Trump campaign is recording voters casting early ballots and threatening to sue

[turbinetree]

Source: American Independent



By Associated Press -October 23, 2020 9:40 AM

The office of the Pennsylvania attorney general warned that videotaping voters at drop boxes could be construed as illegal voter intimidation.

The Trump campaign has been videotaping people as they deposit ballots in drop boxes in Philadelphia in what it says is an attempt to catch violations, surveillance that the battleground state's Democratic attorney general suggested could amount to illegal intimidation.

The campaign acknowledged the taping in a letter from a lawyer that complained it had caught voters on video illegally depositing multiple ballots. City elections officials responded they could not confirm the activity was inappropriate under Pennsylvania law.

Linda Kerns, the lawyer for the Trump campaign — which has already sued to ban the use of drop boxes — wrote to city election officials last week to request that they end the use of "unmanned drop boxes." The New York Times first reported the development Thursday.

Philadelphia and many other heavily populated counties in Pennsylvania are using drop boxes to help collect an avalanche of mail ballots under a year-old law greatly expanding such voting.

Read more: https://americanindependent.com/donald-trump-campaign-voter-intimidation-lawsuit-philadelphia-pennsylvania/

---

Fucking fascist MF..................I really hate fucking voter intimidation especially from this MF or anyone that pulls this shit...........

[Newest Reality]

1. That picture!!!!

That qualifies as the most horrible Halloween costume ever in the history of Halloween and the other holidays.

People are saying that!

Disgusting!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

3. lol, I was distracted by that pic too

The story is also bad.

[onetexan]

16. it's the look of a defeated coward who knows he's in way over his head and hellbent on clinging to

power by resorting to every low thing he can. He got into the WH that way. He's attempting to do the same again to stay there so as to avoid prosecution. We are in heightened danger alert period. Glad to know the PA AG is on alert.

[DownriverDem]

45. I wish there was no picture.

Many times I would post an article on FB except for trump's picture being with it.

[barbtries]

57. everyone is saying that!

you know that. everyone knows it. someone needs to go to jail for it.

[xxqqqzme]

64. Wow, you can see where he has had an upper lid lift

where he has had an upper lid lift.

Such an ugly little man through and through.

[Cha]

68. Ha.. I just posted.. trump looks like a Pile

of Elephant SHIT.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

2. I wish someone would tell him

his makeup sucks.

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. I wish someone would tell him his soul sucks.

The shield of "yes men/women" is nauseating!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

7. I think he'd be more bothered by comments on his makeup

than comments on his soul.

[Pacifist Patriot]

9. No argument on that point!

[babylonsister]

5. My bf dropped mine off with his so that's multiple.

I whiff the stench of desperation.

[not_the_one]

33. Yes, it IS desperation, but it may also be used as proof that the supreme court should decide.

They are looking for ANY excuse, and the newly packed SC may be on their side.

Multiple ballots dropped off,
Voters voting more than once (per der fuhrer's orders)
Fire in ballot boxes,
Ballot found dumped in parking lots, alley ways,
Ballots arriving after election day, even though they were postmarked on or before,
States possibly refusing to certify votes,
States demanding their electors vote a certain way.

Their desperation is obvious. But his last hope is the court. And courts decide on technicalities.

We shouldn't be taking any chances.

[jayschool2013]

56. Plus, there's the whole "orignalism" thing

As in, the founders were racist white guys, so we should decide in favor of the racist white guy. That's how I'm interpreting Coney Barrett's position. It certainly was the position of her mentor and hero, Scalia.

[Ms. Toad]

42. In many states (inlcuding PA), that is illegal.

It isn't the kind of "fraud" the laws were designed to prevent - BUT it is illegal (in PA) and could easily be used to keep PA live long past election night.

(FYI - the real fraud it was intended to prevent are ballot harvesting at workplaces, in nursing homes, etc. where people might be coerced into voting in a certain way, with the ballots then returned to the board of elections preventing the voters from altering them once they are out of sight of the coercing party.)

[DeminPennswoods]

65. Yep, in my county you have to personally deliver your

own absentee ballot although there is an exception if the voter is not able to deliver his/her ballot in person.

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. Hey, Don!

FUCK YOU!



(Yes, I know he doesn't read DU. This is for my emotional release.)

[babylonsister]

34. Ha!

[Yonnie3]

8. In some states only the voter is allowed to drop off their ballot

In one of those states videos of multiple ballots being dropped off will be used to question the vote.

This has implications beyond just intimidation.

[Yavin4]

21. And how do we know that the Trump campaign didn't stage someone dropping off multiple

ballots?

[Yonnie3]

23. I would think that is probable n/t

[SharonClark]

62. Wouldn't be surprised.

[Desert grandma]

27. In our state NM

You can drop off an absentee ballot for someone else as long as you indicate that by signature on a certain portion of the outer ballot. I took my 93 year old mother's ballot in along with my own. The worker at the drop box checked to make certain the signature was there and accepted it with no problems.

[Yonnie3]

30. 10 or so years ago,

as best as I recall, in Virginia you needed to name an assistant when applying for absentee ballots. A form was included with the ballot that named the assistant and the assistant was supposed to provide that and ID when dropping off a ballot.

I think there is a similar procedure to have a named assistant help in the polling place.

[Ligyron]

59. But you can mail as many as you want anytime, multiple times even?

Makes perfect sense.

[MuseRider]

10. You cannot convince me

that they saw and taped voters depositing multiple ballots and did not say or do anything until now. Where are the tapes? If they had them they would have blasted them to every news station, paper, magazine and website known to man. They kept the tapes, they say they have video of that and just now they are trying to stop the drop boxes because of something they have known about but only now say they have? It would have been blasted all over 10 minutes after they had the tape. No way are they sitting on that.

[ScratchCat]

11. At some point after November 3rd

Trump will force his legal team to make the argument that the only scenario under which the election is "fair" is that if the Trump campaign gets to inspect every ballot cast in the United States. Just watch. It will be laughed out of court, but its his victimhood end game ("If only I could have inspected those votes..&quot (damn, what is the issue? I am not putting a winking smiley thing in here its just the end of parenthesis).

[MuseRider]

12. LOL

That sounds about right!

[not_the_one]

29. Preview your comment. Make sure you add a space before and after the smiley.

That will fix it. I have to do it all the time when inappropriate smilies pop up willy nilly.

[jaxexpat]

37. What? Not willy nilly too. ettu Willy N.? Alas, the emogees, the humanity...........

[stopdiggin]

43. it's the quote mark / parenthesis

that gives the smiley (every single time). I've run into this multiple occasions. Only solution is to vary the punctuation

("word"] -- ("word') -- ("word"`) -- ("word".) -- and ("word"_) --- all work,
(and frustrate because they're not what we're asking for, on top of looking like sloppy typos.)

quote / parenthesis -- simply won't ------ wish they'd fix that

[Mike 03]

13. "Multiple ballots"

Ridiculous. How many people are dropping off ballots of family members? Maybe they have parents who are at-risk for coronavirus, or an immunocompromised sibling, or saving them a trip, or numerous other health issues.

Idiocy.

[Aristus]

18. I dropped off my ballot and that of Mrs. Aristus.

Nobody challenged me. Of course, I live in Washington State. We're a little more immune to Trump-style idiocy than in most of the flyover states...

[gopiscrap]

26. I dropped off my elderly neighbors ballot also

of course she told me she voted for Biden and has a Biden sign in her window, so I was motivated to be a good neighbor

[Ms. Toad]

39. The issue is that the law only permits the return of ballots

by the voter and certain designated others.

Under Pennsylvania law, voters must return their own ballots. The only exceptions to this are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot.

https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Return-Ballot.aspx

When you return it to the board of elections, they can verify compliance. When you put it in a drop box they can't - and many voters are returning ballots for others, without realizing they may be violating the law.

So - since PA is a critical state - this strikes me as a potential weak spot for Biden - and chaos after the election that can be used to keep the status in play.

[stopdiggin]

47. you're right

Different states, different requirements.
AND .. if you think voting is critical (particularly in this cycle) -- then it's important enough to educate yourself on proper procedure.

WHY hand your opponents any leverage? ANY argument?

[LisaL]

78. Very true.

You have to know what is legal and not legal in your state and clearly a lot of people don't have a clue.
In Oh you can drop off your ballot and that of your close relatives.
Apparently other states like PA don't allow that (which is stupid, but that's beyond the point).

[Hoyt]

14. Not going to spot any irregularities. All official ballot boxes are under video surveillance anyway.

[stopdiggin]

51. except that dropping multiple ballots IS an irregularity

at least in the state under question.

The original question is whether this outside "monitoring" constitutes intimidation or voter suppression -- and I very much doubt if that argument is going to get anywhere. A drop box is quite clearly a public space.

[LiberalArkie]

15. Should Christopher Reeve have been denied the right to vote as he could not mark a ballot

himself or hand deliver it himself?

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

17. Both my son and I received ballots to vote by mail on the same day.

We both sat down at the kitchen table and filled them out simultaneously. There is a drop box for mail-in ballots at the local library, so rather than mail them, I dropped them both off at the library. Yes, I deposited two ballots simultaneously. I suppose that this is the thing that the Trump campaign is nattering about.

[Marcuse]

19. The makeup contaminates the inside of his mask and blocks filtration.

[jaxexpat]

38. Orange demaskulosis, the malady of the moment.

[getagrip_already]

20. for a LOT of reasons, lets make sure it doesn't come down to PA....

Lets make sure we have more than enough EV's without PA, and fight for every last vote in PA.

This is a good time to be wearing both a belt and suspenders.

[Wuddles440]

22. False Flag Operation?

It wouldn't surprise me if the "voters" being filmed engaging in such activities were actually campaign operatives for the Orange Anus. There will be a massive attempt at election fraud - all orchestrated by the republiCONS.

[niyad]

25. Excellent point.

[niyad]

24. Would it be legal to videotape THEM, then put their mugs on the web to be doxxed? Turnabout,

and all that.

[ananda]

28. I hope Biden's law team is on this and ..

that they sue the fuck out of the Trump campaign
and anybody associated with this serious violation
of voting laws and rights!!!

[Hortensis]

31. THIS: "The ELECTOR shall..or deliver it in person to said county board of election."

"The ballot envelope shall then be securely sealed and the elector shall send same by mail, postage prepaid, except where franked, or deliver it in person to said county board of election."

https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-10-who-can-collect-and-return-an-absentee-ballot-other-than-the-voter.aspx

Yonnie3's right, of course; this is about sabotaging the absentee votes themselves, intimidation merely a two-fer. The word "shall" means it's how it has to be done. Everyone delivering any ballot but his own appears to be breaking the law.

The link above shows the law as of August in all states. We're in GA, and my husband legally dropped both ours off.

[Ms. Toad]

40. Correct -

Those brushing this off are unaware of that law (which doesn't surprise me), and leaves PA open for a challenge.

From the PA website:

Under Pennsylvania law, voters must return their own ballots. The only exceptions to this are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot.

https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Return-Ballot.aspx

[Hortensis]

49. With the Repubs relentlessly sabotaging elections, my husband and I

read everything more than twice, afraid to disenfranchise ourselves by leaving off a middle initial, tearing off the wrong strip of paper from the ballot, forgetting to put it in the second envelope, or backwards or something, or failing to confirm that it was legal for a husband to deposit for his wife.

And turns out we weren't wrong to fear the box could be spied on by hostiles.

Please, let us get a majority in the senate so we can reestablish and expand voter and election protections. H.R. 1, the For the People Act, has been waiting to be taken up by the senate since January 2019.

[Ms. Toad]

53. Thank you for being smart!!

Just a quick glance at this thread confirms that most people don't understand that the return of ballots is often tightly controlled.

There are reasons for it, but they don't fit our current circumstances. Unfortunately, the law has not yet changed.

[stopdiggin]

55. which is the way everyone should be approaching it

The "oh, well -- minor details" attitude is -- shall I say, a bit frustrating?
WHAT THE HELL people? Not important enough to follow the instructions and get it right?
Geeezus!
----- -----
(.. shaking my head as I walk away...)

[Hortensis]

63. Yes. Too many of these supposed protections are being enacted by

conservative governments to create mechanisms for disenfranchising.

Most of my voting life was spent in California, where and when it was seen as a right, not something easily denied or taken away. People brought utility bills to confirm ID when voting. A decade or so ago here in GA, an ancient gentleman was showing everyone in the voting line the WWI army discharge papers he'd apparently been bringing proudly to every election since then.

[Old Okie]

32. Returning Ballots

Depends on each State's rules I assume. Here in Maryland it is permissible to drop off multiple sealed ballots, see this excerpt from MD FAQ

"There is no federal or state law that prohibits individuals collecting other voters' voted ballots and delivering them to a local board of elections, a ballot drop off location or a mailbox. State law establishes a process for appointing someone to pick up and deliver a ballot to a voter, but this process does not apply to just returning voted ballots to a ballot drop location. Prohibiting someone from returning other voters' voted ballots would require action by the Maryland General Assembly."

In places where R's have been allowed free range in state legislatures, it probably is different. We cannot ignore these downballot elections'.

[FakeNoose]

35. I mailed my ballot via the US Postal Service

... and it was received and recorded the next day. (I tracked it.)

There's no need to "hand deliver" your ballot anywhere, especially if you have reliable postal workers in your area. Yes I am in Pennsylvania - Allegheny county, City of Pittsburgh - and I believe the mailing of ballots is safe and secure.

The politicization of the US Postal Service is only happening at the top of the food chain in Washington. Our local postal workers are reliable people who want to do their job and keep on working. Most of them belong to the Postal Workers' Union, if that matters.

[Postal Grunt]

48. I hope you won't forget

.... the letter carriers who are represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers. They're the rain, sleet, snow, dark of night, and Covid-19 delivery people.

[FakeNoose]

50. That's a good point - they deserve our appreciation

... and even a token gift at Christmastime!

I know the guy at the top is an asshole, but he'll be gone soon and he's no reflection on the great people who do the work day-in and day-out!

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

66. My late SIL was a postal carrier...She was DX w/Appendiceal cancer, had most of

her intestinal tract removed, (went back to work with colostomy AND ileostomy bags), was temporarily assigned to sorting. Although her Dr told HER SUPERVISOR via her medical letter that she wasn't supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs. Do you know that that idiot, the heifer that I laughingly refer to as her "supervisor" kept asking her if she could handle containers that were "ONLY 25-50 lbs"? Like WTAF, man?! What part of an ACTUAL Dr's order do you not unders... oh f*ck, why waste my time. Besides, I already have a couple of stomach ulcers. So...

Renee,(my wonderful SIL), actively worked up until a week until she went into hospice, (which she only lived in 3 days). I have ALL KINDS of reverence for postal workers.

[live love laugh]

75. There are many others who mailed ballots or are waiting to get ballots in the mail and saw delays.

There is a need to hand deliver ballots when the Postal Service has had sorting capacity reduced by millions of pieces of mail by Trump’s appointee as Postmaster General.

[Bengus81]

36. His FRAUD and manipulation of the USPS didn't work, now he's trying this BS

FUCK YOU TRUMP this won't work either.........

[Botany]

41. Suing people because they voted? That will go over well in court. Please Trump go ahead and sue.

BTW some courts might consider such law suits as nuisance civil actions and Trump and company
will have to pay for the other sides legal expenses.

This is all bullshit. Sooner or later a lawyer or lawyers will tell Trump that this is a really dumb idea
and it will leave Trump and company in real legal jeopardy.

[Ms. Toad]

44. It's not actually BS in PA (and many other states) where voters are required

to return their own ballots (with very limited exceptions).

There is enough legal basis for this that it could throw the PA outcome into uncertainty long after election night.

[LisaL]

77. Thankfully in OH it's legal to drop off someone else ballot if that someone is in your immediate

family.
Which only makes sense. But some states have rules that make no sense.

[Ms. Toad]

79. Yup.

When my daughter was in college, I picked it up, ran out to college, waited while she voted, then ran it back to the board of elections.

The PA restriction makes no sense - when combined with unmonitored ballot boxes. There's nothing that I've seen to suggest that dropping off someone else's ballot would be a problem - and unless you've been immersed in elections restrictions on who can return a ballot are not necessarily intuitive.

[Initech]

46. What are these assholes hoping to find exactly?

People legally exercising their right to vote? There is no voter fraud being committed! NONE! Go blow it out your ass, Trump!

[Ms. Toad]

52. Having someone else turn your ballot in is illegal in PA (and many other states).

That's what they are hoping to find.

If one person drops multiple ballots in the drop box, without the proper written authorization based on a disablity, it violates PA law.

Under Pennsylvania law, voters must return their own ballots. The only exceptions to this are for voters with a disability who have designated someone in writing to deliver their ballot.

https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Return-Ballot.aspx

Even if PA ultimate excuses it (based on the court decision permitting unmanned drop boxes), it may still enough to throw he determination of PA to the courts (with a delay in determining the outcome). Since PA is a critical state, there needs to be some serious voter education in PA - not only about naked ballots, but about the need for each peson to return their own ballot.

[DLCWIdem]

58. Do they actually have to have written documentation of disability.

I remember sround 20 years ago.dropping off a ballot for an elderly person who found it difficult to get around. I was actually her caregiver but I don't know if she had certification of disability. She was a Republican anyway. Nut the question is do they have to have certification of disability?

[Ms. Toad]

60. I don't know the detals in PA.

and a quick search of the statutes doesn't turn up the details.

I believe it is authorization for someone else to return the ballot (not the certification of the ballot).

Different states have different rules. Often spouses can return each others' ballots, or the ballots of dependents living at home. Disability gets to be trickier, since nursing homes are prime ballot harvesting areas - a party operative goes in, assists the elderly voters to vote (some who might not be able to see if it was being filled our properly, or might not have the mental faculties to vote), then submits a whole slew of essentially party specific ballots (whether they wanted to vote that way or not.)

So the multiple ballot prohibition is intended to prevent the nursing home scenario.

[Initech]

70. If I saw these assholes recording me turn in my ballot...

The only thing they'd be recording is my middle finger going straight up in their faces.

[Ms. Toad]

72. Not the point.

Returning ballots for anyone other than yourself in PA is illegal - intimidation is a side benefit. The real goal is to capture evidenc of acts that illegal so they can call the PA results into question, and tie them up in court.

[jaxexpat]

54. Wait. I got it!

Every absentee/mail-in ballot has a........a...... name and.....an... address on it. So when the counters look through them to confirm eligibility they'll note that data against a.......list. Yes. A list of registered voters... yes, voters! If a name shows up as more than.....one.....vote cast or as somebody NOT on the list........ there is a........problem.

So then there's no, none, nada, zip, need for any ammo-cammo types to watch the freaking boxes unless they want to steal them or destroy them. I'm thinking that's what the cameras are about. Of course there's always the old incendiary letter bomb trick. But that's for registered terrorists only. And there WILL be a list.

[myohmy2]

61. ALL criminal acts...

...committed by Republicans need to be relentlessly pursued by our Justice Department starting in January...none of this 'let bygones be bygones because we're focusing on the future' bullshit...

...anyone touting that message will be 'Republican crime enablers' and part of the problem...

...we need to send these lying thugs to prison for a long time...

[Cha]

67. trump looks like a Pile of Elephant SHIT.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

69. The only way pResident iDJT can win is by cheating, stealing, & lying.

The scary thing is that he & his minion are doing plenty of each.

[ahoysrcsm]

71. Donald Trump does not want you using one of these drop boxes...

[turbinetree]

73. And that asshole Dejoy.............should be included

[honest.abe]

74. I dropped off my wife and my ballot together in a drop box.

How can that be illegal??

[LisaL]

76. You have to know what the rules of your state are.

Some states don't allow that.