2020 Presidential Election

[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~

[Kätzchen]

Here at home, we've already seen a tide of destruction to work campus property: big glass windows shattered out of the east side of our building and buildings nearby also are missing big panes of glass windows. Many buildings were also spray painted with graffiti (violent memes by right wing members of the metro area).

It was a nerve wracking day at work today and downtown, people have been feverishly boarding up business and other building with key offices to our state infrastructure. It's getting real ugly here and it is going to get worse before the week comes to a close.

So tonight, I came across a well written op-ed, over on CNN.

I hope others find this author's opinion as refreshing, well stated, and filled with hope, as we wait to usher in a Biden-Harris Administration.



(To read the original article, please click on this LINK)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


CNN Opinion: The Only Decent Choice In The Election

by Halie Soifer.

(CNN) My Jewish husband grew up in 1970s Germany. When asked to give up his seat on public transit for senior citizens, he would often hesitate, wondering whether those individuals played passive or active roles during the Third Reich. While perhaps unfair, younger generations judged Germans who lived through the Nazi era as though they were complicit and could have changed the course of history.

Similarly, we will all be judged by what we do -- or do not do -- at this moment in American history. This is not in any way to compare the atrocities of the Holocaust with what we are seeing in the US today, but there are similarities to this moment and the rise of Nazism in the 1930s. Today, we stand at a precipice, yet unlike Germans in the lead-up to World War II, we have the chance to vote a rising authoritarian out of power.

For four years, President Donald Trump has increasingly threatened our country and our future. He has assaulted, undermined, and weakened our democracy, using hatred and disinformation to divide Americans, sow confusion, and incite domestic unrest. He has repeatedly aligned himself with America's adversaries and alienated our allies. Amid an unprecedented public health crisis, he has demonstrated a wanton disregard for human life, intentionally misled us, and denied science as Americans die in record numbers. He's explicitly threatened Americans exercising their First Amendment rights, including his political opponents and the media, issued statements widely viewed as calls to arms and incitement to violence.

Trump has a clear record of fanning the flames of hatred, including equating neo-Nazis with peaceful protestors in Charlottesville, using racist epithets, repeating anti-Semitic tropes, and fueling xenophobic conspiracy theories, which I have argued contributed to the worst anti-Semitic attack in American history. At the first 2020 presidential debate, Trump had a chance to demonstrate to the American people where he stood on the issue of racially motivated violent extremism, which his own FBI director recently warned is one of the greatest threats facing Americans.

Instead of denouncing this virulent form of hatred, Trump pointedly refused and instead encouraged a far-right extremist group to "stand back and stand by." He later tried to walk back his remarks, after they were celebrated by the far-right. Less than three weeks later, Trump repeated the same offense at a presidential townhall when he legitimized a QAnon conspiracy theory, and refused to denounce this dangerous movement that has infiltrated the Republican Party.

The threat posed by Trump to our democracy has become even clearer in the lead-up to the election. In July, he suggested the illegal postponement of the election. Despite constitutional term limits, Trump has asserted he's entitled to more than two terms as president. He's refused to commit to the peaceful transfer of power if he's defeated, and questioned the validity, without proof, of mail-in ballots, which he himself previously used to vote.

He has baselessly repeated claims of voter fraud, as the Justice Department has loosened its 40-year policy on launching an investigation on voter fraud during an election cycle, and indicated he expects the Supreme Court to rule in his favor if the election is litigated. All of this comes at the end of a presidential term that was rife with illegality, impropriety, and his impeachment by the House.

Now, on the eve of the election, reports indicate that Trump plans to prematurely claim victory if it looks like he is close to 270 electoral votes on election night. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Trump have denied that the claims are true, but Trump and his team have signaled their plans to litigate the counting of mail-in ballots after Election Day.

But if the President is indeed planning on do this, it would improperly disregard postmarked mail-in ballots in states like Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania secretary of state, there may be as many as 10 times the number of mail-in ballots in 2020 than there were in 2016 in this critical swing state, which can legally accept mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day until November 6. The dubious legal groundwork for this position was recently laid by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who served on the Republican legal team that stopped the presidential election recount 20 years ago.

Though some of us have become numb to the daily outrages, we cannot forget this simple fact: Trump's behavior is that of an authoritarian. What may feel like a tumultuous and frenetic daily news cycle is the clear erosion of our democracy during Trump's presidency.

As this monumental election comes to a close, it's important to remember what's at stake and how future generations will view the choice facing Americans at this critical crossroads. Will we choose the path of authoritarianism and hatred with Trump, or will we choose decency and democracy with Joe Biden? While we cannot know the outcome at this point, we do know that history will judge those who abandon their values and allow rise of bigotry and hate. Your children and grandchildren will someday ask whether you stood up for your values or whether you were a passive bystander, and a vote for Biden must be part of your answer. It's the only decent choice.

_________________________________

Editors Note: Halie Soifer is executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), which is a national organization that endorses Democratic candidates for elected office and advocates for progressive policy. She previously served as national security adviser to Sen. Kamala Harris, as foreign policy adviser to Sens. Chris Coons and Ted Kaufman, and as senior policy adviser to U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.

[C0LLETTE]

The Banality of Evil (Hannah Arendt )

... when we do not examine in depth the sources and reasoning for our "moral" choices .

[Kätzchen]

How is everybody holding up tonight?

I've had CNN streaming live on my phone all day long. I could not even listen to NPR on the way home. I have no idea if anybody else has noticed a shift in content and coverage by National Public Radio but after this week, I may never listen to that station again.

I am worried and very anxious and my anxiety level is off the charts.

There is some good news, though. Tonight, Maricopa County in Arizona is turning the state blue. I seriously hope Arizona will be a Democratic state.

Pennsylvania is not even no where close to being done with ballot counting but there is reason to believe that Pennsylvania will turn Blue (Democrat).

My heart hurts to learn that certain states will remain under the control of the GOP. It hurts to see that not only is it a close race for the Presidential race but it is also a close race in the House and the Senate.

I can hardly watch or hear what I am hearing tonight.

I will be heart sick and heart broken if America remains under the control of the authoritarian dictator who currently occupies the WH.

I anxiously await for any good news that we as a country are liberated from the toxic hold of poisonous political strongholds.



PS/ I will never live in any state that is controlled by the GOP. I just won't and can't and it's a deal breaker for me if a person's politics aligns with the Republican Party. I left my home state years ago (Idaho), because of the mindset of those who are Republican (GOP) and the toxic stranglehold that has held that state hostage, for years.