# Remember when Brad Raffensperger was a Big Damn Hero for Defying Pressure to Falsify Vote Tallies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 5, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299 "2024-08-05T23:14:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/1 "2024-08-05T23:14:24Z")
Look at what he’s up to now: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MK4b-meIGPU/maxresdefault.jpg "Georgia Launches Website To Cancel Voter Registrations") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK4b-meIGPU) > **[“A Terrible Vulnerability”: Cybersecurity Researcher Discovers Yet Another...](https://www.propublica.org/article/cybersecurity-expert-finds-another-flaw-in-georgia-voter-portal)** > > The flaw would have allowed anyone to submit a voter registration cancellation request for any Georgian using their name, date of birth and county of residence — information that is easily discoverable online. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/2 "2024-08-05T23:25:47Z")
I always suspected that Raffensperger wasn’t a hero, he was just a lot _smarter_ than the average Trump patsy. If you fudge the numbers on Trump’s behalf at the last moment, you _don’t_ want to be the one left holding the bag. Most Republicans who had true ethics (even if I didn’t agree with them on any subject) were forced out. If you’re still in the party, honestly, you are in it for the power, and if you’re smart (and evil) you’ll just make sure your lower end is covered with full deniability and protection of the law and position. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/3 "2024-08-05T23:27:24Z")
Did anyone have a chance to cancel Raffensperger’s registration? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/4 "2024-08-05T23:35:35Z")
> **[Marjorie Taylor Greene’s and Brad Raffensperger’s Voter Registrations...](https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-voter-registration-cancellation-portal-mtg-raffensperger)** > > Days after Georgia Democrats warned that the state’s new online portal for canceling voter registrations could be abused, officials have confirmed misuse attempts — including efforts to cancel the registrations of prominent Republicans. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/5 "2024-08-05T23:55:02Z")
Hell, that was just a public service. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/6 "2024-08-06T00:02:46Z")
I know leopards eating faces is a tired trope at this point, but they make it impossible to not say it. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/7 "2024-08-06T00:05:15Z")
Can someone sum up what’s in the link and/or video? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/8 "2024-08-06T05:03:07Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I always suspected that Raffensperger wasn’t a hero, he was just a lot _smarter_ than the average Trump patsy. Yes, there’s a difference between somebody saying “I don’t want to commit this crime because I feel it would be morally wrong” and somebody saying “I don’t want to commit this crime because I think we’ll get caught by the police.” ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/9 "2024-08-06T19:57:02Z")
Georgia resident here. I’ve moved states with the military numerous times, and I don’t get it. I don’t really understand the point of the website. Why would anyone want to or need to cancel their voter registration? If you move you can just register in the new state, no need to cancel the old state. You’re not there anymore, so you’re not voting there. If you are the kind of person who would vote in two separate jurisdictions then you probably aren’t the sort of person who will go online to cancel your old state’s registration. I think there is, or used to be, a system that looked for new state registrations and canceled the old state registration automatically. There’s no rule against being registered in multiple states, to my knowledge, only against voting in more than one. If you just don’t want to vote anymore, you can just not vote. No need to cancel your registration. Honestly, and without snark, what is the underlying purpose here? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/10 "2024-08-06T20:10:15Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > Honestly, and without snark, what is the underlying purpose here? To facilitate making easy to remove legitimate voters from the rolls of registered voters via ‘security flaws’ (wink wink nudge nudge) that allow anyone with access to publicly available personal information to fraudulently request cancellation. Of course, when you transfer your residence to another state and apply for a driver’s license or state ID card (and are generally automatically registered to vote in most states) notification is sent to your previous state of residence, where they can also mark you to be removed from voting in that state. In general, voter fraud via people maintaining registration in multiple districts or using fraudulent credentials [is such a negligible problem](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/widespread-election-fraud-claims-by-republicans-dont-match-the-evidence/) is occurs less than incidental counting errors. But, to be fair, I’m not saying that it _never_ happens in the occasional instance of a politically motivated malcontent: > **[Georgia Republican Party official voted illegally nine times, judge rules](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/georgia-republican-party-official-voted-illegally-nine-judge-rules-rcna145563)** > > Brian Pritchard, first vice chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, was fined $5,000 for voting illegally and registering to vote while serving a sentence for a felony, a judge ruled. > **[Analysis: Another voter fraud accusation blows up in Republicans’ faces | CNN...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/21/politics/fact-check-republicans-voter-fraud-kirk-hartle/index.html)** > > The mysterious case of Rosemarie Hartle’s vote in the last presidential election, three years after her death, was trumpeted in November 2020 by the Nevada Republican Party and various prominent conservatives. From then-President Donald Trump on... > **[Jury finds former Milwaukee election official guilty of obtaining fake...](https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-ballot-fraud-trump-trial-c6b568d58e2ad7121566c3734ab5d851)** > > A jury has found a former Milwaukee election official accused of obtaining fake absentee ballots guilty of misconduct in office and fraud. > **[Republican official in Ohio faces charge for voting twice in November election](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/republican-official-ohio-faces-charge-voting-twice-november-election-n1271985)** > > "I was simply trying to execute a dying man’s wishes," Ed Snodgrass said. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/22/iowa-voter-fraud-wife-husband-republican/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/22/iowa-voter-fraud-wife-husband-republican/) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/11 "2024-08-06T20:10:22Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > what is the underlying purpose here? It’s to allow right-wingers to target registered Democrats to cancel their registration. No snark, it’s just to disenfranchise legitimate voters. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/12 "2024-08-06T20:54:05Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > It’s to allow right-wingers to target registered Democrats to cancel their registration. No snark, it’s just to disenfranchise legitim Heck, they don’t need fancy websites to kick people off of the voter rolls. The current governor was doing that way back when he was the Secretary of State and was running for governor. > **[Georgia removed nearly 190K voters from rolls, 305K remain inactive](https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-removed-nearly-voters-from-rolls-inactive-status)** > > More than 305,000 people on Georgia's voter rolls could have their registration cancelled if they don't vote before 2025. > **[Georgia purge removes nearly 309,000 voter registrations](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/georgia-purge-removes-nearly-309000-voter-registrations)** > > U.S. District Judge Steve Jones allowed Georgia's purge to move forward Monday after a lawyer for the state said the voter maintenance program was already running and that any voters deemed to have been wrongly removed could have their registrations... > **[How a massive voter purge in Georgia affected the 2018 election](https://www.apmreports.org/story/2019/10/29/georgia-voting-registration-records-removed)** > > State officials claimed that people removed from the voter rolls for inactivity had likely died or moved away. But an APM Reports investigation found tens of thousands who hadn't — and still wanted to vote. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/13 "2024-08-06T20:55:57Z")
Yeah, but this is a way to crowd-source the disenfranchisement. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-when-brad-raffensperger-was-a-big-damn-hero-for-defying-pressure-to-falsify-vote-tallies/1005299/14 "2024-08-06T21:03:15Z")
It certainly offers a convenient cloak of deniability under the guise of ineptitude. Stranger