Voter Suppression Still Crushing Democracy
June 22, 2020 6:56 AM Subscribe
Delays and long lines at polling places during recent presidential primary elections represent the latest version of decades-long policies that have sought to reduce the political power of African Americans in the U.S. On Friday, a federal judge denied an effort to expand the number of polling places in Kentucky. The state, which holds a primary election tomorrow (June 23) to determine the Democratic candidate to face off against Mitch McConnell, will have fewer than 200 polling places. That is a fraction of the 3,700 polling places in the state during a typical election year, according to Mother Jones.
According to an article in The Conversation, scholars at UCLA found that voters in Black neighborhoods waited, on average, 29% longer to vote than voters in predominantly white communities in 2016.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that a little-known Republican group is ramping up millions of dollars in funding from major US corporations such as CitiGroup and Chevron to protect the conservative stronghold on the country. "The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) – which held the key to the GOP’s political takeover a decade ago – launched the Right Lines 2020 campaign last September, taglined: 'Socialism starts in the states. Let’s stop it there, too.' It’s hoping to meet a $125m investment goal in an effort to retain 42 state legislature seats that the group says are key to holding power in the House of Representatives in battleground states including Wisconsin, Texas, Florida and New York."
Voter rights and education groups include Spread the Vote, which helps people get voter IDs; Fair Fight, the Stacey Abrams group that promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country; and Let America Vote, a newer voting-rights group.
There are many more, including Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the American Civic Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause, Election Protection, and the League of Women Voters.
Previously on MetaFilter:
If you don’t seek out stories about race, you’re less likely to see them (Feb 2020)
Voter Suppression Rages On (2012)
According to an article in The Conversation, scholars at UCLA found that voters in Black neighborhoods waited, on average, 29% longer to vote than voters in predominantly white communities in 2016.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that a little-known Republican group is ramping up millions of dollars in funding from major US corporations such as CitiGroup and Chevron to protect the conservative stronghold on the country. "The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) – which held the key to the GOP’s political takeover a decade ago – launched the Right Lines 2020 campaign last September, taglined: 'Socialism starts in the states. Let’s stop it there, too.' It’s hoping to meet a $125m investment goal in an effort to retain 42 state legislature seats that the group says are key to holding power in the House of Representatives in battleground states including Wisconsin, Texas, Florida and New York."
Voter rights and education groups include Spread the Vote, which helps people get voter IDs; Fair Fight, the Stacey Abrams group that promotes fair elections in Georgia and around the country; and Let America Vote, a newer voting-rights group.
There are many more, including Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the American Civic Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause, Election Protection, and the League of Women Voters.
Previously on MetaFilter:
If you don’t seek out stories about race, you’re less likely to see them (Feb 2020)
Voter Suppression Rages On (2012)
Apparently the logic is with the added absentee balloting, they don't need the extra sites, but that's bullshit and this is a meatspace DDOS attack against the voting infrastructure, and should be treated as such.
posted by mikelieman at 8:22 AM on June 22, 2020 [19 favorites]
posted by mikelieman at 8:22 AM on June 22, 2020 [19 favorites]
“The things they had in there were crazy. They had things, levels of voting that if you’d ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.”
posted by box at 8:50 AM on June 22, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by box at 8:50 AM on June 22, 2020 [14 favorites]
This is grotesque. I don't even know what to say about it, I've written like twenty horrified keysmash screeds here and then deleted them. Horrified isn't even the right word, because at this point in US history you'd have to be waking up from a centuries-long coma to be surprised by this kind of thing. Is there such a thing as dull horror?
Great analogy, mikelieman.
posted by invincible summer at 8:55 AM on June 22, 2020 [10 favorites]
Great analogy, mikelieman.
posted by invincible summer at 8:55 AM on June 22, 2020 [10 favorites]
Point is, we're being led by an extreme fascist minority party that is hell-bent on preserving their power at literally any cost, and it's way past time for us to act like it.
They act like it. With every act of voter suppression, they admit that they can't hold power by appealing to a majority of voters, and what's more, they know it.
Voting ought to be a right that's as sacrosanct as anything in the Bill of Rights, and any attempt to infringe on that right looked on as shamefully.
posted by Gelatin at 9:12 AM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
They act like it. With every act of voter suppression, they admit that they can't hold power by appealing to a majority of voters, and what's more, they know it.
Voting ought to be a right that's as sacrosanct as anything in the Bill of Rights, and any attempt to infringe on that right looked on as shamefully.
posted by Gelatin at 9:12 AM on June 22, 2020 [12 favorites]
On a Facebook thread, there were loads of people saying that absentee ballots were made more available in Kentucky without the additional hoops. Of course, you have to really promote that information if all your life you've heard that only people who are military or disabled or elderly are eligible to vote absentee. Here's a Kentucky news source on filing absentee which links to this page to request an absentee ballot - people sure should sign up for the Presidential election, if that's possible now. But, it appears that the polling closures happened concurrent or after the deadline to vote absentee which sure does feel purposeful.
posted by amanda at 9:13 AM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by amanda at 9:13 AM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting. ~Tom Stoppard
Another voting travesty: MEMPHIS, Shelby Co, TN where votes from predominantly black precincts have mysteriously vanished from touchscreen voting machines.
November is going to be a shitshow inside a dumpster fire on top of a pile of burning tires.
posted by pjsky at 9:16 AM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
Another voting travesty: MEMPHIS, Shelby Co, TN where votes from predominantly black precincts have mysteriously vanished from touchscreen voting machines.
November is going to be a shitshow inside a dumpster fire on top of a pile of burning tires.
posted by pjsky at 9:16 AM on June 22, 2020 [6 favorites]
Apparently the logic is with the added absentee balloting, they don't need the extra sites, but that's bullshit
Republicans have simultaneously been speaking out against absentee balloting.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:22 AM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
Republicans have simultaneously been speaking out against absentee balloting.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 9:22 AM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is but one example of the repeal of key areas of the Voter's Rights Act in 2013 to allow individual States to change their election laws without Federal approval.
KENTUCKY
Registered voters = about 3,400,000
Number of polling stations = 200
Maximum voting needed per polling station = 1,200 PER HOUR (of course that will happen...)
Location of polling stations is primarily in Republican leaning wards.
That is NOT repressing people's democratic right to vote now is it? [NB: Sarcastic/Caustic comment!]
And this is not the only State... dark times which need to be lit with a torch that burns bright. Is it any wonder that police forces have been supplied with military grade equipment.
posted by IndelibleUnderpants at 9:36 AM on June 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
KENTUCKY
Registered voters = about 3,400,000
Number of polling stations = 200
Maximum voting needed per polling station = 1,200 PER HOUR (of course that will happen...)
Location of polling stations is primarily in Republican leaning wards.
That is NOT repressing people's democratic right to vote now is it? [NB: Sarcastic/Caustic comment!]
And this is not the only State... dark times which need to be lit with a torch that burns bright. Is it any wonder that police forces have been supplied with military grade equipment.
posted by IndelibleUnderpants at 9:36 AM on June 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
This is but one example of the repeal of key areas of the Voter's Rights Act in 2013 to allow individual States to change their election laws without Federal approval.
Wouldn't have helped here though. All parties, including those represented minority districts signed off on this plan because of the pandemic, lack of a competitive primary anywhere, and general lower turnout in a primary anyway. They paired it with a massive push for mail-in ballots. A suit would have gone nowhere, the plan wasn't to suppress black vote, but to makes sure no one died needless of COVID.
Since they signed off, two of the three assumptions changed and they had issues with the mail in ballot volume due to those assumptions changing. So here we are.
posted by jmauro at 9:42 AM on June 22, 2020
Wouldn't have helped here though. All parties, including those represented minority districts signed off on this plan because of the pandemic, lack of a competitive primary anywhere, and general lower turnout in a primary anyway. They paired it with a massive push for mail-in ballots. A suit would have gone nowhere, the plan wasn't to suppress black vote, but to makes sure no one died needless of COVID.
Since they signed off, two of the three assumptions changed and they had issues with the mail in ballot volume due to those assumptions changing. So here we are.
posted by jmauro at 9:42 AM on June 22, 2020
Some more information on Kentucky ballot access that might set it apart from the travesty we saw in Georgia recently. The plan for this election came through an agreement between Kentucky’s Democratic Governor Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, which allowed no-excuse mail-in voting and early voting starting a couple weeks back. Unlike some other states that have no-excuse mail balloting, Kentucky required residents to request their ballot (rather than just mailing one to all residents). (source)
Joe Sonka, a reporter for Louisville’s Courier-Journal, notes that as of yesterday (6/21), 222,705 ballots had been either cast as early vote or requested by mail in Jefferson County (which includes Louisville). In prior years, the total primary vote cast in Jefferson County has been 133,405 (2019 primary), 104,924 (2018 primary, and 138,629 (2016 primary). In 2008, the largest turnout “in many years,” there were a total of 192,630 primary votes cast in Jefferson County. This means Jefferson County may already have way above record turnout with a couple days of early voting still to go, depending on how many of the people who requested ballots decide to actually cast a vote. (Stats from this Twitter thread)
I don’t meant to suggest that it’s good for a county to only have one polling place open, but I just wanted to give some reassuring context for turnout. One major danger is this mail-in ballot / early voting system was only set up for the primary, not the general. It was clearly an effective plan judging by turnout. Hopefully they’ll extend that access for the general. (Keep in mind that because of this huge amount of mail-in vote, the votes in KY will take a long time to count.)
posted by sallybrown at 10:06 AM on June 22, 2020 [10 favorites]
Joe Sonka, a reporter for Louisville’s Courier-Journal, notes that as of yesterday (6/21), 222,705 ballots had been either cast as early vote or requested by mail in Jefferson County (which includes Louisville). In prior years, the total primary vote cast in Jefferson County has been 133,405 (2019 primary), 104,924 (2018 primary, and 138,629 (2016 primary). In 2008, the largest turnout “in many years,” there were a total of 192,630 primary votes cast in Jefferson County. This means Jefferson County may already have way above record turnout with a couple days of early voting still to go, depending on how many of the people who requested ballots decide to actually cast a vote. (Stats from this Twitter thread)
I don’t meant to suggest that it’s good for a county to only have one polling place open, but I just wanted to give some reassuring context for turnout. One major danger is this mail-in ballot / early voting system was only set up for the primary, not the general. It was clearly an effective plan judging by turnout. Hopefully they’ll extend that access for the general. (Keep in mind that because of this huge amount of mail-in vote, the votes in KY will take a long time to count.)
posted by sallybrown at 10:06 AM on June 22, 2020 [10 favorites]
More on the vote counting: because of the mail-in ballot issue, Jefferson County (Louisville) and Fayette County (Lexington) aren’t going to report their vote counts until June 30, so that all the mailed ballots have a week to arrive, and as a result, the state is not going to release a vote count until that date (source). So those of us waiting to see the outcome of the Booker/McGrath primary battle have at least a week to wait!
posted by sallybrown at 10:33 AM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by sallybrown at 10:33 AM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
The situation in KY is being misreported.
Here's one of our local Pulitzer Prize winners on the issue
posted by Burgoo at 10:36 AM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
Here's one of our local Pulitzer Prize winners on the issue
posted by Burgoo at 10:36 AM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
Voting by mail is the best way forward. Typically a voter receives a ballot from the county or state, and then votes, then signs and seals the envelope. No ballot is allowed to be forwarded. On election day, the polls are still open, requiring less of them probably, but in order to reduce fraud and criticism, the vote by mail should already be counted and names excluded on voter lists at available polls. That way any non-mail voter knows if they were a victim of mail voting fraud and can alert officials.
posted by Brian B. at 10:40 AM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Brian B. at 10:40 AM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
Another voting travesty: MEMPHIS, Shelby Co, TN where votes from predominantly black precincts have mysteriously vanished from touchscreen voting machines.
I haven’t heard about missing totals; anyway, the county commission has been fighting with the county election commission all year over what kinds of machines, and result is we’re not getting new machines this year. Maybe next time around we can all vote by mail, but that would require the TN legislature to cooperate, which seems unlikely.
We do have lots of early voting, in any location countywide, so a computer system does make that part easier.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:50 AM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
I haven’t heard about missing totals; anyway, the county commission has been fighting with the county election commission all year over what kinds of machines, and result is we’re not getting new machines this year. Maybe next time around we can all vote by mail, but that would require the TN legislature to cooperate, which seems unlikely.
We do have lots of early voting, in any location countywide, so a computer system does make that part easier.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:50 AM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
The situation in KY is being misreported.
Here's one of our local Pulitzer Prize winners on the issue
This... seems a little thin for a Pulitzer Prize winer? Like, his argument is "the state sent out more absentee ballots this year than there have ever been voters in Jefferson County, so the problem is solved!" Except this is the first year there's been no-excuse mail-in voting so no one has any idea what percentage of those ballots are going to be returned, and if it isn't north of, say, 50% (an ungodly high rate that we have no reason to believe will be hit), you're still talking about 100K people trying to funnel through a single polling place, in Kentucky, in the heat of high summer, during a pandemic.
I don't know much about Joe Sonka's work, but my suggestion to him after this is: maybe more explaining why vote-by-mail is going to be so popular, and fewer David Rose gifs making fun of liberals trying to prevent the state from disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of black people?
posted by Mayor West at 11:25 AM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
Here's one of our local Pulitzer Prize winners on the issue
This... seems a little thin for a Pulitzer Prize winer? Like, his argument is "the state sent out more absentee ballots this year than there have ever been voters in Jefferson County, so the problem is solved!" Except this is the first year there's been no-excuse mail-in voting so no one has any idea what percentage of those ballots are going to be returned, and if it isn't north of, say, 50% (an ungodly high rate that we have no reason to believe will be hit), you're still talking about 100K people trying to funnel through a single polling place, in Kentucky, in the heat of high summer, during a pandemic.
I don't know much about Joe Sonka's work, but my suggestion to him after this is: maybe more explaining why vote-by-mail is going to be so popular, and fewer David Rose gifs making fun of liberals trying to prevent the state from disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of black people?
posted by Mayor West at 11:25 AM on June 22, 2020 [4 favorites]
As of this morning, “88,000 people have voted in-person during the early voting period and at least 883,000 people have requested absentee ballots. Around 540,000 absentee ballots have returned and...they are expecting a majority of absentee ballots to come in within the next several days.”
This page has past primary turnout stats in KY to compare. The record-setting 2008 primary had 922K turnout (32% of registered voters); last year’s primary turnout was 665K or 19% (close to the number of early votes + returned absentee ballots as of today).
posted by sallybrown at 11:46 AM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
This page has past primary turnout stats in KY to compare. The record-setting 2008 primary had 922K turnout (32% of registered voters); last year’s primary turnout was 665K or 19% (close to the number of early votes + returned absentee ballots as of today).
posted by sallybrown at 11:46 AM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
Some more information on Kentucky ballot access that might set it apart from the travesty we saw in Georgia recently. The plan for this election came through an agreement between Kentucky’s Democratic Governor Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, which allowed no-excuse mail-in voting and early voting starting a couple weeks back. Unlike some other states that have no-excuse mail balloting, Kentucky required residents to request their ballot (rather than just mailing one to all residents).
That is exactly the same as what happened in Georgia, except we have no Democrats in state-wide office right now and have had no excuse mail-in voting for many years. Many people I know who requested mail-in ballots did not get them (or they arrived the day after the election--womp womp). Early voting always ends on the Friday before a Tuesday election, so people who were still waiting on their mail-in ballots had to choose to either go vote on that Friday or hope they got their ballot between Friday and Tuesday (and many lost that gamble). That forced people who had planned to vote by mail to show up, resulting in long lines on both Friday (last day of early voting) and Tuesday.
The main explanation for the late mail-in ballots was a COVID outbreak in the Fulton Co Elections Office (the county containing most of Atlanta). I hope that Kentucky did not have any circumstances like that and that things go better there than they did in Georgia. But as far as I can tell, the situations are pretty similar.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:10 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
That is exactly the same as what happened in Georgia, except we have no Democrats in state-wide office right now and have had no excuse mail-in voting for many years. Many people I know who requested mail-in ballots did not get them (or they arrived the day after the election--womp womp). Early voting always ends on the Friday before a Tuesday election, so people who were still waiting on their mail-in ballots had to choose to either go vote on that Friday or hope they got their ballot between Friday and Tuesday (and many lost that gamble). That forced people who had planned to vote by mail to show up, resulting in long lines on both Friday (last day of early voting) and Tuesday.
The main explanation for the late mail-in ballots was a COVID outbreak in the Fulton Co Elections Office (the county containing most of Atlanta). I hope that Kentucky did not have any circumstances like that and that things go better there than they did in Georgia. But as far as I can tell, the situations are pretty similar.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:10 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
With this kind of ratfuckery (my apologies to rats), what confidence do we have in mail-in/absentee ballots being counted correctly?
posted by kokaku at 12:48 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by kokaku at 12:48 PM on June 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
Your democracy at work eating away at the very foundations that this country was supposedly built on. The rats want a head start on devouring the heart of freedom and equality for all. Despicable.
posted by DJZouke at 12:57 PM on June 22, 2020
posted by DJZouke at 12:57 PM on June 22, 2020
@ianbremmer: "Manipulation of election process growing more likely."
@ianbremmer: "It is likely that the November US election will not appear free and fair by international standards."
Welcome to democracy in America:
Charles Booker tightens race with Amy McGrath amid protests - "When asked who they would vote for in the general election, Mitch McConnell beat both Booker and McGrath, though Booker saw a closer race. McConnell led Booker 52% to 38%, while the incumbent led McGrath 53% to 33%." (although an earlier poll put mcgrath over mcconnell)
also btw...
@binarybits: "The more I write about voting, the more I become convinced that we should keep computers as far away from voting as possible. No online voting. No DREs. Limit ballot marking machines to blind people. Use optical scanners only with rigorous hand-counted audits."
posted by kliuless at 1:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [13 favorites]
@ianbremmer: "It is likely that the November US election will not appear free and fair by international standards."
Welcome to democracy in America:
Voters in line for 4+ hours@AriBerman: "Georgia closed 214 polling places after Supreme Court gutted Voting Rights Act. There were 80 fewer polling places for June primary in metro Atlanta, where majority of black voters live. Mitch McConnell is blocking legislation passed by House Dems to restore the VRA."
Malfunctioning voting machines
Scarcity of experienced poll workers
Charles Booker tightens race with Amy McGrath amid protests - "When asked who they would vote for in the general election, Mitch McConnell beat both Booker and McGrath, though Booker saw a closer race. McConnell led Booker 52% to 38%, while the incumbent led McGrath 53% to 33%." (although an earlier poll put mcgrath over mcconnell)
also btw...
@binarybits: "The more I write about voting, the more I become convinced that we should keep computers as far away from voting as possible. No online voting. No DREs. Limit ballot marking machines to blind people. Use optical scanners only with rigorous hand-counted audits."
posted by kliuless at 1:19 PM on June 22, 2020 [13 favorites]
@binarybits: "The more I write about voting, the more I become convinced that we should keep computers as far away from voting as possible. No online voting. No DREs. Limit ballot marking machines to blind people. Use optical scanners only with rigorous hand-counted audits."
If there's one take-away from this FPP, it's this right here.
DRE's are for suckers. Ballot Marking Devices generally suck but there's a need for them. I've seen plenty of voters with vision issues who need them, and those users hate them too. Optical scanners with retained paper ballots (scantron) are the only way to go.
posted by mikelieman at 2:35 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
If there's one take-away from this FPP, it's this right here.
DRE's are for suckers. Ballot Marking Devices generally suck but there's a need for them. I've seen plenty of voters with vision issues who need them, and those users hate them too. Optical scanners with retained paper ballots (scantron) are the only way to go.
posted by mikelieman at 2:35 PM on June 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Some updated voting figures as of this afternoon:
“as of Saturday, nearly 1 million Kentuckians — 973,807 — have either requested an absentee ballot or voted early before Tuesday's primary. As of Monday morning, county clerks across the state had received nearly 443,000 of those ballots back in the mail. The high-water mark for a Kentucky primary election came in 2008, when 922,456 residents voted.“
“As of Monday morning, the Jefferson County Clerk’s office had reported mailing 218,404 absentee ballots to registered voters, in addition to 7,493 who had voted early at the Kentucky Exposition Center last week. More than 96,000 residents have already mailed back their ballots. And that figure didn't account for those who voted at the office’s election center — the county's other early-voting location — over the past two weeks.”
“The number of voters receiving an absentee ballot by mail plus those who had voted early at the exposition center last week accounts for over 36% of registered voters in Jefferson County, without taking into account how many will turned out to vote early on Monday or on Election Day.”
posted by sallybrown at 2:58 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
“as of Saturday, nearly 1 million Kentuckians — 973,807 — have either requested an absentee ballot or voted early before Tuesday's primary. As of Monday morning, county clerks across the state had received nearly 443,000 of those ballots back in the mail. The high-water mark for a Kentucky primary election came in 2008, when 922,456 residents voted.“
“As of Monday morning, the Jefferson County Clerk’s office had reported mailing 218,404 absentee ballots to registered voters, in addition to 7,493 who had voted early at the Kentucky Exposition Center last week. More than 96,000 residents have already mailed back their ballots. And that figure didn't account for those who voted at the office’s election center — the county's other early-voting location — over the past two weeks.”
“The number of voters receiving an absentee ballot by mail plus those who had voted early at the exposition center last week accounts for over 36% of registered voters in Jefferson County, without taking into account how many will turned out to vote early on Monday or on Election Day.”
posted by sallybrown at 2:58 PM on June 22, 2020 [2 favorites]
I've been following this story for a while. From the Tweets it sounds like there's one voting booth in Jefferson County. The polling place has taken over a convention center floor.
Kentucky is having serious problems getting poll workers for the following reasons:
- It pays $60 for what is (based on my research) a 12-hour day.
- Every district has to have an equal amount of registered Democrat and Republican poll workers.
- Many poll workers don't want to work because COVID. (I can't speak to Kentucky but I've lived and voted in Massachusetts, Virginia, Georgia, and California and in each case the majority of poll workers were retired.)
I'm not saying it's not bad. It is. Their elections department needs a lot more funding. However, in this case there's a lot of factors that seem to be less malicious conspiracy and more a confluence of events. Feel free to call me naive.
posted by rednikki at 4:20 PM on June 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
Kentucky is having serious problems getting poll workers for the following reasons:
- It pays $60 for what is (based on my research) a 12-hour day.
- Every district has to have an equal amount of registered Democrat and Republican poll workers.
- Many poll workers don't want to work because COVID. (I can't speak to Kentucky but I've lived and voted in Massachusetts, Virginia, Georgia, and California and in each case the majority of poll workers were retired.)
I'm not saying it's not bad. It is. Their elections department needs a lot more funding. However, in this case there's a lot of factors that seem to be less malicious conspiracy and more a confluence of events. Feel free to call me naive.
posted by rednikki at 4:20 PM on June 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
The update from Jefferson County / Louisville, where the Expo Center is the only voting location: things are running smoothly with little to no wait to vote except for when doors opened at 6 am.
Lines are longer in Fayette County / Lexington, where there appears to be about an hour wait, although officials are currently adding more machine.
(All links to twitter.)
And remember we won’t have results for these big counties or statewide totals until next week :-( because there were so many mail-in ballots :-)
posted by sallybrown at 9:47 AM on June 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
Lines are longer in Fayette County / Lexington, where there appears to be about an hour wait, although officials are currently adding more machine.
(All links to twitter.)
And remember we won’t have results for these big counties or statewide totals until next week :-( because there were so many mail-in ballots :-)
posted by sallybrown at 9:47 AM on June 23, 2020 [2 favorites]
from francis fukuyama's american interest...
The Danger of Electoral Violence in the United States - "The 2020 election could result in widespread civil unrest unless immediate action is taken."
posted by kliuless at 12:43 AM on June 24, 2020
The Danger of Electoral Violence in the United States - "The 2020 election could result in widespread civil unrest unless immediate action is taken."
posted by kliuless at 12:43 AM on June 24, 2020
dammit, fukuyama. you promised us the end of history. does this look like the end of history to you, frankie? cause it sure as hell doesn’t to me!
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 12:50 AM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 12:50 AM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
That is a deeply disappointing outcome.
posted by Bella Donna at 9:48 AM on June 30, 2020
posted by Bella Donna at 9:48 AM on June 30, 2020
...and they've called it for McGrath. Doesn't bode well for November.
In the sense that the candidate who will lose by 25 won instead of the candidate who will lose by 15 or 20, yes.
posted by Justinian at 11:06 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
In the sense that the candidate who will lose by 25 won instead of the candidate who will lose by 15 or 20, yes.
posted by Justinian at 11:06 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Why Amy McGrath could cost Republicans the U.S. Senate, even if she loses to Mitch McConnell - "McGrath has raised more campaign funds than McConnell and poses a threat. That means the Republican Party and Republican-aligned political action committees may be forced to spend more to bolster McConnell's re-election bid than they may have planned, potentially limiting resources that could go to help incumbents in eight other states who are seen as vulnerable, analysts and officials from both parties said."
posted by kliuless at 10:32 PM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by kliuless at 10:32 PM on July 2, 2020 [1 favorite]
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