I've Never Been More Worried About American Democracy Than I Am Right Now

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Yes, I know: another alarmist article. You've been warned.

CoronaInItalyHat Retweeted

Please read this and take it seriously.
@rickhasen
is not an alarmist. But his reaction here is a reflection of a brutal reality. It is hiding in plain sight, with Trump's own comments. We could be headed for a legal coup attempt

Link to tweet

JURISPRUDENCE

I’ve Never Been More Worried About American Democracy Than I Am Right Now

The preemptive attack on the vote count is a five-alarm fire.

By RICHARD L. HASEN
SEPT 23, 2020 3:16 PM

With less than six weeks to go before Election Day, and with over 250 COVID-related election lawsuits filed across 45 states, the litigation strategy of the Trump campaign and its allies has become clear: try to block the expansion of mail-in balloting whenever possible and, in a few key states, create enough chaos in the system and legal and political uncertainty in the results that the Supreme Court, Congress, or Republican legislatures can throw the election to Trump if the outcome is at all close or in doubt. It’s a Hail Mary, but in a close enough election, we cannot count the possibility out. I’ve never been more worried about American democracy than I am right now.

Much of the blizzard of election litigation concerns the casting of ballots by mail, a means of voting that has exploded thanks to COVID-19, and the fears many people have of voting in person during a pandemic. Rules for casting mail-in ballots vary from state to state, and some are onerous during a pandemic, such as a requirement to have an absentee ballot notarized. There are also serious questions about timing; even without all the tumult at the United States Postal Service, some states allow voters to request absentee ballots in the period close to the election, and there is real fear that voters will not get their ballots back in time to elected officials to be counted. Some state and federal courts have responded to these lawsuits by relaxing technical requirements, such as allowing ballots to be counted if they arrive after Election Day so long as they are postmarked by Election Day (or if they arrive shortly after Election Day with no postmark, given that USPS does not always put a postmark—or a legible one—on ballot envelopes).

Trump has made repeated and loud unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in relation to mail-in ballots, even though he and his allies have voted by mail themselves and even as the campaign has begun encouraging more mail-in balloting among his own supporters. The Trump and Republican litigation strategy has been to fight efforts to expand voting by mail: They have opposed expanded use of government drop boxes to return absentee ballots, extension of deadlines for ballot return, and state decisions to proactively send mail-in ballots to all active registered voters. Four states—California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Vermont—are doing so this time, joining the five other states that already conduct their elections almost exclusively by mail. The Trump campaign has through litigation attacked the expansion of mail-in balloting in Nevada, so far unsuccessfully, and Attorney General William Barr has ridiculously claimed that election officials—led by a Republican secretary of state—will somehow “find” 100,000 ballots to help Joe Biden win the state if Trump is in the lead.

{snip}

If we are lucky enough, the election will not be close, and we will avoid this election meltdown only to start panicking again in the run-up to 2024. But if it is close, all bets are off. ... We should not think of the litigation and the wild claims of voter fraud as separate from one another. Instead, they are part of a play to grab power if the election is close enough. There are good legal arguments against a power grab, but if another body tries to overturn the will of the people in voting for president, there will be protests in the streets, with the potential for violence. ... This is a five-alarm fire, folks. It’s time to wake up.

[TwilightZone]

1. It's just desperation.

He sees the writing on the wall. Creating total chaos may be the only chance he is. That's why it's very important that we GOTV to the point that the race is called for Biden election night. That's going to blunt any claims he makes and no one outside of the die-hards will take him seriously.

[magicarpet]

2. Your a little late to the Nazi Party sweetheart,...

I been shitting a brick 'bout these Fascists for over a decade,... where you been,..... Jupiter or Saturn ?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Earth. It's the title of the article. NT

[I_UndergroundPanther]

4. Bush was a test run

On election theft by the supreme Court.
People didn't riot when that election was stolen.
There was a little pushback. But nothing that would disrupt the shit rich pigs who forced bush on us worry about like stock markets or commerce or property.


Repigs think we will sit back maybe wave signs and yell and take thier horseshit election.

I hope to hell we don't take it and will get dirty and bitch slap the narcissistic militias till they go home crying for thier mother.

I hope the blue wave washes all the repiglican sickness out and drowns them all.

And because we are not playing nice with fascists trump is too scared to say he won. Too scared to litigate and we shut everything down until the ballots,all of them are found and counted.Even if it takes 6 months.

The republican psychopaths take us taking the high road as permission to act out.