Sounds like the "Sharpiegate" hearing isn't going well for the Plaintiff.....lol

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Tom Ryan
@tomryanlaw
Court in recess so that Sharpiegate lawyer can advise his client of her Miranda rights. I'd love to be in the corner for that one!!!
12:17 PM · Nov 20, 2020

[AkFemDem]

1. Is this in reference to the sharpie ballots in AZ?

Why is someone being read Miranda rights?

[mr_lebowski]

2. Presumably, and I agree I really want to hear more details on this one!

[Nevilledog]

5. Pretty sure it's either for lying on an affidavit OR illegally photographing a ballot.

[Ms. Toad]

7. It's the illegally photographing a ballot.

Apparently Trump's lawyers didn't realize it was illegal to photograph the ballot in the voting booth in Arizona.

[Nevilledog]

8. I saw reference to both so wasn't sure

[Ms. Toad]

9. I spent a little while tracking the thread -

And I'm extremely familiar with how tabulation machines work. So it took less for me to connect the dots.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Was this in regard to pressuring scientists at NOAA after tRump Sharpied the weather map?

[Nevilledog]

4. No....it's the bullshit stuff about whether the AZ machines read ballots filled out with a Sharpie

This issue was already paid to rest in a different case.

[Ms. Toad]

6. For those not following the case -

Apparently a voter took a picture of their ballot in the voting booth.
They claim they inserted the ballot into the tabulator.
It got kicked out
They were told to reinsert it, and it took it the second time.

Taking a picture within 75 feet of the polling place is illegal. Hence the Miranda rights.

Aside from that - this is absolutely typical tabulator behavior.

Tabulators are programmed to kick ballots out for any number of reasons (undervotes, overvotes, marks that can't be read).

Sometimes the error is specific:

Undervotes = not voting a race or (more commonly) voting for only 1 candidate in a "pick no more than 2" race. Depending on jurisdiciton preferences the tabulators can be programmed to give the voter a second chance to vote completely. Typically these only kick out for multiple vote candidates - since otherwise a ton of ballots would be kicked out. Voters have the option of overriding it and counting the ballot as is - or remaking it.

Same for overvotes = e.g. voting for both Biden and Trump (could be incomplete erasure or thinking you need to vote for both Trump and Pence and filling in the second oval closest to pence). If you override the rejection your votes in the overvoted race will not be counted.

For non-specific rejections, the first option is to try again. Absolutely nothing sinister about that. It might be as simple as a slightly skewed ballot and inadequate marking that makes the bulk of the oval not quite in the horizontal/vertical distance from the timing marks. If the ballot is kicked back to the voter, it has not been added to the tally. If kicked back multiple times, the vote would be given the option of remaking the ballot on a new one.

** Relevant to Sharpiegate - their allegation is sharpies can't be read (hence it was kicked out the first time). IF that is the case, it would not have read the second time through - it would have kicked it back again, and again, etc.

[stopdiggin]

10. thanks. good info.

So -- on top of a completely spurious complaint ...
There's a good bit of "fail safe" (both human and machine) built into the system.

[Ms. Toad]

11. Ruling from the bench immediately after closing: Dismissed with prejudice

Order to follow.

ETA: Tweet from AZ Law

Link to tweet

[gratuitous]

13. Now watch the uproar that the judge was prejudiced

As Fox News and the conservative wingnutt-o-sphere count on their audience not knowing what "dismissed with prejudice" means.

[bluestarone]

12. Should we be expecting any

TWEETING tonight???