Election Challenges, Protests, Conspiracy Theories, and Moral Panics

[Dill]

After listening to dissection of Trump's multi-pronged legal challenges on MSNBC, watching the pro-Trump protests in Maricopa county on CNN, and listening to a litany of election "irregularities" on Fox, I thought it might be helpful to create a place to post and discuss similarly themed news.

Starting with this: Hundreds upset over ballot counting protest in downtown Phoenix
https://www.azfamily.com/news/politics/election_headquarters/mostly-trump-supporters-upset-over-ballot-counting-protest-in-downtown-phoenix/article_30b98c24-1f13-11eb-8c4c-a3723cfef328.html

. . . It all started when the extremist group AZ Patriots initially walked right into the Maricopa County Recorder's Office at Third Avenue and Lincoln Street, live streaming around 7 p.m. One of the members was wearing a military vest and made a claim the County used Sharpie pens to make some ballots invalid. The conspiracy gained traction on Wednesday, but the officials said that it is not true and Sharpie pens don't disqualify ballots....

Also protesting was Jennifer Harrison, a leader of Arizona's Patriot movement. She had a megaphone and was calling out Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes, saying, "Where are our votes, Adrian?" Fontes is the head of elections for Maricopa County.

The group then moved to the Arizona Capitol Building to protest the election results. They stayed there for about a half-hour before moving back to the Maricopa County Recorder's Office. The group continued to grow with more than 200 people there as of 9:30 p.m., with it being mostly Trump supporters. They chanted "Four more years" and "Count the votes." Others chanted, "Stop the steal," implying Biden was stealing the election in Arizona.

[Dill]

And this: Arizona voters file lawsuits against Maricopa County elections officials for canceled ballots
https://www.12news.com/article/news/politics/elections/arizona-voters-file-lawsuits-against-maricopa-county-elections-officials-for-canceled-ballots/75-1baae1d6-39ff-4109-b6db-19ffefc1d816

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — An attorney filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of several voters in Maricopa County alleging that the use of a Sharpie permanent marker at polling places across the county disenfranchised voters.

Attorney Alexander Kolodin represents a voter identified as Laurie Aguilera as well as ten unidentified Arizona voters in a suit against Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and more.

According to the suit, Aguilera visited her polling place on election day and was given a Sharpie to fill out her ballot.

“Plaintiff completed her ballot with the provided Sharpie. While completing it, she noticed the ink was bleeding through,” the suit reads. It goes on to say that the machine failed to read Aguilera’s ballot and those poll workers would not provide her with a second ballot nor a duplicate ballot when the ballot was not read. She believes her vote was not counted.

“I should just know that when I put my ballot into the machine and if I followed the instructions it gets counted, and it gets counted perfectly,” Kolodin said Wednesday night.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has said on several occasions that using a Sharpie to fill in a ballot is perfectly fine. The Maricopa County Elections Department even released this YouTube video on Oct. 24, saying the same.

The Maricopa County Elections Department said Wednesday it could not comment on pending litigation, but in an interview conducted earlier Wednesday with spokeswoman Erika Flores, Flores said the department actually prefers Sharpies.

“Those Sharpies are the ones we provided at vote centers because they’re the fastest drying ink,” Flores said.

Even so, the suit claims that the use of Sharpies may have prevented many ballots from being counted by vote tabulating machines and that that lack of machine tabulation is guaranteed by state law.

Kolodin said the suit seeks a declaration that the use of the Sharpies was improper and the right of voters who feel their votes are in doubt to fill out and re-submit their votes.

[Dill]

Both sides do it:

‘Count Every Vote’: Protests Over Ballot Tallies Sweep Through U.S. Cities
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/us/election-protests-portland-minnesota-arizona.html

PORTLAND, Ore. — Calling on election officials to “count every vote,” protesters marched through the streets of several American cities on Wednesday in response to President Trump’s aggressive effort to challenge the vote count in Tuesday’s presidential election.

In Minneapolis, protesters blocked a freeway, prompting arrests. In Portland, hundreds gathered on the waterfront to protest the president’s attempted interventions in the vote count as a separate group protesting the police and urging racial justice surged through downtown, smashing shop windows and confronting police officers and National Guard troops.

Demonstrators Arrested In Minneapolis After Hundreds Walk Onto I-94 In Protest Of Election
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/11/04/demonstrators-taking-to-minneapolis-streets-to-protest-election-pandemic-recession/
Mayerle said the response from law enforcement is one that had been planned for weeks in the lead up to possible unrest stemming from the presidential election — which accounted for the swift response for several agencies.

Earlier this week, organizers said they were going to demonstrate regardless of the outcome of the election, using chants such as, “Don’t let Trump steal the election,” and, “A Biden win will not give the freedom we demand.”

Organizers said they want to see Biden win, but that it won’t immediately change the lives of oppressed people and all the issues they face.

On top of the election, the group said it’s fighting a trifecta of a pandemic, racism and the recession. There is also an underlying aspect of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

Organizers said they wanted to channel that energy they have had since late May through Wednesday night and beyond.


NYC demonstrators set fires, clash with police in election protest; arrests reported
The NYPD said it has formed a Looting Task Force in Response to such activities

https://www.foxnews.com/us/nyc-police-election-protests

[NATI BENGALS]

Here is a new one nobody has heard. Trump appointee Dejoy sabotaged the USPS to hurt mail in voting because it would hurt Biden.

I know totally out of left field and not a known issue. I will be chanting stop the count with other trumpets tonight at a local election facility as those who took this fake pandemic seriously and the fake record number of infections recently are not a legitimate reason for people to vote by mail. It’s all fraudulent and we should only be counting votes marked for Trump.

Dill you are like me sometimes and the sarcasm hits so hard you can’t stop. I hope you have seen the South Park episode “Sarcastiball”

[*michaelsean*]

Anyone remember them removing mailboxes so people couldn’t mail in their votes? Or are we just talking post-election conspiracies?

[NATI BENGALS]

(11-06-2020, 12:29 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Anyone remember them removing mailboxes so people couldn’t mail in their votes?  Or are we just talking post-election conspiracies?

No that was very recent as far as I understand.  Dismantled and removed mail sorting machines as well?

Was that real life?

[Big Boss]

Hey look. Voter fraud.

"Local GOP Pushes Trump Voters to Cast Ballots After Election"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-warns-of-corrupt-post-election-day-votes-as-his-supporters-push-for-them-in-pa/

[*michaelsean*]

(11-06-2020, 12:58 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: No that was very recent as far as I understand.  Dismantled and removed mail sorting machines as well?

Was that real life?

The mailboxes were routine. It happens all the time.

[BigPapaKain]

(11-06-2020, 01:31 AM)Big Boss Wrote: Hey look.  Voter fraud.

"Local GOP Pushes Trump Voters to Cast Ballots After Election"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-warns-of-corrupt-post-election-day-votes-as-his-supporters-push-for-them-in-pa/

Gaslight.
Obstruct.
Project.

[Belsnickel]

This is what happens when you perpetuate the narrative that the only way you'll lose is with voter fraud.

[Dill]

(11-06-2020, 12:08 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Here is a new one nobody has heard. Trump appointee Dejoy sabotaged the USPS to hurt mail in voting because it would hurt Biden.

I know totally out of left field and not a known issue. I will be chanting stop the count with other trumpets tonight at a local election facility as those who took this fake pandemic seriously and the fake record number of infections recently are not a legitimate reason for people to vote by mail. It’s all fraudulent and we should only be counting votes marked for Trump.

Dill you are like me sometimes and the sarcasm hits so hard you can’t stop. I hope you have seen the South Park episode “Sarcastiball”

LOL. "While we're at it, we'll have a balloon . . . ."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlv6BrrxD_4

Most of my six decades of existence the US has represented itself as a force for liberal democracy whom allies trusted and counted on, a country which had really extinguished white supremacy as a living force in our internal politics, if not quite our foreign policy. A truly progressive force in world history. That is perhaps not the most honest self representation, but it had a plausibility and enough "buy in" from the US populace and politicians and much of the rest of the world to keep that representation as a standard, a goal, a criterion against which the "goodness" or "exceptionalism" of the U.S. could be measured. We could be shamed into good behavior, at least, striving to hold that ideal.

And now, even after FOUR YEARS of Trump, those progressive forces (including never-Trump Republicans) that made the US this supposed "beacon of democracy" are struggling to RETURN the US to this liberal democratic ideal, holding on against an irrational, angry leader whose incompetent, erratic, and xenophobic governance is an acceptable price to pay for rejection of that ideal and its replacement by a new one: America first! 

So yeah, we are living in surreal times. The most outrageous and patently false, self-serving rumors circulate as "breaking news" among the Trump faithful who dismiss responsible reporting at a nod from their leader.

Apparently it can happen here. Almost did. 

[Dill]

(11-06-2020, 12:29 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Anyone remember them removing mailboxes so people couldn’t mail in their votes?  Or are we just talking post-election conspiracies?

(11-06-2020, 12:58 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: No that was very recent as far as I understand.  Dismantled and removed mail sorting machines as well?

Was that real life?

Er, no gentleman. 

All removals and dismantlings were routine maintenance and planned replacement. 

Timing nothing to do with the election.  Please move along now . . . Nothing to see here . . . . 

Wait! look there--Dems won't let Repub observers watch the vote count!! Claim they just found 10,000 new ballots!

Right over there!--> Hurry!

[*michaelsean*]

(11-06-2020, 11:22 AM)Dill Wrote: Er, no gentleman. 

All removals and dismantlings were routine maintenance and planned replacement. 

Timing nothing to do with the election.  Please move along now . . . Nothing to see here . . . . 

I mean the mailboxes were.  It happens constantly.  

[Dill]

(11-06-2020, 11:26 AM)michaelsean Wrote: I mean the mailboxes were.  It happens constantly.  

Routine, my friend. 

Unfortunate that home owners were not informed in advance that their private boxes were due for removal.

But the Post Office has been shorthanded lately, with the need to dismantle our rapid-sorting machines.

[BFritz21]

Alright, so I was happy to accept if Biden won, but I just didn't think there was any way in hell that a guy with dementia that barely left his basement could ever win.

Trump was leading, but not by much, and appeared to be wining states like Michigan and Wisconsin, so it seemed like he'd take it.

However, I was shocked when Biden appeared to start making a comeback, but things just didn't add up.

I went to sleep with Trump leading in Michigan and Wisconsin.

I woke up in the morning and, within a short time of polls being open, Biden had already taken the lead in Michigan AND Wisconsin?



You hear stories of ballots being thrown out in some places?!



I have heard of ballots being processed after election day that are like 200,000 for Biden and zero for Trump?



I'm friends with a girl that just left my place and her mom votes in Michigan. She lives in the largest county (or one of the largest counties), voted for Trump. but the poll results showed only two votes for Trump in that county?



Like I said, I'll accept the results if they're fair, but this wreaks of corruption........

[NATI BENGALS]

You know Brad. I have never had a chance to tell you about the bridge I have for sale.

[Au165]

Don't we already have a conspiracy theory thread?

[fredtoast]

"Hearing stories" is meaningless unless they are true, and none of the stories you mention are true.

Everyone knew this would happen.  The mail in votes that were not counted until later (many times because the Republicans wanted it that way) are much more in favor of Biden.  This is because people who voted for Biden were more likely to be concerned with the safety of large public gatherings and the spread of Covid while Trump supporters don't give a shit about any of that.  So Biden voters were much more likely to vote by mail.

[*Nately120*]

Some people say Donald Trump is full of shit. I've heard people say that. Some people say.

[Millhouse]

(11-06-2020, 06:00 PM)fredtoast Wrote: "Hearing stories" is meaningless unless they are true, and none of the stories you mention are true.

Everyone knew this would happen.  The mail in votes that were not counted until later (many times because the Republicans wanted it that way) are much more in favor of Biden.  This is because people who voted for Biden were more likely to be concerned with the safety of large public gatherings and the spread of Covid while Trump supporters don't give a shit about any of that.  So Biden voters were much more likely to vote by mail.

This is why here in Ohio Biden took the early lead because we do things the way it should be done. The mail in votes are ready to be counted on election day as they are approved beforehand. So when they were counted first, Ohio initially was going to Biden due to all the mail-ins being counted. But as the evening went on, it swung to Trump because the votes at the poles were more for him.