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brooklynite

brooklynite's Journal
brooklynite's Journal
May 20, 2020

Trump threatens to withhold Michigan funding over mail-in voting

Source: The Hill

President Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal funding to Michigan after the state's Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) announced all of the state’s registered voters would receive applications for absentee ballots in the mail this year.

Trump charged that the step was done “illegally” and threatened to withhold funding if the state did not reverse course, suggesting the move would encourage voter fraud.

“Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/498689-trump-threatens-to-withhold-michigan-funding-over-mail-in-voting

May 20, 2020

All Michigan voters receive application to vote by mail

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced today that all registered voters in Michigan will receive an application to vote by mail in the August and November elections.

“By mailing applications, we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,” said Benson. “Voting by mail is easy, convenient, safe, and secure, and every voter in Michigan has the right to do it.”

Of the 7.7 million registered voters in the state, about 1.3 million are on the permanent absent voter list, and their local election clerk mails them applications ahead of every election. Additionally, some jurisdictions are mailing applications to all local registered voters. The Michigan Department of State’s Bureau of Elections has ensured all remaining registered voters receive an application.

“We appreciate that some clerks are proactively protecting public health by mailing applications to all their registered voters, and we are fulfilling our responsibility to provide all voters equal access,” said Benson. “We know from the elections that took place this month that during the pandemic Michiganders want to safely vote.”

Record-breaking turnout was recorded in the approximately 50 elections held across 33 counties on May 5, with nearly 25 percent of eligible voters casting ballots and 99 percent of them doing so by mail or in a drop box. From 2010 to 2019, average turnout in local elections in May was 12 percent.

The application mailing from the Bureau of Elections includes a cover letter with instructions from Secretary Benson. Once a voter signs their application, they can mail it or email a photo of it to their local clerk, whose contact information is included on the application. The application is also available for download at Michigan.gov/Vote. At the same website, voters can also register and join the permanent absent voter list so they always have the option to vote by mail.

“The vast majority of voters across the political spectrum want the option to vote by mail,” said Benson. “Mailing applications to all registered voters is one of the ways that we are ensuring Michigan’s elections will continue to be safe, accurate and secure.”


May 20, 2020

Woman behind 'Roe vs. Wade' in Texas didn't change mind on abortion -- she was paid

Idahp American Statesman

When Norma McCorvey, the anonymous plaintiff in the landmark Roe vs. Wade case, came out against abortion in 1995, it stunned the world and represented a huge symbolic victory for abortion opponents: “Jane Roe” had gone to the other side. For the remainder of her life, McCorvey worked to overturn the law that bore her name.

But it was all a lie, McCorvey says in a documentary filmed in the months before her death in 2017, claiming she only did it because she was paid by antiabortion groups including Operation Rescue.

“I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and they’d put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say. That’s what I’d say,” she says in “AKA Jane Roe,” which premieres Friday on FX. “It was all an act. I did it well too. I am a good actress.”

In what she describes as a “deathbed confession,” a visibly ailing McCorvey restates her support for reproductive rights in colorful terms: “If a young woman wants to have an abortion, that’s no skin off my ass. That’s why they call it choice.”
May 20, 2020

OUR REVOLUTION loses again...

In Oregon-5, they endorsed Mark Gamba who challenged six-term Congressman Kurt Schrader. Schrader won the Primary 70-24.

May 19, 2020

FiveThirtyEight's Pollster Ratings: UPDATED MAY 19, 2020 AT 8:00 AM

Marist College (A+)
Live
Races called correctly: 84%
Bias: R+0.3

Monmouth University (A+)
Live
Races called correctly: 81%
Bias: D+1.3

ABC News/The Washington Post (A+)
Live
Races called correctly: 72%
Bias: D+0.5

Siena College/The New York Times Upshot (A+)
Live
Races called correctly: 69%
Bias: R+0.3

Selzer & Co. (A+)
Live
Races called correctly: 79%
Bias: D+0.1

Muhlenberg College (A+)
Live
Races called correctly: 84%
Bias: R+0.2

SurveyUSA (A)
IVR/online/live
Races called correctly: 89%
Bias: D+0.1

Suffolk University (A)
Live
Races called correctly 79%
Bias: D+0.6

CBS News/The New York Times (A)
Live
Races called correctly: 76%
Bias: D+0.4

Emerson College (A-)
IVR/online/text
Races called correctly: 80%
Bias: D+0.3

Siena College (A-)
Online/live
Races called correctly: 90%
Bias: R+0.7

Fox News/Beacon Research/Shaw & Co. Research (A-)
Live
Races called correctly: 71%
Bias: D+1.4

RKM Research and Communications Inc.(A-)
Live
Races called correctly: 87%
Bias: R+0.1

NBC News/The Wall Street Journal (A-)
Live
Races called correctly: 73%
Bias: D+0.6

University of Cincinnati (Ohio Poll) (A/B)
Live
Races called correctly: 94%
Bias: R+1.3

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/pollster-ratings/
May 19, 2020

Catholic churches 'should be allowed to reopen before others'

The Guardian

Catholic churches should be allowed to reopen before Pentecostal churches, or mosques owing to their different styles of worship, the leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales has said.

Places of worship come under step three of the government’s recovery strategy, meaning they cannot open until 4 July at the earliest.

But Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster, said Catholic churches should be allowed to open for private prayer by individuals before places of worship in which large numbers of people gather.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday, Nichols said: “The issues of how people are able to practice their faith are profound and sensitive, and we’d like a bit more sensitivity from the government.”


OR (just spitballing here), they could engage in "private prayer" at home...

May 19, 2020

Daily Kos Georgia survey

Source: Civiqs

This report contains the results of a Civiqs survey of 1339 registered voters in Georgia from May 16-18, 2020. The survey was conducted online, among selected members of the Civiqs research panel. Sampled individuals were emailed by Civiqs and responded using a personalized link to the survey at civiqs.com.

The survey results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, and party identification to be representative of the population of registered voters in Georgia. The general design effect due to weighting is 1.36. The survey has a margin of error of ±3.1% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the design effect. All survey results in this report are reported as percentages.

...snip...


3. If the election for U.S. Senator from Georgia were held today, who would you vote for?
Jon Ossoff, Democrat 47%
David Perdue, Republican 45%
Someone else 4%
Unsure 3%

...snip...

7. If the special election runoff for U.S. Senator from Georgia were held today, who would you vote for?
Raphael Warnock, Democrat 45%
Kelly Loeffler, Republican 32%

...snip...

11. If the election for president of the United States were held today and the choices were Donald Trump and Joe Biden, who would you vote for?
Joe Biden, Democrat 48%
Donald Trump, Republican 47%
Someone else
Unsure


Read more: https://civiqs.com/documents/Civiqs_DailyKos_GA_banner_book_2020_05_h79s1a.pdf

May 19, 2020

Appellate court orders New York to hold presidential primary, state will drop appeal

Source: Politico

ALBANY — An appellate court has upheld a ruling that will compel New York to hold a Democratic presidential primary on June 23.

The state will not appeal further, meaning the contest is now guaranteed to be held.


“We have decided that four judges have spoken and the Board has a heavy workload ahead of itself in order to pull together dealing with the primary election during this public health emergency,” state Board of Elections Democratic Chairman Doug Kellner told POLITICO after speaking with fellow Democratic Commissioner Andy Spano. “We’re going to focus our efforts on addressing all of the issues needed to run the election.”

New York’s budget gave Kellner and Spano the power to remove presidential candidates from the ballot if they have suspended their campaigns. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders subsequently dropped out of the race, and they removed everybody except for former Vice President Joe Biden. As a result, the primary — which had already been delayed from April 28 to June 23 — was canceled.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2020/05/19/another-court-orders-new-york-to-hold-primary-and-state-will-drop-appeal-1284546



Didn't know this was still an open issue...

I've ordered an absentee ballot.
May 19, 2020

I'm seeing a lot of people rant recently about Trump "stealing the election"....lighten up

This election is dependent on Democrats holding the Clinton States and winning back PA, WI and MI, -OR- substituting them with alternative battleground States.

First - Trump can't "cancel the election" because it's not a Federal Election. It's 51 State Elections.

PA, WI and MI are controlled by Democrats. They won't be cancelling the election. They also won't be doing voter purges or "losing votes". NC, a major pickup opportunity is also controlled by Democrats.

Consider as well that Republicans had the same opportunity to "steal" elections in 2018. Look at what happened.

Not saying Republicans won't try to cheat, but adopting a doomsday philosophy isn't helpful.

May 19, 2020

Texas, North Carolina, Arizona see rising cases as they reopen

Source: The Hill

Texas, North Carolina and Arizona are among the states seeing rising numbers of coronavirus cases, intensifying concerns as they seek to reopen shuttered economies.

Texas saw its largest one-day increase in cases on Saturday, with 1,801 new cases. North Carolina also saw its largest single-day jump on Saturday with 853 new cases. And Arizona reported 462 new cases that day, close to a record high.

The seven-day average in new cases in all three states has also been rising, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/498406-texas-north-carolina-arizona-see-rising-cases-as-they-reopen



Didn't see that coming...

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Name: Chris Bastian
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