Voter suppresion/"stealing the election" megathread

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

aaaaaaand certified. They knew it wouldnt hold up eventually in court lol

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/nancykaffer/status/1328834950456553479?s=20
The board is deadlocked 2-2. The (Republican, obviously) chair said she’d consider certifying the results in areas besides Detroit. So brazen.

Fake News!

I've been assured that this is all just Trump being Trump and grifting, and there's no chance whatsoever that Republicans will participate in enabling him stealing office, or standing by while their fellows do so. I'm confident the overwhelming majority of Republicans will immediately denounce this and take action to make sure the results of our elections are upheld. Any moment now.

It only took three hours of Twitter attacks for them to fold on this.

Which is actually pretty heartening.

I'd prefer that we had none of these attempted-coup antics, but I'm very glad they are getting shut down.

[Non Swing Voter]

https://twitter.com/nancykaffer/status/1328834950456553479?s=20
The board is deadlocked 2-2. The (Republican, obviously) chair said she’d consider certifying the results in areas besides Detroit. So brazen.

Fake News!

I've been assured that this is all just Trump being Trump and grifting, and there's no chance whatsoever that Republicans will participate in enabling him stealing office, or standing by while their fellows do so. I'm confident the overwhelming majority of Republicans will immediately denounce this and take action to make sure the results of our elections are upheld. Any moment now.

It only took three hours of Twitter attacks for them to fold on this.

That's what happens when you get caught red handed committing crime on a national scale. 

Those 2 rats should be investigated and prosecuted for any possible crime the Michigan AG can drum up. 

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

https://twitter.com/nancykaffer/status/1328834950456553479?s=20
The board is deadlocked 2-2. The (Republican, obviously) chair said she’d consider certifying the results in areas besides Detroit. So brazen.

Fake News!

I've been assured that this is all just Trump being Trump and grifting, and there's no chance whatsoever that Republicans will participate in enabling him stealing office, or standing by while their fellows do so. I'm confident the overwhelming majority of Republicans will immediately denounce this and take action to make sure the results of our elections are upheld. Any moment now.

It only took three hours of Twitter attacks for them to fold on this.

That's what happens when you get caught red handed committing crime on a national scale. 

Those 2 rats should be investigated and prosecuted for any possible crime the Michigan AG can drum up. 

I think part of why they folded so easily is because they realized the State Board wouldn't back them up since if the two Republicans there voted against certifying those reuslts with no basis then Whitmer could just fire and replace them (she'd have to appoint Republicans as replacements but she could just pick an anti-Trump Republican like Rick Snyder) and a court could possibly hold them in contempt.

[Ferguson97]

https://twitter.com/ketk_kaci/status/1329279854311829505?s=21

[StateBoiler]

I really don't understand certain posters and the media 's hypocrisy.

 What happened in Michigan or more specifically Wayne County where Detroit is is a protest against shoddy election administration.

https://rrhelections.com/index.php/2020/11/18/political-roundup-for-november-18th-2020/

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers has voted to certify the election results after initially voting 2-2 along party lines not to do so. The dispute in question seems to stem from the absolutely atrocious bookkeeping in Detroit, with many precincts having out-of-balance tallies, i.e. having more or less total votes than ballots counted. Avid followers of the 2016 election might remember this being a thing then too, when the out-of-balance tallies were an issue when Jill Stein tried to force a recount. The board agreed to certify the election in exchange for auditing some of Detroit’s most out-of-balance precincts, but not before ripples of “REPUBLICANS ARE COUPING THE ELECTION” flooded across the twitter verse, along with a Trump tweet saluting the (initial) decision, because of course he did.

How can you on one hand argue count every vote and on the other hand argue against this? If total votes are less than ballots cast, you're literally not counting every vote. If total votes are more than ballots cast, then you are nullifying the legal vote of someone else, which means you're not really counting it.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/17/wayne-county-canvassers-deadlock-certifying-november-3-election-results/6324274002/

The board's votes came after absentee ballot poll books at 70% of Detroit's 134 absentee counting boards were found to be out of balance without explanation. The mismatches varied anywhere from one to more than four votes.

In August, canvassers found 72% of Detroit's absentee voting precincts didn't match the number of ballots cast. The imbalances between August and November are not an exact comparison since August's canvassing was based on results from 503 precincts and November's canvassing was based on 134 counting boards.

How are 70% of Detroit's absentee counting boards having inaccurate vote counts per the Detroit News possibly acceptable to anyone? Counting votes is pretty much the only job these boards have. I'll be fair, don't attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity, and if they're incompetent at their jobs, they should be fired, and never put in a position regarding election administration ever again. If it's because it's just not possible for them to conduct an election properly and accurately, that's a failure of Wayne County government failing its citizens in their constitutionally required role.

Is it going to change the result of the presidential election in Michigan? No. Is this the correct action to take? Yes. If conducting fair and open elections is the bedrock upon which democracies are based, then the only acceptable standard is 100% accuracy with zero errors in conducting the election and counting votes. It's why I have an immense amount of ridicule for election boards with out-of-date voter rolls, which are everywhere in this country because they don't do good maintenance keeping them up.

[Wiz in Wis]

I really don't understand certain posters and the media 's hypocrisy.

 What happened in Michigan or more specifically Wayne County where Detroit is is a protest against shoddy election administration.

https://rrhelections.com/index.php/2020/11/18/political-roundup-for-november-18th-2020/

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers has voted to certify the election results after initially voting 2-2 along party lines not to do so. The dispute in question seems to stem from the absolutely atrocious bookkeeping in Detroit, with many precincts having out-of-balance tallies, i.e. having more or less total votes than ballots counted. Avid followers of the 2016 election might remember this being a thing then too, when the out-of-balance tallies were an issue when Jill Stein tried to force a recount. The board agreed to certify the election in exchange for auditing some of Detroit’s most out-of-balance precincts, but not before ripples of “REPUBLICANS ARE COUPING THE ELECTION” flooded across the twitter verse, along with a Trump tweet saluting the (initial) decision, because of course he did.

How can you on one hand argue count every vote and on the other hand argue against this? If total votes are less than ballots cast, you're literally not counting every vote. If total votes are more than ballots cast, then you are nullifying the legal vote of someone else, which means you're not really counting it.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/17/wayne-county-canvassers-deadlock-certifying-november-3-election-results/6324274002/

The board's votes came after absentee ballot poll books at 70% of Detroit's 134 absentee counting boards were found to be out of balance without explanation. The mismatches varied anywhere from one to more than four votes.

In August, canvassers found 72% of Detroit's absentee voting precincts didn't match the number of ballots cast. The imbalances between August and November are not an exact comparison since August's canvassing was based on results from 503 precincts and November's canvassing was based on 134 counting boards.

How are 70% of Detroit's absentee counting boards having inaccurate vote counts per the Detroit News possibly acceptable to anyone? Counting votes is pretty much the only job these boards have. I'll be fair, don't attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity, and if they're incompetent at their jobs, they should be fired, and never put in a position regarding election administration ever again. If it's because it's just not possible for them to conduct an election properly and accurately, that's a failure of Wayne County government failing its citizens in their constitutionally required role.

Is it going to change the result of the presidential election in Michigan? No. Is this the correct action to take? Yes. If conducting fair and open elections is the bedrock upon which democracies are based, then the only acceptable standard is 100% accuracy with zero errors in conducting the election and counting votes. It's why I have an immense amount of ridicule for election boards with out-of-date voter rolls, which are everywhere in this country because they don't do good maintenance keeping them up.

Know how I know you don't work in election administration. There is no human system with millions of points of data that could ever achieve 100% perfection absent hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of workers... and even then, it would still almost certainly have flaws. No American election has ever been held to this standard. No advanced democracy operates this way. You're being purposefully obtuse.

[Splash]

https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1329447311907450882

[Wiz in Wis]

https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1329447311907450882

Good lord, this whole show is an embarrassment to the legal community.

[Ferguson97]

https://twitter.com/drewharwell/status/1329439591892475905

[Non Swing Voter]

https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1329447311907450882

Good lord, this whole show is an embarrassment to the legal community.

Yes it is.  Judges need to start sanctioning these lawyers. 

[StateBoiler]

I really don't understand certain posters and the media 's hypocrisy.

 What happened in Michigan or more specifically Wayne County where Detroit is is a protest against shoddy election administration.

https://rrhelections.com/index.php/2020/11/18/political-roundup-for-november-18th-2020/

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers has voted to certify the election results after initially voting 2-2 along party lines not to do so. The dispute in question seems to stem from the absolutely atrocious bookkeeping in Detroit, with many precincts having out-of-balance tallies, i.e. having more or less total votes than ballots counted. Avid followers of the 2016 election might remember this being a thing then too, when the out-of-balance tallies were an issue when Jill Stein tried to force a recount. The board agreed to certify the election in exchange for auditing some of Detroit’s most out-of-balance precincts, but not before ripples of “REPUBLICANS ARE COUPING THE ELECTION” flooded across the twitter verse, along with a Trump tweet saluting the (initial) decision, because of course he did.

How can you on one hand argue count every vote and on the other hand argue against this? If total votes are less than ballots cast, you're literally not counting every vote. If total votes are more than ballots cast, then you are nullifying the legal vote of someone else, which means you're not really counting it.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/17/wayne-county-canvassers-deadlock-certifying-november-3-election-results/6324274002/

The board's votes came after absentee ballot poll books at 70% of Detroit's 134 absentee counting boards were found to be out of balance without explanation. The mismatches varied anywhere from one to more than four votes.

In August, canvassers found 72% of Detroit's absentee voting precincts didn't match the number of ballots cast. The imbalances between August and November are not an exact comparison since August's canvassing was based on results from 503 precincts and November's canvassing was based on 134 counting boards.

How are 70% of Detroit's absentee counting boards having inaccurate vote counts per the Detroit News possibly acceptable to anyone? Counting votes is pretty much the only job these boards have. I'll be fair, don't attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity, and if they're incompetent at their jobs, they should be fired, and never put in a position regarding election administration ever again. If it's because it's just not possible for them to conduct an election properly and accurately, that's a failure of Wayne County government failing its citizens in their constitutionally required role.

Is it going to change the result of the presidential election in Michigan? No. Is this the correct action to take? Yes. If conducting fair and open elections is the bedrock upon which democracies are based, then the only acceptable standard is 100% accuracy with zero errors in conducting the election and counting votes. It's why I have an immense amount of ridicule for election boards with out-of-date voter rolls, which are everywhere in this country because they don't do good maintenance keeping them up.

Know how I know you don't work in election administration. There is no human system with millions of points of data that could ever achieve 100% perfection absent hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of workers... and even then, it would still almost certainly have flaws.

When presented with mistakes and errors you FIX THE MISTAKES AND ERRORS, not say "it's wrong, doesn't matter". I'm an engineer and I'm almost required to be 100% correct for the sake of my company and the government who is my customer. Anyone when presented with evidence that something is wrong and does not fix it is in my opinion sufficient grounds for being fired. This isn't Trump. This is the Detroit News saying 70% of all the boards are wrong. Are you calling them fake news?

Forget the presidential election for a second. What about every other election on the ballot down to Soil & Water Commissioner or City Council or School Board, and every other time that these errors occurred before this election they shrugged their shoulders on them.

No one sit and lie to me about "count every vote" and yet you find nothing wrong with this bullsh**t, because it's evidence of votes not being counted. It's a demonstration you are a hypocrite.

[Ferguson97]

https://twitter.com/amyegardner/status/1329468989983125505

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/amyegardner/status/1329468989983125505

More detail:
Top GOP state lawmakers set to visit White House amid election fight

The top two leaders in the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature are expected to visit the White House Friday, according to a source with knowledge of the plans.

The visits by Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, will come as a legal fight plays out in the battleground state with President Donald Trump attempting to challenge the results of the Nov. 3 election.

Biden is in the lead, Chatfield acknowledged Wednesday.

"But President Trump is still the president of the United States and he's not conceded this election. And my job is to investigate reports of fraud and reports of irregularities," Chatfield said. "That's what we are going to do. When the time comes for there to be a concession, then I am sure that will happen. ... But we're not there right now."

I will also bet that there will be another lawsuit filed by Trump's criminal enablers demanding that the entire Michigan vote be negated because, in their view, "Wayne county results are not certified".

[Ferguson97]

https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1329490975266398210

This is the official GOP account....

[BlueSwan]

https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1329490975266398210

This is the official GOP account....

If anyone was still doubting that the GOP is actually pursuing a civil war here.

[Hammy]

https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1329490975266398210

This is the official GOP account....

If anyone was still doubting that the GOP is actually pursuing a civil war here.

People who keep thinking a civil war will result don't know what a war actually is.

[WV222]

https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1329549873516048387

Sidney Powell now calling for all battleground states to be overturned and those state legislatures should their electors to Trump.

[Mr. Illini]

Listened to the entire press conference while working today. It was one of the most shameful things I've watched in a long time and a blatant attack on our democracy.

[Splash]

https://twitter.com/mateagold/status/1329573937995542536

[BudgieForce]

https://twitter.com/mateagold/status/1329573937995542536

We knew Shinkle would probably vote against certification. The other republican is a Rick Snyder appointment though, so I hope he's atleast somewhat less Trumpy.

Edit: Although it doesn't say that he will vote against certification. And the SoS has promised to do an audit. The problem is, she doesn't have the power to perform an audit until after certification.

[Hammy]

https://twitter.com/mateagold/status/1329573937995542536

We knew Shinkle would probably vote against certification. The other republican is a Rick Snyder appointment though, so I hope he's atleast somewhat less Trumpy.

Sounds like MI is going down the "no certification, send to house/let state legislature decide" route.

[BudgieForce]

https://twitter.com/mateagold/status/1329573937995542536

We knew Shinkle would probably vote against certification. The other republican is a Rick Snyder appointment though, so I hope he's atleast somewhat less Trumpy.

Sounds like MI is going down the "no certification, send to house/let state legislature decide" route.

Probably not. There are three ways this can go before the state legislature could possibly get involved.

Litigation - Force the state board to certify or face consequences.

Executive power - Whitmer has the authority to remove a State board member and replace them with a temporary pick.

Secretary of State - The Bureau of Elections, run by the SoS, can certify.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If this is an issue Whitmer can just remove him. She'd have to replace him with a Republican but she could just choose an anti-Trump one like Rick Snyder, and then no problem.

[HisGrace]

https://twitter.com/mateagold/status/1329573937995542536

We knew Shinkle would probably vote against certification. The other republican is a Rick Snyder appointment though, so I hope he's atleast somewhat less Trumpy.

Sounds like MI is going down the "no certification, send to house/let state legislature decide" route.

Probably not. There are three ways this can go before the state legislature could possibly get involved.

Litigation - Force the state board to certify or face consequences.

Executive power - Whitmer has the authority to remove a State board member and replace them with a temporary pick.

Secretary of State - The Bureau of Elections, run by the SoS, can certify.

It's a Dem SOS, they should just do this immediately if these clowns pull any crap. There's a deadline to certify and there is absolutely no reason not to outside of baseless moon landing tier conspiracy theories on Twitter.