I served in the DOJ under AG Gonzalez, and sadly he's right:
"The pace at which norms and traditions are being abandoned is potentially dangerous. One of the pillars of our cathedral of justice is free and fair elections. Even that appears to be in danger."
chkbal.substack.com?utm_source=n...
NEW: Clemency for Tina Peters would be unprecedented, based on my analysis of Gov Polis' 25 commutations. Peters hasn't shown remorse, taken accountability, or sought to restore harm. No Polis commutation was for a harsh sentence alone and Peters' would be the shortest by 30+ yrs
Can the president cancel the midterm #elections? In short: no.
Even if President Trump attempted to cancel the #midterms, the Constitution and federal law make clear that he has no authority to do so.
Learn more in CEIR's newest 60-second explainer video.
Seeing some posts suggesting that you check your voter registration (a VERY good idea!) by going to a third-party .org site (a VERY bad idea!). Do check your voter registration, but do it on your state's official election website, where the official list is kept.
NEW: Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubenstein (R) who prosecuted Tina Peters says Gov Jared Polis (D) giving Peters clemency "would be a gross injustice." Rubenstein points out that separate case cited by Polis to justify clemency misses the purpose of sentencing ranges.
The precinct problem caused in Dallas and Williamson counties in the TX primary will NOT happen in November. While the parties have unusual power over the primaries in TX, they cannot change the process during a general election. These counties and elsewhere will use vote centers in November.
These charges were not similar. Peters literally stole an innocent person’s identity and used it to illegally access systems protected by state law. And she remains unrepentant to this day.
Screenshot of excerpt from opinion that reads: "Despite this, the New York courts refused to stay the trial court’s order. After that highly questionable injunction was issued, the applicants filed appeals in both the Appellate Division (the State’s intermediate appellate court) and the Court of Appeals (its highest court) challenging the trial court’s order on federal constitutional grounds. At the same time, applicants asked both courts to stay the trial court’s order. The Appellate Division refused to issue a stay, and by order issued on February 11, the Court of Appeals sent the appeal filed in that court to the Appellate Division and dismissed applicants’ motions for a stay."
![With nowhere else to turn, the applicants asked us to issue a stay, and we have jurisdiction to entertain their application. Title 28 U. S. C. §1257(a) gives us jurisdiction to review “[f]inal judgments or decrees” that are rendered by a State’s highest court and adjudicate federal constitutional claims, and the Court of Appeals’ February 11 order falls
within that category.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nwnlnixtjh3qhkwpz2uy5uwv/bafkreibhhdcymq4dbg2pzqxsntooytqznjfgrztweju4jb5kdbqpsy6okq@jpeg)
With nowhere else to turn, the applicants asked us to issue a stay, and we have jurisdiction to entertain their application. Title 28 U. S. C. §1257(a) gives us jurisdiction to review “[f]inal judgments or decrees” that are rendered by a State’s highest court and adjudicate federal constitutional claims, and the Court of Appeals’ February 11 order falls within that category.
1/9: In the New York redistricting case, Justice Alito's justification for why #SCOTUS even had *jurisdiction* to issue a stay is based upon a remarkably misleading portrayal of the state court proceedings.
I realize this is technical, but I wanted to write a short thread to explain the shadiness:
THE PRO-DEMOCRACY PLAN:
1. Register, check, and update on your state election website
2. Recruit 10+ voters on the fence, in yours and other states
3. Serve as a poll worker, if you can
4. Make a plan (early, mail, E-Day) and VOTE in every election this year, regardless of what you hear.
/END
TUNE IT OUT. There are many of us working to make sure our elections are safe and secure, and the courts, and especially our election officials, have our backs. We're already seeing record turnout in TX and NC, and that may continue, and overwhelm those dark forces that oppose democracy. /10
You will hear a lot of noise this year. There will be lots of false, debunked, and crazy rehashed claims about our elections. We will be told to worry about what an out-of-control executive branch might do. We may see reports of things we've never seen before. /9
Those who fear the verdict of the voters want us to feel despair -- to forget that every election is a celebration of our democracy, and to forget the joy we feel when we vote with our neighbors. So today and every day, I celebrate the voters, and the public servants who give them their voice. /8
And if anyone, no matter how powerful, tries to make you fear for your safety, or that your vote won't matter, @electioninnov.bsky.social and I, and others, will be there ensuring that election officials can continue to do their job offering you a safe, convenient, and secure voting experience. /7
Voters have choices, and will be safe. 47 states offer early in person voting, where YOU get to pick the time and place you cast a ballot. Most states offer mail voting w/o an excuse, if you choose to vote that way (but deliver your ballot as early as possible). You can't and won't be targeted. /6
And as a reminder, federal law makes it a crime to order "troops or armed men" to anyplace where an election is held, punishable by five years in prison. Troops/ICE/agents will NOT be at the polls this year, and if they try, they will be stopped immediately. /5
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...
No, there won't be federal agents or armed men at our polling places. If the gov't is so foolish to try it, they will be immediately stopped by the courts, and voters will likely react differently than the feds may expect. It could activate voters on the fence to participate. /4
In every single case, courts have held firm to the Framers' strict limits on executive powers over elections, every time citing the Constitution's Election Clause confirming that elections are run by the states. While powerful people spread lies, election officials continue to perform admirably. /3
There are those in our nation, a minority, who are scared of the voters, and want those voters, and the election officials who give them their voice, to experience fear and despair. But while they've made threats, those threats have been empty, and every time, our elections have been safe. /2
As the election season begins, I know there are lots of concerns about federal interference, and a sense of darkness about where our democracy is headed. But it's important to remember that elections are a celebration of our democracy, and we should allow ourselves to feel the JOY of VOTING. /1
The Elections Clause persists even ~250 years later as a shining testament to the Framers vision and wisdom.
Interesting that DOJ failed to mention in their press release that they are already 0 for 3 in these cases. These states were wise to protect their citizens’ sensitive info from a fed’l gov’t that has already had to admit they’ve already released this data.
www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...
What a gift such a clearly unconstitutional executive order would be! Though divorced from legal and factual reality, it would enable the courts to invalidate this power grab well in advance of the election, and confirm the clear limits to fed'l interference in elections.
wapo.st/3N5cpEn
Even as some Trump allies have continued to spread false claims about widespread #election fraud, those same allies have declined to defend their claims in court.
CEIR's @beckerdavidj.bsky.social joined the "Grounded" podcast to discuss: https://loom.ly/8Vk_xHs
How can #election offices best handle public records requests?
Washington state Director of Elections Stuart Holmes and CEIR Research Director Christopher Mann joined the “High Turnout Wide Margins” podcast to discuss Washington’s innovative answer to that question. https://loom.ly/OJRuXl0
This is false. Trump's DHS has confirmed that 99.98% of the 50M reg'd voters they checked had already documented citizenship (and many of the .02% others were also citizens). States - red and blue - confirm voter fraud is exceedingly rare - maybe a few dozen cases in any major election.
Why is the decentralization of our #elections so important? Because it serves as "one of the great security features of our system," CEIR's @beckerdavidj.bsky.social told NPR earlier this month.
It's really hard to find, or even manufacture, evidence of a crime that didn't exist. Trump's own DHS found that 99.98% of the 50M voter records reflected documented citizens, and of the .02% that DHS couldn't confirm, many are also citizens. Voter fraud is exceedingly rare.
wapo.st/4aM9lox
Elections experts warn that the SAVE Act may have unintended consequences.
CEIR'S David Becker told CNN the bill is "clearly based on this myth that there is widespread fraud" and could create unnecessary barriers for US citizens attempting to vote.
"I think it's safe to say this is unprecedented. We have never seen a president try to exert executive authority over elections in the states like we have."
CEIR's @beckerdavidj.bsky.social joined "Face the Nation" to discuss federal #election policy.
Congressman, let me help you out with this. Read Article I, Sec. 4 of the Constitution. It's on the very first page. Only the states, or Congress, can make election policy. The President has ZERO power to regulate elections on his own, by design of the founders.
