Election integrity and the transfer of power

[hepcat]

Y'all practically let our guy get assassinated, and it's our shenanigans that you're worried about? If you can't trust the government to protect your candidate from a twenty year old kid(on a sloped roof), how can you trust anything they do?

Hey, if a registered Republican shot your candidate, that’s on you. Maybe get a less divisive candidate next time. One his own party members don’t wanna shoot, maybe?

I would hope that you are intelligent enough to understand the difference.

[LordMortis]

Who is this "y'all"? There's no evidence that "we" or anyone else other than a loser loner male shooter did this with a legally purchased assault rifle. Maybe if Republicans regulated these weapons more, it would have been a lot harder. Maybe your side should look in the mirror for making it easier, but I've been told by your side that more guns make us safer But there is no "y'all" here - that is just stupid. I can't stand Trump but I care enough about our country that I don't believe candidates being shot is a good idea, no matter how odious I find them.

"nothing you can do folks…Although Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."

Or perhaps it could have been prevented if more people in the audience were armed.

We're all fucked up and we not only won't do anything about it, we make it worse.

[em2nought]

That's obviously not good, no matter who the person is, but that doesn't mean the entire govt is worthless or incapable of doing things. If it did, why do you even care who will be elected president then? Your argument is illogical and self defeating.

But maybe you really don't care about our form of government, and a peaceful and orderly transition of power, which appears most Trumpers seemingly don't. Feel free to tell me I am wrong about you.

Part of me wishes we could just go back to pretending that our government does a good job at everything like we mostly have for decades.

[waitingtoconnect]

Is there anything we can do to be ready, or must we depend on courts, etc.?

As far as I know, it will be decided in the courts.

It’s horrifying. And it’s likely everywhere not just in swing states.

The way to fight right now is to make sure some far right third party activist group hasn’t challenged your registration and gotten you deregistered without your knowledge. But either way you can bet these “lists” will be used as evidence of fraud when anyone on it does vote.

A house vote for president is the most likely outcome. Even if Harris wins 60-40.

[Alefroth]

Y'all practically let our guy get assassinated, and it's our shenanigans that you're worried about?

Of course it is. If that surprises you, you haven't been paying attention at all.

[Alefroth]

Y'all practically let our guy get assassinated, and it's our shenanigans that you're worried about? If you can't trust the government to protect your candidate from a twenty year old kid(on a sloped roof), how can you trust anything they do?

Who is this "y'all"?

I think he's referring the Secret Service. You know, all the liberal Democratic Secret Service agents.

[Blackhawk]

Don't worry. If Trump wins, I'm sure that reforming the SS will be his first priority.

[hepcat]

That's obviously not good, no matter who the person is, but that doesn't mean the entire govt is worthless or incapable of doing things. If it did, why do you even care who will be elected president then? Your argument is illogical and self defeating.

But maybe you really don't care about our form of government, and a peaceful and orderly transition of power, which appears most Trumpers seemingly don't. Feel free to tell me I am wrong about you.

Part of me wishes we could just go back to pretending that our government does a good job at everything like we mostly have for decades.

Part of me wishes we could just go back to pretending that Trump is just a harmless braggart in love with himself.

[Unagi]

See, I really think there is a market for my new MMDAAA hats.

Make Me Delusional About America Again

[Alefroth]

Don't worry. If Trump wins, I'm sure that reforming the SS will be his first priority.

[Jaymann]

I have been thinking about this. Suppose on election night Harris wins by a substantial margin in the popular vote and the electoral college. The polls are closed, the votes are all counted and all the networks call the election. Does anyone seriously think a few asswipe Banana Republicans refusing to certify the the vote in their county (they don't count the votes, it's merely a perfunctory rubber stamp to the results reported by the polling places) is going to overturn the whole election?

I don't think even the BS Supreme Court could pull that off.

[Alefroth]

I'm of the mind that wouldn't fly.

[Kraken]

They will need two conditions: a close enough result to dispute a pivotal state, and an excuse to take it to SCOTUS. See: hanging chads.

[LordMortis]

I have been thinking about this. Suppose on election night Harris wins by a substantial margin in the popular vote and the electoral college. The polls are closed, the votes are all counted and all the networks call the election. Does anyone seriously think a few asswipe Banana Republicans refusing to certify the the vote in their county (they don't count the votes, it's merely a perfunctory rubber stamp to the results reported by the polling places) is going to overturn the whole election?

I don't think even the BS Supreme Court could pull that off.

If close enough in any way that could conceivably change the scale, I think they will start floating balloons immediately and go from there. I also think they are filling those balloons with hydrogen right now.

[waitingtoconnect]

I have been thinking about this. Suppose on election night Harris wins by a substantial margin in the popular vote and the electoral college. The polls are closed, the votes are all counted and all the networks call the election. Does anyone seriously think a few asswipe Banana Republicans refusing to certify the the vote in their county (they don't count the votes, it's merely a perfunctory rubber stamp to the results reported by the polling places) is going to overturn the whole election?

I don't think even the BS Supreme Court could pull that off.

They will be hoping, as it shows in some of the election were held today simulations, it comes down to a single purple state that has Republican controlled legislators like Georgia.

Right now the strategy is
1. Challenge voter enrolments and make their names public
2. On election day discourage those people from voting by “protecting” polling stations taking advantage of open carry laws
3. If any of these people do vote scream loudly that they are voting illegally. If a single person on the list did vote illegally run to the Supreme Court.

The electoral college is unfairly rigged against democrats - even if Kamala Harris wins the popular vote 55-45 Trump can still find a path to win the electoral college.

[YellowKing]

I think the best thing we can do is win by a huge margin. It makes it that much more difficult.

That said, Trump is not superhuman, as much as the left would like to believe he is a Bond villain. I still think it would be nigh on impossible for him to overturn an election with a decisive electoral college victory decided by more than one or two states. And even then I think it's a long shot.

[Unagi]

I think the best thing we can do is win by a huge margin.

Sounds like a plan.

[stessier]

This is your election cycle reminder that step one of insuring election integrity is making sure the polls are open and available for the voters. For that, every county needs workers. As long as you are over 18, you can be a poll worker! Training is provided (in South Carolina is 4 hours of online presentations followed by a 1 hour in person class) and while the day is long, the knowledge that you helped make the day a success is quite rewarding.

I just made my commitment for Nov 5th and am inline for a sweet $135 (the day rate for South Carolina - I assume every state is different). If you have any interest or sense of civic duty, check out how to get involved in your state! This will be my fourth election and the people I've worked with have always been totally focused on making fair decisions based on the training and law - it's really quite a refreshing atmosphere.

[waitingtoconnect]

Thank you for your service.

[Zarathud]

My wife is a rare Republican registered poll worker in Chicago. Her liberalism makes me look moderate, but her view is this lets her vote against MAGA in the primaries while preventing any shenanigans in our diverse community.

Plus, it guarantees they’ll keep the nearest poll station open in our Ward. And she doesn’t have to vote for our socialist progressive Alderman, whose activism isn’t appropriate for her local office and annoys my wife. All politics is local.

[Kraken]

I've taken the R ballot in the past two primaries in order to vote strategically. MA being essentially a one-party state, D incumbents are rarely challenged and seldom lose when they are. By looking at the Republicans instead, I can choose either (a) the weakest opponent, or (b) the not-MAGA option where one exists.

[Grifman]

I have been thinking about this. Suppose on election night Harris wins by a substantial margin in the popular vote and the electoral college. The polls are closed, the votes are all counted and all the networks call the election. Does anyone seriously think a few asswipe Banana Republicans refusing to certify the the vote in their county (they don't count the votes, it's merely a perfunctory rubber stamp to the results reported by the polling places) is going to overturn the whole election?

I don't think even the BS Supreme Court could pull that off.

I don't see any of those efforts working in the long run. In most states, the role of the election boards is similar to that of the Vice President in counting the electoral votes - just formally acknowledging what has already been done. Most boards are required to certify their votes by specific dates set in law. There's no formal process for boards to not legally fail to certify because of supposed fraud. That is left to other legal processes in each state - the board are not investigatory bodies.

If certain boards do fail to certify, I suspect that lawsuits will be swiftly coming, and the boards will be forced by the courts to certify the elections. This same thing has already happened dozens of times since 2020 after which this became a thing, and I expect the same process to happen. The problem is that widespread failure to certify will result in more uncertainty, confusion, and doubt about the legitimacy of the election, which in turn could led to acts of violence by certain parties.

So I don't think these failures to certify will in the end, change anything, but they will cause more doubt, confusion, and perhaps, violence. Welcome to America 2024!

[YellowKing]

And certain MAGA-heavy election boards notwithstanding, Trump is in a much weaker position today to challenge the results than he was in 2020 and in the White House.

[LordMortis]

And certain MAGA-heavy election boards notwithstanding, Trump is in a much weaker position today to challenge the results than he was in 2020 and in the White House.

Federally? Yes. On a state by state basis where he has installed MAGA loyalists and Project 2025 zealots everywhere from balloting stations to certification boards with state AsG like Paxton with lawsuit on speed dial, he much more prepared for shenanigans than he was before. It's not so much that he is a mastermind (he's not) it's the loyalty he demands and receives when it comes to corruption and treachery on his behalf.

[Unagi]

And certain MAGA-heavy election boards notwithstanding, Trump is in a much weaker position today to challenge the results than he was in 2020 and in the White House.

Especially given presidential immunity.

[Carpet_pissr]

Don't worry. If Trump wins, I'm sure that reforming the SS will be his first priority.

[gbasden]

Part of me wishes we could just go back to pretending that our government does a good job at everything like we mostly have for decades.

You might look and try to figure out which political party has been trying to break functioning government for the last 40 years.

[em2nought]

Part of me wishes we could just go back to pretending that our government does a good job at everything like we mostly have for decades.

You might look and try to figure out which political party has been trying to break functioning government for the last 40 years.

How do you define "functioning"? Was the Secret Service in Butler "functioning"?

[hepcat]

Part of me wishes we could just go back to pretending that our government does a good job at everything like we mostly have for decades.

You might look and try to figure out which political party has been trying to break functioning government for the last 40 years.

How do you define "functioning"?

As any administration other than Trump's.

Was the Secret Service in Butler "functioning"?

No one here thinks that the Secret Service did a good job in Butler. They let a Republican shoot his own party's candidate, for crying out loud. Obviously, you should all be trying to understand why even your own people hate Trump in the long run, though.

[gbasden]

Part of me wishes we could just go back to pretending that our government does a good job at everything like we mostly have for decades.

You might look and try to figure out which political party has been trying to break functioning government for the last 40 years.

How do you define "functioning"? Was the Secret Service in Butler "functioning"?

Republicans have done everything they can to make government non-functioning. I am not shocked that the secret service that prevented Reagan's assassination now no longer is capable. With the new Chevron decision I expect to see lots of departments crippled and unable to be effective.

[Alefroth]

You love to see it-

https://www.cpr.org/2024/08/12/tina-pet ... l-verdict/

Twelve Mesa County jurors found Tina Peters guilty of four felonies on Monday after a lengthy criminal trial, marking yet another conviction tied to post-2020 election conspiracy theories.

Peters faced a total of 10 criminal charges related to her role in helping a man gain unauthorized access to voting equipment during a secure software update in May 2021. The county’s voting machine’s passwords and copies of its hard drive were later posted online by people trying to undermine the validity of the election system.

[Grifman]

Part of me wishes we could just go back to pretending that our government does a good job at everything like we mostly have for decades.

You might look and try to figure out which political party has been trying to break functioning government for the last 40 years.

How do you define "functioning"? Was the Secret Service in Butler "functioning"?

You can't make judgements by exception. Using your logic, the airlines don't function because every once in a while, a plane falls out of the sky. Surely, you really understand this, right?

For the vast majority of times, the govt works fine. Medicare pays most of my medical bills without an issue, and most people get their SS checks without a problem. The FAA keeps planes from crashing into each other the vast majority of time. Our food and drug supply are safe due to govt regulations and inspections. Our air and water are much cleaner than they use to be back in the 1960's and 1970's. All this stuff you take for granted and don't even notice, but you want to point out one very bad mistake and throw the whole thing under the bus. The fact is, without govt, your life would be much, much worse in so many ways.

The truth is you use this tired tactic to deflect from the real questions people ask you so you don't have to really answer their questions. You never answer the real question, you always deflect. No one is going to take you seriously as long as you play this game.

[Kraken]

most people get their SS checks without a problem.

When I filed for SS a year ago, I promptly received a paper confirmation letter and money has been deposited faithfully every month. The SS Admin automatically raised my benefit by a few bucks because my income last year brought my average lifetime earnings up. I was impressed.

When Wife filed a few months ago, she got a letter asking for last year's W-2s. She tried to deliver copies in person, but found the nearest office to be unapproachable (not at the listed address, closed weird hours, no parking...) so she sent copies via registered mail. Time went by. After 30 days she waited for an hour in their phone queue only to be told that, contrary to the info at MySocialSecurity.gov, they actually have 60 days. At the 60-day mark she rang them up again and was told that her application was in progress at a citadel in the sky that no mortal could ever contact, but they were sure it would be fine. She emailed our representative in Congress, whose office replied promptly, and two days later the backdated amount appeared in our checking account.

Still waiting for that paper confirmation letter.

None of this challenges your point. I value and appreciate government services. It's just an amusing reminder that sometimes the bureaucracy needs a kick in the plants from a bureaucrat.

[em2nought]

Whoever wins, I hope it's by a huge amount that can't be questioned.

I've got fewer issues now that Kamala promises less taxes, fracking, drill baby drill, a secure border, and so on and so forth.

[Kraken]

Whoever wins, I hope it's by a huge amount that can't be questioned.

I've got fewer issues now that Kamala promises less taxes, fracking, drill baby drill, a secure border, and so on and so forth.

Somehow I missed those promises, but if you believe that then who am I to contradict?

If trump does win without any provable shenanigans, Dems will grimace and bear it, just as they did in 2016. They will uphold the peaceful transfer of power that was only ever violated once.

[LordMortis]

Whoever wins, I hope it's by a huge amount that can't be questioned.

I've got fewer issues now that Kamala promises less taxes, fracking, drill baby drill, a secure border, and so on and so forth.

Somehow I missed those promises, but if you believe that then who am I to contradict?

If trump does win without any provable shenanigans, Dems will grimace and bear it, just as they did in 2016. They will uphold the peaceful transfer of power that was only ever violated once.

Border stuff has been worked on and blocked, so that's implied. The tax stuff has been in the news as she has basically stated she wants to end taxing on tips which parrots what TFG said and give TFG attention as being first. She also wants to bring SALT deduction back. Fracking I've not heard.

+1 on if the Dems lose as long as there are no shenanigans. But what happens after when they start the remantling of government?

[Scraper]

Whoever wins, I hope it's by a huge amount that can't be questioned.

I've got fewer issues now that Kamala promises less taxes, fracking, drill baby drill, a secure border, and so on and so forth.

Somehow I missed those promises, but if you believe that then who am I to contradict?

If trump does win without any provable shenanigans, Dems will grimace and bear it, just as they did in 2016. They will uphold the peaceful transfer of power that was only ever violated once.

Border stuff has been worked on and blocked, so that's implied. The tax stuff has been in the news as she has basically stated she wants to end taxing on tips which parrots what TFG said and give TFG attention as being first. She also wants to bring SALT deduction back. Fracking I've not heard.

+1 on if the Dems lose as long as there are no shenanigans. But what happens after when they start the remantling of government?

No current political party will end fracking. It's not going to happen. The only thing that will end fracking is the free market deciding that fossil fuels aren't a viable energy source anymore. Which we are a long way from.

I live in an area with a lot of fracking going on and trust me the oil companies are still drilling and they are at maximum capacity for drilling. In fact they can't keep up with all of the drill sites that they have permitted. It's an undeniable fact that whoever wins the election, fracking and drilling will not go away, nor will the amount of drilling be affecting significantly in either direction.

The one thing the GOP plays with is drilling in areas that shouldn't be drilled in and realistically don't need to be drilled in (See the national parks for example). They also cry about wanting to force massive pipeline projects down peoples throat's and using eminent domain to take people's property.

[Grifman]

You love to see it-

https://www.cpr.org/2024/08/12/tina-pet ... l-verdict/

Twelve Mesa County jurors found Tina Peters guilty of four felonies on Monday after a lengthy criminal trial, marking yet another conviction tied to post-2020 election conspiracy theories.

Peters faced a total of 10 criminal charges related to her role in helping a man gain unauthorized access to voting equipment during a secure software update in May 2021. The county’s voting machine’s passwords and copies of its hard drive were later posted online by people trying to undermine the validity of the election system.

She is facing up to 22 years. I hope it was a worth it.

[Carpet_pissr]

Border stuff has been worked on and blocked

This bears repeating. The sad thing, again, is that most people that will vote for Trump have not even heard about it because the "news" they listen to intentionally didn't cover it.

[Jaymann]

You love to see it-

https://www.cpr.org/2024/08/12/tina-pet ... l-verdict/

Twelve Mesa County jurors found Tina Peters guilty of four felonies on Monday after a lengthy criminal trial, marking yet another conviction tied to post-2020 election conspiracy theories.

Peters faced a total of 10 criminal charges related to her role in helping a man gain unauthorized access to voting equipment during a secure software update in May 2021. The county’s voting machine’s passwords and copies of its hard drive were later posted online by people trying to undermine the validity of the election system.

She is facing up to 22 years. I hope it was a worth it.

And I hope the current round of election deniers/blockers take note.