An assault on American voters is underway

[The Evil Genius]

 

[mcsluggo]

On 11/16/2023 at 7:17 PM, China said:

 

Indicted Colorado clerk at center of MyPillow CEO’s 2020 election conspiracy movie sues Merrick Garland to shut down federal probe, says she was just asking questions

 

A former Republican clerk in Mesa County, Colorado, indicted in 2022 for official misconduct connected to her ill-fated attempt to prove that Dominion Voting Systems and its electronic voting machines stole the 2020 election from Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit in federal court against state officials and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, claiming she’s being persecuted for asking questions about the “legitimacy” of President Joe Biden’s election.

 

Tina Peters is suing Garland, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D), and Mesa County District Attorney Daniel Rubinstein in attempt to shut down both the looming state prosecution and a federal investigation, the latter of which revealed her to be a “subject” — along with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — of an identity theft, intentional damage to a protected computer, and conspiracy probe.

 

Peters, who was featured in the Lindell-funded 2020 election conspiracy movie “[S]election Code,” is accused at the state level of tampering with election equipment, attempting to influence public servants, and engaging in official misconduct by allowing an unauthorized third party to make copies of voting machine hard drives, leading “confidential digital images” of county Dominion equipment and passwords to be “published on the internet.”

 

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District Colorado by attorney John Case, seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction in a bid to block the state and the feds from “conducting and proceeding with criminal proceedings, including investigations and prosecutions” until Peters’ claims make their way through court.

 

Peters argued that the state prosecution and distinct but related federal grand jury probe amount to violations of her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, by unlawfully retaliating against her for “exercising her freedom of speech, freedom of association, and her right to petition the government for the redress of grievances,” and by punishing her for “efforts to comply with federal law governing the maintenance of election records[.]”

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

20 hours ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

 

:: barf emoji 

 

[China]

Challenge to Wisconsin election maps undergoes sharp questioning before state Supreme Court

 

A ruling on a bid to overturn Wisconsin's legislative maps heavily tilted in favor of Republicans now rests with the state Supreme Court and its newly constituted liberal majority after it heard three hours of arguments Tuesday.

 

Law Forward, a Madison-based liberal-leaning law firm focused on voting issues, brought the legal challenge straight to the Supreme Court in August — bypassing lower courts in an expedited effort that could lead to an outcome before the 2024 elections.

 

Attorneys for the voters who filed the challenge are asking justices to declare the state's legislative districts unconstitutional and order new maps drawn based on "traditional redistricting criteria" in addition to what's required under state law by mid-March 2024.

 

"That remedy cannot be a partisan gerrymander in intent or in effect," attorneys for the voters argued.

 

Such a ruling would put every member of the Legislature up for reelection next year.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[China]

In wake of Voting Rights Act ruling, North Dakota to appeal decision that protected tribes' rights

 

A day after a federal appeals court dealt a significant blow to the Voting Rights Act, North Dakota's top election official announced Tuesday that he wants the court to review a judge's recent ruling that protected two Native American tribes’ voting rights.

 

Voting rights groups had hailed U.S. District Chief Judge Peter Welte's ruling Friday that the tribes' voting rights were unlawfully diluted by a 2021 legislative redistricting map.

But, in an unrelated lawsuit Monday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that private individuals and groups such as the NAACP do not have the ability to sue under a key section of the Voting Rights Act.

 

In announcing his intention to appeal Welte's ruling, Republican Secretary of State Michael Howe specifically cited Monday's 2-1 ruling by the appeals court panel, which is based in St. Louis and has jurisdiction over seven states, including North Dakota. It is unclear whether the same panel of three judges would hear the North Dakota case.

 

Republican Attorney General Drew Wrigley on Monday said the appeals court ruling “is an interesting and timely development" as state officials and legislative leaders pondered their next steps as to the Friday ruling. A spokesperson said he wasn't immediately available for comment but would follow up.

 

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe and three tribal members sued last year, seeking a joint district for the two tribes. They alleged the 2021 map “simultaneously packs Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians members into one house district, and cracks Spirit Lake Tribe members out of any majority Native house district.”

 

 

Click on th elink for the full article

[EmirOfShmo]

 

[China]

On 7/16/2023 at 2:03 AM, China said:

 

 

 

Kari Lake’s team ordered to pay more than $122K in sanctions over Maricopa lawsuit

 

Kari Lake’s legal team, including lawyer Alan Dershowitz, must pay $122,200 in sanctions after a federal court in Arizona found that the former Republican gubernatorial candidate’s lawsuit contesting voting methods was “frivolous.”

 

Lake, a former television news anchor, brought a suit against the state of Arizona in April 2022 demanding the election officials use alternative methods to collect and count ballots, claiming that electronic voting machines are not reliable.

 

The lawsuit was thrown out and Lake ultimately lost the gubernatorial election to Gov. Katie Hobbs. She then filed another suit after the election alleging widespread fraud. That case was also dismissed, though she continues make baseless claims that the race was stolen from her.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

AZ Supreme Court rejects Kari Lake’s latest request — again

 

Failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake had her request to appeal her election lawsuit directly to the Arizona Supreme Court denied Wednesday.

 

The former television anchor had previously requested that the state’s highest court take up her case, after she had lost her second trial in Maricopa County Superior Court in May. In that case, she called for either a new election or to be named governor.

 

Lake also requested that sanctions be brought against Maricopa County.

 

The appeal was initially filed with the Court of Appeals, but Lake later asked the Supreme Court to take up her case without the appellate court considering the matter.

 

“Appellant Lake does not show good cause for transferring the appeal from the court of appeals, where the matter has been fully briefed,” Justice Bill Montgomery wrote in the ruling.

 

Lake has consistently claimed that she lost her election bid in November 2022 due to fraud and malfeasance by Maricopa County, though her claims have been rejected because she has no evidence. In her petition to the Supreme Court, Lake claimed to have new evidence and asked the court for a reversal of the trial court’s decision or for a new election.

 

Plaintiffs typically are not allowed to present new evidence during the appeals process, as appeals are focused on whether a lower court failed to correctly apply the law. Lake has frequently made pronouncements on social media about alleged new evidence of corruption, but trial, appeals and the Supreme Court have all found her evidence unconvincing.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Mike Lindell Rages at Republican Officials Blocking His Efforts

 

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is lashing out at Arkansas Republicans for blocking his efforts to eliminate voting machines in future elections.

 

Lindell, a proponent of false conspiracy theories claiming that machines helped Democrats "steal" the 2020 presidential election from former President Donald Trump, nominated Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston for a dishonorable "Raffe Award" during a Lindell Report stream earlier this week over his conclusion that the state's voting machines are accurate and secure.

 

The name of the "award" refers to Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a frequent target of Lindell and other election conspiracy theorists due to his certification of President Joe Biden's victory over Trump. Lindell has also nominated Wisconsin Secretary of State Robin Vos, another Republican who certified Biden's 2020 win, for the dishonor.

 

Lindell claimed that Arkansas was set to "go machine-free" until Thurston blocked the efforts of Conrad Reynolds, a Republican who sued the state and has campaigned for "election integrity" after losing a bid for Congress last year in the GOP primary by 17 points. Most counties in Arkansas use touch-screen voting machines in elections, with only one county opting to move to paper ballots this year.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

'Young people are the issue': Republicans take aim at student voting

 

Republicans in states across the country are moving to block young people from voting as part of a concerted strategy advanced by a leading 2020 election denier, according to a report.

 

New Hampshire Republicans introduced a bill that would have barred college students who pay out-of-state tuition from voting, while a Texas Republican introduced a bill that would ban polling places at colleges and universities. Republicans in Idaho, Virginia and Wisconsin have all pressed measures to keep students away from the polls, reported Rolling Stone.

 

“Young people are the reason why Biden won in 2020 and Democrats up and down the ballot won in 2022 and 2023,” says Abhi Rahman, national communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.

 

“If Gen Z continues to vote, we’re on the cusp of the most progressive era in our country’s history. Republicans know this as well, and that’s why they’re doing everything they can to stop young people from voting, including the fight for restrictions that we’re seeing play out in states like Wisconsin today.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Trump calls on supporters to 'guard the vote' in Democratic-run US cities

 

 Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, told his supporters on Saturday to "go into" Philadelphia and two other Democratic-run cities to "guard the vote" in 2024, repeating his unfounded claims of widespread election fraud in 2020 as justification for the call to action.

 

Speaking at two events in Iowa, Trump also sought to counter growing concern among Democrats and some Republicans that his potential return to the White House posed a threat to democracy.

 

Even as he faces criminal charges over his efforts to reverse his 2020 loss, Trump attempted to flip the script and paint the winner, President Joe Biden, as a dangerous autocrat, calling him a communist, fascist and a tyrant.

 

A spokesperson for Biden's re-election campaign said Trump's comments portraying Biden as a threat to democracy were an attempt to divert the public's attention from his own problems.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[skinsmarydu]

On 11/29/2023 at 12:41 AM, China said:

'Young people are the issue': Republicans take aim at student voting

 

Republicans in states across the country are moving to block young people from voting as part of a concerted strategy advanced by a leading 2020 election denier, according to a report.

 

New Hampshire Republicans introduced a bill that would have barred college students who pay out-of-state tuition from voting, while a Texas Republican introduced a bill that would ban polling places at colleges and universities. Republicans in Idaho, Virginia and Wisconsin have all pressed measures to keep students away from the polls, reported Rolling Stone.

 

“Young people are the reason why Biden won in 2020 and Democrats up and down the ballot won in 2022 and 2023,” says Abhi Rahman, national communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.

 

“If Gen Z continues to vote, we’re on the cusp of the most progressive era in our country’s history. Republicans know this as well, and that’s why they’re doing everything they can to stop young people from voting, including the fight for restrictions that we’re seeing play out in states like Wisconsin today.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Yeah, can't have those kids with the longest futures have any say in it.  

[Larry]

3 hours ago, skinsmarydu said:

 

Yeah, can't have those kids with the longest futures have any say in it.  

 

And I would've won, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids. 

[China]

Florida appeals court reverses ruling on DeSantis’s congressional maps

 

A state appeals court in Florida reaffirmed Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) congressional maps Friday, reversing a lower court ruling that labeled them unconstitutional.

 

The appeals court said the lower court misapplied precedent, and that the suit challenging the maps should have been dismissed.

 

At the center of the legal conflict are the Florida Constitution’s Fair Districts Amendments, passed in 2010, which restrict partisan gerrymandering. 

 

A 2015 Florida Supreme Court case ruled that state Republicans violated the amendments in their 2010 congressional maps, focusing on districts surrounding Jacksonville, leading the court to force a new set of district boundaries.

 

DeSantis proposed a new set of maps in January 2022, which again faced legal challenges based on the Fair Districts Amendments. Plaintiffs said the governor and Florida Republicans drew the lines to reduce the voting power of Black voters in Jacksonville by splitting the city between multiple districts.

 

The lower court threw out these maps in September — citing the 2015 Florida Supreme Court case. But the appeals court decided Friday that the case was not binding precedent and should not have been relied upon, instead leaning on other factors.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Judge drops felony charges against ex-elections official in Virginia

 

A Virginia judge has dismissed felony charges against a former county elections official accused of misconduct in the 2020 election, a decision made after state prosecutors said a key witness changed his story.

 

At the prosecutors' request, the judge on Friday dismissed a felony charge of corrupt conduct and one for making a false statement, both of which had been levied against former Prince William County Registrar Michele White. She still faces trial next month on a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect of duty.

 

Very little has been publicly revealed about exactly what prosecutors believe White did wrong. Court records merely indicate that the case revolves around 2020 election returns, including the presidential race.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[mcsluggo]

On 11/29/2023 at 12:41 AM, China said:

'Young people are the issue': Republicans take aim at student voting

 

Republicans in states across the country are moving to block young people from voting as part of a concerted strategy advanced by a leading 2020 election denier, according to a report.

 

New Hampshire Republicans introduced a bill that would have barred college students who pay out-of-state tuition from voting, while a Texas Republican introduced a bill that would ban polling places at colleges and universities. Republicans in Idaho, Virginia and Wisconsin have all pressed measures to keep students away from the polls, reported Rolling Stone.

 

“Young people are the reason why Biden won in 2020 and Democrats up and down the ballot won in 2022 and 2023,” says Abhi Rahman, national communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.

 

“If Gen Z continues to vote, we’re on the cusp of the most progressive era in our country’s history. Republicans know this as well, and that’s why they’re doing everything they can to stop young people from voting, including the fight for restrictions that we’re seeing play out in states like Wisconsin today.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

this is probably the ONLY sort of thing that could effectively "get out the student-age vote" ... so.... polite golf clap?

[China]

 

[China]

Asinine:

 

Can a state count all its votes by hand? A North Dakota proposal aims to be the first to try

 

All election ballots would be counted by hand under a proposal that could go to North Dakota voters, potentially achieving a goal of activists across the country who distrust modern vote counting but dismaying election officials who say the change would needlessly delay vote tallies and lead to more errors.

 

Backers of the proposed ballot measure are far from gathering enough signatures, but if the plan makes the June 2024 ballot and voters pass it, North Dakota would have to replace ballot scanners with hundreds of workers across the state who would carefully count and recount ballots.

 

It’s a change other Republican-led states have attempted unsuccessfully in the years since former President Donald Trump began criticizing the nation’s vote-counting system, falsely claiming it was rigged against him.

 

“We’ve always done hand counting before we got these machines,” said Lydia Gessele, a farmer who is leading the effort to get the measure on the ballot. “They can find the people to do the job, because there are people that are willing to come in and do the hand counting.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Yes, you also used to do all the farming by hand before you got those machines...why don't you do that with farming too?

[China]

Combating Voter Intimidation, from the 19th Century and Today

 

A court case about the inaction of a local Texas police department three years ago, built around legislation enacted 152 years ago to contend with the Ku Klux Klan, has relevance to concerns about 2024 election violence. As its outcome shows, the old law provides a legal foundation that can be used now to push back against harassment and intimidation of voters and election officials.

 

In October, the police department in San Marcos, Texas, settled a suit filed by passengers in a Biden-Harris campaign bus back in 2020. They had accused the department of violating federal statutes enacted during the Reconstruction era to give teeth to enforcement of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

 

The successful suit is emblematic of a broader effort underway to make sure law enforcement agencies are aware of their responsibilities when it comes to enforcing protections demanded by election codes. “We’re trying to make sure that folks know what’s already available in terms of legal options for protection and defense and prosecution,” says Kathy Boockvar, a former Pennsylvania secretary of state who’s now leading an effort to create state-specific guidebooks on election protection.

 

The Texas suit stems from an incident on Oct. 30, 2020, which was the last day of early voting that year. The San Marcos Police Department received multiple requests to assist Biden-Harris supporters. Their campaign bus was surrounded by backers of Donald Trump who swerved vehicles in their direction or stopped abruptly in front of the bus. The occupants were frightened and concerned for their safety.

 

Other jurisdictions had provided police escorts to restrain this type of behavior while the bus was within their boundaries. The San Marcos Police Department declined requests to do the same, with consequences that are still reverberating.

 

The lawsuit against the department cited the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which “imposed a duty on all Americans to protect targets of political intimidation and violence in federal elections.” In a statement announcing a settlement with the plaintiffs, the city noted that while it denied “many” allegations in the lawsuit, “the City of San Marcos Police Department’s response did not reflect the department’s high standards for conduct and attention to duty.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[TheGreatBuzz]

When I die, I want all my **** sold to create a scholarship for a kid to develop an unpartison district drawing program to be used in conjunction with the census. 

[EmirOfShmo]

https://post.news/@/democracydocket/2aUmmqGxJe1Fq5JHdX7lGhOWPSx

 

New Idaho Voter Suppression Law Goes Into Effect

 

Idaho officially repealed student IDs as acceptable forms of voter ID as a new youth voter suppression law went into effect this week. There are two ongoing lawsuits challenging this statute.

The state court lawsuit argues the law violates the Idaho Constitution. The federal lawsuit alleges the law violates the 26th Amendment's prohibition on voting discrimination based on age.

[The Evil Genius]

I wonder why a GOP state doesn't want young people to vote? 🤔

[China]

Democrats win challenge to North Carolina voter election law

 

Joe Biden quietly scored a legal victory in North Carolina this week, in what could prove to be a consequential development in a closely divided state.

 

The Biden campaign notched the win as part of a lawsuit filed a few months back by the Democratic National Committee and the North Carolina Democratic Party. The suit challenged several aspects of the Republican-backed election law, S.B. 747, that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed but the legislature overrode. The law included new rules for voters who registered and cast a ballot on the same day, requiring additional photo ID and address verification — changes Democrats pounced on.

 

The Dems’ lawsuit, drafted with the help of Biden campaign officials, specifically sought preliminary relief for those same-day registration provisions. Under the new law, voters opting for same-day registration but who don’t get their requirements verified on time could end up having their ballot tossed.

 

Late Sunday, U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with Democrats and blocked one provision of the law unless it’s revised. In a 94-page filing, he wrote that the plaintiffs are likely to successfully claim that the law violates the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution and that it would result in the tossing of legitimate ballots.

 

Schroeder said that the state failed to show a strong enough reason to prevent these voters’ ballots from being counted if there’s an error by the U.S. Postal Service or poll workers in confirming their address. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

No evidence of racial gerrymandering in NC Senate map, judge rules in win for GOP

 

There's no immediate evidence that Republican state lawmakers used racial gerrymandering to target Black voters when they redrew the new state Senate maps for the 2024 elections and beyond, a federal judge ruled Friday.

 

He declined to halt the elections for two Republican-leaning districts in the heavily Black northeastern part of the state. And while the case isn't over yet, the ruling means this year's elections will likely go on as planned — without new maps that could be more favorable to Black voters and Democrats. The majority of Black voters are registered as Democrats, state elections data shows.

 

Within minutes of the ruling, the voters who brought the lawsuit announced they'd appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. So the elections could still be affected, depending on what happens on appeal.

 

A spokesperson for Senate Republican leader Phil Berger didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

 

The case could also still go to trial, for a more thorough examination of the evidence including expert testimony. Even if the 2024 elections likely won't be immediately affected, the maps will also be used in the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections — unless first struck down in court.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

They watched 2 election workers face abuse, and it's compelling them to serve in 2024

 

Outside a neighborhood recreation center, Evelyn Myers steps off a blue and orange bus retrofitted with desks and recruitment posters.

 

Inside, Myers has just signed up to work her first election, hoping to inspire her four grandkids.

 

"My 17-year-old will be 18 in June, so he'll have a chance to vote," Myers says. "And I'm so excited for him."

 

Myers says she also felt compelled to serve after Donald Trump and his supporters baselessly attacked the integrity of Fulton County's 2020 election and the people who ran it, including two Black women who endured threats and harassment once Trump and others falsely accused them of election fraud.

 

Despite that onslaught, something surprising is happening here in Fulton County: People are still eager to serve as poll workers.

 

"I'm not a fearful person," Myers says. "God has not given me the spirit of fear, and I think I can do this."

 

Until recently, fear was not something poll workers had to think much about.

 

But that changed after the 2020 contest, especially when Trump and allies like lawyer Rudy Giuliani singled out mother and daughter election staffers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, peddling baseless claims about them even after multiple investigations found the allegations to be untrue.

 

Click on the link for the full article