Friday 10/30 election news and chat

[pugz]

also I've gotten a couple of friends that have not voted (or voted infrequently) to vote!!

[formerlyak]

LA has I Voted stickers for each of the various landmarks where you can go vote.

www.timeout.com/los-angeles/news/need-another-reason-to-vote-how-about-these-custom-i-voted-stickers-from-l-a-landmarks-102720

I wish I could make a donation to like Rock the Vote or something and get a full set.

[muffin0]

Oct 30, 2020 10:05:07 GMT -5 InBetweenDays said:

@@@@@i live in a very blue neighborhood in a very blue city. The other day Trump supporters were holding signs on a busy corner in our neighborhood. Some 9th grade kids walking by (some that I've known since they went to elementary school with DD) had words with the protesters and tried to grab the signs. Ended with one teen getting kicked into the busy street, another being pushed to the ground and having his pants pulled almost off, and another being body slammed.

The man who kicked the teen into the street? He's running against Pramila Jayapal.

Police were called and according to some friends (who know the kids better than I do) the police said they wouldn't do anything because it was just a brawl and the age of the kids didn't matter.
www.kiro7.com/home/caught-video-trump-supporters-teens-clash-during-ballard-rally/OUZTEEIVTVH3VIW6XXHE77ML2I/

Jesus fuck.

[AAM2012]

Oct 30, 2020 11:38:03 GMT -5 taratru said:

Using the words "punish and outlaw" in reference to planning for your own citizens is...something.

I was wondering yesterday as I drove past all the fucking Trump flags if people will take them down after he loses. I'm betting no, but I can't understand that kind of cult behavior, so I can't understand why.

I will volunteer to clean up trash....

[TBM]

Madame Tussauds in Berlin made some changes to their Trump exhibit

www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a34533508/madame-tussauds-throws-trump-dumpster/

In another article about it (maybe Reuters?) there is a photo with a kind of blurry Obama in the foreground. He looks like he is laughing, which makes it that much better.

[1confused1]

@@

Not sure if this was posted already, but it made me cry this morning.

Taylor Swift Lends ‘Only the Young’ to New Political Ad

www.google.com/amp/s/www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-lends-only-the-young-to-new-political-ad-1083987/amp/

[dutchgirl678]

Oct 30, 2020 15:26:47 GMT -5 1confused1 said:

@@

Not sure if this was posted already, but it made me cry this morning.

Taylor Swift Lends ‘Only the Young’ to New Political Ad

www.google.com/amp/s/www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-lends-only-the-young-to-new-political-ad-1083987/amp/

If you are on Twitter, check out @elevenfilms and @pdxeleven, they are responsible for making the video and they are local to me.

[mbcdefg]

Video of ballots in a Florida post office mailroom:

[heat40]

Oct 30, 2020 16:29:48 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Video of ballots in a Florida post office mailroom:

apparently we're having turnout problems in Miami. I'm nervous that in addition to that, we have this shady shit happening. 

[ajj]

Oct 30, 2020 16:29:48 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Video of ballots in a Florida post office mailroom:

I don’t understand why this isn’t making more news. I was just watching CNN and they mentioned the lower turnout in Miami-Dade with no mention of what is going on with the mail.

[heat40]

The ballots at the postal office in Miami are apparently being taken seriously... the state attorney is requesting an audit of all postal offices and that all remaining ballots be immediately sent to the Dept. of Elections

[mbcdefg]

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp might not be able to vote because he’s in quarantine after close contact with U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who tested positive for the coronavirus Friday.

Kemp, who tested negative for the virus, has requested an absentee ballot, his spokesman said.

But an absentee ballot requested Friday is unlikely to arrive in the mail before polls close Tuesday. Georgia law and a court ruling required all absentee ballots to be received at county election offices before 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Kemp also couldn’t vote in person on Tuesday without violating coronavirus guidelines from the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says people who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 should stay home for 14 days and stay away from others.

www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-gov-kemp-may-not-be-able-to-vote-during-covid-19-quarantine/3MIZ35DEYFAQXNAQQVMSKPZD4A/

[aurora]

Oct 30, 2020 13:30:46 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Oct 30, 2020 11:40:29 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

While I can understand some doom and gloom around things that are happening right now, I think we all need to take a deep breath.

To loosely quote Elizabeth Warren, we are fighting hard to win big. People are doing amazing things to get out the vote and fight voter suppression. Record numbers of people are voting. Yes, the GOP are doing all kinds of last ditch efforts to do awful things, but the things we are doing are far greater. I'm seeing all kinds of hopeful signs that things will be okay.

Like I said yesterday - and I think it bears repeating - we are not optimistic, we are determined.

Yes. Thank you. It’s a little apocolyptic in here right now. There are moments when I feel despair too but there are also quite a few hopeful signposts. Sometimes I wonder if many of you are doing too much doom scrolling on twitter? I’ve limited my media right now to 538, Wasserman, cnn, WaPo, and PSA and I feel okay. I mean I certainly don’t feel as if this is a done deal for trump at this point.

I might sound like a broken record, but the more optimistic we are the better chance we have! R's will have a much harder time fighting the results of it is a blow-out, so we don't want anyone to feel defeated before they vote.

[cville]

Oct 30, 2020 16:29:48 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Video of ballots in a Florida post office mailroom:

This is serious and awful and I'm glad that he brought attention to it.

HOWEVER

Rep McGhee's Twitter bio is super distracting to me: "Husband-Father-Son| Leader of House Democrats| Member of ΩΨΦ| Attorney | Best-Selling Author| Howard Bison| Read over 300 books|"

I was reading it like cool, awesome, yay, smart ... then ... Read over 300 books? Is that a thing people put in Twitter bios? Is this an inside joke? Not to get too high on myself, but I have read over 300 books. Does that mean I need a Twitter account?

[cville]

Oct 30, 2020 21:12:16 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp might not be able to vote because he’s in quarantine after close contact with U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who tested positive for the coronavirus Friday.

Kemp, who tested negative for the virus, has requested an absentee ballot, his spokesman said.

But an absentee ballot requested Friday is unlikely to arrive in the mail before polls close Tuesday. Georgia law and a court ruling required all absentee ballots to be received at county election offices before 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Kemp also couldn’t vote in person on Tuesday without violating coronavirus guidelines from the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says people who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 should stay home for 14 days and stay away from others.

www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-gov-kemp-may-not-be-able-to-vote-during-covid-19-quarantine/3MIZ35DEYFAQXNAQQVMSKPZD4A/

[sakoro]

Oct 30, 2020 10:00:49 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

Oct 30, 2020 9:51:11 GMT -5 5thofjuly said:

Is anyone in MN? I'm wondering if this is all over the local news, for example.

br],.. I really can't wrap my head around the logic that mail in or absentee voters are 100% democrat and that this also doesn't hurt GOP in some way. I know, I know there are clear statistics on this. 

Yes what about the GOP voters who voted later in the cycle?! Aren’t they going to be pissed their vote was thrown out?

[sju]

Sharing a positive story. Maybe @....students from a local high school held an event to go vote together for the first time. They walked over a mile to their polling location, and their principal went with them.

[darthnbjenni]

@@

I've been a secondary teacher for 17 years through 5 presidential elections. This was the very first in which our staff was sent a "what to do in school during civil unrest" 6 page emergency procedures document 😳

[eclaires]

Oct 30, 2020 21:58:39 GMT -5 sakoro said:

Oct 30, 2020 10:00:49 GMT -5 breezy8407 said:

br],.. I really can't wrap my head around the logic that mail in or absentee voters are 100% democrat and that this also doesn't hurt GOP in some way. I know, I know there are clear statistics on this. 

Yes what about the GOP voters who voted later in the cycle?! Aren’t they going to be pissed their vote was thrown out?

Like...military ballots from overseas?

Wild. Republicans are anti-democracy racists.

[Dumbledork]

My DH is in Afghanistan. He requested an absentee ballot months and months ago. He still hasn’t received it.

I’m so sad and annoyed and disappointed.

[VillainV]

Oct 30, 2020 23:03:21 GMT -5 Dumbledork said:

My DH is in Afghanistan. He requested an absentee ballot months and months ago. He still hasn’t received it.

I’m so sad and annoyed and disappointed.

My unit voting rep said today that there’s apparently a way to vote over email in most places. He should absolutely ask about this!

[Dumbledork]

Oct 31, 2020 4:14:12 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Oct 30, 2020 23:03:21 GMT -5 Dumbledork said:

My DH is in Afghanistan. He requested an absentee ballot months and months ago. He still hasn’t received it.

I’m so sad and annoyed and disappointed.

My unit voting rep said today that there’s apparently a way to vote over email in most places. He should absolutely ask about this!

Oh, good to know! He’s not AD anymore, but still a fed employee. I don’t know if that will change things, but I’ll have him ask about doing it online. Thank you!

[bernsteincat]

Oct 30, 2020 22:03:38 GMT -5 sju said:

Sharing a positive story. Maybe @....students from a local high school held an event to go vote together for the first time. They walked over a mile to their polling location, and their principal went with them.

This is a really neat idea! Might pitch this to my SS teacher friend to make this happen at our school!

[thelurkylulu]

I bought champagne today when I was doing our weekly grocery shopping today. Wasserman & the Taylor Swift ad have pumped me up and made me optimistic this is winnable.

[mrsukyankee]

Texas Republicans have asked a federal judge to throw out 100,000 ballots in Harris County cast through curbside voting. They drew Judge Andrew Hanen, one of the most notoriously partisan Republican judges in the entire federal judiciary. This is alarming. assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20401146/sd-tex-20-cv-03709.pdf

It's a thread and a fucking scary one to go along with all the other voter issues.

[meganew]

Oct 31, 2020 16:16:14 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Texas Republicans have asked a federal judge to throw out 100,000 ballots in Harris County cast through curbside voting. They drew Judge Andrew Hanen, one of the most notoriously partisan Republican judges in the entire federal judiciary. This is alarming. assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20401146/sd-tex-20-cv-03709.pdf

It's a thread and a fucking scary one to go along with all the other voter issues.

If they throw out those votes will the voters be contacted and allowed to vote in person? How would this not be voter suppression? 

[abs]

Oct 31, 2020 20:47:21 GMT -5 meganew said:

Oct 31, 2020 16:16:14 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Texas Republicans have asked a federal judge to throw out 100,000 ballots in Harris County cast through curbside voting. They drew Judge Andrew Hanen, one of the most notoriously partisan Republican judges in the entire federal judiciary. This is alarming. assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20401146/sd-tex-20-cv-03709.pdf

It's a thread and a fucking scary one to go along with all the other voter issues.

If they throw out those votes will the voters be contacted and allowed to vote in person? How would this not be voter suppression? 

Texas has never cared about voter suppression. They are clearly very worried. Our county judge even asked for clarification to make sure there were no issues and there were none. Now this. I’m not surprised it’s being challenged and the votes will probably be thrown out. It’s beyond disgusting.

[meganew]

Oct 31, 2020 21:15:56 GMT -5 abs said:

Oct 31, 2020 20:47:21 GMT -5 meganew said:

If they throw out those votes will the voters be contacted and allowed to vote in person? How would this not be voter suppression? 

Texas has never cared about voter suppression. They are clearly very worried. Our county judge even asked for clarification to make sure there were no issues and there were none. Now this. I’m not surprised it’s being challenged and the votes will probably be thrown out. It’s beyond disgusting.

I still just don’t understand how they can claim it’s causing harm- I think that’s what it said? Harm to the republican candidates for people to be able to vote? Because they’re doing it in their car?

[cville]

Oct 31, 2020 23:50:12 GMT -5 meganew said:

Oct 31, 2020 21:15:56 GMT -5 abs said:

Texas has never cared about voter suppression. They are clearly very worried. Our county judge even asked for clarification to make sure there were no issues and there were none. Now this. I’m not surprised it’s being challenged and the votes will probably be thrown out. It’s beyond disgusting.

I still just don’t understand how they can claim it’s causing harm- I think that’s what it said? Harm to the republican candidates for people to be able to vote? Because they’re doing it in their car?

I'm sure the standing of the plaintiffs will be attacked on, in part, the very grounds you're describing.

What scares me is that the hearing is set for tomorrow and the county wasn't given time to respond in writing first. I would bet they are or have hired good lawyers who know election law. But any argument you don't make at the trial court level you can't make on appeal (with very limited exceptions). So you want to make sure you raise every possible viable ground at trial, which means you want the time to be thoughtful.

[aurora]

Oct 31, 2020 20:47:21 GMT -5 meganew said:

Oct 31, 2020 16:16:14 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Texas Republicans have asked a federal judge to throw out 100,000 ballots in Harris County cast through curbside voting. They drew Judge Andrew Hanen, one of the most notoriously partisan Republican judges in the entire federal judiciary. This is alarming. assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20401146/sd-tex-20-cv-03709.pdf

It's a thread and a fucking scary one to go along with all the other voter issues.

If they throw out those votes will the voters be contacted and allowed to vote in person? How would this not be voter suppression? 

I'm certainly not a lawyer, but telling people officially they can vote one way and then changing the rules on them at the last minute seems like a serious threat to democracy. Wouldn't the courts have to take that into consideration?