2020 Presidential Election

[homoe]

President Donald Trump's wife Melania canceled a rare joint appearance with him at a campaign rally Tuesday due to a "lingering cough" following her infection with the coronavirus, a spokeswoman said. "Mrs Trump continues to feel better every day following her recovery from COVID-19, but with a lingering cough, and out of an abundance of caution, she will not be traveling today," Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.

The first lady's appearance with Trump in Erie, Pennsylvania, was to have been her first at a campaign rally in more than a year.

Right, I'm S U R E that's the reason! She just didn't want to be with that L O S E R!

[Orema]

I love the local political tv ads in my area. I catch most of them on PlutoTV. They are great. Very dramatic and very amateurish—exactly what's needed. We don't need all the glitter and shine.

Usually the ad is taped locally with music that's cheery and up with puppies and children and parks, then when they talk about the conservative candidates the clouds turn gray and dark and the music is gloomy. I love it! And I watch every liberal-leaning commercial from start to finish.

And it's even better when it's in Spanish.

[Cin]

If you haven't mailed your ballot yet, don't. Drop it off or vote in person. Try to make sure your vote counts.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/20...tates-counting

President Donald Trump on Wednesday once again openly voiced hope that U.S. courts—now packed with his right-wing judges—will intervene and stop states from counting legally submitted ballots after November 3, remarks that came just before the U.S. Supreme Court suggested it could invalidate late-arriving Pennsylvania votes after Election Day.

"Hopefully the few states remaining that want to take a lot of time after November 3rd to count ballots, that won't be allowed by the various courts because as you know we're in courts on that," Trump said during a press conference in Las Vegas.

Trump went on to tout as a "big victory" the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this week barring Wisconsin from extending its absentee ballot deadline past November 3 at 8:00 pm local time.

"The president is essentially saying he will litigate to try and stop the count of absentee ballots (the count of which is never completed on Election Day)," tweeted Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. According to one estimate, "about 10 percent of all votes" cast in the 2016 election were counted after Election Day.

"Also, when is he imagining that military mail-in votes will be counted?" asked Ifill. "He is trying to make this sound normal. It's not."

The Supreme Court late Wednesday permitted North Carolina and Pennsylvania to extend their arrival deadlines for mail-in ballots, blocking Republican efforts to require strict Election Day deadlines.

But, the high court left open the possibility of invalidating late-arriving Pennsylvania ballots shortly after the election. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, said he only "reluctantly" denied the Pennsylvania GOP's push for the rejection of ballots that arrive after Election Day and said the high court could take up the case again after November 3.

"The Supreme Court may throw out ballots that arrive after Election Day—even though they are valid under current law," warned Slate's Mark Joseph Stern. "DO NOT MAIL YOUR BALLOT. Drop it off or vote in person. Don't leave your vote in the hands of the Supreme Court."

[Cin]

Citing Widespread Election-Related Delays, Federal Judge Invokes 'Extraordinary Measures' to Ensure On-Time Delivery, Counting of Ballots

A federal judge on Friday ordered the United States Postal Service to take "extraordinary measures" at numerous processing centers in order to guarantee the timely delivery of millions of ballots by Election Day.

Reuters reports U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said the order is in line with the USPS's October 20 "Extraordinary Measures Memorandum," (pdf) which states that "the proper handling and timely delivery of election mail... remains our number one priority."

USPS said the measures include, but are not limited to, "expedited handling, extra deliveries, and special pickups... to collect blank ballots entered by election officials to voters, or completed ballots returned by voters."

Affected locations include: Alabama; Alaska; Atlanta; central Pennsylvania; Colorado; Detroit; Fort Worth, Texas; Indiana; Louisiana; the mid-Carolinas; Mississippi; northern New England; Oklahoma; South Carolina; and other areas.

Sullivan said the measures apply to places where election mail processing scores did not exceed 90% for at least two days between October 26 and 28.

The Washington Post reports Sullivan also ordered the Postal Service to provide written explanation for each district where less than 80% of ballots are delivered on time each day. Attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice blamed staffing issues and increased mail volume for such delays.

"At the same time that staffing unavailability has become a factor, there has been an increase volume in package and market dominant products," John Robinson, a DOJ lawyer, said in a legal filing reported by the Post.

Friday's order comes three days after Sullivan directed postal employees to complete as many late trips as needed to boost USPS's on-time delivery rate. Earlier this month, the judge—who is an appointee of President Bill Clinton—ruled that it is in the public interest to block USPS policies that have caused widespread delays since July.

Earlier this week, USPS urged voters to mail their ballots by October 27 in order to ensure on-time arrival and counting eligibility by Election Day, which is November 3.

While postal workers have tried to keep up with deliveries, the sheer number of early ballots cast, as well as what critics call politically motivated delays caused by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, have resulted in major issues affecting delivery times.

Last week, the USPS inspector general issued a report (pdf) that found changes made by DeJoy—including reducing extra delivery trips and changes in the way mail is sorted—"negatively impacted the quality and timeliness of mail delivery."

On Thursday, USPS said it had delivered over 122 million ballots, both blank and completed, as Tuesday's election fast approaches. Early voting has occurred at a record pace in 2020—according to the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida, more than 85 million Americans have already cast their ballots.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/20...-extraordinary

[Martina]

I just learned that if a contingent election of the President ends up in the House, it's decided by state, not by congressperson. There are more red states than blue. It would be the incoming Congress that decides, but there will still be more red states than blue. So if various states fail to certify the election results or, less likely, Congress questions a state's decision, or there is a legitimate tie, there could be no majority of electoral votes won and a contingent election would go to Congress, the House electing the President and the Senate the VP. In the Senate, the decision is made by individual Senator's votes. So, if Dems win the Senate, Congress could elect Trump but not Pence.

[theoddz]

Originally Posted by Martina

I just learned that if a contingent election of the President ends up in the House, it's decided by state, not by congressperson. There are more red states than blue. It would be the incoming Congress that decides, but there will still be more red states than blue. So if various states fail to certify the election results or, less likely, Congress questions a state's decision, or there is a legitimate tie, there could be no majority of electoral votes won and a contingent election would go to Congress, the House electing the President and the Senate the VP. In the Senate, the decision is made by individual Senator's votes. So, if Dems win the Senate, Congress could elect Trump but not Pence.

Now THAT, my friend, is scary. I mean S-C-A-R-Y.

Thanks for posting that. I had no idea how that scenario would play out.

~Theo~

[theoddz]

How things might pan out and what the United States has the propensity to become, post 2020 Election:



It's all up to the American voter to decide now.

~Theo~