• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Cont: 2020 Presidential Election part 3

Status
Not open for further replies.
acbytesla said:
I'm a little bit nervous about Michigan Republicans playing shenanigans. Some of them are definitely hinting at that. But I think perhaps naively that when it comes down to it, this will all pass and Biden's electors will be selected.

Some are suggesting that legislators can choose the electors. But legally they cannot. A state has a right to choose their own electors in whatever fashion they want. But they cannot violate the laws of that State The State of Michigan as well as the other 49 states created laws that leaves the selection of electors up to the voters. The legislature could change that but not after an election. It would have to precede the election. The state in effect entered into a contract with the voters and attempting to bypass the election now would be breaking that contract.

There is also another issue Michigan elected officials would face. If they don't certify the election none of them would be elected officials any more as the presidential contest was one of many on the ballot.
Click to expand...

It seems that President Trump has almost exhausted his options to litigate his way to the Presidency so it makes sense to move to the next phase - to get the results overturned through the actions of state legislatures and faithless electors.

The legal brouhaha has been an excellent distraction while GOP leaders can cajole and twist arms in the states. It's looking worrying in Michigan:

Whitmer also implored Senate Majority leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) and House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) to “…put country over party, respect the law, and see through that the will of the people is reflected in our electors and not play games with this fundamental part of our democracy.”

Despite warnings against the meeting, a senior group of Republicans from the state Legislature, accompanied by lawyers, flew to Washington to meet with President Trump.
Click to expand...

https://www.michiganradio.org/post/all-eyes-michigan-election-certification

....and Pennsylvania Republicans have already showed willing :(
 
there are going to be shelves of books written about this Election aftermath, by the Republicans involved all trying to justify what they did and push blame on others.
 
phiwum said:
I was just about to make the same pedantic point as you made. Since I've been beaten to the punch, let me just say you're a dull pedant. No one likes that kind of person.

Man, I gotta be quicker to spot these posts. Calling acbytesla a pedant isn't nearly as satisfying as being one.
Click to expand...

A peasant?
 
Delvo said:
The weird thing about the counting speed is not just how slow it is but how radically it slows down. By the end of election day we're hearing things like "95% reported" and "98.4% reported", and after that it's suddenly ½ of a percentage point per week.
Click to expand...

A watched kettle never boils.
 
Trump Tweets

In certain swing states, there were more votes than people who voted, and in big numbers. Does that not really matter? Stopping Poll Watchers, voting for unsuspecting people, fake ballots and so much more. Such egregious conduct. We will win!
 
Delphic Oracle said:
I suspect this lies at the heart of it.

We're conditioned to expect a winner declared within days. When that happens, we stop paying attention. When it doesn't, suddenly everyone's new awareness of it is declared an abberation.

I recall a lot of discussion about this very phenomenon in the days before the election. Now suddenly it is all so unexpected.
Click to expand...

In the UK it is a tradition to stay up all night long watching the results as they come in, graphically illustrated by 'swing-ometers' and 'going live' to various town halls for declarations, invariably with a candidate dressed as a Raving Monster Looney or Jedi hovering in the background.
 
Scott Shapiro tweeted

Shameful that Ted Cruz won't speak up to defend Democracy.
It's not like we're asking him to defend his wife or father.
 
a_unique_person said:
They included mail in votes, which are technically a different type of vote. The voters aren't actually absent.
Click to expand...
Another point raised by a judge in at least one hearing, he said there doesn't appear to be a difference even though both terms are used. Both the plaintiff and defence agreed they were interchangeable. And the plaintiff lawyer in that case helped write the current PA legislation!
 
Captain_Swoop said:
Trump Tweets

In certain swing states, there were more votes than people who voted, and in big numbers. Does that not really matter? Stopping Poll Watchers, voting for unsuspecting people, fake ballots and so much more. Such egregious conduct. We will win!
Click to expand...

I thought the allegation was that there were more votes than there were registered voters (though the allegation is false).

Where is his evidence for more votes than people who voted ?
 
timhau said:
Um... eh... what?
Click to expand...

I think he means that people turned up to the polls and found that they had already voted - somebody having already voted on their behalf.

AIUI there have been a few cases of people trying to vote a second time (mostly Trump supporters following his instructions), some confused old people who had forgotten that they had voted and one lady in Nevada who refused to incriminate her roommate.
 
a_unique_person said:
They included mail in votes, which are technically a different type of vote. The voters aren't actually absent.
Click to expand...

Absentee votes have long applied to people who are housebound. The term "absent" here means absent from the polling place, not from the state.

What has changed is an additional situation for which the absence is excused, but I reckon that mail-in votes during a pandemic can totally reasonably be called absentee, just as having a medical condition can allow an absentee ballot.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top Bottom