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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#342051: Dec 2nd 2020 at 1:01:19 PM

Washington Post: Iowa Democrat wants U.S. House to review results of race she lost by six votes

A Democratic House candidate in Iowa is challenging the results of a race she lost by six votes, appealing directly to the U.S. House for its review.

Rita Hart, a former Iowa state senator, says a recount that narrowed Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks's lead from 47 votes to just six left many legally cast ballots uncounted, including from active-duty military members overseas.

"We all watched #IA02 close from 47 votes to 6, but there are still ballots that haven't been counted," Hart tweeted. "The only way to ensure all Iowans' votes are counted is a full examination of this election by the U.S. House that will consider every ballot cast."

The district is currently represented by Democrat Rep. David Loebsack, who chose not to run for reelection.

Iowa certified Miller-Meeks the winner Monday, but under the Federal Contested Elections Act, Hart intends to file a petition to the House Administration Committee asking that it review all the votes cast, including those left out in the state’s recount.

The request from Hart, whose razor-thin loss marks the closest congressional election since 1984, will at minimum allow her to present her case to the House committee. The panel can then decide whether to conduct its own investigation and, after its conclusion, make a recommendation to the full House about who should fill the seat.

Democrats hold a slim majority in the House, which is all it would take to override the state's certification of Miller-Meeks as the winner and award Hart the seat.

As someone who's been following all the updates on IA-2, and was really hoping Hart would pull it off, this is an awful idea. Hart can and should go to the courts, but asking the Democratic-controlled House to step in looks really bad from a democracy perspective. Right now, Republicans are casting doubt on the state-certification process and looking for ways to circumvent it. This would set a terrible precedent.

Edited by nova92 on Dec 2nd 2020 at 1:01:52 AM

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#342052: Dec 2nd 2020 at 1:06:53 PM

Speaking of pets, Biden broke his foot while playing with his dog.

Guy is taking "break a leg" a little too literally.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#342053: Dec 2nd 2020 at 1:11:34 PM

[up][up]

Agreed - with that narrow a margin, and that big a shift, another recount is very much warranted.

As for the DoT decision - I can't exactly say I'm shocked, as people have tried claiming that their untrained pets are "emotional support animals" just to get them in the flight with them and save some money. Some animals may be fine with that, but my cat, for example, is horrible with other people, and doubly so in an unfamiliar environment - but I'm aware of that fact and take pains to avoid that kind of situation. Others, however, may not be.

That said, I could easily see a revision of having it be restricted to trained/certified animals only (and explicitly calling out the Diploma Mills that have sprung up to grant "certification" to completely untrained pets in the bargain).

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#342054: Dec 2nd 2020 at 1:38:50 PM

Romance the Runoff. Prominent Romance authors are joining together to raise funds for Ossoff and Warnock in Georgia.

Not the first genre I'd expect to get politically active.

Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#342055: Dec 2nd 2020 at 1:41:26 PM

BOY LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT CHUCK TINGLE

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#342056: Dec 2nd 2020 at 2:04:30 PM

[up][up] Courtney Milan and Alyssa Cole have, IIRC, both been very active in promoting social justice/representation in the Romance novel industry (there was a dustup in RWA earlier this year, too.). And Stacey Abrams has written romance books before.

clemont107 Mega Togekiss?! from Land of Missed Opportunities (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Mega Togekiss?!
#342057: Dec 2nd 2020 at 2:08:33 PM

[up][up][up]Now the Trumpers are gonna scream "But Trump has written romance novels too! Look at 'The Art of the Deal!'"

[down]Of course he didn't. But many of the Trumpers erroneously believe he did all by himself.

Edited by clemont107 on Dec 2nd 2020 at 5:21:29 AM

"Wow, no Mega Togekiss in Legends Z-A. Or any non-Froslass new Sinnoh Mega Evolutions. Round of applause, everybody." - Dawn
Blueace Surrounded by weirdoes from The End Of the World Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Surrounded by weirdoes
#342058: Dec 2nd 2020 at 2:11:23 PM

He didn't even write that one.

Wake me up at your own risk.
TotemicHero No longer a forum herald from the next level Since: Dec, 2009
No longer a forum herald
#342059: Dec 2nd 2020 at 2:30:59 PM

Here's a Twitter thread (from a Reuters reporter) about what is happening in Georgia today. Specifically, Trump's cronies did an Atlanta press conference going after "non-loyal" Republicans in the state (including "lock him up" chanting aimed at Governor Kemp) as well as making very clear they will settle for nothing less than keeping Biden out of the White House.

Of particular note is the website registration of sidneypowellforpresident.com, dated to November 22nd, along with the proposal at the conference that she run in 2024. Someone is clearly betting that Trump won't be around/available to run by then...

Edited by TotemicHero on Dec 2nd 2020 at 5:34:33 AM

Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.)
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#342060: Dec 2nd 2020 at 3:15:05 PM

[up]Ah Sidney Powell is part of the DEEP STATE!!!1!![lol] I wonder if these Alt-Right folks will later in life,(even if middle aged now) at least when they are eldery admit they made a mistake supporting Mr Orange Tinyhands?

Steven (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#342061: Dec 2nd 2020 at 3:16:08 PM

If some COVIDIOTS can deny that they have COVID even as they're dying from it, then I am sure the Orange's supporters will stand behind him until their last breath.

Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.
Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#342062: Dec 2nd 2020 at 3:27:16 PM

[up]Too bad their last breath came from dying of Covid.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#342063: Dec 2nd 2020 at 4:15:34 PM

Need some help verifying something. My father posted a video about a USPS worker in Pennsylvania claiming there are over 288,000 lost ballots that were undeliverable. In my own attempts to verify this, the only major source was Fox News (where the video came from). This being the case, and not seeing it mentioned elsewhere when this would clearly be a big deal, I'm inclined to be skeptical as a matter of principle.

To offer an idea of what I'm talking about:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/whistleblowers-post-office-labeled-trump-mail-undeliverable-388-000-ballots-backdated-disappear/ar-BB1bxlCR?ocid=SautMedia

Going by the page I think it's taking the story from the Washington Examiner.

    The Story in Full: 
Whistleblowers: Post Office labeled Trump mail ‘Undeliverable,’ 388,000 ballots backdated, ‘disappear’

Several whistleblowers on Tuesday cast new uncertainty on the 2020 election process, claiming up to 288,000 ballots disappeared, another 100,000 were improperly backdated and mail promoting President Trump was junked while mail for Joe Biden was delivered.

In the most extraordinary report, a U.S. Postal Service contractor said his trailer full of 144,000-288,000 completed mail-in ballots, which he drove between New York and Pennsylvania, disappeared after he delivered it to a Lancaster, Pa. depot.

Another claimed that ballots were backdated by postal workers and in Traverse City, Mich., Trump campaign mail was put in bins labeled “Undeliverable Bulk Business Mail” while the same type of mail for Joe Biden was ordered to be delivered on time.

And a third raised new issues about the integrity of Dominion voting machines.

The claims were unveiled by the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society which has mounted an independent investigation of voting and voter registration in several key battleground states. It recently made headlines by revealing that the FBI has requested the findings of its Voter Integrity Project.

''[At this point there's a link to a tweet by Phillip Kline ( https://twitter.com/PhillDKline/status/1333080786564681735 ) that reads "After learning that hundreds of thousands of ballots are potentially fraudulent- The FBI has now requested to look at our data.

See statement below:" followed by a photo of said statement)''

The project has uncovered potential flaws and fraud in ballots and voter registration of several states that have certified the election counts in favor of Biden.

In today’s release, and in a press conference, the group said that whistleblowers found that election officials in mostly Democratic areas manipulated ballots and campaign mail, potentially influencing the outcome.

“The whistleblower accounts released today, detail the failure of election officials in blue jurisdictions to maintain ballot chain of custody, allowing for the potential infusion of fraudulent ballots. These accounts include photographs of individuals improperly accessing voting machines and a detailed eyewitness account of the breaking of sealed boxes of ballot jump drives and commingling of those jump drives with others,” said the legal outfit.

It added, “The accounts also reveal multi-state illegal efforts by USPS workers to influence the election in at least three of six swing states. Details include potentially hundreds of thousands of completed absentee ballots being transported across three state lines, and a trailer filled with ballots disappearing in Pennsylvania.”

In previewing today’s whistleblower accounts, the Amistad Project said:

Postal subcontractor Jesse Morgan on October 21 moved 144,000-288,000 completed mail-in ballots from Bethpage, N.Y. to Lancaster, PA where his trailer holding the ballots disappears.

Postal subcontractor Nathan Pease is told by two separate postal workers on two separate occasions that the USPS in Wisconsin was gathering over 100,000 ballots on the morning of Nov. 4 to backdate the ballots so that the ballots would be counted even if they arrived after the statutory deadline.

Computer expert Gregory Stenstrom of Pennsylvania witnessed a vendor of Dominion machines and local election officials downloaded and updating counting machines in violation of election system protocol and the comingling of machine jump drives in violation of election protocols and rendering audits impossible without direct forensic access to the machines.

Postal workers in Traverse City, Mich.; Coraopolis, Pa; Erie, Pa; and Elkins Park, Pa., indicate widespread malfeasance in the postal service including backdating ballots, ordering that Trump mail be interdicted to be placed in the ‘Undeliverable Bulk Business Mail’ bin, and emphasizing that Biden mail be delivered on time.

I'm not familiar with the Amistad Project or the Thomas More Society, and this story is relatively recent at just a few days old.

Here's the Fox News version if anyone wants to see it: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/whistleblowers-postal-service-threw-out-backdated-ballots-election-trump

    The Story in Full 
Whistleblowers claiming USPS threw out, backdated ballots before election The claims were announced on the same day the Justice Department said they have found no proof of widespread voter fraud.
A conservative law firm says that several whistleblowers from the United States Postal Service have come forward, alleging that thousands of ballots in some states were backdated, tampered with, or tossed out ahead of the 2020 election, to the disservice of President Trump, despite the Justice Department announcing Tuesday it has found no proof of widespread voter fraud.

The Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society, which has forged ahead with an independent investigation of alleged voter fraud in several key battleground states that Trump lost, has claimed that the FBI asked them to turn over their findings to their Los Angeles Field Office.

The FBI told Fox News that it's their "standard practice to neither confirm nor deny the existence of investigations. As such, we will decline further comment."

On Tuesday, the Amistad Project said that multiple "whistleblowers" lobbed serious accusations of "multi-state illegal efforts by USPS workers to influence the election in at least three of six swing states."

"Details include potentially hundreds of thousands of completed absentee ballots being transported across three state lines, and a trailer filled with ballots disappearing in Pennsylvania,” the group said.

One subcontractor alleged that over 100,000 ballots were improperly backdated on the day after the election so that they would be counted in Wisconsin, while another said they witnessed a vendor of Dominion machines and election officials in Pennsylvania tampering with voter machines.

The claims bear similarities to debunked lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, alleging voter fraud in the presidential election.

Attorneys for Trump have alleged, among other things, that Republicans were denied the opportunity to observe the canvassing process, with Trump claiming they have "hundreds and hundreds of affidavits" of witnesses' personal stories to back their argument up.

However, the so-called proof has not been presented during numerous court hearings, with judges repeatedly ruling against the Trump campaign in most of those states.

On Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr, put a pin in Trump's declaration of widespread voter fraud as well, telling the Associated Press in an interview that U.S. attorneys and FBI officials have been working to follow up on specific complaints and information they have received, but have not uncovered enough evidence that would change the outcome of the election.

“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election," Barr told The Associated Press.

Edited by sgamer82 on Dec 2nd 2020 at 4:16:59 AM

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#342064: Dec 2nd 2020 at 4:39:20 PM

The Fox News story says partway through that none of the 'evidence' of these alleged whistleblowers has been offered in court. They claim to have photos but those haven't been shown either.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#342065: Dec 2nd 2020 at 4:47:26 PM

Another factor in my thinking. If there was evidence of something, thirty-plus lawsuits actively looking for something to present in court should have found it.

fredhot16 Don't want to leave but cannot pretend from Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Too sexy for my shirt
Don't want to leave but cannot pretend
#342066: Dec 2nd 2020 at 4:48:27 PM

If there was evidence, why would there be a hotline asking for people to provide evidence?

Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#342067: Dec 2nd 2020 at 4:57:13 PM

There's definitely 300K lost ballots.

They were removed by Dejoy as a way to benefit Donald Trump.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-dejoy-judge-ballots-20201104-lxnioush3ralffouaifa5zfome-story.html

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Dec 2nd 2020 at 4:57:53 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#342068: Dec 2nd 2020 at 5:00:05 PM

[up][up] That's faulty logic, even if there was evidence, you might still want a hotline for gathering more. The hotline is not the suspicious part here.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#342069: Dec 2nd 2020 at 5:05:11 PM

[up][up] It's not quite that simple. Washington Post

The directive came after the Postal Service disclosed that more than 300,000 ballots nationwide could not be traced. Those ballots received entry bar code scans at processing facilities, but not exit scans. The agency said the likelihood of that many ballots being misplaced was very low; mail clerks had been ordered to sort ballots by hand in many locations, and items that were pulled out for expedited delivery were not given an exit scan.

"We know yesterday that if the sweeps were doing their job, mail that was identified as ballots and were in the system should have been pulled out and delivered, and it may be that affects what we see as the scores," said Allison Zieve, an attorney representing the NAACP, which brought the lawsuit against the Postal Service with other civil and voting rights groups. "The problem is, in part because of the timing and in part because they haven't given us all the information we asked for, it's hard to know whether the numbers we saw today - the low scores for example in Atlanta and Central Pennsylvania - it's hard to assess how big a problem that is."

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#342070: Dec 2nd 2020 at 5:59:24 PM

I was reading about Trump's and Biden's ratings, and I was wondering, since ratings have been so polarized the past four years, will that mean Biden will effectively have a ratings ceiling around 55 percent or so? Or will ratings go back to being more flexible?

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#342071: Dec 2nd 2020 at 6:18:33 PM

He’s liable to have a ceiling, it could be above Obama’s (because Biden is white), under Obama’s (because people are even more polarised) or around the same (the two factors balancing each other out).

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#342072: Dec 2nd 2020 at 6:39:34 PM

The NRA is on its last legs but that doesn't mean its devotion to Right Wing extremism is vanishing. Here's a very interesting article chronicling how the NRA overspending and infighting destroyed the organization.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/12/a-more-extreme-gun-rights-movement-is-emerging-in-the-nras-wake/

Oliver North: I'm going to blackmail you into making me Chairman.

Chairman: All of my board voted to keep me in! They owe me! What are you going to do?

Oliver North: Release the blackmail information?

Chairman: [shocked pikachu face]

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Dec 2nd 2020 at 6:40:32 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Blueace Surrounded by weirdoes from The End Of the World Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Surrounded by weirdoes
#342073: Dec 2nd 2020 at 6:41:19 PM

Always fun to see idiots self destructing.

Wake me up at your own risk.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#342074: Dec 2nd 2020 at 6:46:55 PM

I don't think they understood how blackmail works.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#342075: Dec 2nd 2020 at 6:47:43 PM

I'm leaning toward a higher ceiling. I don't see Fox being a 24-hour hate network for Biden like it was for Obama.


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