02c U.S. Politics – Election

Republicans are gaining ground in Pennsylvania. See where voter registration is shifting – Centre Daily Times
Source Link
Excerpt:

As of Sept. 9, roughly 8.88 million Pennsylvanians are registered to vote. However, that figure is down from the 9.09 million residents who were eligible to vote during the 2020 election that saw Joe Biden carry Pennsylvania en route to the White House. Perhaps more notably, Republicans now hold voter registration advantages in four counties — Beaver, Berks, Bucks and Fayette — that previously leaned in favor of Democrats, according to 2020 end-of-year registration data published in 2021.

Election Deniers Want AI Cameras to Stream Footage of Ballot Dropboxes – wired.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

Engelbrecht has also said the group is looking to roll out dropbox monitoring in multiple states, and mentioned Michigan as a possible location, though most of her focus appears to be on Wisconsin.

In her interview with Wallnau, Engelbrecht added that she was working with “three influential sheriffs” in Wisconsin, though didn’t name them.

WIRED contacted two dozen sheriffs from Wisconsin’s largest counties, but did not find a single one who was going to be part of the monitoring effort. Engelbrecht and Truth the Vote did not respond to multiple requests for comment from WIRED to name the sheriffs who have agreed to be part of the program.

“True the Vote has reached out to the Sheriff’s Office regarding ideas as they relate to election integrity and possible law violations,” Deputy Inspector Patrick R. Esser, from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department, tells WIRED. “True the Vote proposed the idea of donating cameras to the sheriff’s office to monitor election sites, however, the obstacles associated with that idea made it impractical.”

While most sheriff offices WIRED contacted did not respond to requests for comment, a number, including offices in Buffalo County and Polk County, said they had not even heard about the dropbox initiative. “I was unaware of the plan and will not be participating,” Sheriff Mike Osmond from Buffalo County tells WIRED. “I am not sure if they are legal or not but do not have interest in implementing such a program.”

Fears mount that election deniers could disrupt vote count in US swing states – The Guardian
Source Link
Excerpt:

Fears are rising that the vote count in November’s presidential election could be disrupted as a result of the proliferation of Donald Trump’s lies about stolen elections and rampant voter fraud in the key swing states where the race for the White House will be decided.

A new survey of eight vital swing states reveals that at least 239 election deniers who have signed up to Trump’s “election integrity” conspiracy theories – including the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him – are actively engaged in electoral battles this year. The deniers are standing for congressional or state seats, holding Republican leadership positions, and overseeing elections on state and county election boards.

The report by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a watchdog group focusing on special interests distorting US democracy, reveals the extent of denial in the eight critical states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It shows that corrosive efforts to damage public confidence in elections have proliferated there despite the drubbing the election denial movement received in the 2022 midterms….

“What was striking to us about our research is how much election denialism and the voter fraud lie have infiltrated and taken over the Republican apparatus in each of these critical states,” said CMD’s executive director Arn Pearson.

DeKalb GOP sues Georgia Secretary of State, claiming poor election security – Atlantic City Circle
Source Link
Excerpt:

The DeKalb County Republican Party has filed a lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger alleging that the encryption keys for the software used in the state’s Dominion Voting System are not stored securely.

The DeKalb GOP wants the Secretary of State’s Office to properly store the encryption keys and “immediately bring the Dominion systems used in Georgia elections into compliance with Georgia law.” The lawsuit alleges that the state’s Dominion system software has been in an “illegal and insecure state since at least 2020,” and that the Secretary of State’s Office has known this since March, 2024.

The DeKalb GOP also wants the Secretary of State’s office to make the Dominion system logs, cast-vote records and ballot images available to itself and the public for inspection within 24 hours of polls closing on Nov. 5.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 30 in Fulton County Superior Court, was announced by the DeKalb  Republican Party on X on Monday. A hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 30.

Cornel West disqualified from Georgia’s ballot, judge rules – 11 Alive
Source Link
Excerpt:

The decision means votes for West won’t be counted in Georgia, although his name will remain on ballots because the judge said it’s too late to remove it.

ATLANTA — A Georgia state court judge on Wednesday disqualified independent presidential candidate Cornel West from running for president in the state, ruling that West’s electors didn’t file the proper paperwork.

For now at least, the decision means votes for West won’t be counted in Georgia, although his name will remain on ballots because the judge said it’s too late to remove it.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox ruled it was too late to order new ballots printed, with military and overseas ballots scheduled to be mailed starting Tuesday. Instead, Cox ordered the state to post notices in polling places warning West had been disqualified and votes for him would be void, a common remedy in Georgia for late election changes.

U.S. House speaker withdraws spending bill that would require ID to register to vote • Virginia Mercury
Source Link
Excerpt:

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled a six-month stopgap spending bill from heading to the floor for a vote Wednesday, scuttling efforts by the GOP to show solidarity behind their plan, which included a provision requiring ID to register to vote in federal elections.

The spending bill, released by House Republicans last week in the heat of a presidential campaign in which immigration is a central focus, had no chance of becoming law amid opposition from Democrats, a cool response from many GOP senators and a veto threat from the Biden administration.

A number of House GOP lawmakers had also come out against the legislation.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters that lawmakers plan to work through the weekend to find a path forward on the stopgap spending bill and language that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

New rules for ballot drop boxes in Ohio puts restrictions on who can use them – BG Independent News
Source Link
Excerpt:

The latest attempt to prevent voter fraud in Ohio will make it more difficult for voters to use ballot drop boxes and make more work for election workers across the state.

On Wednesday morning, the Wood County Board of Elections discussed the impact of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s recent directive that only those people dropping off their own ballots may use the drop box.

That means people dropping off ballots for family members must come into the board of elections during business hours and fill out paperwork attesting to their relationship to the voter. They cannot use the drop off box.

Nearly four million Ohioans voted last November, with approximately 25% voting absentee, according to state data.

So the state directive could mean a lot more work for election workers across the state.

Republicans challenge North Carolina decision that lets students show university’s mobile ID – ABC News
Source Link
Excerpt:

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Republican Party sued North Carolina’s elections board on Thursday to block students and employees at the state’s flagship public university from offering a digital identification as a way to comply with a relatively new photo voter ID law.

The Republican National Committee and North Carolina filed the lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court three weeks after the Democratic majority on the State Board of Elections approved the “Mobile UNC One Card” generated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a qualifying ID.

The law says qualifying IDs must meet several photo and security requirements to be approved by the board. The UNC-Chapel Hill digital ID, which is voluntary for students and staff and available on Apple phones, marks the qualification of the first such ID posted from someone’s smartphone.

Republicans push for clean stopgap as leaders regroup on shutdown plan – The Hill
Source Link
Excerpt:

A growing number of House Republicans say they know how the current government funding drama ends: with a clean continuing resolution (CR) that kicks the shutdown deadline to after Election Day.

The question is how Congress arrives at that conclusion.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) scrapped plans for the House to vote on his conservative funding bill Wednesday when it became clear it didn’t have the GOP votes to pass, catapulting the conference back to square one with less than a month until the shutdown deadline.

Some Republicans are pushing Johnson to make another attempt at clearing a conservative funding bill, arguing that a successful effort could help strengthen the party’s hand in forthcoming bipartisan negotiations.

Muddying the waters, former President Trump is urging Republicans to vote against any short-term funding bill that does not secure “absolute assurances on Election Security.”

FBI And CISA Addresses Claims Of Hacked Voter Information – The Cyber Express
Source Link
Excerpt:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have highlighted a growing concern about the spread of false claims related to voting. The announcement, titled “Just So You Know: False Claims of Hacked Voter Information Likely Intended to Sow Distrust of U.S. Elections,” aims to educate the public on how disinformation tactics are being used to manipulate perceptions and undermine trust in the U.S. electoral process.

The announcement comes amid increasing concerns over cybersecurity and the integrity of elections, particularly with the 2024 election cycle approaching. Both the FBI and CISA have observed a troubling trend where foreign actors and cybercriminals propagate misleading information about alleged breaches in U.S. voter registration databases. These claims often exaggerate or fabricate details about voter information hacking to discredit the electoral system and erode public trust.

Alaska Supreme Court keeps federal prisoner on ballot for U.S. House race after appeal denied – Alaska’s News Source
Source Link
Excerpt:

Alaska Supreme Court keeps federal prisoner on ballot for U.S. House race after appeal denied  Alaska’s News Source

Johnson pulls stopgap spending bill – Axios
Source Link
Excerpt:

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ditched a planned vote Wednesday on his six-month stopgap funding bill that included a crackdown on non-citizen voting.

Why it matters: It’s the latest setback for Johnson, who was facing opposition from fellow Republicans as well nearly all Democrats and raises pressure on GOP leaders to find an alternative path for avoiding a shutdown in less than three weeks.

• “No vote today because we’re in the consensus-building business,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday.
• That likely puts off a House vote on a stopgap bill until next week at the earliest.
• At least eight GOP lawmakers publicly came out against the bill, despite pressure from former President Trump to back it, leaving Johnson short of the votes he would need to pass it out of the chamber.

2nd Circuit rejects Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in hush money case – ABC News
Source Link
Excerpt:

A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in his hush money criminal case, leaving a key ruling and the former president’s sentencing on track for after the November election

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s request to halt postconviction proceedings in his hush money criminal case, leaving a key ruling and the former president’s sentencing on track for after the November election.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan cited the postponement last week of Trump’s sentencing from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26 in denying his motion for an emergency stay.

The sentencing delay, which Trump had sought, removed the urgency required for the appeals court to consider pausing proceedings.

14 pro-Trump electors linked to efforts to reverse his 2020 loss are back for 2024 -wyso.org
Source Link
Excerpt:

Fourteen presidential electors linked to efforts to reverse former President Donald Trump’s 2020 defeat are currently back on their states’ Republican slates of representatives to the Electoral College for the 2024 election.

Four years ago, what have been known as “fake electors” gathered in seven mainly swing states where Trump lost the popular vote to sign certificates that became part of a scheme by the former president and his allies to try to overturn the election results.

This year’s return of some of these Republicans as potential electors — confirmed in recent weeks through party filings to state election officials — raises questions about what they will do if Trump loses in their states again. The GOP nominee, who is facing four felony counts related to leading conspiracies to reverse the 2020 results and disenfranchise millions of voters, has refused to commit to unconditionally accepting the results of the upcoming 2024 election while continuing to repeat the lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.

The returning Republican electors are:

• Michigan: Amy Facchinello, Hank Choate, John Haggard, Marian Sheridan, Meshawn Maddock, Timothy King
• Nevada: Jesse Law, Michael McDonald
• New Mexico: Deborah Maestas
• Pennsylvania: Andy Reilly, Ash Khare, Bernadette Comfort, Bill Bachenberg, Patricia Poprick

Abortion Could Be Banned Nationwide If Trump Resurrects This Zombie Law– www.scientificamerican.com
Source Link
Excerpt:

When the Comstock Act was written, germ theory was still contested science, blood types and vitamins were medical mysteries, and the most common cause of death in the U.S. was tuberculosis, then known as consumption. And yet a movement has been gaining steam to use the 1873 law to ban a vital type of medical care nationwide: abortion. Experts say this strategy may well succeed if former president Donald Trump is elected to a second term in November.

Abortions are extremely safe—far safer than pregnancy, studies show. “Abortion is a very safe procedure,” says Glenmarie Matthews, a gynecologist at RWJBarnabas Health in New Jersey. It is also vital medical care for much of the population. “We are trying to isolate abortion care from women’s health care, but it’s all intertwined into one thing,” she says. It’s also politically popular—the clear majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal under most circumstances.

Congressional Democrats push resolution that says hospitals must provide emergency abortions – Beaumont Enterprise
Source Link
Excerpt:

Congressional Democrats push resolution that says hospitals must provide emergency abortions  Beaumont Enterprise

Democratic group launches battleground ads hitting Trump on abortion – AOL
Source Link
Excerpt:

Democratic group launches battleground ads hitting Trump on abortion  AOL

Trump wouldn’t say whether he’d veto a national ban even as abortion remains a top election issue – Las Vegas Sun
Source Link
Excerpt:

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly declined to say during this week’s debate if he would veto a national abortion ban if he were elected again — a question that has lingered as the Republican nominee has shifted his stances on the crucial election issue.

In Tuesday’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump said he would not sign a federal abortion ban, insisting that a ban would not pass Congress anyway. But he refused twice to say if he would veto such legislation if it landed on his desk. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, said in an interview with NBC News last month that the former president would veto a ban.

In response to moderators prompting him about Vance’s statement, Trump said: “I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness. And I don’t mind if he has a certain view, but I don’t think he was speaking for me.”

Pundits Said Harris Won the Debate. Undecided Voters Weren’t So Sure. – The New York Times
Source Link
Excerpt:

Pundits Said Harris Won the Debate. Undecided Voters Weren’t So Sure.  The New York Times