Voter Suppression

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

I'll cross-post this with the "I voted thread."

So I went this morning to my spot in Houston. Literally no wait at the walk in line, strolled right in. Interestingly, since we never received the mail-in ballots we requested, I had to fill out some paperwork to void that ballot. Problem is, guys said they were unfamiliar with the process and they had just gotten new instructions yesterday. Also, their software was glitchy. That being said they figured it out, and it took about 10 minutes to square away. Went and voted.

Interestingly, also germane to suppression, is that despite yesterday's orders by the Texas courts, the drive in line was still operating. There were about 15-20 cars in the tents or in line waiting to vote using that method. Interesting considering the court ruling. 

D all the way down, get bent motherfuckers. That being said, we'll see, but looks like going to be significantly less voting from Day 1 to Day 2. 

[Steamboat1874 4,283]

I am 65 years old and a type 2 diabetic that has hypertension.

I have been to work every day since the pandemic started as well as making  my weekly trip to HEB.

I either had it and I am immune or I have been lucky.

Voting in person is no different than either of these. I have no fear whatsoever of going to the polls.

VOTE IN PERSON PEOPLE !!!!!

It is the only way to be sure.

[StassneyHorn 6,755]

So the Drive Thru voting and Curbside voting was only brought up Monday night to try and fuck order up. Judge has told them to pound sand.

 

[StassneyHorn 6,755]

5 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said:

I am 65 years old and a type 2 diabetic that has hypertension.

I have been to work every day since the pandemic started as well as making  my weekly trip to HEB.

I either had it and I am immune or I have been lucky.

Voting in person is no different than either of these. I have no fear whatsoever of going to the polls.

VOTE IN PERSON PEOPLE !!!!!

It is the only way to be sure.

Go straight to the front of line and tell the poll worker this. Admire the grit, but you don't need to stand in any line you may encounter, and you deserve it.

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

2 minutes ago, StassneyHorn said:

So the Drive Thru voting and Curbside voting was only brought up Monday night to try and fuck order up. Judge has told them to pound sand.

 

That explains why they were still active and doing drive-thru voting at my polling location this morning. Good. 

[immamac 44,199]

1 hour ago, Dahobbs said:

I think maybe we are agreeing here. Yes, it is possible to create a single, secure message. Creating a system for over 200 million people to securely vote is different. The best systems can fail because people are vulnerable.  Encryption is just one part of system security. Again, best lock in the world, but if the window is open or the door itself is weak, it doesn't really matters. 

I'm not sure I understand your telecom comparison. The ReVoLTE vulnerability was announced a month ago or so. 

 https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2020/08/12/attack-of-the-week-voice-calls-in-lte/

My personal philosophy is to assume that every system can be compromised. But, you want to design it so that in order to effectuate an attack, the attacker will have to present a large surface, making him easy to discover. That's why the simple paper ballot is nice. Yes, voter fraud is possible. But to achieve it at scale that could impact a national election the attack will necessarily involve a lot of people and contacts that would likely result in easy discovery. Online systems make it much easier to hide the attack, and that is the dangerous one. 

yeah, which is why the end result ends up the same: Don't vote online - yet. 

I love it when a conversation works educates both sides

[hobbes2702 13,351]

4 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

 

There are long lines because there is historic demand and people are motivated and excited to vote and chose to come out in person on the busiest day. That’s it.

That you find that somehow sinister is just as strange to me as your bewilderment at my take. I have presented facts.

Long lines do not automatically equal suppression. Lines were already shorter on day 2.

 

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,834]

Just putting this here. Fuck the Republicans.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/politics/california-dropbox-controversy-explained/index.html

There's only one reason anybody would do this.

[tchookem 3,965]

Just putting this here. Fuck the Republicans.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/politics/california-dropbox-controversy-explained/index.html

There's only one reason anybody would do this.

In my grandmother's final years she suffered dementia. Before we realized how bad it was getting, we found out that she had several "friends" that would call and talk with get on the phone. Turns out that these people had convinced her to share credit card information.

This is the level of evil that I'm equating this to. Every time I think they can't get lower, the GOP proves me wrong.

[27-25 2,082]

1 hour ago, tchookem said:

In my grandmother's final years she suffered dementia. Before we realized how bad it was getting, we found out that she had several "friends" that would call and talk with get on the phone. Turns out that these people had convinced her to share credit card information.

This is the level of evil that I'm equating this to. Every time I think they can't get lower, the GOP proves me wrong.

And the CA GOP has refused to comply with a cease and desist order from the state: https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/politics/california-republicans-ballot-drop-boxes-cease-and-desist/index.html

LAW AND ORDER!

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

2 minutes ago, 27-25 said:

And the CA GOP has refused to comply with a cease and desist order from the state: https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/14/politics/california-republicans-ballot-drop-boxes-cease-and-desist/index.html

LAW AND ORDER!

I mean, can’t we tar and feather them at this point?

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,707]

Even most democrats agree that Ed Emmett was a good county judge when it came to managing ongoing natural disasters. However he didn’t seem to do shit about making elections better. Makes me wonder if he was really was that good about natural disasters in terms of long term prep for them. Maybe he was just good about making you feel safer.

anyway Harris county is set up well for a while how in terms of easy voting options. I had no idea they had spent so much recently increasing capacity. Since Democrats are making voting easy, countywide republicans may not see another office for some time.

Other communities should demand similar of their county.

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Even most democrats agree that Ed Emmett was a good county judge when it came to managing ongoing natural disasters. However he didn’t seem to do shit about making elections better. Makes me wonder if he was really was that good about natural disasters in terms of long term prep for them. Maybe he was just good about making you feel safer.

anyway Harris county is set up well for a while how in terms of easy voting options. I had no idea they had spent so much recently increasing capacity. Since Democrats are making voting easy, countywide republicans may not see another office for some time.

Other communities should demand similar of their county.

I was worried Lina would lose her seat after one term because obvious reasons. But I think she's crushed it so much she'll landslide this motherfucker, pick a qualified successor, and hopefully move onto bigger shit like the House or maybe even Senate. I'm not sure when she could run for Governor, though. But you'd have to think she'd have a good shot being a woman, hispanic, and democrat in Texas in these times. That's a hell of a fucking coalition right there in these current times. 

[Gap03 3,374]

I LOVE the faux outrage from all of the GOP senators these days over - of all things - alleged violation of campaign finance laws.  Motherfuckers, PLEASE ... oh, and someone better explain to Josh that the unwillingness to fill vacancies on the FEC for YEARS means the FEC can't  do shit anyway - just the way they wanted it.  

 

[Longhorn_Fan68 34,079]

1 hour ago, Gap03 said:

I LOVE the faux outrage from all of the GOP senators these days over - of all things - alleged violation of campaign finance laws.  Motherfuckers, PLEASE ... oh, and someone better explain to Josh that the unwillingness to fill vacancies on the FEC for YEARS means the FEC can't  do shit anyway - just the way they wanted it.  

 

[Bama Chick 28,596]

I don’t pretend to know all the different courts this thing is going to go through because I thought it was already decided by an appeals court earlier this week but FYI.

[henrygandorf 29,219]

14 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:

I don’t pretend to know all the different courts this thing is going to go through because I thought it was already decided by an appeals court earlier this week but FYI.
 

i would think the huge numbers of early voters is a way for texans to tell abbott to go kick rocks. 

[gmr548 16,681]

I don’t pretend to know all the different courts this thing is going to go through because I thought it was already decided by an appeals court earlier this week but FYI.

The previous litigation was in federal court. 5th circuit sided with the governor. I believe that will be appealed to SCOTUS but I doubt they'll even hear it.

This is a suit filed in state court alleging a violation of state law. The Austin state appeals court is Democratic but I'm sure SCOTX will go with the governor as soon as it gets to them.

At this point the order has had its desired effect. I'm not sure counties will even open additinal drop off locations at this point despite technically being allowed to do so today.

[27-25 2,082]

7 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

i would think the huge numbers of early voters is a way for texans to tell abbott to go kick rocks. 

ISWYDT

[Biff Tannen 46,061]

2 hours ago, gmr548 said:

The previous litigation was in federal court. 5th circuit sided with the governor. I believe that will be appealed to SCOTUS but I doubt they'll even hear it.

This is a suit filed in state court alleging a violation of state law. The Austin state appeals court is Democratic but I'm sure SCOTX will go with the governor as soon as it gets to them.

At this point the order has had its desired effect. I'm not sure counties will even open additinal drop off locations at this point despite technically being allowed to do so today.
 

Didn't Harris county just ignore this anyway?

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

25 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Didn't Harris county just ignore this anyway?

No. Harris complied. It seemed like we ignored the stay against drive thru voting yesterday, but a judge apparently overturned that right after it went into effect. 

[Longhorn_Fan68 34,079]

8 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

i would think the huge numbers of early voters is a way for texans to tell abbott to go kick rocks. 

I'd tell him to go fuck himself, but I don't think he'd feel it.

[dingleberryswitzer 2,724]

What's the consequences of just ignoring the county order and setting up more droppoff sites?  What arm of law enforcement is going to forceably stop people from accepting ballots?  Would /could the ballots be nullified afterwords?

[gmr548 16,681]

What's the consequences of just ignoring the county order and setting up more droppoff sites?  What arm of law enforcement is going to forceably stop people from accepting ballots?  Would /could the ballots be nullified afterwords?

I'd imagine the state SOS would invalidate ballots, and Republican controlled courts would likely allow them to err on the side of overkill.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,707]

I imagine all of these court cases will end with Abbott winning especially give the timing of the election. However the benefit for the Dem controlled counties is to continually remind voters that Abbott doesn’t want you to vote.

ive noticed that even Abbott hasn’t publicly addressed the absurdity of Harris County having 1 drop box when they have the facilities and workforce to handle many more. He can’t say with a straight face that fraud will occur with more boxes. Fraud is more likely in smaller counties when joe bob is left alone with the drop box for several hours. The impact is less but more likely. 

[lemonlime 5,503]

 

[DigglerontheHoof 21,516]

JFC

[atomheartbevo 90,546]

54 minutes ago, lemonlime said:

 

Given all of the blue collar retirees that probably vote Trump in those states, I wonder who it hurts more.

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2,692]

That article is fucking horrifying.

Includes these gems: 

In Pennsylvania, for instance, nearly 30,000 ballots sent to voters in Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, went to the wrong addresses.

The counties with the biggest volume of delayed absentee ballots are urban and suburban counties with large populations. Summit County, encompassing Akron, and Lucas County, which includes Toledo, were two of just eight Ohio counties to back Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

[Paper_jam 846]

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the places not getting the ballots are the blue(ish) areas.

 

 

[Catdaddyhorn 3,462]

 

[Bama Chick 28,596]

Michael Harriot is not only smart as fuck (and with an Auburn degree!) but one of the Black voices that should be required reading for all white Americans.

His stuff can be uncomfortable for a white person to read - especially if you consider yourself non-racist and care about Black issues.

Because he’s SO good at pointing out how it’s not the outwardly racist people who are the only problem - the problem is the system and America itself.

He’s a GD genius.

[WhatTheBuck 28,904]

He should find a better means of communication than a Twitter thread. 

[pyrohornIII 4,844]

On 10/14/2020 at 7:23 AM, immamac said:

*Raises hand*

The main problem with online voting is the people voting not the technology. 

Pick 100 random people over the age of 60 and tell them to create a poll on telegram using encrypted channels. 

I bet 95 of them fail or give up. 3 of them persevere and finish and only 2 actually feel good about knowing what they did. 

Ok, now think about this. There's 50M+ citizens over 60. 

That's the problem. Not that secure methods don't exist. It's that they are complex and to be safe they have to be done one time and one time only then thrown away with the exception of the encryption key used (saved on device) then after election results are confirmed poof delete everyone's keys and delete the voter data all completely unnecessary after the fact. 

This mechanisms are SIMPLE and the simplicity is what makes the entire process extremely safe, but also complex. simple for 220M+ people is what's hard not the individual voting. 

Ask anyone in telecom how many breaches they have on data that isn't even encrypted over the wire, then start thinking about 5G and every device on earth being connected, but probably not allowed to share data and how the fuck do they get that to work? Magic? 

Also most rural internet and cell service works like Oliver Douglass' phone.    Plus Covid has definitely put a spotlight on poor rural internet service, finally.

On 10/14/2020 at 8:44 AM, SydneyCarton said:

I'll cross-post this with the "I voted thread."

So I went this morning to my spot in Houston. Literally no wait at the walk in line, strolled right in. Interestingly, since we never received the mail-in ballots we requested, I had to fill out some paperwork to void that ballot. Problem is, guys said they were unfamiliar with the process and they had just gotten new instructions yesterday. Also, their software was glitchy. That being said they figured it out, and it took about 10 minutes to square away. Went and voted.

Interestingly, also germane to suppression, is that despite yesterday's orders by the Texas courts, the drive in line was still operating. There were about 15-20 cars in the tents or in line waiting to vote using that method. Interesting considering the court ruling. 

D all the way down, get bent motherfuckers. That being said, we'll see, but looks like going to be significantly less voting from Day 1 to Day 2. 

Up until this year, the SoS has not required counties to report voters who requested/were supplied/returned mail in ballots.  That changes this year.   It seems I remember you saying you checked the Harris county tracker which showed your's mailed, but lost in delivery?  

 

[Nivek 17,330]

I'd tell him to go fuck himself, but I don't think he'd feel it.

We should run him out of office.

[SydneyCarton 49,325]

12 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

Also most rural internet and cell service works like Oliver Douglass' phone.    Plus Covid has definitely put a spotlight on poor rural internet service, finally.

Up until this year, the SoS has not required counties to report voters who requested/were supplied/returned mail in ballots.  That changes this year.   It seems I remember you saying you checked the Harris county tracker which showed your's mailed, but lost in delivery?  

 

Yes, that’s what happened at the polling station. They showed requested and mailed and we still don’t have them. 

[Bama Chick 28,596]

He should find a better means of communication than a Twitter thread. 

He’s an author and a journalist for “The Root”.

[pyrohornIII 4,844]

3 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

Yes, that’s what happened at the polling station. They showed requested and mailed and we still don’t have them. 

Our EA despises people who want to cancel their mail ballots and vote in person.   And in a normal world, her reasoning is sound.   

They work hard and spend county money on mail in ballots, from applications sending/collecting/counting ballots just to have them tossed.   She didn't understand why people simply wouldn't mail them like intended.  I think because of some of the Post Office snafus in our own small red county that she has now witnessed, she's more understanding.   Her frustration  shouldn't be at the voters leerry of the current USPS, but the clown who destabilized it.   I know she won't admit it, but I know also, she's doing just that, blaming Trump.  

 

BTW if you do get yours, make sure you mark cancelled on them before you toss them.   

[Paper_jam 846]

I don't know what's involved in requesting a mail-in-ballot--hopefully there is something in place to protect against large-scale, fraudulent requests intended to disrupt the election. Imagine if 100,000 people go to the polls on election day and are shown on the rolls (incorrectly) as having requested mail-in ballots. Even if they can do the required paperwork to vote in person, it would still gum up the works.

 

[WhatTheBuck 28,904]

15 minutes ago, Paper_jam said:

I don't know what's involved in requesting a mail-in-ballot--hopefully there is something in place to protect against large-scale, fraudulent requests intended to disrupt the election. Imagine if 100,000 people go to the polls on election day and are shown on the rolls (incorrectly) as having requested mail-in ballots. Even if they can do the required paperwork to vote in person, it would still gum up the works.

 

My bullshit detector is blinking red. But I'll give you an answer. 

My Board of Elections sent me a mail-in ballot application. If I wanted to vote by mail, I'd fill out the application and send it in, then they'd send my ballot to me at the address where I'm registered. They'd check my signature when I mailed it back. 

How exactly would someone else hijack my ballot, let alone 100,000? Explain to me how the mechanics of that would work. Give me a credible Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How description of your imaginary scenario. We have laws against that stuff and it practically never happens. 

[Paper_jam 846]

2 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

My bullshit detector is blinking red. But I'll give you an answer. 

My Board of Elections sent me a mail-in ballot application. If I wanted to vote by mail, I'd fill out the application and send it in, then they'd send my ballot to me at the address where I'm registered. They'd check my signature when I mailed it back. 

How exactly would someone else hijack my ballot, let alone 100,000? Explain to me how the mechanics of that would work. Give me a credible Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How description of your imaginary scenario. We have laws against that stuff and it practically never happens. 

Well good, now I'm less concerned about my hypothetical scenario. But to be clear, I'm not concerned about people sending in fraudulent or forged ballots. I'm talking about a third party generating fraudulent applications based on whatever personal information they can find, which then results in legitimate voter(s) being put on the list of people who were sent mail-in-ballots. The legitimate voter should know that something is up when they get an unsolicited ballot in the mail, but they may not know that they have to bring it with them when they vote, and/or deal with the process of voiding it. That may be enough of an inconvenience or delay to make some voters just say to heck with it.

As to the who and the why, I'm not going too far out on a limb to suggest that some people would like to disrupt this election as much as possible. Even more so if they could find enough information to create a targeted disruption or inconvenience for certain demographics who tend to support a particular political group or policy. I'm not claiming any of this has happened or will happen, but I'm just wondering if it's a possible vector for mischief. 

Edit: as far as the signature on the form, does the election office actually verify the signatures against whatever they have on file?

 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Paper_jam

[Horn Dog 10,156]

6 hours ago, Paper_jam said:

I don't know what's involved in requesting a mail-in-ballot--hopefully there is something in place to protect against large-scale, fraudulent requests intended to disrupt the election. Imagine if 100,000 people go to the polls on election day and are shown on the rolls (incorrectly) as having requested mail-in ballots. Even if they can do the required paperwork to vote in person, it would still gum up the works.

 

User name checks out.

[pyrohornIII 4,844]

13 hours ago, Paper_jam said:

Well good, now I'm less concerned about my hypothetical scenario. But to be clear, I'm not concerned about people sending in fraudulent or forged ballots. I'm talking about a third party generating fraudulent applications based on whatever personal information they can find, which then results in legitimate voter(s) being put on the list of people who were sent mail-in-ballots. The legitimate voter should know that something is up when they get an unsolicited ballot in the mail, but they may not know that they have to bring it with them when they vote, and/or deal with the process of voiding it. That may be enough of an inconvenience or delay to make some voters just say to heck with it.

As to the who and the why, I'm not going too far out on a limb to suggest that some people would like to disrupt this election as much as possible. Even more so if they could find enough information to create a targeted disruption or inconvenience for certain demographics who tend to support a particular political group or policy. I'm not claiming any of this has happened or will happen, but I'm just wondering if it's a possible vector for mischief. 

Edit: as far as the signature on the form, does the election office actually verify the signatures against whatever they have on file?

 

yes.  They have a ballot board made up of equal number of judges from each party that verify signatures and count ballots.  

 

 

[pyrohornIII 4,844]

Analysis: It's harder to vote in Texas than in any other state

Voting laws in Texas are the most restrictive in the country. And voter turnout here is among the lowest, too. Maybe those facts are related.

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/19/texas-voting-elections/

Quote

How hard is it to register to vote and then to vote in Texas?

It’s harder than in 49 other states, according to a “cost-of-voting index” compiled by political scientists at Northern Illinois University, Jacksonville University and Wuhan University in China.

Obviously, it’s not impossible to vote in Texas; more than 10% of the state’s registered voters — about 2 million citizens — had already cast their ballots, either in person or by mail, by Thursday night. That’s certainly a sign of enthusiasm, and could either be a signal of a bigger-than-normal turnout or that a lot of Texas were itching to vote and did so as soon as they could.

But the state has erected obstacles throughout the voting system, and when you compare the comfort and convenience of voting in Texas with other states, Texas ends up at the bottom of the list.

Voting and election law is a persistent struggle in Texas between those who want to knock down impediments to voting and those who think more safeguards are needed to secure the process and the results — though the evidence for this is both anecdotal and thin.

That particular battlefield ranges from voter ID to current legal battles over how many drop-offs each county is allowed to provide for voters who would rather not put their absentee ballots in the mail, who’s eligible to vote by mail and whether counties with curbside voting are making things too simple.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s how the researchers wrote up our state’s position on the list: “Texas maintains an in-person voter registration deadline 30 days prior to Election Day, has reduced the number of polling stations in some parts of the state by more than 50% and has the most restrictive pre-registration law in the country, according to the analysis.”

States at the top of the list — where it’s easiest to vote — have voting conveniences that aren’t available here, like online voter registration, automatic voter registration and allowing voters to register as late as Election Day. (The Texas deadline was Oct. 5.)

Some have universal mail-in voting, which the study considers a hallmark of a state where it’s easy to vote. In Texas, voting by mail is only available to people ages 65 and older, to eligible voters confined to jail, for voters who are out of their county of residence during voting, and for voters who cite a disability that prevents them from safely going to the polls.

And higher-rated states require only a signature for in-person voting, instead of tight voter photo identification laws like the one in Texas.

Texas has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country, turning out 45.6% of its population of eligible voters in 2018, compared with a national average of 49.4%, according to the United States Election Project. In the last presidential race, in 2016, turnout was 51.4% of the state’s eligible voters, a number that includes adults eligible to vote whether they registered or not. The national average was 60.1%.

The cost-of-voting index is an update of a study that includes indexes for elections back to 1996. In 2016, Texas was fifth from the bottom of the list, in company with Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia and Mississippi. This time around, Texas is behind every other state, in the bottom of the barrel with Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Maybe the low turnout in Texas is related to the state’s restrictive voting laws. Maybe eligible adults in Texas are less interested in voting, and the state’s voting laws are just an excuse for the low civic engagement.

There’s a way to find out, if state lawmakers’ goal is to get more Texans voting. If they wanted more people to vote, they’d make it easier.

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by pyrohornIII

[pyrohornIII 4,844]

One thing the article fails to mention is how unregulated the counties are when it comes to voting.  Very little is standardized.  Election code says anyone who meets the criteria to apply for a mail in ballot can do so with a simple form letter, giving basic information.   That means there is no official form or format to use that would be approved by the Secretary of State.   Then it goes on for another couple of pages laying out what an official form would look like, what it would request, like witness, assistant, phone, etc.    And of course the SoS has such a form they use.    

Some counties use yellow carrier envelopes, others blue, pink or white.  Some use an  A4 letter type envelope for the secret envelope and a 5x7 for the carrier envelope.  All the time we get asked if they can fold their ballots or not.  Do they need to use a pen or pencil?  What color?  What if I used a checkmark and didn't color in the little circle? Instructions are often vague, convoluted, over complicated, or all 3.   

Some counties use all electronic voting systems, others paper or a combination of both.   Some track VBM ballots online, others don't.  Training of poll workers varies from place to place.  It's like getting on I35 and some people are in teslas, some in fords, and others in a horse carriage.  But they are all going the same direction, usually.  

The Texas voting code is about as vague as the Bible.  Pretty much on purpose.  The more confusing it is, the less people are likely to vote.  Game, set, match to the Red side.

It's nuts and it needs to be fixed.

[Neonmoon 38,130]

 

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2,692]

Regarding the ruling that just came down from 5th Circuit (of course) that allows rejection of ballots for signatures not matching those on file, without opportunity to contest or cure:

It kind of blows my mind.

Legal eagles, what is the standard of review for rulings or statutes impacting the right to vote? Obviously, voting is a constitutional right for those eligible. How can it be that the interest in "election integrity" (i.e. protecting against fraud) "outweighs" (that's the term I believe the 5th Cir. used) the interest of voters for their vote to count, without any substantial evidence that (1) election integrity is factually a problem due to false identity or forgery by individuals attempting to vote by mail/drop-off, and (2) that this process actually serves to ameliorate the problem. Is the standard not strict or intermediate scrutiny, then?

With regard to #2 above, it's NUTS--- there is NO standard for election officials to use to decide a signature is not a match. Nothing about how many points of difference must be identified. And of course, no requirement of expertise in handwriting analysis. What if a motherfucker develops Parkinson's or any manner of condition affecting motor skills? I've never really had a super stable signature myself. Ever since I got married, I really haven't found a way that I like of making a cursive L (don't dox me bro). And some muhfucker gonna toss a ballot with literally zero oversight or accountability, knowing the likely voting pattern of citizens in the particular county?  

This is fucking madness. Legal dudes, what do you think of the 5th Cir. opinion?

Edited October 20, 2020 by ChuckNorrisActionJeans

[immamac 44,199]

Go fucking vote in person on the 3rd and invalidate your ballot or have them turn you away. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,707]

This ballot signature notification question sounds like it's up to the county to decide. The court ruled that the counties (or election authority) doesn't have to notify the voter their ballot was rejected because of signature. I can't see anything where they forbid the practice. Now it wouldn't shock me that Paxton would try to stop counties from doing so next.

[Jiggy-Z 3,506]

5 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

 

I really don't have a problem with the poll worker turning away the BLM t shirt people as long as they apply the same treatment to all marginally political t shirts.  Everything is political now.  I just wouldn't risk showing up in anything that gave away my political leanings.  Last thing we need the BLM guys showing up at the same time as guys wearing Blue lives mater shirts.