shareblue--2020-11-02--Trump campaign says he can't be anti-LGBTQ because he once had a gay friend

The Trump campaign continues to push the narrative that Donald Trump is a supporter of gay , lesbian , and bisexual people through his friendships with them — despite his administration 's many attacks on the LGBTQ community .
Since August , the Trump campaign and its supporters began their efforts to sell Trump as the `` most pro-gay president in American history . ''
The campaign launched Trump Pride , its LGBTQ outreach committee , in August .
The Trump Pride website says Trump supports LGBTQ people by protecting their `` well-being and prosperity . ''
At the center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an LGBTQ ally is Richard Grenell .
In May , Grenell left his post as acting director of national intelligence to co-chair Trump Pride and advise the Republican National Committee on the party 's outreach to LGBTQ voters .
At a Trump Pride event in Minneapolis over the weekend , Grenell spoke about Trump 's friendships with gay people including Roy Cohn , the cunning lawyer who for decades worked as a conservative bulldog .
In the early 1950s , Cohn worked for Sen. Joseph McCarthy ( R-WI ) and successfully argued for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Cohn went on to advise Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan before dying from AIDS-related health complications in 1986 .
By Grenell 's telling , Trump and Cohn maintained a cherished friendship throughout the 1980s , during Trump 's ascent as a New York power player .
But a 2017 Vanity Fair story about the two men 's relationship did n't paint such a rosy picture .
After Cohn was disbarred and his health worsened , Trump `` dropped him like a hot potato , '' Cohn 's personal secretary Susan Bell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bell 's version of events .
Grenell 's remarks echoed those of Tiffany Trump , who earlier this month gave a rambling speech at a Trump Pride event in Tampa .
`` I have friends of mine who reach out and say , 'How can they make up stories ?
How would you support your father ?
We know your best friends are gay .
We know your best friends are this this and this . '
I say it 's because my father has always supported all of you , '' Tiffany @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many speakers at Trump Pride events , she did not go into great detail about how her father has supported LGBTQ people , opting instead to make vague statements like : `` It 's about love .
It 's about equality .
It 's about prosperity . ''
Tiffany Trump and Grenell also spoke at a Trump Pride event in Cranberry Township , Pennsylvania , on Sunday .
The younger Trump mentioned her father 's campaign to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe , which is one of the few specific policies the campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has fought for LGBTQ rights .
LGBTQ activists interrupted the Pennsylvania event on Sunday to heckle Trump and other speakers .
The Trump supporters at the event responded by shouting , `` Four more years ! ''
During the event , Grenell talked as if the movement for LGBTQ equality had already succeeded .
`` We 've actually reached equality for the most part , '' Grenell said , according to reporters at the event .
Grenell added that the left is `` using the gays and lesbians for political leverage . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ little action .
When a Mother Jones reporter asked Trump about his campaign 's LGBTQ outreach effort last year , he said he did n't know what they were talking about .
As with previous Trump Pride events , there was virtually no mention of the struggles transgender people face at the events over the weekend .
Although the Trump Pride website mentions transgender people when it describes the groups Trump `` stands in solidarity with , '' the group 's events have almost entirely ignored them .
Grenell failed to mention transgender @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's record on LGBTQ rights .
Trump 's allies have referred to his `` support for the gay community '' and even called the GOP a `` pro-gay '' party , despite the Trump administration 's rollback of protections for LGBTQ people .
In June , the Republican Party voted to keep its 2016 platform on LGBTQ rights , which opposes marriage equality .
The president of the Log Cabin Republicans called the GOP 's platform `` the most anti-LGBT platform in the party 's 162-year history . ''
Published with permission of @ @ @ @ @

The Trump campaign continues to push the narrative that Donald Trump is a supporter of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people through his friendships with them — despite his administration’s many attacks on the LGBTQ community.
Since August, the Trump campaign and its supporters began their efforts to sell Trump as the “most pro-gay president in American history.” The campaign launched Trump Pride, its LGBTQ outreach committee, in August. The Trump Pride website says Trump supports LGBTQ people by protecting their “well-being and prosperity.”
At the center of the effort to portray Trump as an LGBTQ ally is Richard Grenell. In May, Grenell left his post as acting director of national intelligence to co-chair Trump Pride and advise the Republican National Committee on the party’s outreach to LGBTQ voters.
At a Trump Pride event in Minneapolis over the weekend, Grenell spoke about Trump’s friendships with gay people including Roy Cohn, the cunning lawyer who for decades worked as a conservative bulldog. In the early 1950s, Cohn worked for Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) and successfully argued for the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Cohn went on to advise Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan before dying from AIDS-related health complications in 1986.
By Grenell’s telling, Trump and Cohn maintained a cherished friendship throughout the 1980s, during Trump’s ascent as a New York power player. But a 2017 Vanity Fair story about the two men’s relationship didn’t paint such a rosy picture. After Cohn was disbarred and his health worsened, Trump “dropped him like a hot potato,” Cohn’s personal secretary Susan Bell said. The White House has disputed Bell’s version of events.
Grenell’s remarks echoed those of Tiffany Trump, who earlier this month gave a rambling speech at a Trump Pride event in Tampa.
“I have friends of mine who reach out and say, ‘How can they make up stories? How would you support your father? We know your best friends are gay. We know your best friends are this this and this.’ I say it’s because my father has always supported all of you,” Tiffany Trump said at the event.
Like many speakers at Trump Pride events, she did not go into great detail about how her father has supported LGBTQ people, opting instead to make vague statements like: “It’s about love. It’s about equality. It’s about prosperity.”
Tiffany Trump and Grenell also spoke at a Trump Pride event in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. The younger Trump mentioned her father’s campaign to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe, which is one of the few specific policies the campaign has pointed to when arguing that Trump has fought for LGBTQ rights. LGBTQ activists interrupted the Pennsylvania event on Sunday to heckle Trump and other speakers. The Trump supporters at the event responded by shouting, “Four more years!”
During the event, Grenell talked as if the movement for LGBTQ equality had already succeeded. “We’ve actually reached equality for the most part,” Grenell said, according to reporters at the event.
Grenell added that the left is “using the gays and lesbians for political leverage.”
Trump Pride is mostly words and very little action. When a Mother Jones reporter asked Trump about his campaign’s LGBTQ outreach effort last year, he said he didn’t know what they were talking about.
As with previous Trump Pride events, there was virtually no mention of the struggles transgender people face at the events over the weekend. Although the Trump Pride website mentions transgender people when it describes the groups Trump “stands in solidarity with,” the group’s events have almost entirely ignored them. Grenell failed to mention transgender people in an August video touting Trump’s record on LGBTQ rights.
Trump’s allies have referred to his “support for the gay community” and even called the GOP a “pro-gay” party, despite the Trump administration’s rollback of protections for LGBTQ people. In June, the Republican Party voted to keep its 2016 platform on LGBTQ rights, which opposes marriage equality. The president of the Log Cabin Republicans called the GOP’s platform “the most anti-LGBT platform in the party’s 162-year history.”
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-11-02--Judge rejects GOP's last-ditch attempt to throw out votes in Texas

A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic .
The lawsuit was brought by conservative Texas activists who have railed against expanded voting access in Harris County , where a record 1.4 million early votes have already been cast .
The county is the nation 's third largest and a crucial battleground in Texas , where President Donald Trump and Republicans are bracing for the closest election in decades on Tuesday .
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Election Day drew concern from voting rights activists , and came after the Texas Supreme Court rejected a nearly identical challenge over the weekend .
Hanen said the opponents to drive-thru centers — who were represented by former Harris County GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill— had no standing to bring a lawsuit .
He added that people had already voted and that conservative activists had months to bring a challenge sooner .
But Hanen still expressed doubts about whether Texas law allowed anyone to vote from their car , even in a pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I would not vote in a drive-thru just out of my concern as to whether that 's legal or not , '' Hanen said .
Woodfill said he would immediately appeal the decision , accusing Harris County officials of using their office to help Democrats win Tuesday .
`` If Harris County goes against Trump in large enough numbers , then we could lose Texas .
And if Trump loses Texas then we lose the national election , '' Woodfill said after the ruling .
`` As far as I 'm concerned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20,000 or more voters were expected to use drive-thru polling locations Tuesday , said Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins , the county 's top elections official .
Several voters who already used the drive-thru centers rushed to join mounting opposition to the lawsuit , including a Houston attorney whose wife was 35 weeks pregnant when she cast her ballot .
She gave birth to twins Friday .
`` My vote counts , '' David Hobbs said .
`` My wife 's vote counts . ''
Trump won Texas by 9 points in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still within reach in America 's biggest red state .
Democrats also need to flip only nine seats to reclaim a majority in the Texas House for the first time in 20 years and have aggressively targeted several races in Harris County .
Woodfill has been a part of a battery of court challenges over moves to expand voting options during the COVID-19 pandemic .
The challenges have not involved Trump 's campaign .
Harris County offered 10 drive-thru locations as an option for its nearly 5 million residents amid worries of spreading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election law makes no explicit allowances for drive-thru voting and framed it is as an unlawful expansion of curbside voting , which is legal in Texas but limited to people who are unable to enter polling places because of their health .
Portions of the hearing were consumed by debate over what exactly qualified as a legal structure for a polling place under Texas law .
`` You have a fundamental right to vote in a car ? ''
Hanen tersely asked an attorney for the ACLU .
Woodfill 's lawsuit noted that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were set up `` in Democrat areas of the county . ''
More than 40 % of Harris County residents are Latino , and about one in five residents are Black .
The lawsuit drew objections even from Republicans , include former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus .
Republican Sen. John Cornyn , who is facing the toughest reelection battle of his career Tuesday against Democrat MJ Hegar , also said during a weekend campaign stop that the Texas Supreme Court made the right decision earlier in rejecting an identical challenge .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entirely by Republicans , rejected an identical lawsuit last month and on Sunday refused to invalidate the votes already cast .
The state 's highest court did not explain its decision .
Hollins had asked Republican Gov .
Greg Abbott to affirm that the drive-thru locations are legal but received no response .
Texas is one of just five states that did not allow for widespread mail-in voting this year during the coronavirus pandemic , which has killed more than 18,000 people statewide .
Abbott instead expanded early voting by one week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surpass 2016 's total votes even before Tuesday 's election .
More than 9.7 million people have cast early ballots in Texas , where turnout typically ranks among the lowest in the country .
Some elections experts predict that total turnout in Texas could surpass 12 million , and Harris County officials have taken more steps than most to expand voting access .
The county tripled the number of polling places and last week had eight locations that stayed open for 24 hours .

A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic.
The lawsuit was brought by conservative Texas activists who have railed against expanded voting access in Harris County, where a record 1.4 million early votes have already been cast. The county is the nation’s third largest and a crucial battleground in Texas, where President Donald Trump and Republicans are bracing for the closest election in decades on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen’s decision to hear arguments on the brink of Election Day drew concern from voting rights activists, and came after the Texas Supreme Court rejected a nearly identical challenge over the weekend.
Hanen said the opponents to drive-thru centers — who were represented by former Harris County GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill— had no standing to bring a lawsuit. He added that people had already voted and that conservative activists had months to bring a challenge sooner.
But Hanen still expressed doubts about whether Texas law allowed anyone to vote from their car, even in a pandemic.
“If I were voting tomorrow, I would not vote in a drive-thru just out of my concern as to whether that’s legal or not,” Hanen said.
Woodfill said he would immediately appeal the decision, accusing Harris County officials of using their office to help Democrats win Tuesday.
“If Harris County goes against Trump in large enough numbers, then we could lose Texas. And if Trump loses Texas then we lose the national election,” Woodfill said after the ruling. “As far as I’m concerned this is ground zero.”
Another 20,000 or more voters were expected to use drive-thru polling locations Tuesday, said Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, the county’s top elections official. Several voters who already used the drive-thru centers rushed to join mounting opposition to the lawsuit, including a Houston attorney whose wife was 35 weeks pregnant when she cast her ballot. She gave birth to twins Friday.
“My vote counts,” David Hobbs said. “My wife’s vote counts.”
Trump won Texas by 9 points in 2016 but polls have shown Democrat Joe Biden still within reach in America’s biggest red state. Democrats also need to flip only nine seats to reclaim a majority in the Texas House for the first time in 20 years and have aggressively targeted several races in Harris County.
Woodfill has been a part of a battery of court challenges over moves to expand voting options during the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges have not involved Trump’s campaign.
Harris County offered 10 drive-thru locations as an option for its nearly 5 million residents amid worries of spreading the coronavirus. Woodfill argued that Texas election law makes no explicit allowances for drive-thru voting and framed it is as an unlawful expansion of curbside voting, which is legal in Texas but limited to people who are unable to enter polling places because of their health.
Portions of the hearing were consumed by debate over what exactly qualified as a legal structure for a polling place under Texas law.
“You have a fundamental right to vote in a car?” Hanen tersely asked an attorney for the ACLU.
Woodfill’s lawsuit noted that all but one of the drive-thru centers were set up “in Democrat areas of the county.” More than 40% of Harris County residents are Latino, and about one in five residents are Black.
The lawsuit drew objections even from Republicans, include former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus. Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who is facing the toughest reelection battle of his career Tuesday against Democrat MJ Hegar, also said during a weekend campaign stop that the Texas Supreme Court made the right decision earlier in rejecting an identical challenge.
The Texas Supreme Court, which is controlled entirely by Republicans, rejected an identical lawsuit last month and on Sunday refused to invalidate the votes already cast. The state’s highest court did not explain its decision.
Hollins had asked Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to affirm that the drive-thru locations are legal but received no response.
Texas is one of just five states that did not allow for widespread mail-in voting this year during the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 18,000 people statewide. Abbott instead expanded early voting by one week, and that extra time helped Texas already surpass 2016’s total votes even before Tuesday’s election.
More than 9.7 million people have cast early ballots in Texas, where turnout typically ranks among the lowest in the country. Some elections experts predict that total turnout in Texas could surpass 12 million, and Harris County officials have taken more steps than most to expand voting access.
The county tripled the number of polling places and last week had eight locations that stayed open for 24 hours.


shareblue--2020-11-02--Trump spends final days before election attacking Lady Gaga and the weather

Donald Trump and his campaign have been delivering a scattershot and bizarre closing pitch to voters in the hours leading up to the election — essentially throwing spaghetti at the wall in the hopes that Trump can juice Election Day turnout and somehow pull out a win after all of the ballots are cast on Tuesday .
Over the weekend , Trump and his campaign painted pop icon Lady Gaga — who announced she will campaign for Joe Biden in Pennsylvania on Monday — as an `` anti-fracking activist . ''
Of course , fracking is not high on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for .
And Gaga herself mocked Trump for the messaging over her visit .
`` HEY TIM HEY @ realDonaldTrump SO HAPPY IM GLAD TO BE LIVING RENT FREE in your HEAD , '' Gaga tweeted , referencing Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh , who issued a statement about Gaga 's campaign visit with Biden .
In addition to the bizarre attack on the pop state , the Trump campaign tweeted a poorly photoshopped image of the Washington Monument being demolished with the caption , `` This would be Joe Biden 's America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his campaign rallies , Trump has frequently complained about the cold .
However , at rallies in Georgia and Pennsylvania over the weekend , supporters were stranded in the cold after charter buses meant to shuttle attendees off the rally sites failed to show up .
At a rally in North Carolina , where Trump also complained about the temperature , Trump read `` The Snake '' — a poem he read often in the 2016 election .
The poem is a xenophobic metaphor to suggest that immigrants are violent and letting them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump then said he will fire infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci after the election , even though voters trust Fauci over Trump on the coronavirus by a large margin .
Political handicappers called the admission `` political malpractice . ''
Trump has tweeted 130 times since Saturday , according to trumptwitterarchive.com , including messages to egg on a violent caravan of his supporters that tried to run a Biden campaign bus off the road in Texas .
Biden has held a steady and wide national lead for the entirety of the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ course to notch an Electoral College victory .
`` I think it 's fairly clear particularly from the rhetoric of recent days that he 's exhibiting an increasing level of desperation , '' Bob Bauer , a lawyer for Biden 's campaign , said on a call with reporters on Monday , according to Bloomberg News ' Jennifer Epstein .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

Donald Trump and his campaign have been delivering a scattershot and bizarre closing pitch to voters in the hours leading up to the election — essentially throwing spaghetti at the wall in the hopes that Trump can juice Election Day turnout and somehow pull out a win after all of the ballots are cast on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Trump and his campaign painted pop icon Lady Gaga — who announced she will campaign for Joe Biden in Pennsylvania on Monday — as an “anti-fracking activist.”
Of course, fracking is not high on the list of things Lady Gaga is known for. And Gaga herself mocked Trump for the messaging over her visit.
“HEY TIM HEY @realDonaldTrump SO HAPPY IM GLAD TO BE LIVING RENT FREE in your HEAD,” Gaga tweeted, referencing Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh, who issued a statement about Gaga’s campaign visit with Biden.
In addition to the bizarre attack on the pop state, the Trump campaign tweeted a poorly photoshopped image of the Washington Monument being demolished with the caption, “This would be Joe Biden’s America.”
During the final stretch of his campaign rallies, Trump has frequently complained about the cold. However, at rallies in Georgia and Pennsylvania over the weekend, supporters were stranded in the cold after charter buses meant to shuttle attendees off the rally sites failed to show up.
At a rally in North Carolina, where Trump also complained about the temperature, Trump read “The Snake” — a poem he read often in the 2016 election. The poem is a xenophobic metaphor to suggest that immigrants are violent and letting them into the country will lead to death.
Trump then said he will fire infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci after the election, even though voters trust Fauci over Trump on the coronavirus by a large margin. Political handicappers called the admission “political malpractice.”
Trump has tweeted 130 times since Saturday, according to trumptwitterarchive.com, including messages to egg on a violent caravan of his supporters that tried to run a Biden campaign bus off the road in Texas.
Biden has held a steady and wide national lead for the entirety of the election. And state-level polls show Biden on course to notch an Electoral College victory.
“I think it’s fairly clear particularly from the rhetoric of recent days that he’s exhibiting an increasing level of desperation,” Bob Bauer, a lawyer for Biden’s campaign, said on a call with reporters on Monday, according to Bloomberg News’ Jennifer Epstein.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-11-02--Louisiana sneaks a scheme to ban all abortions onto the ballot

Abortion rights have been front and center of late because there 's now a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court .
However , abortion rights are also on the ballot in 2020 .
Much of the 2020 election focus has been on Colorado 's ballot initiative that would ban nearly all abortions after 22 weeks .
But Louisiana also has a ballot measure that has not been as high-profile but could profoundly limit abortion rights in the state .
Louisiana 's anti-abortion ballot measure asks voters , `` Do you support an amendment declaring that , to protect human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the funding of abortion shall not be found in the Louisiana Constitution ? ''
If the measure passes , it would add language to the Louisiana state constitution stating `` nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion . ''
Louisiana would n't be the first state to take this approach .
Alabama and West Virginia already have similar constitutional provisions .
Enshrining this sort of anti-abortion language in a state constitution has several purposes .
First , it effectively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the law .
Louisiana state courts would be prohibited from relying on state constitutional provisions , such as due process , to determine that abortion is permissible and constitutional .
Additionally , if the federal courts overturn Roe v. Wade and leave the availability of abortion up to the states , there would be no constitutional or judicial system pathway to ensuring abortion remained legal in the state .
Only the Legislature would be able to decide .
Worst of all , the proposed constitutional amendment seems to provide no exceptions for people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Louisiana in particular , this sort of measure is unnecessary .
The state already severely restricts abortion access , having enacted 89 abortion restrictions in the last several decades .
The state already requires mandatory in-person counseling that the Guttmacher Institute , which researches abortion policy , says is `` designed to discourage the patient from having an abortion . ''
There 's also a 24-hour waiting period , and people are required to have an ultrasound before having an abortion .
Telemedicine abortions are prohibited , and abortion is almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's most recent effort comes mere months after the Supreme Court ruled against the state in June Medical v. Russo .
In that instance , the state had enacted an admitting privileges law that was the same wording as a Texas law struck down by the court four years prior .
Some of the state 's leading Democrats oppose abortion .
Twenty-three percent of Louisiana residents oppose abortion in all cases , the highest in any state , and only 34 % think it should be legal in most instances .
With that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measure will pass , and abortion access in Louisiana will become even more tenuous .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

Abortion rights have been front and center of late because there’s now a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court. However, abortion rights are also on the ballot in 2020.
Much of the 2020 election focus has been on Colorado’s ballot initiative that would ban nearly all abortions after 22 weeks. But Louisiana also has a ballot measure that has not been as high-profile but could profoundly limit abortion rights in the state.
Louisiana’s anti-abortion ballot measure asks voters, “Do you support an amendment declaring that, to protect human life, a right to abortion and the funding of abortion shall not be found in the Louisiana Constitution?” If the measure passes, it would add language to the Louisiana state constitution stating “nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
Louisiana wouldn’t be the first state to take this approach. Alabama and West Virginia already have similar constitutional provisions. Enshrining this sort of anti-abortion language in a state constitution has several purposes. First, it effectively cuts off any state-level constitutional challenge to the law. Louisiana state courts would be prohibited from relying on state constitutional provisions, such as due process, to determine that abortion is permissible and constitutional.
Additionally, if the federal courts overturn Roe v. Wade and leave the availability of abortion up to the states, there would be no constitutional or judicial system pathway to ensuring abortion remained legal in the state. Only the Legislature would be able to decide. Worst of all, the proposed constitutional amendment seems to provide no exceptions for people seeking abortions because of rape or incest.
In Louisiana in particular, this sort of measure is unnecessary. The state already severely restricts abortion access, having enacted 89 abortion restrictions in the last several decades. The state already requires mandatory in-person counseling that the Guttmacher Institute, which researches abortion policy, says is “designed to discourage the patient from having an abortion.” There’s also a 24-hour waiting period, and people are required to have an ultrasound before having an abortion. Telemedicine abortions are prohibited, and abortion is almost entirely illegal after 22 weeks.
Louisiana’s most recent effort comes mere months after the Supreme Court ruled against the state in June Medical v. Russo. In that instance, the state had enacted an admitting privileges law that was the same wording as a Texas law struck down by the court four years prior.
Some of the state’s leading Democrats oppose abortion. Twenty-three percent of Louisiana residents oppose abortion in all cases, the highest in any state, and only 34% think it should be legal in most instances. With that, it’s quite possible the ballot measure will pass, and abortion access in Louisiana will become even more tenuous.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-11-02--Georgia senator: Vote GOP because economy used to be good before it tanked

Sen. David Perdue ( R-GA ) urged voters to back him in Tuesday 's election because the economy was the greatest ever — before COVID-19 .
But even before the pandemic , it was not that great .
`` Before # COVID19 , we created the greatest economic turnaround in U.S. history , '' Perdue tweeted on Monday .
He then listed claims that it had brought `` 7.5 million new jobs , '' `` Highest middle-class income , '' `` Lowest African American , Asian , Hispanic unemployment , '' and `` 6.6 million lifted out of poverty .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ massive recession that began in February and has cost millions of Americans their jobs .
As of September , the unemployment rate was 7.9 % — well higher than when Donald Trump took office in January 2017 .
In Georgia , the September unemployment rate was 6.4 % .
But even omitting Trump 's recession , Perdue is wrong about the economic numbers being any kind of Trump turnaround .
A long period of economic expansion and job growth began in the Obama years , before Perdue was even elected to the Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three years of Barack Obama 's administration , America saw growth of more than 8 million jobs .
Growth continued for the first three years of the Trump administration , but at a slower pace .
No year of Trump 's administration saw job numbers as good as any of the last three Obama years and Trump saw only about 6.2 million new jobs , pre-coronavirus .
This year , all of that job growth and more has been wiped out .
Even with some of the jobs coming back as the economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a net 3.9 million jobs decline over his entire presidency — the worst of any president since recordkeeping began under Harry Truman .
Perdue , like Trump , downplayed the crisis and defended the botched response .
In May , Perdue falsely claimed on a call with local businesses that the coronavirus was no deadlier than the flu .
`` As the number of active cases decline , let 's all recognize that this COVID-19 crisis is nowhere near what was being forecast back in March , '' he argued .
`` So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States , and we do n't want to lose anybody .
But we 've had ordinary flu seasons with more deaths than we 're seeing now in this one .
So we 're now trying to get a balance between the human cost of the disease and human costs of having an economy like our shutdown . ''
Last month , Perdue claimed in a debate that he `` absolutely '' believes Trump did everything in his power to protect Georgians from the pandemic .
He dismissed criticisms of his own comments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Monday morning quarterback . ''
Perdue is facing a tough fight for a second term against Democratic nominee Jon Ossoff .
Election forecasters have labeled the race a `` toss up '' and most recent polls have shown the race to be very close .
After a video of Ossoff 's attack on his record went viral last week , Perdue dropped out of their final scheduled debate , opting instead to go to a Trump campaign rally .
If no candidate receives an outright majority in Tuesday 's election , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a January runoff .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) urged voters to back him in Tuesday’s election because the economy was the greatest ever — before COVID-19. But even before the pandemic, it was not that great.
“Before #COVID19, we created the greatest economic turnaround in U.S. history,” Perdue tweeted on Monday. He then listed claims that it had brought “7.5 million new jobs,” “Highest middle-class income,” “Lowest African American, Asian, Hispanic unemployment,” and “6.6 million lifted out of poverty.”
Perdue’s claim conveniently ignores the massive recession that began in February and has cost millions of Americans their jobs. As of September, the unemployment rate was 7.9% — well higher than when Donald Trump took office in January 2017. In Georgia, the September unemployment rate was 6.4%.
But even omitting Trump’s recession, Perdue is wrong about the economic numbers being any kind of Trump turnaround.
A long period of economic expansion and job growth began in the Obama years, before Perdue was even elected to the Senate in November 2014. Over the final three years of Barack Obama’s administration, America saw growth of more than 8 million jobs.
Growth continued for the first three years of the Trump administration, but at a slower pace. No year of Trump’s administration saw job numbers as good as any of the last three Obama years and Trump saw only about 6.2 million new jobs, pre-coronavirus.
This year, all of that job growth and more has been wiped out. Even with some of the jobs coming back as the economy slowly reopens, Trump had presided over a net 3.9 million jobs decline over his entire presidency — the worst of any president since recordkeeping began under Harry Truman.
Perdue, like Trump, downplayed the crisis and defended the botched response.
In May, Perdue falsely claimed on a call with local businesses that the coronavirus was no deadlier than the flu.
“As the number of active cases decline, let’s all recognize that this COVID-19 crisis is nowhere near what was being forecast back in March,” he argued. “So we’re about 80,000 deaths in the United States, and we don’t want to lose anybody. But we’ve had ordinary flu seasons with more deaths than we’re seeing now in this one. So we’re now trying to get a balance between the human cost of the disease and human costs of having an economy like our shutdown.”
Last month, Perdue claimed in a debate that he “absolutely” believes Trump did everything in his power to protect Georgians from the pandemic. He dismissed criticisms of his own comments as “idle chatter” from a “Monday morning quarterback.”
Perdue is facing a tough fight for a second term against Democratic nominee Jon Ossoff. Election forecasters have labeled the race a “toss up” and most recent polls have shown the race to be very close.
After a video of Ossoff’s attack on his record went viral last week, Perdue dropped out of their final scheduled debate, opting instead to go to a Trump campaign rally.
If no candidate receives an outright majority in Tuesday’s election, the top two finishers will face off in a January runoff.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-11-02--Texas Republicans sue to toss ballots of 127,000 people who already voted

On Sunday , the Texas Supreme Court struck down an attempt by Republican plaintiffs to prevent 127,000 cast votes from being counted days before the election — an eleventh-hour attempt by the GOP to throw out ballots in a key state .
A group of Republican activists sought to reject early ballots cast in Harris County , Texas , at `` drive-thru '' voting sites that had been set up for pandemic-related public safety .
The Texas high court threw out the request , but the plaintiffs have filed a parallel lawsuit in a federal court .
In that suit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one day before the election , Republicans claim that `` drive-thru '' voting is unconstitutional .
Republican election attorney Ben Ginsberg and former GOP Speaker of the Texas House Joe Strauss have filed a brief opposing the plaintiffs in the federal suit .
This is the latest in an ongoing series of legal battles and other efforts by many Republican activists to invalidate ballots that have already been cast , a push that has only ramped up as Election Day nears .
Last week , the Texas Supreme Court upheld Republican Gov .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of drop box locations for absentee ballots .
Under the order , only one drop box location was permitted per county .
Harris County , which includes the Houston area , has 4.7 million people and has been forced to operate with only a single ballot drop box throughout October .
Previously , the county had 12 .
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that Abbott 's order `` does not disenfranchise anyone . ''
Republicans and voting rights advocates have also been embroiled in high-profile suits in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ sought to block deadline extensions for mail-in ballots to be counted , effectively disenfranchising disproportionately Democratic voters in pivotal battleground states .
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to reinstate a lower federal court ruling in Wisconsin that would have extended the mail-in voting deadline .
Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissent that this would affect close to 100,000 Wisconsin voters .
`` In the court 's view , the discarding of so many properly cast ballots would severely burden the constitutional right to vote .
...
The Court 's decision will disenfranchise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ midst of hazardous pandemic conditions , '' Kagan said .
In the Pennsylvania suit , a Supreme Court decision last week permitted the mail-in voting extension to stand as the high court rejected the GOP 's pleas to reconsider .
Republicans have made numerous other efforts in recent days to suppress votes .
A recent suit filed in Nevada by the Trump campaign requested that campaign observers be allowed to watch the process of counting mail-in votes in largely blue counties .
Republicans lost big on Monday when the Nevada court denied the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month , the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a law that has had far-reaching Republican support , one which makes it more cumbersome to process absentee ballot requests .
This decision effectively disenfranchised tens of thousands of Iowa voters in three counties before Election Day .
Several weeks ago , a federal judge sided with Republicans in requiring a witness signature on North Carolina absentee ballots , despite the difficulty of obtaining a witness signature during a pandemic .
The ruling will disallow ballots with incomplete witness signatures that have already been cast from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't out of the question either .
Earlier this month , the Pennsylvania attorney general was forced to warn the Trump campaign to stop filming voters dropping off ballots at drop-off boxes , which falls outside the scope of legally permissible poll watching .
But according to former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on Fox News Sunday , Republicans are not out to suppress votes or intimidate voters , just ensure `` the integrity of the process . ''
He claimed Republicans just want to see as many votes get in as possible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump was bound to score a `` resounding victory '' on Tuesday .
`` We know that people can vote , we know how to count quickly , so let 's get it done , '' he added .
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

On Sunday, the Texas Supreme Court struck down an attempt by Republican plaintiffs to prevent 127,000 cast votes from being counted days before the election — an eleventh-hour attempt by the GOP to throw out ballots in a key state.
A group of Republican activists sought to reject early ballots cast in Harris County, Texas, at “drive-thru” voting sites that had been set up for pandemic-related public safety.
The Texas high court threw out the request, but the plaintiffs have filed a parallel lawsuit in a federal court. In that suit, which will be heard Monday, one day before the election, Republicans claim that “drive-thru” voting is unconstitutional.
Republican election attorney Ben Ginsberg and former GOP Speaker of the Texas House Joe Strauss have filed a brief opposing the plaintiffs in the federal suit.
This is the latest in an ongoing series of legal battles and other efforts by many Republican activists to invalidate ballots that have already been cast, a push that has only ramped up as Election Day nears.
Last week, the Texas Supreme Court upheld Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that capped the number of drop box locations for absentee ballots. Under the order, only one drop box location was permitted per county.
Harris County, which includes the Houston area, has 4.7 million people and has been forced to operate with only a single ballot drop box throughout October. Previously, the county had 12.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that Abbott’s order “does not disenfranchise anyone.”
Republicans and voting rights advocates have also been embroiled in high-profile suits in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
In both states, the GOP has sought to block deadline extensions for mail-in ballots to be counted, effectively disenfranchising disproportionately Democratic voters in pivotal battleground states.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to reinstate a lower federal court ruling in Wisconsin that would have extended the mail-in voting deadline.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissent that this would affect close to 100,000 Wisconsin voters.
“In the court’s view, the discarding of so many properly cast ballots would severely burden the constitutional right to vote. … The Court’s decision will disenfranchise large numbers of responsible voters in the midst of hazardous pandemic conditions,” Kagan said.
In the Pennsylvania suit, a Supreme Court decision last week permitted the mail-in voting extension to stand as the high court rejected the GOP’s pleas to reconsider.
Republicans have made numerous other efforts in recent days to suppress votes.
A recent suit filed in Nevada by the Trump campaign requested that campaign observers be allowed to watch the process of counting mail-in votes in largely blue counties.
Republicans lost big on Monday when the Nevada court denied the Trump campaign’s request.
Earlier this month, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a law that has had far-reaching Republican support, one which makes it more cumbersome to process absentee ballot requests. This decision effectively disenfranchised tens of thousands of Iowa voters in three counties before Election Day.
Several weeks ago, a federal judge sided with Republicans in requiring a witness signature on North Carolina absentee ballots, despite the difficulty of obtaining a witness signature during a pandemic. The ruling will disallow ballots with incomplete witness signatures that have already been cast from being counted.
And voter intimidation isn’t out of the question either.
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania attorney general was forced to warn the Trump campaign to stop filming voters dropping off ballots at drop-off boxes, which falls outside the scope of legally permissible poll watching.
But according to former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on Fox News Sunday, Republicans are not out to suppress votes or intimidate voters, just ensure “the integrity of the process.”
He claimed Republicans just want to see as many votes get in as possible by Election Day.
Lewandowski added that Trump was bound to score a “resounding victory” on Tuesday.
“We know that people can vote, we know how to count quickly, so let’s get it done,” he added.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-11-02--Election results won't be finalized for days no matter what Trump says

In an ad set to be released Tuesday , Pennsylvania 's Democratic governor cautioned that voters should n't expect definitive results on election night .
`` These are unprecedented times .
Because of the coronavirus , there were millions of votes cast by mail so it may take longer than usual to count every vote , '' Gov .
Tom Wolf says in the ad .
`` The folks in our election offices — your neighbors , family , and friends , are working hard ensuring every single vote is counted , '' he added .
He assured voters that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it takes a few days to tally them .
`` So it may take a little longer than we 're used to , even a few days , but that 's okay , '' he continues , `` because it 's critical that your vote is counted — and it will be . ''
The ad is meant to allay fears that Republicans , led by Trump , will declare a premature victory on election night , if Trump is ahead in the polls .
Axios reports that in recent weeks , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if he holds a lead over Biden .
Trump denied the report Sunday , but nevertheless griped about states taking a few days to ensure the integrity of the election .
`` I think it 's a terrible thing when ballots can be collected after an election .
I think it 's a terrible thing when states are allowed to tabulate ballots for a long period of time after the election is over . ''
`` I think it 's terrible that we ca n't know the results of an election the night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to go in the night of , as soon as that election 's over , we 're going in with our lawyers . ''
He also singled out Pennsylvania , a key swing stated where Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads Trump by 5 points .
`` We do n't want to have Pennsylvania , where you have a political governor , a very partisan guy .
... We do n't want to be in a position where he 's allowed , every day , to watch ballots come in , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can only find 10,000 more ballots . ''
The mail-in vote is expected to substantially exceed 2016 levels , with Democrats embracing the method — disparaged by Trump as voter fraud — and Republican voters lagging behind .
`` His voters have clearly listened to his call to avoid mail voting , and many of them are waiting for that Election Day experience to go out there , '' Tom Bonier , CEO of TargetSmart which tracked early voting , told USA Today .
`` Because of what we 've seen with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ levels of turnout – Republicans are going to need to do something similar on Election Day .
They 're going to need to vote in numbers of the likes of which we 've never seen before . ''
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation .

In an ad set to be released Tuesday, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor cautioned that voters shouldn’t expect definitive results on election night.
“These are unprecedented times. Because of the coronavirus, there were millions of votes cast by mail so it may take longer than usual to count every vote,” Gov. Tom Wolf says in the ad. “The folks in our election offices — your neighbors, family, and friends, are working hard ensuring every single vote is counted,” he added.
He assured voters that their ballots will count, even if it takes a few days to tally them.
“So it may take a little longer than we’re used to, even a few days, but that’s okay,” he continues, “because it’s critical that your vote is counted — and it will be.”
The ad is meant to allay fears that Republicans, led by Trump, will declare a premature victory on election night, if Trump is ahead in the polls.
Axios reports that in recent weeks, Trump has floated declaring victory on election night if he holds a lead over Biden. Trump denied the report Sunday, but nevertheless griped about states taking a few days to ensure the integrity of the election. “I think it’s a terrible thing when ballots can be collected after an election. I think it’s a terrible thing when states are allowed to tabulate ballots for a long period of time after the election is over.”
“I think it’s terrible that we can’t know the results of an election the night of the election. … We’re going to go in the night of, as soon as that election’s over, we’re going in with our lawyers.”
He also singled out Pennsylvania, a key swing stated where Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads Trump by 5 points.
“We don’t want to have Pennsylvania, where you have a political governor, a very partisan guy. … We don’t want to be in a position where he’s allowed, every day, to watch ballots come in,” he said. “See if we can only find 10,000 more ballots.”
The mail-in vote is expected to substantially exceed 2016 levels, with Democrats embracing the method — disparaged by Trump as voter fraud — and Republican voters lagging behind.
“His voters have clearly listened to his call to avoid mail voting, and many of them are waiting for that Election Day experience to go out there,” Tom Bonier, CEO of TargetSmart which tracked early voting, told USA Today. “Because of what we’ve seen with the early vote – Democrats are reaching record levels of turnout – Republicans are going to need to do something similar on Election Day. They’re going to need to vote in numbers of the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.


shareblue--2020-11-02--Armies of lawyers brace for election chaos

Democratic and Republican lawyers already have gone to court over these issues in the run-up to Tuesday 's election .
But the legal fights could take on new urgency , not to mention added vitriol , if a narrow margin in a battleground state is the difference between another four years for Donald Trump or a Joe Biden administration .
Both sides say they 're ready , with thousands of lawyers on standby to march into court to make sure ballots get counted , or excluded .
Since the 2000 presidential election , which was ultimately decided by the Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teams to prepare for the unlikely event that voting would n't settle the contest .
But this year , there is a near presumption that legal fights will ensue and that only a definitive outcome is likely to forestall them .
The candidates and parties have enlisted prominent lawyers with ties to Democratic and Republican administrations .
A Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court pits Donald Verrilli , who was President Barack Obama 's top Supreme Court lawyer , against John Gore , a onetime high-ranking Trump Justice Department official .
It 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if , a problem affecting the ultimate result will arise .
But existing lawsuits in Pennsylvania , North Carolina , Minnesota , and Nevada offer some hint of the states most likely to be ground zero in a post-election battle and the kinds of issues that could tie the outcome in knots .
Roughly 300 lawsuits already have been filed over the election in dozens of states across the country , many involving changes to normal procedures because of the coronavirus pandemic , which has killed more than 230,000 people in the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Most of the potential legal challenges are likely to stem from the huge increase in absentee balloting brought on by the coronavirus pandemic .
In Pennsylvania , elections officials wo n't start processing those ballots until Election Day , and some counties have said they wo n't begin counting those votes until the following day .
Mailed ballots that do n't come inside a secrecy envelope have to be discarded , under a state Supreme Court ruling .
`` I still ca n't figure how counting and verifying absentee ballots is going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Pennsylvania , '' said Ohio State University law professor Edward Foley , an election law expert .
The deadline for receiving and counting absentee ballots is Friday , an extension ordered by the Pennsylvania 's top court .
The Supreme Court left that order in place in response to a Republican effort to block it .
But several conservative justices indicated they 'd be open to taking the issue up after the election , especially if those late-arriving ballots could mean the difference in the state .
Trump , though , was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place , even though Pennsylvania will keep those ballots separate from the rest in case of renewed court interest .
`` This is a horrible thing that the United States Supreme Court has done to our country , '' Trump said in Pennsylvania Saturday .
On Sunday , he said that as soon as the polls close , `` We 're going in with our lawyers . ''
Like Pennsylvania , North Carolina also has seen a court fight between Democrats who support extending the deadline for absentee ballots and Republicans who oppose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extension approved by a state court — beyond the three extra days after Election Day that the Republican-controlled legislature agreed to in response to the pandemic .
The justices last week allowed the extra days to remain in effect , over a dissent by three conservatives on the court .
In Minnesota , late-arriving ballots also will be segregated from the rest of the vote because of ongoing legal proceedings , under a federal appeals court order .
Republican lawsuits have challenged local decisions that could take on national significance in a close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign and state Republicans went to court to try to stop the counting of Las Vegas-area mail-in ballots .
Republicans say observers are n't allowed close enough to workers and machines at the busy vote-counting center in suburban Las Vegas to challenge signatures in the state 's biggest and most Democratic-leaning county .
Jesse Binnall , an attorney for the Republican Party and Trump campaign , told a judge last week that the counting process observed in Las Vegas prevents what he called a `` meaningful opportunity '' to challenge the validity of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are asking state and federal courts to order election officials in the Houston area not to count ballots dropped off at drive-in locations .
The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday denied the GOP 's plea .
A federal judge is holding a hearing on Monday .
This scale and scope of legal action related to the presidential election has never been seen before .
Trump has suggested the outcome could well be decided in court .
The closer the contest , the more likely his prediction proves true .

Signature matches. Late-arriving absentee votes. Drop boxes. Secrecy envelopes.
Democratic and Republican lawyers already have gone to court over these issues in the run-up to Tuesday’s election. But the legal fights could take on new urgency, not to mention added vitriol, if a narrow margin in a battleground state is the difference between another four years for Donald Trump or a Joe Biden administration.
Both sides say they’re ready, with thousands of lawyers on standby to march into court to make sure ballots get counted, or excluded.
Since the 2000 presidential election, which was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court, both parties have enlisted legal teams to prepare for the unlikely event that voting wouldn’t settle the contest. But this year, there is a near presumption that legal fights will ensue and that only a definitive outcome is likely to forestall them.
The candidates and parties have enlisted prominent lawyers with ties to Democratic and Republican administrations. A Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court pits Donald Verrilli, who was President Barack Obama’s top Supreme Court lawyer, against John Gore, a onetime high-ranking Trump Justice Department official.
It’s impossible to know where, or even if, a problem affecting the ultimate result will arise. But existing lawsuits in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Nevada offer some hint of the states most likely to be ground zero in a post-election battle and the kinds of issues that could tie the outcome in knots.
Roughly 300 lawsuits already have been filed over the election in dozens of states across the country, many involving changes to normal procedures because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 230,000 people in the U.S. and sickened more than 9 million.
Most of the potential legal challenges are likely to stem from the huge increase in absentee balloting brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. In Pennsylvania, elections officials won’t start processing those ballots until Election Day, and some counties have said they won’t begin counting those votes until the following day. Mailed ballots that don’t come inside a secrecy envelope have to be discarded, under a state Supreme Court ruling.
“I still can’t figure how counting and verifying absentee ballots is going to go in some of the battleground states like Pennsylvania,” said Ohio State University law professor Edward Foley, an election law expert.
The deadline for receiving and counting absentee ballots is Friday, an extension ordered by the Pennsylvania’s top court. The Supreme Court left that order in place in response to a Republican effort to block it. But several conservative justices indicated they’d be open to taking the issue up after the election, especially if those late-arriving ballots could mean the difference in the state.
Trump, though, was not happy the extension was left in place, even though Pennsylvania will keep those ballots separate from the rest in case of renewed court interest.
“This is a horrible thing that the United States Supreme Court has done to our country,” Trump said in Pennsylvania Saturday.
On Sunday, he said that as soon as the polls close, “We’re going in with our lawyers.”
Like Pennsylvania, North Carolina also has seen a court fight between Democrats who support extending the deadline for absentee ballots and Republicans who oppose it. The issue is a six-day extension approved by a state court — beyond the three extra days after Election Day that the Republican-controlled legislature agreed to in response to the pandemic.
The justices last week allowed the extra days to remain in effect, over a dissent by three conservatives on the court.
In Minnesota, late-arriving ballots also will be segregated from the rest of the vote because of ongoing legal proceedings, under a federal appeals court order.
Republican lawsuits have challenged local decisions that could take on national significance in a close election.
In Nevada, Trump’s campaign and state Republicans went to court to try to stop the counting of Las Vegas-area mail-in ballots. Republicans say observers aren’t allowed close enough to workers and machines at the busy vote-counting center in suburban Las Vegas to challenge signatures in the state’s biggest and most Democratic-leaning county.
Jesse Binnall, an attorney for the Republican Party and Trump campaign, told a judge last week that the counting process observed in Las Vegas prevents what he called a “meaningful opportunity” to challenge the validity of mailed ballots.
In Texas, Republicans are asking state and federal courts to order election officials in the Houston area not to count ballots dropped off at drive-in locations. The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday denied the GOP’s plea. A federal judge is holding a hearing on Monday.
This scale and scope of legal action related to the presidential election has never been seen before. Trump has suggested the outcome could well be decided in court. The closer the contest, the more likely his prediction proves true.


shareblue--2020-11-02--Trump spends last week before election lying his way across the country

Making final arguments before Tuesday 's election , Donald Trump asserted the U.S. was shaking off a coronavirus pandemic that is only getting worse , falsely claimed Democrat Joe Biden would lock down the country for years , and baselessly alleged that the COVID-19 death count is being inflated by doctors .
His weekend comments capped the 2020 campaign 's final week in which the actual crisis of the coronavirus pandemic and a manufactured crisis over voting fraud featured heavily .
TRUMP : `` Biden wants to LOCKDOWN our Country , maybe for years .
Crazy ! ''
— tweet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all about lockdowns .
They want to lock it down ... for a couple years , and let it go away . ''
— Michigan rally Sunday .
THE FACTS : To be clear , Biden is n't promising to push wide-scale stay-at-home orders to stem the coronavirus if elected , and most certainly not `` for a couple years , '' which is beyond when most scientists think a vaccine could become widely available .
Biden has publicly said he would shut the nation 's economy only if scientists and public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 threat .
The former vice president has repeatedly criticized Trump for disregarding scientists on the pandemic response , such as his shunning of masks , but has said repeatedly that no one knows what January would look like .
Biden told an ABC interviewer in August that he `` will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives '' when he was asked if he would be willing to shut the country again .
`` So if the scientists say shut it down ? ''
asked ABC 's David @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down , '' Biden responded .
`` I would listen to the scientists . ''
TRUMP : `` How do you like the $ 2 gasoline ?
You 'll have it for a long time if you elect Trump . ''
— Michigan rally Sunday .
THE FACTS : Trump is wrongly taking credit for lower gas prices that were the byproduct of a pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 Americans .
Gasoline prices did n't fall because of the Trump administration .
They plunged because of the coronavirus forcing people to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trips and vacations .
As more people worked from home , they needed to fill up their cars less frequently .
Airlines did n't need to burn through as much fuel .
Here 's the statement from the U.S. Energy Information Administration : `` Reduced economic activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in energy demand and supply patterns in 2020 . ''
World demand for oil has fallen by 8 million barrels a day , according to that agency 's estimates .
Underscoring the connection to the pandemic shutdown , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in April when people were staying home most .
Gas prices have mostly risen since then , according to the information agency .
TRUMP : `` You can have the vaccine , but without it , we 're rounding the corner . ''
— Iowa rally Sunday .
THE FACTS : No , the coronavirus is n't going away , and Trump is contradicted by his own top health experts .
New cases are on the rise toward their summer peak .
Deaths have also been increasing .
The United States is averaging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a rate that is up 43 % over the past three weeks and the highest since the pandemic began .
The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in the U.S. is now over 230,000 , the most in the world .
It is averaging just over 800 coronavirus deaths a day , up 14 % over the past two weeks .
Rebutting Trump , Dr. Anthony Fauci , the government 's top infectious diseases expert , says the U.S. will grapple with `` a whole lot of hurt '' in the weeks ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told The Washington Post the U.S. `` could not possibly be positioned more poorly '' to stem cases as more people gather indoors during the colder fall and winter months .
He said the country could surpass 100,000 new coronavirus cases a day and predicted rising deaths in the coming weeks .
Dr. Scott Gottlieb , a former head of the Food and Drug Administration under Trump , agreed Sunday that `` things are getting worse . ''
`` I think as we get into the next two or three weeks , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country , and we 're going to have to start taking tough steps , '' Gottlieb told CBS ' `` Face the Nation . ''
`` I think December is probably going to be our toughest month . ''
TRUMP : `` You know , our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID .
You know that , right ?
I mean , our doctors are very smart people .
So what they do is they say , ' I 'm sorry , but , you know , everybody dies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Friday in Waterford Township , Michigan .
THE FACTS : No , the virus death count has not been overstated because of doctors lying to get more money .
No evidence has emerged of such systemic fraud .
Over 230,000 deaths from COVID-19 have been confirmed .
The true number is almost certainly higher by a considerable margin .
As of Oct. 3 , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 299,000 more U.S. deaths than would be expected in a normal year .
Some of those deaths are sure to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be known .
It 's true that hospitals may get higher reimbursement from the government to treat COVID-19 patients .
Hospitals were given a 20 % add-on for Medicare patients who test positive for the virus to cover the additional costs of treating the disease , such as buying supplies .
The higher reimbursements are based on a COVID-19 diagnosis , not on the cause of death as Trump stated .
The Healthcare Financial Management Association , which works with hospitals on billing matters , says providers must support COVID-19 billing with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The organization says hospitals expect to be audited for this billing and know that Medicare cheaters may have to pay back three times what they overcharged or even lose access to Medicaid patients .
Susan R. Bailey , president of the American Medical Association , said Trump 's allegation of COVID-19 overcounting , which he has made several times , `` is a malicious , outrageous , and completely misguided charge . ''
TRUMP : `` In California , you have a special mask .
You can not under any circumstances take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the mask . ''
— Arizona rally on Wednesday .
THE FACTS : Those statements are false .
California residents are not required to wear `` special '' masks .
Nor are they required to wear them all the time and `` eat through the mask . ''
Gov .
Gavin Newsom 's statewide mask order allows Californians to wear basic coverings such as homemade ones and people are not required to wear them when at home , outdoors more than 6 feet from others or when eating and drinking .
His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ graphic advising people to `` keep your mask on in between bites '' when going out to eat at restaurants .
That was mocked because Californians were also advised to minimize the amount of times they touch their masks .
Newsom told reporters that one of his staffers had sent out the tweet , which the governor said was intended to indicate that if people start to read a book at the table , they may want to put their mask back on .
TRUMP : `` We have a spike in cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so many cases ?
Because we test more . ''
— Michigan rally Tuesday .
THE FACTS : No , increased testing does not fully account for the rise in recorded cases , and Trump is contradicted by his own top health officials .
People are also infecting each other more than before as distancing rules recede , some shun masks and community spread picks up .
Adm. Brett Giroir , the Health and Human Services Department official overseeing the nation 's coronavirus testing efforts , stressed anew that the increases ca n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` We do believe and the data show that cases are going up , '' Giroir told NBC 's `` Today '' show on Wednesday .
`` Yes , we 're getting more cases identified , but the cases are actually going up .
And we know that , too , because hospitalizations are going up . ''
More testing actually does not mean more infections at all ; people are getting sick regardless of whether their illness is recorded .
More testing can help prevent the disease 's spread by letting people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Practically every state is now seeing a rise in cases .
The virus has now killed over 228,000 in the U.S. , according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University .
Giroir warned that local governments may be forced to take `` draconian measures '' if Americans do n't take safety precautions seriously .
`` Cases will go up if we do n't make a change , '' he said .
TRUMP : `` It would be very , very proper and very nice if a winner were declared on November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two weeks , which is totally inappropriate and I do n't believe that that 's by our laws . ''
— remarks to reporters Tuesday .
THE FACTS : `` Our laws '' do n't require the immediate reporting of all election results in the country on election night .
Delayed counting is unavoidable .
Apart from the usual lags in rounding up and reporting totals from every precinct in the country , the U.S. is seeing unprecedented numbers of early votes , and some battleground states wo n't even start counting them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Indeed , the Supreme Court is allowing Pennsylvania to count mailed ballots that are not even received by elections officials for three days after the election , as long as there 's no evidence that such ballots were filled out after Nov. 3 .
The decision is n't final : Justices left open the possibility of reviewing the matter after the election .
The court is also allowing absentee ballots in North Carolina to be received and counted up to nine days after Election Day .
Earlier in the campaign , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on election night , another outcome no one can guarantee and one that may elude the country Tuesday .
There is no requirement that the winner be determined Election Day .
He once raised the question of delaying the election , then dropped the thought , but has persisted in groundless allegations that the election is certain to be plagued by fraud .
TRUMP : `` Strongly Trending ( Google ) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE ?
This refers changing it to me .
The answer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do it .
Most important Election of your life ! ''
— tweet Tuesday .
THE FACTS : Not so fast .
Some states allow voters to switch their early vote , but laws vary and many have restrictions .
Minnesota , for instance , allows voters to `` claw back '' their vote and change it , but the deadline for that has passed .
Wisconsin allows people to change their vote up to three times , though it does n't happen often .
Florida allows voters who received mail ballots to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but they can not vote more than once .
If a voter has already sent his or her mail-in ballot and then goes to vote in person , `` the ( mail ) ballot is deemed cast and the voter to have voted , '' according to Florida law .
David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation said changing a vote in states where that is possible is `` extremely rare '' and very complicated .
`` It 's hard enough to get people to vote once — it 's highly unlikely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' he said .
Trump 's suggestion that he did so well in the debate that people who already voted for Biden wished they could switch to him is not borne out by the search engine 's statistics .
Google searches for `` change my vote '' did not crack the top 20 searches that night or after .
Jill Biden was the subject of Google 's 20th most popular search that day .
On Friday , the new `` Borat '' movie , presidential polls and college football were among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : `` Big problems and discrepancies with Mail In Ballots all over the USA . ''
— tweet on Oct. 26 .
THE FACTS : No , the catastrophe Trump has warned darkly about for months in mail-in voting has not materialized .
There have been sporadic reports of voters receiving mail ballots that were incorrectly formatted and other localized hitches in the record early turnout , but large-scale disenfranchisement has not been seen .
Trump has conspiratorially inflated local incidents , contending , for example , that mail-in ballots filled out for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creeks .
This is a fabrication .
Three trays of mail were found by the side of a road and in a ditch — not a river or creek — in Greenville , Wisconsin , in mid-September .
The sheriff initially said `` several absentee ballots '' were in the mix .
The state 's elections officer later said no Wisconsin ballots were in the lost mail after all .
No one said ballots marked for Trump were thrown out in the incident .
Trump 's motive for challenging votes by mail is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of voting .
Registered Democrats have also outnumbered registered Republicans in early voting in person at polling places , though the gap is narrower than with mailed ballots .
In short , Trump may need supporters to show up in huge numbers Tuesday if not before , and his baseless allegations of early-voting irregularities are designed to motivate them to do so as well as to portray the result as illegitimate if Biden wins .
TRUMP , suggesting that Nevada 's Democratic Gov .
Steve Sisolak will add fraudulent votes : `` We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some of these people , in Nevada , they want to have the election .
They want to have the count weeks after November 3rd .
So let 's all wait for the governor to count them up good , and how many is he going to add during that two weeks , right ? ''
— Arizona rally Wednesday .
TRUMP , on Pennsylvania 's Democratic Gov .
Tom Wolf : `` The governor counts the ballots .
...
This is the guy that 's counting our ballots ?
It does n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' — remarks Monday in Pennsylvania .
THE FACTS : To be clear , governors do n't count the votes , and they ca n't just manufacture votes in the election .
Local county officials in Pennsylvania send out the ballots and count the votes .
The state 's top elections official is Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar , a Wolf appointee .
In Nevada , Sisolak has been a target of Trump 's ire after Sisolak in September criticized Trump 's indoor rally in a Las Vegas suburb for violating the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But Sisolak does n't tally the votes himself , and Trump makes a baseless assertion that he can add fraudulent votes to the count .
Nevada 's secretary of state oversees that state 's new all-mail election .
That office is held by Barbara Cegavske and she is a Republican .
TRUMP : `` In Nevada , they want to have a thing where you do n't have to have any verification of the signature . ''
-- New Hampshire rally Oct. 25 .
THE FACTS : Not true , despite his frequent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's existing law requires signature checks on mail ballots .
A new law also spells out a process by which election officials are to check a signature against the one in government records .
In Nevada 's June primary , nearly 7,000 ballots were thrown out due to mismatched or missing signatures .
TRUMP : `` I say the biggest risk we have are the fake ballots . ''
— New Hampshire rally .
THE FACTS : His claim , frequently made in the last days before the election , is overblown .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ expecting a surge in mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic , which may lead to longer times in vote counting .
The Supreme Court , for instance , will allow Pennsylvania to count mailed-in ballots received up to three days after the election ; it also will allow North Carolina to count votes received nine days after the election so long as ballots are postmarked by Nov. 3 .
But there is no evidence to indicate that massive fraud is afoot .
Any delay in declaring a winner of the presidential race @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illegal .
Broadly speaking , voter fraud has proved exceedingly rare .
The Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 ranked the risk of ballot fraud at 0.00004 % to 0.0009 % , based on studies of past elections .
In the five states that regularly send ballots to all voters who have registered , there have been no major cases of fraud or difficulty counting the votes .
Even if the election is messy and contested in court , the country will have a president in January — and not have vote counting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asserts — because the Constitution and federal law ensure it .

Making final arguments before Tuesday’s election, Donald Trump asserted the U.S. was shaking off a coronavirus pandemic that is only getting worse, falsely claimed Democrat Joe Biden would lock down the country for years, and baselessly alleged that the COVID-19 death count is being inflated by doctors.
His weekend comments capped the 2020 campaign’s final week in which the actual crisis of the coronavirus pandemic and a manufactured crisis over voting fraud featured heavily.
A look:
LOCKDOWNS
TRUMP: “Biden wants to LOCKDOWN our Country, maybe for years. Crazy!” — tweet Sunday.
TRUMP: “Biden is all about lockdowns. They want to lock it down … for a couple years, and let it go away.” — Michigan rally Sunday.
THE FACTS: To be clear, Biden isn’t promising to push wide-scale stay-at-home orders to stem the coronavirus if elected, and most certainly not “for a couple years,” which is beyond when most scientists think a vaccine could become widely available.
Biden has publicly said he would shut the nation’s economy only if scientists and public health advisers recommended he do so to stem the COVID-19 threat. The former vice president has repeatedly criticized Trump for disregarding scientists on the pandemic response, such as his shunning of masks, but has said repeatedly that no one knows what January would look like.
Biden told an ABC interviewer in August that he “will be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives” when he was asked if he would be willing to shut the country again.
“So if the scientists say shut it down?” asked ABC’s David Muir.
“I would shut it down,” Biden responded. “I would listen to the scientists.”
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ENERGY
TRUMP: “How do you like the $2 gasoline? You’ll have it for a long time if you elect Trump.” — Michigan rally Sunday.
THE FACTS: Trump is wrongly taking credit for lower gas prices that were the byproduct of a pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 Americans.
Gasoline prices didn’t fall because of the Trump administration. They plunged because of the coronavirus forcing people to abandon their offices, schools, business trips and vacations.
As more people worked from home, they needed to fill up their cars less frequently. Airlines didn’t need to burn through as much fuel. Here’s the statement from the U.S. Energy Information Administration: “Reduced economic activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in energy demand and supply patterns in 2020.” World demand for oil has fallen by 8 million barrels a day, according to that agency’s estimates.
Underscoring the connection to the pandemic shutdown, U.S. gas prices were at their lowest in April when people were staying home most. Gas prices have mostly risen since then, according to the information agency.
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VIRUS
TRUMP: “You can have the vaccine, but without it, we’re rounding the corner.” — Iowa rally Sunday.
THE FACTS: No, the coronavirus isn’t going away, and Trump is contradicted by his own top health experts. New cases are on the rise toward their summer peak. Deaths have also been increasing.
The United States is averaging about 76,000 new confirmed cases a day, a rate that is up 43% over the past three weeks and the highest since the pandemic began. The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in the U.S. is now over 230,000, the most in the world. It is averaging just over 800 coronavirus deaths a day, up 14% over the past two weeks.
Rebutting Trump, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert, says the U.S. will grapple with “a whole lot of hurt” in the weeks ahead due to surging coronavirus cases. He told The Washington Post the U.S. “could not possibly be positioned more poorly” to stem cases as more people gather indoors during the colder fall and winter months.
He said the country could surpass 100,000 new coronavirus cases a day and predicted rising deaths in the coming weeks.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former head of the Food and Drug Administration under Trump, agreed Sunday that “things are getting worse.”
“I think as we get into the next two or three weeks, it will be unmistakable what’s happening around the country, and we’re going to have to start taking tough steps,” Gottlieb told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “I think December is probably going to be our toughest month.”
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TRUMP: “You know, our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID. You know that, right? I mean, our doctors are very smart people. So what they do is they say, ‘I’m sorry, but, you know, everybody dies of COVID.'” — rally Friday in Waterford Township, Michigan.
THE FACTS: No, the virus death count has not been overstated because of doctors lying to get more money. No evidence has emerged of such systemic fraud.
Over 230,000 deaths from COVID-19 have been confirmed. The true number is almost certainly higher by a considerable margin.
As of Oct. 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 299,000 more U.S. deaths than would be expected in a normal year. Some of those deaths are sure to have been from COVID-19 — how many cannot be known.
It’s true that hospitals may get higher reimbursement from the government to treat COVID-19 patients. Hospitals were given a 20% add-on for Medicare patients who test positive for the virus to cover the additional costs of treating the disease, such as buying supplies. The higher reimbursements are based on a COVID-19 diagnosis, not on the cause of death as Trump stated.
The Healthcare Financial Management Association, which works with hospitals on billing matters, says providers must support COVID-19 billing with test results or a physician’s statement. The organization says hospitals expect to be audited for this billing and know that Medicare cheaters may have to pay back three times what they overcharged or even lose access to Medicaid patients.
Susan R. Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, said Trump’s allegation of COVID-19 overcounting, which he has made several times, “is a malicious, outrageous, and completely misguided charge.”
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TRUMP: “In California, you have a special mask. You cannot under any circumstances take it off. You have to eat through the mask.” — Arizona rally on Wednesday.
THE FACTS: Those statements are false.
California residents are not required to wear “special” masks. Nor are they required to wear them all the time and “eat through the mask.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide mask order allows Californians to wear basic coverings such as homemade ones and people are not required to wear them when at home, outdoors more than 6 feet from others or when eating and drinking.
His office this month did tweet out a graphic advising people to “keep your mask on in between bites” when going out to eat at restaurants. That was mocked because Californians were also advised to minimize the amount of times they touch their masks. Newsom told reporters that one of his staffers had sent out the tweet, which the governor said was intended to indicate that if people start to read a book at the table, they may want to put their mask back on.
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TRUMP: “We have a spike in cases … And you know why we have so many cases? Because we test more.” — Michigan rally Tuesday.
THE FACTS: No, increased testing does not fully account for the rise in recorded cases, and Trump is contradicted by his own top health officials. People are also infecting each other more than before as distancing rules recede, some shun masks and community spread picks up.
Adm. Brett Giroir, the Health and Human Services Department official overseeing the nation’s coronavirus testing efforts, stressed anew that the increases can’t be explained by just additional testing.
“We do believe and the data show that cases are going up,” Giroir told NBC’s “Today” show on Wednesday. “Yes, we’re getting more cases identified, but the cases are actually going up. And we know that, too, because hospitalizations are going up.”
More testing actually does not mean more infections at all; people are getting sick regardless of whether their illness is recorded. More testing can help prevent the disease’s spread by letting people know COVID-19 is rising in their area.
Practically every state is now seeing a rise in cases. The virus has now killed over 228,000 in the U.S., according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Giroir warned that local governments may be forced to take “draconian measures” if Americans don’t take safety precautions seriously. “Cases will go up if we don’t make a change,” he said.
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2020 ELECTION
TRUMP: “It would be very, very proper and very nice if a winner were declared on November third, instead of counting ballots for two weeks, which is totally inappropriate and I don’t believe that that’s by our laws.” — remarks to reporters Tuesday.
THE FACTS: “Our laws” don’t require the immediate reporting of all election results in the country on election night. Delayed counting is unavoidable.
Apart from the usual lags in rounding up and reporting totals from every precinct in the country, the U.S. is seeing unprecedented numbers of early votes, and some battleground states won’t even start counting them until Election Day votes have been tallied.
Indeed, the Supreme Court is allowing Pennsylvania to count mailed ballots that are not even received by elections officials for three days after the election, as long as there’s no evidence that such ballots were filled out after Nov. 3. The decision isn’t final: Justices left open the possibility of reviewing the matter after the election.
The court is also allowing absentee ballots in North Carolina to be received and counted up to nine days after Election Day.
Earlier in the campaign, Trump asserted that the winner should be declared on election night, another outcome no one can guarantee and one that may elude the country Tuesday. There is no requirement that the winner be determined Election Day.
He once raised the question of delaying the election, then dropped the thought, but has persisted in groundless allegations that the election is certain to be plagued by fraud.
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TRUMP: “Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!” — tweet Tuesday.
THE FACTS: Not so fast. Some states allow voters to switch their early vote, but laws vary and many have restrictions.
Minnesota, for instance, allows voters to “claw back” their vote and change it, but the deadline for that has passed. Wisconsin allows people to change their vote up to three times, though it doesn’t happen often. Florida allows voters who received mail ballots to choose to vote in person instead, but they cannot vote more than once.
If a voter has already sent his or her mail-in ballot and then goes to vote in person, “the (mail) ballot is deemed cast and the voter to have voted,” according to Florida law.
David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation said changing a vote in states where that is possible is “extremely rare” and very complicated.
“It’s hard enough to get people to vote once — it’s highly unlikely anybody will go through this process twice,” he said.
Trump’s suggestion that he did so well in the debate that people who already voted for Biden wished they could switch to him is not borne out by the search engine’s statistics.
Google searches for “change my vote” did not crack the top 20 searches that night or after. Jill Biden was the subject of Google’s 20th most popular search that day. On Friday, the new “Borat” movie, presidential polls and college football were among the subjects drawing top 20 attention.
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TRUMP: “Big problems and discrepancies with Mail In Ballots all over the USA.” — tweet on Oct. 26.
THE FACTS: No, the catastrophe Trump has warned darkly about for months in mail-in voting has not materialized.
There have been sporadic reports of voters receiving mail ballots that were incorrectly formatted and other localized hitches in the record early turnout, but large-scale disenfranchisement has not been seen.
Trump has conspiratorially inflated local incidents, contending, for example, that mail-in ballots filled out for him are being dumped in rivers or creeks. This is a fabrication.
Three trays of mail were found by the side of a road and in a ditch — not a river or creek — in Greenville, Wisconsin, in mid-September. The sheriff initially said “several absentee ballots” were in the mix. The state’s elections officer later said no Wisconsin ballots were in the lost mail after all. No one said ballots marked for Trump were thrown out in the incident.
Trump’s motive for challenging votes by mail is plain: Democrats are dominating that segment of voting. Registered Democrats have also outnumbered registered Republicans in early voting in person at polling places, though the gap is narrower than with mailed ballots.
In short, Trump may need supporters to show up in huge numbers Tuesday if not before, and his baseless allegations of early-voting irregularities are designed to motivate them to do so as well as to portray the result as illegitimate if Biden wins.
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VOTING FRAUD
TRUMP, suggesting that Nevada’s Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak will add fraudulent votes: “We’re worried about the governor. … Some of these people, in Nevada, they want to have the election. They want to have the count weeks after November 3rd. So let’s all wait for the governor to count them up good, and how many is he going to add during that two weeks, right?” — Arizona rally Wednesday.
TRUMP, on Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf: “The governor counts the ballots. … This is the guy that’s counting our ballots? It doesn’t work. It doesn’t work.” — remarks Monday in Pennsylvania.
THE FACTS: To be clear, governors don’t count the votes, and they can’t just manufacture votes in the election.
Local county officials in Pennsylvania send out the ballots and count the votes. The state’s top elections official is Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Wolf appointee.
In Nevada, Sisolak has been a target of Trump’s ire after Sisolak in September criticized Trump’s indoor rally in a Las Vegas suburb for violating the state’s large-scale ban on indoor gatherings. But Sisolak doesn’t tally the votes himself, and Trump makes a baseless assertion that he can add fraudulent votes to the count.
Nevada’s secretary of state oversees that state’s new all-mail election. That office is held by Barbara Cegavske and she is a Republican.
___
TRUMP: “In Nevada, they want to have a thing where you don’t have to have any verification of the signature.” — New Hampshire rally Oct. 25.
THE FACTS: Not true, despite his frequent assertions to the contrary. The state’s existing law requires signature checks on mail ballots. A new law also spells out a process by which election officials are to check a signature against the one in government records.
In Nevada’s June primary, nearly 7,000 ballots were thrown out due to mismatched or missing signatures.
___
TRUMP: “I say the biggest risk we have are the fake ballots.” — New Hampshire rally.
THE FACTS: His claim, frequently made in the last days before the election, is overblown.
It’s true that many states are expecting a surge in mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic, which may lead to longer times in vote counting. The Supreme Court, for instance, will allow Pennsylvania to count mailed-in ballots received up to three days after the election; it also will allow North Carolina to count votes received nine days after the election so long as ballots are postmarked by Nov. 3.
But there is no evidence to indicate that massive fraud is afoot. Any delay in declaring a winner of the presidential race after Tuesday would not in itself be illegal.
Broadly speaking, voter fraud has proved exceedingly rare. The Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 ranked the risk of ballot fraud at 0.00004% to 0.0009%, based on studies of past elections.
In the five states that regularly send ballots to all voters who have registered, there have been no major cases of fraud or difficulty counting the votes.
Even if the election is messy and contested in court, the country will have a president in January — and not have vote counting going on “forever” as he asserts — because the Constitution and federal law ensure it.