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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    More states move to expand vote-by-mail ahead of November election

    Trump vents as more states move to expand vote-by-mail ahead of November election

    By Abby Phillip, CNN
    Updated 2:28 PM ET, Wed May 20, 2020

    (CNN)President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at officials in two swing states, Michigan and Nevada, over their moves to make it easier for more voters to cast their ballots by mail ahead of the November election, highlighting his growing anger over mail-in voting changes that he contends will hurt his chances of reelection.

    The President's harsh and often baseless criticism of vote-by-mail is significantly ratcheting up as more and more states loosen their vote-by-mail restrictions proactively or on court orders.

    The latest: Texas, where a federal judge ruled on Tuesday that all voters can request an absentee ballot if they fear contracting the coronavirus by going to the polls in person, dealing a blow to Republicans in the state who had argued against sending ballots for that reason.



    Federal judge rules Texans afraid of catching Covid-19 can vote by mail


    And in Michigan, the state's Democratic secretary of state said this week that all eligible voters would be mailed an absentee ballot application ahead of the November general election. Michigan is one of dozens of states that allow voters to cast their ballot by mail for any reason and it is a key swing state in the November presidential election.

    In his tweet Wednesday morning, Trump falsely claimed Michigan would send absentee ballots to 7.7 million voters. But he also threatened to "hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!" Trump several hours later deleted the tweet and sent a new one that correctly described Michigan's absentee ballot initiative.

    States have the legal authority to make changes to their elections, and Republicans have repeatedly opposed federal intervention in the administration of elections by the states.


    Samuel Bagenstos, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Michigan Law School who has written extensively about federal government's power to impose conditions on states' receipt of federal funds, said Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally hold up federal funding to the states.


    "It's pretty clearly not a thing that he's allowed to do," Bagenstos said. "The President doesn't just get to decide that he's not going to spend appropriated funds because he doesn't like what states are doing."


    "The federal government can impose conditions on states who receive federal funds but it's Congress who does that," he added.


    Visit CNN's Election Center for full coverage of the 2020 race


    A spokesman for Michigan's secretary of state said Trump's tweet is false and said that Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, has the authority to make the change.


    "Applications are mailed nearly every election cycle by both major parties and countless advocacy and nonpartisan organizations," said spokesman Jake Rollow. "Just like them, we have full authority to mail applications to ensure voters know they have the right to vote safely by mail."


    Marc Elias, the Democratic lawyer who is leading the party's legal efforts to expand vote-by-mail across the country, responded to Trump's tweets Wednesday morning, saying that Trump is "spreading lies about voting again."


    "Michigan is sending vote by mail applications, not ballots," Elias wrote in a tweet. "This is exactly what several GOP secretaries of state are doing. It is completely legal and good policy. He can't hold up funding to prevent people from voting."


    Other secretaries of state, including Republicans, have sent absentee ballot applications to all voters ahead of upcoming elections. Among them, West Virginia, Georgia, Iowa, and Nebraska.

    And other states have changed their upcoming primaries to entirely vote-by-mail because of the coronavirus pandemic.


    Trump's tweets come as he has urged his political aides to be aggressive in fighting efforts by Democrats to expand mail in voting in upcoming elections. The Republican National Committee has devoted $20 million to the effort in more than a dozen states.



    Republican victory in California special election undercuts Trump's unfounded claims about mail-in voting


    But Trump's latest tweets threaten the delicate balancing act that Republicans have been trying to strike on the issue. They have argued that while they do not oppose mail-in voting, they oppose Democratic-pushed changes that they argue could make voter fraud more prevalent. Studies have found voter fraud is rare in US elections, including in places where vote-by-mail is widespread.

    But with Trump's latest tweets, he attacks one key method Republicans have pushed to combat fraud: requiring voters to submit an application before receiving ballots. Republicans argue that ballot applications allow states to clean up their voter rolls before sending ballots to voters.


    RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on a conference call with reporters this week that she didn't have an issue with absentee ballot request forms being sent to voters but opposed ballots being sent directly to voters without request.


    And Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told CNN that the party does not oppose absentee voting, but rather opposes sending all voters a ballot without an application.


    "There is great temptation to conflate absentee voting with sending every single registered voter an actual ballot," Murtaugh said. "We have no problem with absentee voting it is sending everyone a physical ballot that is the problem."


    Asked if McDaniel stands by her comments in light of the President's tweets, Michael Ahrens, a spokesman for the RNC, said "the RNC has been clear that we support a lawful absentee ballot process with the proper safeguards in place like signature verification, which Democrats have simultaneously sued to remove.


    "We do not support overreach by the courts or by Democrats," he added.


    In Nevada, also a swing state that will be hotly contested in November, the state's Republican secretary of state moved to mail ballots to all registered voters ahead of the state's primary. Nevada already allows voting by mail for any reason.


    The Nevada secretary of state's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


    Trump's instance on broadly attacking vote-by-mail has perplexed many Republicans, who see no advantage to either party in vote-by-mail. Most recently, in a California special election conducted almost entirely by mail this month, the Republican candidate won, flipping a US House seat that had been held by Democrats.


    "The most effective, diligent Republican campaign operatives will be developing their own vote-by-mail strategies & programs because they know a) GOP voters want and need that option and b) to defend status-quo voting protocols in a pandemic would be a mistake," wrote Republican strategist Kevin Madden on Twitter.


    Last week, a Republican close to the White House told CNN that there is no political advantage to either party on vote-by-mail.


    ""I think the advantage of vote-by-mail goes to the campaign with the best organization," the source said.


    This story has been updated to reflect that Trump deleted his initial tweet on Michigan and sent a new one that accurately described the state's absentee ballot initiative.

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/20/polit...ump/index.html

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  2. #2
    Moderator Beezer's Avatar
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    If we can go to Wal-Mart in-person and shop...WE can go vote in-person!!!

    Set up booths at the local stadiums! Set up the voting booth inside in the inner hallways.

    Our tax dollars pay for these stadiums, let us use them!

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  3. #3
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    The Most Important 2020 States Already Have Vote by Mail


    "28 states that already allow this “no excuse” absentee balloting,"

    "That means that, however much Trump rages, the legal structure is in place for a
    mail-voting surge in those decisive states: Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona in the Sun Belt and Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the Rust Belt."
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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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    Moderator Beezer's Avatar
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    ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE "BROKEN" OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

    DO NOT REWARD THEM - DEPORT THEM ALL

  6. #6
    Moderator Beezer's Avatar
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    Department of Justice
    Office of Public Affairs



    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Thursday, May 21, 2020



    Former Philadelphia Judge of Elections Convicted of Conspiring to Violate Civil Rights and Bribery

    A former Judge of Elections has been convicted for his role in accepting bribes to cast fraudulent ballots and certifying false voting results during the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections in Philadelphia.

    Domenick J. Demuro, 73, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty during a sealed proceeding on March 16, 2020, before U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond to conspiring to deprive persons of civil rights, and using interstate facilities in aid of bribery. The court unsealed the matter today. Sentencing is scheduled for June 30, 2020.

    During his guilty plea hearing, Demuro admitted that while serving as an elected municipal Judge of Elections, he accepted bribes in the form of money and other things of value in exchange for adding ballots to increase the vote totals for certain candidates on the voting machines in his jurisdiction and for certifying tallies of all the ballots, including the fraudulent ballots. Demuro further admitted that a local political consultant gave him directions and paid him money to add votes for candidates supported by the consultant, including candidates for judicial office whose campaigns actually hired the consultant, and other candidates for various federal, state and local elective offices preferred by that consultant for a variety of reasons.

    Demuro also admitted that the votes he added in exchange for payments by the political consultant increased the number of votes fraudulently recorded and tallied for the consultant’s clients and preferred candidates, thereby diluting the ballots cast by actual voters.

    “This defendant abused his office by engaging in election fraud for profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

    “Today’s conviction makes it clear that the Department of Justice will do all in its power to protect the integrity of elections and maintain public confidence in all levels of elected government.”

    “Demuro fraudulently stuffed the ballot box by literally standing in a voting booth and voting over and over, as fast as he could, while he thought the coast was clear.

    This is utterly reprehensible conduct. The charges announced today do not erase what he did, but they do ensure that he is held to account for those actions,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy.

    If even one vote is fraudulently rung up, the integrity of that election is compromised. I want the public to know that this investigation is active and ongoing, and my Office is taking every possible step that we can to ensure the integrity of the upcoming primary and general elections in the nine counties of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”

    “Domenick Demuro put a thumb on the scale for certain candidates, in exchange for bribes,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “As public trust in the electoral process is vital, the FBI’s message today is clear: election interference of any kind, by hostile foreign actors or dishonest local officials, won’t be tolerated. This is an active, ongoing investigation and we're asking anyone with information on election fraud to contact the FBI.”

    “The citizenry of the City of Philadelphia, as well as this Commonwealth and these United States, needs to be confident in the integrity of our elections,” said Captain Leo Hannon, Director of the Pennsylvania State Police, Special Investigations Division. “As this investigation clearly illustrates, the Pennsylvania State Police will relentlessly pursue any breach of the sacred trust bestowed upon our public officials.

    Our agency is proud to partner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the United States Department of Justice as a whole to root out corruption at any level of our government. Matters of public corruption and public integrity have been, and shall remain, a top priority of the Pennsylvania State Police.”

    The FBI and the Pennsylvania State Police investigated the matter. Richard C. Pilger, Director of the Election Crimes Branch in the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Gibson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are handling the prosecution.





    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/forme...ts-and-bribery



    Last edited by Beezer; 05-21-2020 at 03:52 PM.
    ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE "BROKEN" OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM

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  7. #7
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    NO AMNESTY

    Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of illegal aliens by giving them citizenship.


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  8. #8
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    The U.S. does not have a federalized election infrastructure. That means states and localities have the freedom to oversee voting how they see fit, with little oversight from the federal government.

    @ In 2020, Some Americans Will Vote On Their Phones


    https://www.alipac.us/f9/2020-some-a...6/#post1674693
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  9. #9
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    The United States Constitution gives the states primary responsibility for determining the “time, place, and manner” of elections in Article I, Section 4. Congress is allowed to modify those rules regarding the time, place, and manner of federal elections.

    However, Article I, Section 2, affirms that the states have sole authority to determine the qualifications for voting in each state, and by extension the qualifications for becoming registered to vote.


    https://www.alipac.us/f9/kobach-if-y...5/#post1648006
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  10. #10
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    NO AMNESTY

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