We can barely protect paper ballots, voting online at this stage is a terrible idea

[Edited on December 3, 2018 at 5:57 PM. Reason : .]

12/3/2018 5:57:04 PM

your votes are fine

12/4/2018 1:32:24 AM

So what we're saying is....voter fraud is NOT a myth?

12/4/2018 7:12:20 AM

Voter fraud still is, election fraud, that's the killer.

12/4/2018 7:24:19 AM

voter fraud election fraud Corrupt Republicans trying to steal elections.

12/4/2018 9:24:38 AM

Well this is turning into a bad caricature. Southern evangelical preacher runs for office, hires local shady ex-felon to electioneer in small town. Ex-felon’s cousin is the chairman of the county election board, etc.

12/4/2018 7:06:15 PM

Yeah but, you know, it's really strange how all those red districts flipped blue in California. Someone should look into that!

[Edited on December 4, 2018 at 7:30 PM. Reason : .]

12/4/2018 7:30:21 PM

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/briannasacks/dowless-britt-inside-north-carolina-absentee-ballot-machine

12/5/2018 10:49:15 AM

Quote :

"essica Dowless described the scene in the small office at the intersection of two highways in Bethel, North Carolina, where she worked on Harris’s behalf for the last two months as chaotic. One worker, she said, “was so fucking high the other day she passed out at the fucking computer.” One of the workers who collected absentee ballots from residents was a “pill head,” she said."

Dude was using campaign funds to run a Trap house\election fraud headquarters.





I weep for our state.

12/5/2018 12:03:36 PM

Where the hell is the SBI or FBI in all of this. I've not heard any mention of law enforcement in the news articles I've read.

12/5/2018 1:08:53 PM

Well an investigator has already seized some ballots from the Bladen County election board, and Red Dome was subpoenaed according to Twitter, but yea, not much info on who would run point for an investigation like this.

[Edited on December 5, 2018 at 1:41 PM. Reason : Not that much media in general, except WSOCTV, the observers, and that buzzfeed article]

12/5/2018 1:40:00 PM

From the following article:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/north-carolina-election-fraud-investigation-centers-on-operative-with-criminal-history-who-worked-for-gop-congressional-candidate/2018/12/03/7b270a90-f6aa-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html

Quote :

"Separately, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman (D) told The Post on Monday that her office in Raleigh and the State Bureau of Investigation are also pursuing criminal investigations related to irregularities in mail-in ballots. 'We are not yet at the point of having connected all of the dots,' Freeman said, adding, 'Certainly part of any investigation into these voting irregularities will include who may have knowledge and involvement.' State elections officials said they have been working with the FBI and the office of Robert Higdon, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina."

12/5/2018 1:54:42 PM

Haha, welp, disregard muh last post.

12/5/2018 2:36:32 PM

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/republican-officials-had-early-warnings-of-voting-irregularities-in-north-carolina/2018/12/06/b3e5c6d4-f8bf-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html


[Edited on December 6, 2018 at 9:03 PM. Reason : Didn’t read the entire article before posting, still, things are only getting more bizarre]

12/6/2018 8:59:03 PM

early warnings like the fact that this has happened in previous elections in that district and been reported on in the past?

12/7/2018 8:31:46 AM

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article222685545.html

Quote :

"The N.C. Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement is investigating allegations of fraud in Bladen County as well as in neighboring Robeson County. But [Republican state Senator Dan] Bishop said the board — which has four Democratic members, four Republican members and an unaffiliated member — can’t necessarily be trusted to rise above politics... Bishop and other Republican senators called on Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to work with the legislature to create a new task force to look into the Harris-McCready race, as well as allegations of fraud they believe might have helped Cooper defeat McCrory in 2016... [Democratic Party Chairman Wayne] Goodwin said there’s also legislation making its way through the General Assembly that would take away the power of the state elections board, as well as the Wake County district attorney’s office, to handle investigations into election fraud."

[Edited on December 7, 2018 at 8:50 AM. Reason : ]

12/7/2018 8:49:23 AM

The worst.

12/7/2018 10:05:20 AM

https://www.wral.com/report-harris-says-he-hired-bladen-absentee-ballot-guru/18065189/

So Republican candidate Harris is now admitting to hiring the shady Dowless guy to run an absentee ballot operation.

12/17/2018 11:38:21 AM

Why doesnt Cooper just appoint Democrats and resume the investigation? He shouldn't need Republicans to provide their recommendations to do that, right?

1/3/2019 10:18:56 AM

Does the Board need a quorum?

Isn't the SBI still investigating (and DOJ)?




The law establishing a Board of Elections doesn't take effect until January 31.

[Edited on January 3, 2019 at 10:51 AM. Reason : 1/31]

1/3/2019 10:32:05 AM

the new board was struck down as unconstitutional, which means it reverts to the old board. cooper appointing democrats would have quorum.

1/3/2019 11:45:58 AM

...until January 31. That's why Cooper referred to it as an interim board.

1/3/2019 12:08:13 PM

waiting for a new board is causing delays and now a court challenge. cooper previously wanted a interim board, and is blaming republicans not submitting their recommendations as why there is no interim board, but cooper can simply appoint 3 democrats and allow the investigation to continue. 3 Democrats is quorum.

republicans intentionally refused to provide their list (which they are required by law to give to cooper) to sabotoge the scheduled 1/11 hearing. cooper is allowing them to do that when he could instead proceed with the hearing without republicans.

1/3/2019 12:19:38 PM

Harris is pissing in the wind with his lawsuit because the House isn't going to seat him without an investigation, certified election results or not.

Surely you can see the problem with using only Democrats to continue the investigation on a temporary basis.

1/3/2019 12:28:52 PM

i really don't, trying to appease republicans who have no interest in ethics seems like a bad idea to me


cooper can easily point out that he wants to appoint republicans but the republican party is refusing to give him nominations as they are legally required to do

[Edited on January 3, 2019 at 12:35 PM. Reason : .]

1/3/2019 12:34:11 PM

I had it explained to me that 3 members of the board constitutes a quorum, but it takes 4 members to initiate an investigation, subpoena people, etc.

I went hunting for the actual legislation, and came up a bit empty. I'm still a bit confused on which Elections Board related bills were struck down, if they were struck down in totality, and what current law is, but I did find this:

Quote :

"SECTION 3.2.(a) G.S.163A - 741 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: " (j1) Notwithstanding G.S.153A-98 or any other provision of law, all officers, employees, and agents of a county board of elections are required to give to the State Board, upon request, all information, documents, and data within their possession, or ascertainable from their records, including any internal investigation or personnel documentation and are required to make available, upon request pursuant to an investigation under subsection (d)of this section, any county board employee for interview and to produce any equipment, hardware, or software for inspection. These requirements are mandatory and shall be timely complied with as specified in a request made by any four members of the State Board. "

https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2017/Bills/Senate/PDF/S486v5.pdf

That doesn't completely cover what I was talking about, but I'm done searching for it at this point.




A lot of election law was passed last session, and various parts of it were ruled unconstitutional, so the law seems to be convoluted AF and spread across multiple bills. Our current situation is exhibit A on why so many of us PLEADED with the NCGOP to lay off the process/administration/"non-partisan board" legislation that they've just kept passing since ~2012 in their quest to consolidate power and seal themselves into the legislature. Their decrees have created a clusterfuck that will take years (and probably a shit load of lawyers/court cases) to unwind and straighten out.

1/3/2019 1:30:01 PM

i thought it was 4 members to call a new election, but 3 members can conduct an investigation

yeah, democrats alone can investigate:
https://law.justia.com/codes/north-carolina/2015/chapter-163/article-3/section-163-23/

Quote :

"163-23. Powers of chairman in execution of Board duties. In the performance of the duties enumerated in this Chapter, the chairman of the State Board of Elections shall have power to administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, and compel the production of papers, books, records and other evidence. Upon the written request or requests of two or more members of the State Board of Elections, he shall issue subpoenas for designated witnesses or identified papers, books, records and other evidence. In the absence of the chairman or upon his refusal to act, any two members of the State Board of Elections may issue subpoenas, summon witnesses, and compel the production of papers, books, records and other evidence. In the absence of the chairman or upon his refusal to act, any member of the Board may administer oaths. (1901, c. 89, s. 7; Rev., s. 4302; C.S., s. 5923; 1933, c. 165, s. 1; 1945, c. 982; 1967, c. 775, s. 1; 1973, c. 793, s. 4.)"

[Edited on January 3, 2019 at 1:49 PM. Reason : .]

1/3/2019 1:38:24 PM

Fair, impartial, and legitimate elections are core principles of democracy. It's not appeasement to pursue those principles, even if the party of value voters seeks to deliberately undermine them.

Right now, Cooper's argument is that Republicans won't help him seat a temporary board under a 2015 law that's since been amended twice (at least). On January 31 the argument becomes Republicans won't do their part to seat the State Board of Elections under current law passed a month ago.

In the mean time, Harris isn't going to Congress, criminal investigations (should be) are proceeding, and there's a clear deadline for the current situation. Republicans will continue to stall and hope that something surfaces in their favor or that Cooper does something stupid. Cooper's job is to not do anything stupid.

1/3/2019 4:35:28 PM

it is neither unfair nor partial nor illegitimate to conduct a legal investigation into election fraud

trying to create an unconstitutional election board is unfair, partial and illegitimate. not providing a list of nominations as required by law is unfair, partial and illegitimate.

(and stalling has worked very well for republicans so far in NC)

1/3/2019 4:44:21 PM

Quote :

"it is neither unfair nor partial nor illegitimate to conduct a legal investigation into election fraud"

You're right. But a temporary body consisting solely of Democrats could certainly give the perception that any investigation is unfair, partisan and illegitimate. And there's nothing magical about Democrats--such an investigation may very well be unfair, partisan and illegitimate.

There's no guarantee you'll win doing the right thing.

1/3/2019 4:54:08 PM

So yes, you're solely concerned with appeasing people who have no interest in acting ethically

The NCGOP isnt going to give Cooper credit or act nice to him because he wasted this opportunity

[Edited on January 3, 2019 at 5:49 PM. Reason : .]

1/3/2019 5:23:46 PM

If you want to call not making unforced errors appeasement, then sure.

1/4/2019 1:19:32 AM

https://www.wral.com/9th-district-candidate-mark-harris-ducks-out-fire-exit-to-avoid-reporters/18110746/

Quote :

"CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Republican 9th Congressional District candidate Mark Harris managed to evade a gaggle of reporters in Charlotte on Monday night by using a fire exit and later said he didn't want to miss the kickoff of the NCAA Football Championship game. Harris, who wants a court to declare him the winner of the 9th District race amid a state investigation into alleged absentee ballot fraud, was at a meeting of the Mecklenburg County Republican Party. Reporters waited outside the meeting to talk with him about the ongoing State Board of Elections investigation, but he ducked out a fire exit, setting off an alarm as he headed down a staircase and outside. Reporters followed Harris outside, but he ran across the street to his former church, First Baptist Church of Charlotte, where he got into a car and drove off. In response to tweets about the incident, Harris later tweeted out an excuse for his actions. "Sorry I missed you guys tonight. I had to get to the kickoff of the #NationalChampionship game," he wrote in the tweet, referring to the Alabama-Clemson football game. "We'll have plenty to talk about in the days ahead. #GoTigers," he wrote. Harris has acknowledged hiring Bladen County political operative McCrae Dowless to oversee absentee ballots in the county for him. Dowless is accused of sending people dor to door to collect ballots from voters, which is illegal."

1/8/2019 3:47:02 PM

Let’s go back to the good old days when we tarred and feathered these people or just burned their houses down.

1/8/2019 4:11:15 PM

Where's this generation's Lee Harvey when you need him. Fuck that piece of shit Mark Harris.

I tried finding his kids' Facebook pages so I could troll them about daddy touching them during Sunday school.

1/9/2019 5:28:50 PM

take about 20% off there, bud

1/10/2019 8:38:29 AM

https://www.wral.com/gop-attacks-nc-elections-board-calls-9th-district-investigation-a-democratic-delay-tactic/18126555/?version=amp&__twitter_impression=true

A Tanzarian plz explain

1/15/2019 5:07:14 PM

Explain what?

1/15/2019 5:10:54 PM

Why aren't they giving Cooper credit for not continuing the investigation, why are they being mean and blaming Democrats? He appeased them so why are they not appeased? It's almost like they are acting in bad faith and were always going to criticize Democrats regardless over this so maybe they should have taken advantage of being able to continue the investigation with no Republican obstruction, what gives?

1/15/2019 5:17:57 PM

You called it appeasement, not me. In fact, I specifically said it's "not appeasement to pursue those principles [of fair, impartial, and legitimate elections]" and that Republicans would continue to stall hoping something comes up. Nothing in the article is counter to that.

North Carolina Republicans being giant fucking turds doesn't make it OK to impanel an interim BOE to pursue a partisan investigation.

1/15/2019 6:01:34 PM

You mean impanel a legal and fair board

[Edited on January 15, 2019 at 7:38 PM. Reason : But reeeee the Republicans will be mean to us if we do it reeeeee]

1/15/2019 7:37:55 PM

You keep trying to put words in my mouth. I am not and have not said the temporary BOE was a bad idea because some GOPer is going to bitch about it.

[Edited on January 15, 2019 at 7:50 PM. Reason : And, yes, YATA.]

1/15/2019 7:50:05 PM

reeeee

1/15/2019 8:05:38 PM

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1100414132531060737?s=21

Lol, but we need to show these guys respect and honor their opinions. This is just shameless bad faith from a man who doesn’t get enough condemnation for being as destructive a force as we have in modern governance.

2/26/2019 10:44:13 AM

How would voter ID have helped with absentee ballot destruction?

2/26/2019 10:46:18 AM

You can tell how full of shit he knows he is.

2/26/2019 11:39:13 AM

More Election Fraud (not voter fraud) that helped a republican (who was Georgia's top election official) narrowly defeat of a democrat

https://www.wral.com/georgia-election-officials-accused-of-destroying-evidence/18533681/






And why are republicans opposed to a security bill?

https://www.wral.com/senate-report-warns-of-ongoing-election-threat-as-republicans-block-security-bills/18532551/

Quote :

"Republicans in the Senate have twice in 24 hours blocked the advancement of bills aimed at strengthening election security just hours after former special counsel Robert Mueller warned of the continued threat that foreign powers interfering in US elections."

7/26/2019 1:48:06 PM

https://twitter.com/jennycohn1/status/1154566407306088450

Quote :

"If you aren’t following what’s happening in Georgia, then you’re at grave risk of being blindsided. The GOP there is a step ahead of the GOP nationally in terms of dismantling democracy. There’s much to be learned & a federal election-security suit trying to stop the bleeding. 1/"

and NC board of elections is about the certify the same machines that Kemp put in place in Georgia

The board meeting is this Sunday at 5 pm at the Cary Embassy Suites

https://twitter.com/NCSBE/status/1154501955034767375
https://www.ncsbe.gov/Press-Releases?udt_2226_param_detail=767

7/26/2019 2:13:54 PM

From what i understand, the board of elections certifies them, and counties choose which are used?

How do we as voters voice what we want in our county? Who actually picks? County BoE?

7/30/2019 2:31:41 PM

that's correct. you can contact your county board of elections officials here https://vt.ncsbe.gov/BOEInfo

btw last night at the State Board of Elections meeting (a follow-up from Sunday's meeting because one of the board members was not in attendance) the board voted to consider language that would require any voting machines to produce HUMAN-READABLE marks on a paper ballot. A follow-up meeting would have to be scheduled no sooner than 15 days to allow public comment and the board would vote on the proposed amendment.

surprise, surprise the board this morning announced that they were rescinding last night's motion and are now scheduling a new meeting on Thursday to proceed with the certification the 3 vendor's machines anyways.

https://demnc.co/keeppromise

7/30/2019 3:02:46 PM