, nothing is gonna happen until after the fact. We just have to hope everyone else gets out to vote. The higher the voter numbers, the better chances of Harris winning.
     
    They want showdowns with federal agents and inspectors so they can foment anger and distrust about the election among citizens.
    I think it goes even further. I think they are trying to stoke the embers of the "southern states vs the United States" resentment that has been festering for generations. I think they are trying to show that a state can defy the federal government which means that states can act independently of the federal government. If that forces federal agencies to assert any authority over state authorities, then they will use that to try to incite a violent insurrection against the country.

    If Trump loses and the Democrats win control over either the House or Senate, then I think the Republicans and Trump will try to seize power or disrupt government functions by use of violence. I don't think they will peacefully concede, because they will continue to suffer net losses in elections and lose power from this point forward.
     
    I think it goes even further. I think they are trying to stoke the embers of the "southern states vs the United States" resentment that has been festering for generations. I think they are trying to show that a state can defy the federal government which means that states can act independently of the federal government. If that forces federal agencies to assert any authority over state authorities, then they will use that to try to incite a violent insurrection against the country.

    If Trump loses and the Democrats win control over either the House or Senate, then I think the Republicans and Trump will try to seize power or disrupt government functions by use of violence. I don't think they will peacefully concede, because they will continue to suffer net losses in elections and lose power from this point forward.

    I share all of those concerns.
     

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