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.
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.”
Conservatives expect Johnson will embrace proof-of-citizenship voting in anti-shutdown measure – The Hill
Go to Article
Excerpt:
Hard-line conservatives expect Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will embrace their favored tactic by bringing a stopgap bill to the House floor next week that includes a proof-of-citizenship voting bill and would extend government funding into 2025.
Such a move would not only grant a win to the House GOP’s conservative wing, but would tee up a showdown with the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House, which both object to the voting bill. Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to prevent a shutdown.
Johnson’s office has not confirmed the funding plan, but Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) — a key member of the House Freedom Caucus who has been in discussions with leadership as he advocates for the strategy — is publicly expressing confidence about the next step.
It’s Schumer’s Fault If Government Shuts Down over Noncitizens Voting – breitbart.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from www.breitbart.com
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) told reporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) annual leadership meeting that if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) refuses to allow a vote on a bill to require proof of citizenship to vote in U.S. elections, and the government shuts down as a result, that will be his own fault.
Scott was referring to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE Act, which “requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections.”
As Breitbart News has reported, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) is considering attaching the SAVE Act to a stopgap spending measure that would have to be signed by September 30 to keep the federal government open.
Scott told Breitbart News that Johnson was moving ahead with the idea in the House: “I think he has the votes.”
Asked whether there was some risk to Republicans of a government shutdown ahead of the presidential election, Scott suggested that if Schumer allowed a shutdown over non-citizens voting, Democrats would suffer instead.
Dems Will Reject Chance To Keep Noncitizens Out Of Elections – thefederalist.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from thefederalist.com
All but five Democrats voted in July against the Republican-led Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. But Speaker Mike Johnson is reportedly giving Democrats another opportunity to safeguard our elections by tying the bill to a continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government funded through March.
After Democrats let millions of illegal immigrants into the country, Republicans introduced the SAVE Act. Currently, voters must simply check a box affirming they are a citizen when registering to vote — nothing more than the honor system.
Johnson, according to Punchbowl News, is planning on tying the CR to the SAVE Act. Utah Sen. Mike Lee previously expressed support for tying the two together, telling Fox News in August that attaching the legislation to the spending bill is “the best way to move that through, to make sure that the 10 million plus illegal immigrants who have come in in the last 3 and a half years, and the estimated roughly 30 million noncitizens total in the United States aren’t voting in this November’s election.”
Speaker Mike Johnson Pushes for Election Integrity Bill Amid Government Funding Debate – Shockya.com
Democrat-Controlled States Refuse To Fix Election Problems – thefederalist.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from thefederalist.com
President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which simply requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. His promise was made in reaction to congressional Republicans who want to include it with any continuing resolution required to fund the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1. The president’s adamant opposition to what most Americans support demonstrates just how much Democrats are dedicated to making it easier to cheat in elections.
On Dec. 16, 2020, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, I held a hearing titled, “Examining the Irregularities in the 2020 election.” In spite of the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the election irregularity deniers, there were many indisputable irregularities.
In Wisconsin, 170,000 faulty absentee ballots in Milwaukee and Dane County were improperly counted by election clerks. Representatives of the far-left “Zuckerbucks” program — which is designed to pour left-wing dollars into local election offices, benefiting their Democrat candidates — imposed such heavy-handed direction in Green Bay that the local election clerk resigned from the stress and allowed Zuckerberg’s minions to run the election. “Democracy in the Park” was allowed in Madison, where activists unlawfully collected 17,300 ballots. Seniors in nursing homes voted without the required voting deputies present, bordering on elder abuse for political gain. As was the case in other states, election observers were not allowed to effectively observe the election process.
Biden Admin Dismisses Noncitizen Voting As ‘Already Illegal’ – thefederalist.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from thefederalist.com
White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre reassured reporters Tuesday that “it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.” Cue the nationwide sigh of relief: At last, we can sleep easy knowing noncitizens won’t vote, because — surprise! — it’s against the law.
But do you know what else is also “already illegal?”
Drunk driving. Yet roughly one million people are arrested each year in the United States for drunk driving, according to Better Life Recovery & Wellness, and “results from surveys show that this number represents only a small portion of the actual number of alcohol-impaired drivers behind the wheel each year.”
It’s also “already illegal” for someone under the age of 21 to buy or drink alcohol, yet 12.6 million people between the ages of 12 and 20 have reported having at least one alcoholic drink in their life, according to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
RNC Appeals PA Court Decision That Scrapped Ballot Dating Rule – thefederalist.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from thefederalist.com
After a court in Pennsylvania scrapped enforcement of a law requiring that mail-in ballots be properly dated in order to be counted, the Republican National Committee is asking the state supreme court to weigh in.
The RNC, joined by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, intervened in the case brought by multiple left-wing groups (represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania), while the counsel of Secretary of State Al Schmidt (a Republican official named as defendant in the suit) filed a brief in support of the petitioners.
“We have reached a point of true absurdity in election law litigation. A court that does not even have jurisdiction over this matter somehow concluded that asking people to write down a date on the envelope in which they transmit their mail-in ballots imposes a ‘severe burden’ on their ability to vote,” Derek Lyons, president and CEO of Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections and former counselor to President Donald Trump, told The Federalist.
“Let’s be clear: Even second-graders know how to write the date on their schoolwork, so every adult voter can do likewise on their ballot envelope with no trouble whatsoever. Next, we will find out that asking people to mark their own ballots is also a constitutional violation. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court must act quickly to reverse this decision and end this madness.”
Pennsylvania fails to resolve key election disputes ahead of 2024 voting– Washington Examiner
Go to Article
Excerpt from www.washingtonexaminer.com
Early voting is poised to get underway in several states this month. The Washington Examiner will take a closer look at the swing states, including voting rules you need to know and key differences from prior elections. Part three of Battleground Ballots will focus on what has changed in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that is likely to determine which candidate wins the presidency.
Pennsylvania is poised to face many of the same challenges in 2024 that it experienced in the 2020 election which led to the state not being called for President Joe Biden until days after Election Day.
The dayslong delay in determining the winner sparked widespread accusations of voter fraud in Pennsylvania, leading to the Keystone State being among the battleground states that faced lawsuits from former President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2020. Four years later, state legislators have failed to resolve the key disputes over ballot tabulation and certification that prompted the backlog.
Pennsylvania has established itself as the cornerstone of the 2024 election, with its 19 electoral votes and battleground status making it among the biggest prizes on election night and crucial to winning the presidency. The state was paramount to Trump’s victory in 2016 as well as Biden’s in 2020, prompting both parties to pour millions of dollars into the state to secure a pathway to the White House.
Some changes have been made in the state since 2020, such as a lower court ruling last week that would require counties to notify voters if their ballots are at risk of being rejected. Another ruling passed down last week would overturn a state requirement to throw out ballots if they are not correctly dated.
Fake ‘Non-Partisan’ Voter Registration Group Rigging Outreach to Exclude Republicans – lidblog.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from lidblog.com
The Voter Participation Center claims to be a non-partisan voter registration outfit. But they are liars because an expose of their outreach shows they only work to register new Democrat voters.
According to the expose published by the Washington Free Beacon, this group is spending millions of Facebook ads to get new voters to use their voter registration system. But they are rigging their ads to exclude Facebook users whose Facebook data shows are right leaning people.
It appears that the group is making sure people whose Facebook data shows like things including Jeeps, NASCAR, and golf are excluded from their ad outreach.
Per The Beacon:
The Voter Participation Center is a self-described “non-partisan” charity that claims to have helped more than six million people register to vote since its inception in 2003. The group’s claim to be “non-partisan” is important because the IRS is clear that charities, beneficiaries of generous tax exemptions, can only engage in voter registration drives in a “neutral, non-partisan manner.” The IRS prohibits charities from engaging in voter registration activities in a manner that favors a candidate or political party.
On the surface, the Voter Participation Center’s Facebook ads appear to meet that non-partisan standard. “It’s quick and easy to register online to vote in Georgia. Check it off your to-do list in just a few minutes here,” reads one of the organization’s ads that has received over one million impressions in the swing state.
But behind the scenes, Facebook ad library data indicate the Voter Participation Center’s ad campaign is deployed with partisan intent. The group has instructed Facebook to exclude from the reach of its ads anyone with expressed interests in 26 categories typically associated with Republican men, including the “PGA Tour,” “Indianapolis 500,” “Daytona 500,” “Tom Clancy,” “Modified Jeeps,” “Duck Dynasty,” and others.
RNC Urges Election Officials To Scrutinize Dem-Aligned Group Registering Patients To Vote in Hospitals – freebeacon.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from freebeacon.com
The Republican National Committee on Tuesday sent letters to election officials in six swing states urging them to monitor Vot-ER, the nonprofit that helps doctors register their patients to vote, for possible violations of election law, according to copies of the letters obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Addressed to secretaries of state in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada, the letters argue that Vot-ER is “weaponizing the healthcare system” for partisan ends and “threatening … election integrity” with its materials, which have been used to register patients in emergency rooms, substance abuse clinics, and even psychiatric hospitals.
“It is not difficult to imagine how a patient could feel pressured to register to vote or support a certain candidate to receive medical care,” the letters say. “The RNC is and always has been a staunch supporter of voter registration and participation, but this perversion of the doctor-patient relationship raises serious legal concerns given the laws and regulations governing that relationship and voter registration.”
Michigan Court of Appeals Rules to Remove RFK Jr. from Presidential Ballot Amid Tight Race – Hoodline
Excerpt:
Source Link
In a recent turn of events, Michigan’s Court of Appeals has decided that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name should be stricken from the state’s upcoming November presidential ballot. This ruling, delivered on Friday, countervails a prior determination from the Michigan Court of Claims which had posited that Kennedy, despite his desired withdrawal from the race, must be included on the ballot—itself a reflection of the Michigan Secretary of State’s stance.
Battleground ballots: 2024 election to test Michigan’s new voting laws – washingtonexaminer.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from www.washingtonexaminer.com
Early voting is poised to get underway in several states this month. The Washington Examiner will take a closer look at the swing states, including voting rules you need to know and key differences from prior elections. Part four of Battleground Ballots will focus on what has changed in Michigan, a key battleground state that has been key to winning the blue wall in recent cycles.
The legal framework governing how Michigan residents vote has been drastically overhauled since 2020, with November’s election representing a pressure test for the new system.
Since 2020, Michigan has introduced a raft of new voting laws after the state passed a ballot proposal in 2022 amending its constitution, according to Erica Peresman, a senior adviser to Promote the Vote, a coalition of Michigan organizations focused on voting.
Chief among the changes is that every municipality in Michigan is now required to offer early voting for at least nine consecutive days starting on the second Saturday before Election Day and ending on the Sunday before Nov. 5 for at least eight hours each day. That is in addition to no-reason absentee voting, which Michigan has had statewide since 2019.
Judge Rules Election Officials CAN’T Reject Online Voter Registrations with Electronic Signatures in Arkansas – conservativeroof.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from conservativeroof.com
Obama-appointed Judge Timothy L. Brooks has potentially paved the way for voter fraud in Arkansas.
On Thursday, Judge Brooks decided that Arkansas election officials must accept online voter registration applications signed with digital or electronic signatures for the upcoming election. This ruling overturns a previous requirement that called for handwritten signatures to verify voter authenticity…
Judge Brooks, aligning with far-left advocacy groups such as Get Loud Arkansas (GLA) and Vote.org, chose to block the rule. In his decision, Brooks argued that the “wet signature” requirement could potentially violate the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“The Court then ORDERED from the Bench that Defendants, (and their respective agents, officers, employees, and successors, and all persons acting in concert with each or any of them) were PRELIMINARILY ENJOINED from enforcing the wet signature rule AND from rejecting or refusing to accept any voter registration application on the ground that it was signed with a digital or electronic signature,” Brooks said in its ruling.
PA Dems Recruited Out-Of-State Poll Watchers, Defying Law – thefederalist.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from thefederalist.com
It was kind of weird when the Pennsylvania Department of State started a website in February specifically aimed at “combatting damaging misinformation and disinformation” about election integrity.
Weird, because, as a check and balance, the media is supposed to watchdog the government (although too often they don’t) and yet this is a government-run website telling the public that the government is doing things right. It’s akin to state-run media openly favored by socialist regimes.
Now the Republican National Committee (RNC) sent an Aug. 29 letter to the Pennsylvania Department of State asking it to add misinformation it discovered to the state website. It was an opportunity for the Department of State to let its election misinformation website shine.
The RNC noticed the Pennsylvania Democrats’ website had a recruitment ad seeking volunteers to join its “Voter Protection Team” to watch the vote. A screenshot saved by the RNC shows the website said, “Election Day poll observers must be physically present in Pennsylvania for their shift but do not necessarily have to be Pennsylvania voters.”
AZ Counties Are Failing To Take Nonctizens Off Voter Rolls – thefederalist.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from thefederalist.com
Arizona’s 15 counties are refusing to undertake required procedures to ensure foreign nationals are removed from the voter rolls, an “amended” lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.
Brought on behalf of the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and resident Yvonne Cahill, the legal challenge argues that the Grand Canyon State’s 15 election recorders “have failed to take the actions required by law to ensure that foreign citizens are removed from their voter rolls.” Plaintiffs are represented by America First Legal (AFL) and a law firm headed by former Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright.
“This lawsuit seeks to restore public trust in our State’s electoral system by holding the Defendants accountable for their failures and to ensure that the list maintenance required by the law—and common sense—is performed,” the filing reads.
Tuesday’s challenge is an “amended” version of a complaint filed against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer early last month, according to a press release from AFL regarding the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs similarly alleged that Richer “ignored” his legally mandated obligation to “ensure” the removal of noncitizens from the locality’s voter rolls. A representative from Richer’s office previously told The Federalist that, while Richer had yet to be served the suit at that point, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office “prioritizes and prides itself on maintaining accurate, up-to-date voter rolls,” and “will continue to follow the letter of the law.”
The Left Is Attempting To Take Over Local Election Offices – thefederalist.com
Go to Article
Excerpt from thefederalist.com
Democrats have been on a swing-state crusade to rid election boards of anyone who is more concerned with the fairness and accuracy of our elections than with making sure the Democrat comes out on top. The left’s strategy is predictable yet effective. Utilizing a sophisticated information campaign that includes law articles, op-eds, boots-on-the-ground activism, and large amounts of funding from a handful of elite megadonors, the crusade targets GOP candidates at the local level, as Politico recently reported.
The assault seeks to guarantee a Democrat victory regardless of the outcome. Activist groups armed with millions in dark money promote down-ballot candidates and pop-up, astroturfed organizations, all run and funded by the same entities, with the goal of unseating Republican candidates who champion election integrity. These same groups work to make election boards a toothless rubber stamp on election results, regardless of glaring irregularities or inconsistencies in the process.
Their efforts follow a well-established pattern. For years, the left covertly poured millions into district attorney races, engaging in what Politico called a “quiet overhaul of the U.S. Justice System.” The strategy was clear: Pick the prosecutor. Pick what’s prosecuted.
Dem-Run Election Board’s Mail-In Ballot Rule Breaks NC Law– thefederalist.com
Source Link
Excerpt:
Guidance on mail-in ballot envelopes issued by North Carolina’s Democrat-controlled election board violates state law, a legal challenge filed Tuesday alleges.
Brought by the Republican National Committee, North Carolina GOP, and a state resident, the lawsuit alleges that the rules put forward by the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) governing absentee ballot security envelopes contradict statutory requirements approved by the state general assembly. Individual members of the NCSBE are named as defendants in the suit.
At issue is a 2021 memo issued by the board to local election officials that plaintiffs argue “undermines the protections afforded by the General Assembly’s carefully drafted absentee-voting statutes.”
Election official turnover significant in California amid threats, misinformation – CBS News
