Category: 2020 Election

Here’s one way Trump could try to steal the election, voting experts say

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There’s a plausible way that independent voting experts worry President Trump could try to steal the election: by blocking the counting of mail-in ballots.

Democrats are much more supportive of voting by mail than Republicans, according to recentpolls. That’s partly because Trump has falsely smeared mail-in voting as subject to widespread fraud.

Election officials are expecting an enormous increase in voting by mail — including in the Washington region — because people are afraid to go to the polls during a pandemic. It takes longer to count mail-in ballots than those cast in person. Continue reading.

‘Hidden’ Trump Voters Exist. But How Much Impact Will They Have?

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Republicans insist that millions of Americans want to vote for Trump but won’t admit it. Polling experts tell a different story.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — It wasn’t the most obvious spot for a flag that people usually buy to make a big statement. But there it was, peeking out from the inside wall of a garage, the white “Trump 2020” lettering just visible from the street in this suburban Charlotte neighborhood.

From the front porch, Tiffany Blythe, a stay-at-home mom, said that she and many of the people she knows would be voting for Donald Trump in November — but that many of them were nervous talking about it. And that hesitation is why Ms. Blythe doesn’t trust the polls that are now forecasting losses this fall for Mr. Trump and other Republicans in North Carolina and beyond.

“I’m not buying it,” Ms. Blythe said. “There are a lot of silent voters, and more will come out before the election. I think a lot of states are turning red from blue, but you don’t hear about that in the media.” Continue reading.

The White House says USPS isn’t removing mail-sorting machines. Postal workers say it is.

Mark Meadows denied reports that hundreds of mail-sorting machines are being taken offline as part of a new initiative.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said in an interview on Sunday that US Postal Service mail-sorting machines will not be taken offline between now and Election Day — a statement at odds with reports that the Postal Service is decommissioning 10 percent of its machines this year under a new policy. 

The way Meadows made the claim — by denying they were being removed in the first place, and making questionable claims in response to an on-air fact-check by CNN’s Jake Tapper — left it unclear if he was actually pledging a reversal of the ongoing decommissioning of machines.

Some postal workers say the decommissioning of the machines — some of which would be sorting mail-in ballots — could hamstring the Postal Service’s ability to handle an unprecedented surge of absentee ballots in November’s election and could contribute to the possibility of millions of voters being disenfranchised by an overwhelmed postal system.

Mark Meadows claims lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud is somehow the ‘definition of fraud’

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On CNN’s State of the Union, host Jake Tapper talked to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about the Trump administration’s latest favorite talking point: voter fraud. Specifically, voter fraud via voting by mail. In this case, Meadows came out swinging against the notion that states should send ballots to all registered voters. In perhaps the most mind-blowing exchange, Tapper (accurately) pointed out that there is no proof of “widespread voter fraud,” and Meadows said, “there’s no evidence that there’s not, either.” Then, Meadows added: “That’s the definition of fraud, Jake.”

How did we get there? Let’s check out the now-viral clip below.

While already talking about voter fraud, Tapper asked Meadows to get specific, using voting by mail in Florida versus Pennsylvania as examples, as Trump, as well as First Lady Melania Trump, requested their absentee ballots to vote in Florida just last week. In fact, Trump even voted absentee for Florida’s March primary. Continue reading.

Here’s how to fight back against Trump’s destruction of the Post Office

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Back in 2017, the Republican National Committeeannounced four finance chairmen. One of those was Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn, since forced to resign under allegations of sexual misconduct. The next was Elliot Broidy, who told a foreign government he could get the Justice Department to drop a graft investigation—if he was paid $75 million. Number three was some guy named Michael Cohen who … has a new book, so that’s cool. The last of the four was Louis DeJoy, top Republican fundraiser and current postmaster general engaged in sinking the service through blatant sabotage.

With Trump refusing to even consider a bill that would provide necessary funding, and DeJoy meeting with Republican leaders to give them both an assurance that the Post Office won’t be prepared to handle the election, as well as smoothing the road for the old Republican dream of privatizing a government service guaranteed by the Constitution, it may seem like there’s little that can be done, especially considering the ticking clock between now and Election Day. But there are ways to turn up the heat and turn this problem around. Continue reading.

State officials rush to shore up confidence in Nov. 3 election as voters express new fears about mail voting

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President Trump’s unprecedented attacks on the U.S. Postal Service amid widespread mail delays across the country are shaking voters’ faith that their ballots will be counted, prompting a rush among federal, state and local officials to protect the integrity of the Nov. 3 election.

Thousands of voters have called government offices in recent days to ask whether it is still safe to mail their ballots, according to officials across the country. Attorneys general from at least six states are huddling to discuss possible lawsuits against the administration to block it from reducing mail service between now and the election, several told The Washington Post. State leaders are scrambling to see whether they can change rules to give voters more options, and Democrats are planning a massive public education campaign to shore up trust in the vote and the Postal Service.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday announced that she was calling the House back early from its summer recess to vote on legislation later this week that would block changes to Postal Service operations. House Democrats on Sunday also announced plans for an emergency hearing on mail delays later this month. Continue reading.

How Trump’s condescending pitch to ‘suburban housewives’ blew up in his face in spectacular fashion: report

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According to a report from the Daily Beast, Donald Trump’s attempts to gain back voters in the suburbs — particularly women — has not only failed but has created a movement among the women the president condescendingly calls “suburban housewives” to see that he is defeated in November.

As the Beast’s Emily Shugerman explains, Donald Trump has a woman voter problem and he has been trying to make inroads in the suburbs by using racist dog-whistling to make a connection with what he undoubtedly only sees as white moms. And while his appeal seems to have fallen on deaf ears– if the polls are to be believed — his pandering has also created a backlash.

“If you search ‘suburban housewives’ on Facebook—between the pages dedicated to gossiping about the Real Housewives reality shows and one called ‘A group where we pretend to be suburban PTA housewives’ —you will now find at least eight groups dedicated to overthrowing Trump,” Shugerman reports. “The group descriptions and membership varies, but the message is the same: Trump cannot count on suburban women to pull him over the line this November.” Continue reading.

House Oversight Committee calls for ‘urgent’ hearing with postmaster general

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The House Oversight and Reform Committee is calling for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to testify at an “urgent” congressional hearing later this month amid growing concerns about whether cost-cutting measures will leave the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) ill-equipped to handle a rise in mail-in voting. 

“Over the past several weeks, there have been startling new revelations about the scope and gravity of operational changes you are implementing at hundreds of postal facilities without consulting adequately with Congress, the Postal Regulatory Commission, or the Board of Governors,” the committee’s chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), wrote in a letter on Sunday to DeJoy, who was appointed to his post in May.

“Your testimony is particularly urgent given the troubling influx of reports of widespread delays at postal facilities across the country — as well as President Trump’s explicit admission last week that he has been blocking critical coronavirus funding for the Postal Service in order to impair mail-in voting efforts for the upcoming elections in November,” Maloney added. Continue reading.

**ICYMI** Minnesota Leaders Call Out Trump’s Divisive Policies as He Visits Minnesota

ST. PAUL – Ahead of President Trump’s Minnesota visit today, DFL Party leaders held a press call slamming Trump’s failed response to the coronavirus pandemic, his divisive rhetoric, and the harmful impacts of his policies on Minnesotans. Featured on the call were DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, State Senator Nick Frentz, State Senate candidate Lindsey Port, John Steigauf of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and Gandhi Mahal restaurant owner Ruhel Islam. In addition, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan issued statements this morning in response to the President’s stop in Mankato.

Full audio from the call here. 

Excerpts from the call

Attorney General Keith Ellison: “We are going to be the fairest, most just, most inclusive, most environmentally responsible state we can possibly be. That is what Minnesotsans are stepping up to demonstrate right now, and we’re going to demonstrate it with great vigor and passion as Donald Trump comes to Minnesota. As Donald Trump comes to Minnesota, he thinks he’s going to divide us. He won’t. He’s going to unite us. He thinks he’s going to encourage people to believe that their neighbors are their biggest problem, as opposed to him. He thinks that he’s going to make sure he rallies people on their fears and on their lowest impulses, but what he’s really going to do is inspire us to assert the best of what we’re all about.”

Continue reading “**ICYMI** Minnesota Leaders Call Out Trump’s Divisive Policies as He Visits Minnesota”

House accelerates oversight of Postal Service as uproar grows, demanding top officials testify at ‘urgent’ hearing

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The House Oversight Committee announced a hearing for Aug. 24, inviting Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Postal Service board of governors Chairman Robert M. Duncan

The House Oversight Committee will hold an emergency hearing on mail delays and concerns about potential White House interference in the U.S. Postal Service, inviting Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Postal Service board of governors Chairman Robert M. Duncan to testify Aug. 24, top Democrats announced on Sunday.

Democrats have alleged that DeJoy, a former Republican National Convention finance chairman, is taking steps that are causing dysfunction in the mail system and could wreak havoc in the presidential election. The House had earlier not planned a hearing until September.

“The postmaster general and top Postal Service leadership must answer to the Congress and the American people as to why they are pushing these dangerous new policies that threaten to silence the voices of millions, just months before the election,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Oversight Chair Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said in a statement announcing the hearing. Continue reading.