America set to vote: Election season comes down to the wire

[Geee]

The Center Square

Election day comes Tuesday, putting a range of major issues up for grabs as both parties battle for control of the U.S. House, Senate and gubernatorial races around the country.

The latest polling shows a tight but favorable electoral landscape for Republicans. FiveThirtyEight’s analysis and compilation of generic polls found voters overall prefer that Republicans control Congress by 1.2%.

Real Clear Politics’ polling projects Republicans will pick up four Senate seats, three governorships and roughly 31 House seats. RCP has Republicans up 2.8% on the generic ballot, while a Yahoo News-YouGov poll released Thursday has Democrats up by 2%.

This year’s midterm elections put several key issues up for grabs, including the future of many judicial nominees and the several-trillion dollars in congressional spending that kicked off during the pandemic and pushed the federal debt to more than $31 trillion this year.

[Valin]

Why we may not know election results on Tuesday

Results for the highly-anticipated midterm elections may not come for days, or weeks, after voting concludes — and that's not a sign that the process isn't working.

The big picture: A number of factors could contribute to election results dragging past Tuesday, including processing and counting ballots and election rules in key battleground states.

Between the lines: The 2022 midterms come as election deniers are on ballots nationwide — and those candidates could use delays to promote baseless claims that elections were rigged.

• Some candidates have already declined to say whether they would accept the results of the election in their states.

 

(Snip)

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Gonna take some time to figure out how many votes they need to "Find" in order to "Win".

[Valin]

Fetterman campaign files lawsuit over undated mail-in ballots

Rebecca Falconer

U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman and other Democrats filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging Pennsylvania's plan not to count undated or wrongly dated ballots that have been mailed in.

Why it matters: The issue of mail-in ballots with missing or incorrect dates has become one of the biggest voting disputes ahead of Election Day in the crucial swing state that may tip the balance of power in Congress, per CNN.

• Fetterman is facing a close race with his Trump-endorsed Republican rival Mehmet Oz to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

Driving the news: Pennsylvania's divided Supreme Court last week ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee and other groups, who argued that state law requires voters to correctly write the date on a return envelope when mailing in ballots.

• The court ordered county elections officials to "refrain from counting any absentee and mail-in ballots received for the November 8, 2022 general election that are contained in undated or incorrectly dated outer envelopes."

(Snip)

[Valin]

Dem campaigns sound alarm about "red mirage" redux

Andrew Solender, Alexi McCammond

Democrats running the party's national campaign arm held a private call with allies and stakeholders Monday night to discuss “urgent messaging” if a flurry of GOP candidates claim victory prematurely, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: In 2020, day-of returns in key states appeared to favor Republicans while it took days to count the mail-in ballots that helped put Democrats over the top. The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the emergence of GOP candidates declining to say they'll accept election results if they lose, is stirring concerns about misinformation.

• The Democratic National Committee, Democratic Governors Association (DGA), the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC), and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) convened and election-eve call with party allies about these concerns and to lay out the mechanics and timeframes for tabulating results in different states. Individual campaigns went public with similar approaches.
• As Axios has reported, more than 200 election deniers — candidates promoting baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Trump — are on the ballot around the U.S.

Between the lines: It's also possible Democrats could lose control of one or both chambers of Congress even after all mail-in ballots are counted. Either way, these stakeholders say it's essential that the public understands that it could be days or weeks until the final results are known.

(Snip)

[Geee]

34 minutes ago, Valin said:

Why we may not know election results on Tuesday

There's an election today? Wow, I didn't know. I mean usually you see something online or on TV or I get a text or spam phone calls or garbage mail. Complete news to me (sarc sarc sarc)

[Valin]

1 hour ago, Valin said:

Dem campaigns sound alarm about "red mirage" redux

Andrew Solender, Alexi McCammond

 

[Geee]

President Joe Biden believes the next few years in politics will set the stage for generations, expressing this theme in recent speeches.

“Our lifetimes are going to be shaped by what happens the next year to three years,” Biden said. “It’s going to shape what the next couple of decades look like. For real.”

Joe Biden Fears Generational Change if Democrats Lose Midterms (well, we can only hope )

[Geee]

What are the top voter issues in the midterms?

 

[Geee]

Philadelphia imposes last-minute election change that will slow down vote count

Philadelphia officials voted Tuesday morning to impose a last-minute rule change that will draw out the vote-count process.

The city's three-member elections board voted 2-1 in favor of imposing poll book reconciliation, a lengthy process intended to prevent double votes, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday. The reconciliation process would flag any mail-in ballots from voters who also cast ballots in person.

City commissioners made the eleventh-hour decision at a 7 a.m. meeting on Tuesday. The board is comprised of two Democrats and one Republican . The Republican voted in favor of the change, along with one of the Democrats, while the second Democrat objected.:snip:

[Geee]

The Morning Briefing: Election Day Is Always a Cheat Day for Democrats

 

The Top Five Excuses Democrats Will Use When They Get Annihilated on Election Day

 

We know the Democrats are incapable of owning their losses. It’s always someone else’s fault. But who–or what–will be the cause of the battering ram that sends waves of Democrats to the all-inclusive, gender-free showers after the midterm elections?

[Geee]

[Geee]

BREAKING: Votes in Key Arizona County Are Being 'Misread

Poll workers at a key voting location in Arizona's Maricopa County announced Tuesday morning that voting machines at a polling station in Anthem are not working. A significant number of ballots are being misread. 

"We have two tabulators, one of the tabulators is not working. The other tabulator is taking about 75 percent successful so 25 percent of them are being misread and it could be a printer issue or it could be the tabulator itself," an election worker explained. :snip:

[Geee]

Judge Denies Request to Sequester Wisconsin Military Ballots

On Monday, a judge in Waukesha County, Wisconsin denied a request to block the immediate counting of military ballots after a state lawmaker received three military ballots to her home under names of people who did not exist. :snip:

[Geee]

Your election night guide

 

Tuesday’s midterm elections are upon us. What to watch for as results roll in?

First up, let's take a look at the House of Representatives. Expectations are high that Republicans will snatch control from the Democrats . How many seats will the GOP gain?

 

Handicappers believe Democrats have 40-45 House seats at risk and Republicans about a dozen. A national wind could push the closest races in one direction. Analysts expect Republicans to pick up 20 to 35 seats, giving them a clear House majority (they only need five more seats). 

The Senate is ground zero this year. It’s currently split 50-50, with the Democratic vice president breaking ties. To shift control, Republicans need a one-seat net gain. Based on polling averages, Republicans are ahead in enough states, albeit by narrow margins, to win at least a 51-seat Senate majority. But Republican operatives hope to do better. They now view 52 seats as their floor, not a ceiling, and think they could reach 53, 54, or even 55. Democrats hope to keep their bare Senate majority, which would be a victory for them given the political atmosphere. To do so, they would have to knock off one Republican seat, such as Pennsylvania, and limit their incumbent loss to one, perhaps Nevada or Georgia. 

But when you have this many close races, anything can happen.

[Geee]

Voters dissatisfied with country's direction head to polls to decide control of Congress

Gallup poll found 81% of Americans unhappy with where nation is heading.

[Valin]

1 hour ago, Geee said:

Judge Denies Request to Sequester Wisconsin Military Ballots

On Monday, a judge in Waukesha County, Wisconsin denied a request to block the immediate counting of military ballots after a state lawmaker received three military ballots to her home under names of people who did not exist. 

Well so much for a Secure election.

[Valin]

Poll Worker Fired For Selecting Straight Democrat Ticket On Voter’s Ballot, Calling Republicans ‘Racist’

[Valin]

2 hours ago, Geee said:

Judge Denies Request to Sequester Wisconsin Military Ballots

On Monday, a judge in Waukesha County, Wisconsin denied a request to block the immediate counting of military ballots after a state lawmaker received three military ballots to her home under names of people who did not exist. 

The PLOT Thickens

A Milwaukee Election Official’s Firing, Fraudulent Ballots, And Felony Charge Fuel WI Scandal Right Before Midterms

Kimberly Zapata was fired after she allegedly requested three absentee ballots meant for military members and had them sent to a state representative’s home.

M.D. Kittle

Nov. 8 2022

MADISON, Wis. — As Milwaukee’s second-highest-ranking elections official faces charges in the city’s latest election scandal, the lawmaker she targeted is asking a critical question: Why would Kimberly Zapata risk her job, her excellent benefits, and her freedom when she could have just stepped forward with her concerns?

On Friday, the Milwaukee County district attorney’s office charged Zapata with a felony count of misconduct in office and three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement to obtain an absentee ballot.

The charges come a day after Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced at a hastily called press conference that Zapata had been fired as deputy administrator of the Milwaukee Election Commission after she allegedly requested three absentee ballots meant for military members and had them sent to state Rep. Janel Brandtjen’s home.

Zapata faces a total of five years in prison and up to $13,000 in fines if found guilty of the charges.

(Snip)

[Geee]

Election 2022: Maricopa County reports voting machine problems at 20% of polling locations

PHOENIX - Maricopa County officials say that around 20% of their polling sites are experiencing issues with tabulation machines across the Valley, just hours into Election Day.

While the specific addresses and number of locations having issues have not been confirmed, the Maricopa County Recorder's Officer says technicians have been called to fix the precinct tabulator machines that aren't working.

 

[Geee]

Reince Priebus: Wisconsin races not as close as they seem

The slivers of information that Reince Priebus is seeing in Wisconsin has him expecting Republicans to win up and down the ballot.

Priebus, who used to lead both the Wisconsin Republican Party and the RNC, told Jay Weber on News Talk 1130 WISN Monday that data collected by both organizations show independent and undecided voters breaking for Republicans.

“They are leaning overwhelmingly to [GOP governor candidate] Tim Michels and [U.S. Sen.] Ron Johnson,” Priebus said. “When given the choice between [Democratic Gov.] Tony Evers and [U.S. Senate candidate] Mandela Barnes on the issues of education and crime – and in the case of Ron Johnson, inflation, gas, groceries – all of these things that are at the forefront of voters’ minds, by a longshot the Republicans are doing much better.”

[Valin]

Biden Sends Feds To Monitor Florida’s Election. DeSantis Shuts Them Down.

Ryan Saavedra

Nov 8, 2022

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R) administration rebuffed this week any attempt by the Biden administration to monitor elections in the state from inside polling locations.

The Department of Justice said in a statement this week that it was sending officials to 64 jurisdictions throughout the U.S., most of which were in red or purple states. Included in this list were three areas in Florida: Broward County, Miami-Dade County, and Palm Beach County.

Brad McVay, General Counsel at the Florida Department of State, responded to the Biden administration’s announcement by informing them that federal officials were not allowed inside polling locations, according to state law.

“(T)he Florida Department of State received copies of your letters to Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in which you seem to indicate that the Department of Justice will send monitors inside polling places in these counties,” the letter began. “We also understand you sent a similar letter to Palm Beach County.”

“But Department of Justice monitors are not permitted inside a polling place under Florida law,” the letter continued. “Section 102.031(3)(a) of the Florida Statutes lists the people who ‘may enter any polling room or polling place.’ Department of Justice personnel are not included on the list. Even if they could qualify as ‘law enforcement’ under section 102.031(3)(a)6. of the Florida Statutes, absent some evidence concerning the need for federal intrusion, or some federal statute that preempts Florida law, the presence of federal law enforcement inside polling places would be counterproductive and could potentially undermine confidence in the election.”

(Snip)

[Valin]

15 minutes ago, Geee said:

Election 2022: Maricopa County reports voting machine problems at 20% of polling locations

PHOENIX - Maricopa County officials say that around 20% of their polling sites are experiencing issues with tabulation machines across the Valley, just hours into Election Day.

While the specific addresses and number of locations having issues have not been confirmed, the Maricopa County Recorder's Officer says technicians have been called to fix the precinct tabulator machines that aren't working.

 

Every year it seems I read stories like his. I though these machines wee supposed to be  better than the old paper ballots?

[Valin]

20 Celebrity Endorsements For The 2022 Midterm Elections

[Geee]

4 minutes ago, Valin said:

20 Celebrity Endorsements For The 2022 Midterm Elections

Their opinion counts more than mine because they are public fools, even if they are just fools who are listened to by other fools.

[Valin]

12 minutes ago, Valin said:

Biden Sends Feds To Monitor Florida’s Election. DeSantis Shuts Them Down.

 

DU Comments

Quote

Just

Another would be Hitler from the republican party

Quote one federal judge away from reversal...... Federal law is above state law, and federal authorities have a right to enforce federal law.   Quote Settling premises about law requires time we don't have. The federal poll watchers need to get down there and do their job regardless of the governor's ploy. It may already be too late. Doubtlessly these precincts in question are key to electing any Democrat in Florida. Florida is sooo purple that only a few votes could change the whole outcome. Local political people are not at all trustworthy to assure a free and fair process. The Feds need to load about triple the number scheduled onto a plane to Miami, NOW! Oh, and they can get their briefcases later. They only need guns and badges. History could call it the "Lexington/Concord moment in West Palm Beach".