Voter suppresion/"stealing the election" megathread

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Now Michael Flynn has called for a (real) coup. I wonder if Trump has already tried to get military support for such a move and was told to pound sand.

With a fresh presidential pardon still warm, former national security advisor Michael Flynn has called on Donald Trump to suspend the constitution and declare martial law for the military to run a new election.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/michael-flynn-suspend-constitution-martial-law-trump-reelection-b1765467.html

This conduct is utterly unacceptable in a democracy. I don't know enough of the relevant law to know if it's technically criminal or not, but it - like #DiaperDon'sravings - should be swiftly met with universal condemnation. Democrats continuing to politely push back while Republicans are mostly silent is inadequate. Our democracy is sick, and our Republic is in danger.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

More revealing than the headline, or that #DiaperDon's campaign/administration has been using liaisons as commissars,  is that the campaign/administration is threatening their own political appointees to keep them from fleeing.

Trump aide banned from Justice after trying to get case info

The Trump administration has been working to have liaisons report directly to the White House instead of the agencies where they work. Across the administration, there have been concerns that the liaisons were undercutting the work not just of career professionals but also of Trump’s own political appointees.

Shortly after the election, the presidential personnel office had also instructed the liaisons to fire any political appointees who were looking for jobs while Trump refused to accept the election results. Trump’s term ends at noon on Jan. 20. Several thousand political appointees across the government will see their jobs end by that date.

The White House personnel office has been headed by former Trump personal assistant John McEntee, who has renewed Trump’s push to rid the administration of those deemed “disloyal” to the president.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1334870198860525573

This is what happens when you're both so insane and so busy grifting that you don't hire competent paralegals.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1335225905614974982

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Trump pressured Georgia governor in call to help overturn Biden's win in state

President Donald Trump on Saturday called Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, pushing him to convince state legislators to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's win in the state.

Trump asked Kemp to call a special session and convince state legislators to select their own electors that would support him, according to a source familiar with the conversation. He also asked the Republican governor to order an audit of absentee ballot signatures.

Kemp explained that he did not have this authority and denied the request, the source said.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/05/politics/trump-georgia-brian-kemp-phone-call/index.html

Very illegal, but as with everything else, Trump will most likely face no consequences even once out of office.

At this point, the latter part is the scariest part of this whole corrosive affair. You're almost certainly right that he'll face no legal consequences for his behavior from November through January. (He's in legal jeopardy from other things he's done, but that's not the same.) And that is a terribly destructive precedent to set.

Trump's time in the political limelight has often made me think of the slow fall of Republican Rome, and I'm not alone. What Trump is doing now echoes what Sulla did to the Republican - breaking norms. While Sulla was competent and succeeded, and Trump is incompetent and appears to be failing, what they share is that both destroyed traditions that protected their respective (imperfect) representative governments and got away with it. It took about a generation to go from Sulla's first match on Rome (88 BC) to Caesar crossing the Rubicon (49 BC) and beginning the end of the Roman Republic. 

Once we have the precedent that there are no consequences for ignoring the Constitution (already done), ignoring the law (already done) and trying to seize power (currently in process), then it's just a matter of time until with have a dictatorship. While I hope that the incoming Biden Administration can somehow bring Trump and his many enablers to justice, I'm skeptical that they will. And the cost of failing to do so will be the end of our Republic, probably well within my lifetime.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/bradheath/status/1335423543711051776

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1335663612954898434

A living cartoon quoting a cartoonist. How very meta.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1335713485020401671

But, if that were true, wouldn't it mean that all the Republicans wins a month ago are also the result of fraudulent elections? Trump's she's-not-his-lawyer (who was his lawyer until right before he pardoned her client) just made this claim (which he then re-tweeted):

https://mobile.twitter.com/Rothbard1776/status/1335394721615720449

I see. It's only "fraud" when Republicans lose.

Democratic leadership needs to make it clear to Republicans that either they publicly distance themselves from this madness, or everything possible lawful act short of violence is going to be used to shut down the GOP nationally for the next two years (and hopefully forever).

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1335766211687313409

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/mateagold/status/1336110519997116416

The fact that he's making all these private calls tells me it's not just about grifting (though that's part of it).  I actually think in Trump's tiny little brain he genuinely believes he can overturn this election.  This makes his ongoing defeat all the more satisfying.  He's terrified of what's gonna happen in NY.

Not just New York. Without the Presidency to abuse to his personal benefit, Deutsche Bank is planning to forclose on him. And who knows what he's promised and failed to deliver to his owners like Putin and MBS.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/conchitaleef/status/1336074550841233408

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues to overturn election results in 4 states Trump lost

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed an eleventh-hour suit in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn election results in four battleground states by alleging pandemic-related election law changes that were not approved by state legislatures were unconstitutional.

The suit targets Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all states that were won by President-elect Joe Biden. Paxton, a Republican, alleges that changes made to election policies by “executive fiat or friendly lawsuits,” such as expansions of mail voting, opened the door to voter fraud.

Paxton is asking the Supreme Court to postpone the Dec. 14 presidential elector certification deadline to allow voter fraud investigations to be completed, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr said last week that the Justice Department’s investigation into claims of voter fraud had uncovered nothing that “could have effected a different outcome in the election.”

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/heatherscope/status/1336355324505296899

Treasonous stunts like this are why I'm not going to rest easy until Biden takes office.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1336862836501458944

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https://twitter.com/FrankLuntz/status/1336711592700825600

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https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/1337744141208399872

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1337939343646871552

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Keep in mind that even if the WI Supreme Court rules with Trump, Biden still gets 296 EV’s

The big benefit for #DiaperDon with a victory in Wisconsin is that he can leverage a reversal of the result there as "proof" that the entire election was rigged against him.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Keep in mind that even if the WI Supreme Court rules with Trump, Biden still gets 296 EV’s

They won't. The bigger question is will they rule in time for the electors to vote.

Best bet is a ruling first thing tomorrow. I think they are going to make changes, perhaps substantial to future elections which is why the opinion is taking some time. Obviously last months results are final.

It seems plausible that some election practices in WI this year, like "Democracy in the Park" and staff filling in missing address information on absentee ballots, are legally dubious. I'm not an expert on it and that's a legitimate thing for the WI Supreme Court to decide.

Obviously the Republicans/Trump don't deserve to have votes thrown out post-election to turn a loss into a win, and that's the point of the doctrine of laches. But clarifying for future elections what practices are allowed under the law and what practices are not, that seems like a reasonable thing for the court to do.

It's plausible that they're legally dubious, yes. But I just want to make it clear that they do appear to be in accordance with official Wisconsin election process. For example:

https://elections.wi.gov/node/7190

On Election Day, if a voter needs to correct information on the absentee certificate envelope, they and/or their original witness, depending on what the error is, must appear at the polling place or central count. This would be due to missing voter information, missing voter signature, or missing witness signature. The witness can appear without the voter to add their signature or address. Please note that the clerk should attempt to resolve any missing witness address information prior to Election Day if possible, and this can be done through reliable information (personal knowledge, voter registration information, through a phone call with the voter or witness). The witness does not need to appear to add a missing address.

And it's not a new process, either:

“The witness can appear without the voter to add their signature or address,” the memo states. “Please note that the clerk should attempt to resolve any missing witness address information prior to Election Day if possible, and this can be done through reliable information (personal knowledge, voter registration information, through a phone call with the voter or witness). The witness does not need to appear to add a missing address.”

The commission’s public information officer, Reid Magney, said this guidance has been in place since October 2016 and was brought forward that year by Republicans on the commission. Indeed, an Oct. 18, 2016, memo states that clerks are required to “take corrective actions in an attempt to remedy a witness address error.”

“The guidance has been in effect for 11 statewide elections, including the 2016 presidential and presidential recount, and no one has objected to it until now,” he said.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

So what happens if Mo Brooks decides to try and push through with his plan for Congress to not certify the results? I'm assuming nothing and he ends up suitably humiliated?

Unless he can get a senator to go along with him, absolutely nothing. If he can get a senator to join him (one of the usual crew of deplorables - Graham, Cruz, Paul - seems at least plausible) then the whole process has to be paused while the joint session splits and votes. That process changes nothing unless House and Senate both reject a Certificate of Vote (which isn't going to happen), so it becomes nothing but a time-consuming annoyance and an excuse for #DiaperDon to tweet more BS.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Michigan House, Senate close offices due to threats ahead of electors' meeting

Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said Sunday night the Senate closed its offices based on "recommendations from law enforcement." The decision was not based on anticipated protests but on "credible threats of violence," McCann said.

"Due to safety and security concerns, the Senate and all Senate spaces in downtown Lansing will be closed Monday, December 14," the Senate notification said. "The Capitol, Binsfeld Office Building, and Senate offices within Boji Tower will be closed."

The notification to House staffers said, "(O)nly those needed for the Electoral College will be permitted in the Capitol Building."

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://mobile.twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1338507002549587968

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1339003051047317506

Read the linked article.  I really believe these people are literally insane.  There is no other explanation.

They have rejected a consensus worldview based on facts, where our understanding of the world changes and evolves with increasing knowledge. Instead they have chosen to take refuge in a per-Enlightenment world of absolute belief. (Not specifically religious belief.) And rather than suffer cognitive dissonance, they will kill or die for their beliefs. Republicans are in the process of rejecting the entire modern post-Wesphalian world. It's horrifying to watch, like a real-world zombie apocalypse.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1339007344617918471

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/bradheath/status/1339011268271869953