Thank you for that. I do appreciate your efforts to make it easier to read.
As I said to @Max_S, it’s unrealistic to think it never happens. We should be continuously working to improve any and all weaknesses.
How come there was no paper ballot backup to that system? Honestly, it’s the easiest way to cross check election results, and there is no excuse for not having them for every voting machine across the country.
To clarify, November 3rd 2019. Election day was November 5. Elections for some state Governors, state legislatures and city comptrollers.
I wonder if this will become a problem for anyone:
2019… How did I miss that?
[lighthearted glare at Peter_Morris even though it’s my fault for overlooking the date]
~Max
2020 isn’t a real year anyway.
Very brief hijack but the pharmacist does indeed have a database of everywhere in the state where you have filled a prescription and often access to other states. It’s even tied into my electronic record. When I see a new patient we ask if we can access the database and when they get to the exam room I have a list of every prescription they’ve filled in the past year (leading to questions like “why were you on Amoxicillin back in February?”). Even if they refuse, I can access the database for controlled medication and get a list of every controlled medication that has been prescribed, the number of pills dispensed, the prescribing doctor, and the pharmacy where it was filled as well as the date filled. In this state you can get sanctioned by the Board if there is an issue with a controlled substance prescription and the Board sees that you have not been double-checking the database regularly.
Now, to return to our election thread-I am getting tired of going out on the ledge then coming back in again. I am hoping that the states start officially certifying their results soon. It just bothers me how much our democracy apparently has relied on people’s good will and integrity.
I’ve been seeing the same talking point from Republicans about Trump’s lawsuits:
Why am I 100% sure that when this is over none of them will have any confidence in the results of the election?
I don’t know why you are 100% sure. It’s the very same ballots that many of these county supervisors were re-elected with.
~Max
Yes. I served as an election official (“poll worker”) three weeks ago. At 6 AM, when we gathered to prepare, we were given a choice of serving as a volunteer or getting paid, and signed the proper paper. Those getting paid also were paid fir the training session two weeks previously.
The Republicans are basically telling people that they don’t believe in free and fair elections.
There. They said it.
Quoted for truth. This cannot be emphasized enough.
It’s why the ONLY mistake uncovered so far was when a county (in GA) forgot to report its full results to the state. At the precinct/ward/polling place level — that is, neighborhoods — errors (or shenanigans) beyond a handful of votes are extremely unlikely.
Right. It’s a double whammy. They’re saying, loud and clear, two awful, pathetic things at the same time:
I’m probably cross-posting here, but Republicans are now clearly using the certification process as another weapon in their arsenal against free and fair elections. We might be just fortunate enough this time that Trump’s White House didn’t necessarily plan out all the steps that would be potentially required to steal the election. But there are already numerous counties across the country that are delaying or refusing to certify elections, and I predict that this will become a thing going forward. And I also predict that Republicans will get law enforcement to help back them up and act as a security force when people protest these kinds of antics.
We’re entering the dark ages here, I’m afraid. And once you open that bottle and the genie’s out, then the genie is out. And it’s out now, I worry.
Now those two GOP turkeys that tried not to certify the results in Wayne county have signed affidavits saying they wish to rescind their certification. They say they thought their recommendation that the results be audited was binding. Now they feel harassed and betrayed! 
It looks like it’s too late for them to rescind; I hope so.
This does smack of a long con. It seems like great effort and resources are being poured into endeavors that are painfully obvious to fail at achieving their purported aims. Why are new lawsuits being filed recycling arguments that have already been shot down in multiple states? Why are millions being shelled out for recounts that are almost certain to change vote counts by perhaps a few hundred when several thousand are needed?
Everything playing out so far seems to suggest a strategy intended to delay delay delay.Delay to what end? The election outcome has been known for over a week and a half. There’s got to be some payoff here in the future. What could it possibly be?
It’s interesting to look back just 17 years, to a time that now seems like ancient history:
Bush says U.S. must spread democracy
WASHINGTON – President Bush laid out a broad vision Thursday of an American mission to spread democracy throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world, saying, “Freedom can be the future of every nation.”
Engendering democracy across the Middle East “must be a focus of American policy for decades to come,” the president said in a speech to the National Endowment for Democracy, a federally funded foundation that promotes reform abroad.
The claim was a little dubious at the time, considering how Bush himself got into power. But today America’s reputation is swirling down the toilet like never before, as the world watches. Can you imagine if today the US tried to claim leadership in “spreading democracy” in the world, or accused some totalitarian state of holding a rigged election? Hilarity would ensue. “Looks who’s talking!” would be the amused snickering commentary from the likes of Putin and Xi Jinping. This is almost entirely Trump’s legacy, but unprincipled Republicans have been major enablers.
The “plan” is to delay certification until the deadline is past, and then get the state legislators to simply submit the own slate of Electors, ignoring the vote,
Why do you think the (false) mantra “America isn’t a democracy, it’s a republic” has been pushed by Republicans over the last year?
beowulff said it and I’ve been saying it for two weeks; the plan is to present the election as “contested,” claim the result is unclear, and justify state legislatures ignoring the popular vote and selecting Trumpist electors.
Whether it will work or not is another matter, but it’s the plan.
You have completely misunderstood my post and comment.
I’ll be clear: none of these lawsuits is being brought forward for the purpose of ensuring that anyone has confidence in the results of the election. He was gaslighting. He was lying. The purpose of the lawsuits is to remove confidence, not instill it.