Another Illegal Effort by Trump
Today in USA Today;In response to:
'Talk with your lawyer, Bill Barr:' Kamala Harris warns Trump against attempt to 'suppress the vote'
William Cummings, USA TODAY
USA TODAY May 26, 2020, 12:52 AM EDT
Sen. Kamala Harris tore into President Donald Trump Wednesday night for his threat to withhold federal funds from states over absentee ballots, warning such an act would be illegal.
"Mr. President, it is a federal crime to withhold money from states with the purpose of interfering with people's right to vote," the former California attorney general told MSNBC host Joy Reid.
"So, you may want to talk to your lawyer, Bill Barr, about that," Harris added, in an apparent swipe at the independence of Attorney General William Barr, whom critics have accused of acting more like the president's personal attorney than the nation's top law enforcement official.
On Wednesday morning, Trump said in a tweet that Michigan had sent millions of voters absentee ballots "illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State."
"I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!" wrote the president, who has railed against efforts to expand mail-in-voting in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The president was referring to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's announcement on Tuesday that absentee ballot applications – not actual ballots – would be sent to all of the state's 7.7 million voters, giving them the option to receive a ballot in the mail to vote in the Aug. 4 primary and Nov. 3 general election, rather than going to a polling place.
While it is illegal in Michigan to send absentee ballots to voters who do not formally request them, it is far from clear that there are the same legal hurdles to sending applications for the absentee ballots to registered voters, though it could be challenged in court.
Trump later deleted the initial tweet to clarify he was referring to applications, and not ballots, though that was the only aspect of the tweet he changed.
"To have this kind of distraction is just ridiculous," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose state is facing a massive flood on top of the coronavirus pandemic, told "CBS This Morning" on Thursday.
"Threatening to take money away from a state that is hurting as bad as we are right now is just scary, and I think something that is unacceptable," Whitmer said.
The president made a similar threat against Nevada, where Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske has ordered an all mail-in election for the state's June 9 primary – which has no bearing on the presidential race because Nevada held its Democratic presidential caucus in February, and canceled its Republican presidential caucus.
Cegavske, whose decision was upheld by a federal judge earlier this month, defended the move as "necessary and prudent" in order to "protect the health and safety of voters and election workers," in a statement responding to the president's tweet.
"For over a century, Nevadans, including members of the military, citizens residing outside the state, voters in designated mailing precincts, and voters requesting absentee ballots, have been voting by mail with no evidence of election fraud," Cegavske said.
"For the President to threaten federal funding in the midst of a pandemic over a state exercising its authority to run elections in a safe and legal manner is inappropriate and outrageous," said Nevada's Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in a response to Trump on Twitter.
Trump, who himself votes absentee, has said voting by mail is a "dangerous thing" and "subject to tremendous corruption," despite a lack of evidence that there is a statistically significant amount of fraud in the five states that conduct their elections entirely by mail.
'Talk with your lawyer, Bill Barr:' Kamala Harris warns Trump against attempt to 'suppress the vote'
William Cummings, USA TODAY
USA TODAY May 26, 2020, 12:52 AM EDT
Sen. Kamala Harris tore into President Donald Trump Wednesday night for his threat to withhold federal funds from states over absentee ballots, warning such an act would be illegal.
"Mr. President, it is a federal crime to withhold money from states with the purpose of interfering with people's right to vote," the former California attorney general told MSNBC host Joy Reid.
"So, you may want to talk to your lawyer, Bill Barr, about that," Harris added, in an apparent swipe at the independence of Attorney General William Barr, whom critics have accused of acting more like the president's personal attorney than the nation's top law enforcement official.
On Wednesday morning, Trump said in a tweet that Michigan had sent millions of voters absentee ballots "illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State."
"I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!" wrote the president, who has railed against efforts to expand mail-in-voting in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The president was referring to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's announcement on Tuesday that absentee ballot applications – not actual ballots – would be sent to all of the state's 7.7 million voters, giving them the option to receive a ballot in the mail to vote in the Aug. 4 primary and Nov. 3 general election, rather than going to a polling place.
While it is illegal in Michigan to send absentee ballots to voters who do not formally request them, it is far from clear that there are the same legal hurdles to sending applications for the absentee ballots to registered voters, though it could be challenged in court.
Trump later deleted the initial tweet to clarify he was referring to applications, and not ballots, though that was the only aspect of the tweet he changed.
"To have this kind of distraction is just ridiculous," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose state is facing a massive flood on top of the coronavirus pandemic, told "CBS This Morning" on Thursday.
"Threatening to take money away from a state that is hurting as bad as we are right now is just scary, and I think something that is unacceptable," Whitmer said.
The president made a similar threat against Nevada, where Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske has ordered an all mail-in election for the state's June 9 primary – which has no bearing on the presidential race because Nevada held its Democratic presidential caucus in February, and canceled its Republican presidential caucus.
Cegavske, whose decision was upheld by a federal judge earlier this month, defended the move as "necessary and prudent" in order to "protect the health and safety of voters and election workers," in a statement responding to the president's tweet.
"For over a century, Nevadans, including members of the military, citizens residing outside the state, voters in designated mailing precincts, and voters requesting absentee ballots, have been voting by mail with no evidence of election fraud," Cegavske said.
"For the President to threaten federal funding in the midst of a pandemic over a state exercising its authority to run elections in a safe and legal manner is inappropriate and outrageous," said Nevada's Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in a response to Trump on Twitter.
Trump, who himself votes absentee, has said voting by mail is a "dangerous thing" and "subject to tremendous corruption," despite a lack of evidence that there is a statistically significant amount of fraud in the five states that conduct their elections entirely by mail.
(continued in my first comment below)
Comments (143)
I know voter fraud exists. It probably always will.
But, it is relatively insignificant.
I am not going to stop using electricity because some people in the country get shocked.
But, it is relatively insignificant.
I am not going to stop using electricity because some people in the country get shocked.
So here is your argument. We know voter fraud exists but it is difficult to prove how widespread and prevalent it is. So let's make it easier to do and even harder to prove. That ought to fix everything.
My statement is more like.....
Since there is no evidence of massive voter fraud, and most of the voter fraud that does exist
has been in person, it is ridiculous to attempt to prohibit mail-in voting, especially during a pandemic.
If evidence of massive voter fraud from mail-in voting subsequently surfaces, it can be altered later.
Save your whining in relation to comments of mine on your blog(s).
Now run along "kid" and do something productive.
I have no interest in the number, or you.
Wow ! "6". That certainly 'qualifies' you to instruct me
what I should blog about, "kid".
Apparently, you are not bright enough to catch my drift.
So, I'll 'spell it out for you';
You add absolutely nothing of value to my blogs.
Your whining is pathetic and obnoxious.
I don't comment on your blogs. Do me the same favor.
Thanks.
Perhaps we'll see a comment remain from you next Sunday the 7th.
Or maybe not. I certainly won't miss you. Add another comment and it's a 2 week time out.
Like a good vacation for me.
congratulations, you're only the second person to earn a 1 week time out from my blogs."
Say it's not so. Jim has become like Trump (maybe a little better).
Trump fires people who disagree with him.
Jim put people in time out that disagree with him.
There are other people on this blog, who disagree with me. I banned him because
of his constant misbehavior. As I said, he adds absolutely nothing to the blog, doesn't address the topic of the blog and
he constantly whines that the blog is not what he wants. Well, go to a different blog,
that you do want. Don't waste our time with pathetic whining.
The most ironic part, is that, according to him, he only has 6 blogs.
Yeah, what a great contributor he is to the site, making him ultra qualified to judge other people's blogs.
How many ? 2 ?
6 states will restore dependent upon the type of felony or the outcome of an individual petition.
4 states will restore upon release from prison and discharged from parole.
15 states restore upon release from prison
2 states - felons never lost their right to vote
2 states will restore with an individual petition
I think the question might be whether we need to make it the same requirement across the board.
Otherwise, it's just one of the consequences you face. jmo
3,200 ballots. Approximately 20% of the mail-in ballots. That's no small amount.
But, that does not mean that most of it, or even a significant portion of it was fraud.
My best guess, is that most of it was the 'voter' not signing the form, or something similar.
In general the first time people try something, the more likely they will make simple mistakes.
That does not mean the entire method should necessarily be discarded.
Perhaps the instruction need to be repeated, or larger print, or some other change.
LL - very good points and good to see that you are still alive & kickin'.
Thanks for all you do.
Cheers