Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder

Climbing high into the sun;
Here they come zooming to meet our thunder …

Attribution: 2024 Election Lawyers by Dave Granlund, PoliticalCartoons.com

fighting to secure who’s won.

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57 thoughts on “Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder”

  1. How Trump’s election strategy involves voter roll lawsuits

    WASHINGTON − Former President Donald Trump has declined to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election, and lawsuits challenging state voter rolls provide a roadmap of how he could fight the outcome.
    Just last week, Trump posted on social media that election cheating should “CEASE & DESIST,” threatening prosecutions “at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”
    After losing the 2020 election, Trump allies filed more than 60 lawsuits challenging the results before a violent mob of supporters attacked the Capitol to prevent the transfer of power. While those efforts failed to overturn Trump’s defeat, the mistrust sown in the election still reverberates, and current lawsuits from Republican groups and other Trump allies could lay the groundwork for a similar post-election effort.
    A leader of one Trump-aligned group behind these lawsuits told USA TODAY it is already − before Election Day − planning to sue over 2024 election results.
    “We feel compelled to file in defense of this beautiful country,” said Marly Hornik, who co-founded United Sovereign Americans in 2023.
    The already-filed lawsuits often claim swing states have violated a 1993 federal law, the National Voter Registration Act, or a 2002 law, the Help America Vote Act, by allowing potentially ineligible voters to join or stay on voter rolls. There are at least 19 cases, “many of them in battleground states,” said Leah Tulin, senior counsel in the Democracy Program of the Brennan Center for Justice.
    The lawsuits build on election fraud claims that Trump has been making – without proof – since the very first time he ran for president.
    In late November of 2016, Trump claimed without evidence that he only lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton that month because millions of people voted illegally. At his Jan. 6, 2021, “Stop the Steal” rally, Trump similarly alleged that noncitizens – who aren’t eligible to vote in federal elections – cast 36,000 ballots in Arizona in 2020.
    In this election, the Trump campaign is again suggesting the election may be rigged by noncitizen voting.
    “While radical Democrats have allowed non-citizen voting in California and D.C., states such as Walz’s Minnesota have no system to keep non-citizens off the rolls, resulting in an open door to illegal voting,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
    Litigants include the Republican National Committee and state Republican parties in Nevada and Arizona, which claim there are more registered voters than adult citizens.
    Studies by both the liberal Brennan Center for Justice and the libertarian Cato Institute have found there is almost no evidence of noncitizen voting.
    Several lawsuits over voter rolls have been dismissed, and some were filed within 90 days of the Nov. 5 election, which is a period under the National Voter Registration Act when states generally can’t remove people from their registration lists.
    In a Pennsylvania lawsuit, for example, the group alleges there are nearly 3.2 million violations out of almost 8.8 million total registrations, which “cast into doubt” the reliability and credibility of 2022 midterm results.
    Lawyers for Pennsylvania’s secretary of the state called the group’s questions about dates on paperwork “factually baseless” in a court response.
    Hans von Spakovsky, a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation who served on a Trump administration commission on election integrity, told USA TODAY he believes evidence of noncitizen voting is so limited because it’s rarely prosecuted.
    Von Spakovsky said when he served on the Fairfax County election board in Virginia, the board identified 100-150 cases in which legal residents who weren’t citizens appeared to have voted, and the local prosecutor and Justice Department didn’t pursue charges.
    However, a Brennan Center study suggests such referrals rarely occur. It looked at 42 jurisdictions that accounted for 23.5 million votes in the 2016 election, and uncovered only 30 referrals of suspected noncitizen voting for further investigation or prosecution.
    Earlier this month, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, announced results from what he said was “the most comprehensive citizenship check conducted in the history of Georgia.” It found only 20 noncitizens out of 8.2 million registered voters. All 20 have been purged from the rolls and referred for potential prosecution.
    “Right now, our voter lists are as clean as they’ve ever been, they’re as accurate as they’ve ever been in American history,” Becker, of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said.
    The lawsuits are unlikely to dramatically impact election processes ahead of November, according to several election law experts. Not every lawsuit even seeks that kind of result.
    For example, a lawyer for Republicans in the Nevada lawsuit said at a June court hearing, “We’re not trying to speed up the case for the sake of obtaining (information) before the November election.”
    Several other voter roll lawsuits have been filed within 90 days of the November election, which is a period under the National Voter Registration Act when states generally can’t remove people from their registration lists – a restriction that election lawyers versed on the law would know.
    “The fact that so many lawsuits have been brought within that 90-day period is a great indicator that there is actually no intention of cleaning up the list,” Becker said.
    Many of the lawsuits compare names on voter registration lists to U.S. Census data, which sometimes reveals there are more registered voters than adults in a particular area. The Republican lawsuit in Nevada said that “three Nevada counties have more registered voters than they have adult citizens who are over the age of 18. That number of voters is impossibly high.”
    However, several factors can lead to voter rolls appearing more populated than Census data in a given place. The Census is an estimate that generally measures where people sleep at night, while voter eligibility accounts for a person’s permanent home – which is why members of Congress and college students often vote in their home states.
    “(With) any mobile or transient population, there can be a disconnect between where they are absolutely correctly registered to vote and where the census counts them,” Justin Levitt, a Loyola Marymount law professor and former Biden White House advisor on democracy and voting rights, told USA TODAY.
    In addition, voter rolls are, by legislative design, supposed to over-include rather than under-include voters because the National Voter Registration Act requires states to wait between two and four years before removing someone from the list after learning they likely moved away.
    In dismissing a Republican National Committee lawsuit on Oct. 22, Michigan federal Judge Jane Beckering wrote that the committee’s “census data alone, even assuming its reliability, does not plausibly indicate that Michigan is violating” the National Voter Registration Act.
    The RNC itself admitted there is “no evidence” the targeted counties experienced above average voter participation compared with the rest of Michigan or the country, Judge Beckering added.
    Repetition as strategy?
    Even if the lawsuits fail in court, they are often flagged to supporters on social media and in press releases and fundraising appeals
    Experts say “as many as 2.7 million illegals could vote in November,” wrote Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law and Republican National Committee co-chair, in an October fundraising email.
    Tulin from the Brennan Center this is “an age-old sort of strategy of (suggesting) where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
    “The litigation is essentially talking points that are consistent with the talking points that are being used in the political arena,” Tulin said. “The fact that they haven’t been successful in the courts doesn’t really make a difference, because it’s just part of the repetition, right? ‘If we say it enough, then people will start to believe it.'”
    Trump and his allies lost about 60 lawsuits filed in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, when Trump made unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. Several recounts and audits have confirmed the real estate mogul lost the election.
    Still, many Americans believe Trump won. A CNN poll conducted in July found that about 38% of Americans believe Biden didn’t legitimately receive enough votes to win the presidency, including 69% of Republicans and people who lean Republican.
    “The actual outcome of the legal challenges does not seem to have a bearing on whether or not the rhetoric creates mis- and disinformation that is believed by the public,” said Sylvia Albert, director of Voting and Elections for Common Cause, a good-government watchdog, told USA TODAY.
    Supporting efforts to block election certification?
    United Sovereign Americans has asked courts across multiple cases for an order blocking states from certifying 2024 results until the organization’s demands to remove alleged voter roll errors are met.
    The group’s requests to courts mirror efforts to block certification outside of court since the 2020 election: Local officials across several battleground states have voted against certifying election results dozens of times since 2020, although those efforts haven’t yet resulted in overturning an outcome. Several lawsuits in Georgia center on whether local officials must certify election results by the state’s deadline.
    [continues]

  2. good group last night with maher on the election

    Bill and his guests continue their conversation after the show.

  3. bill endorses kamala

    Bill has a message for the undecided voters who like to wait until the eve of an election to make up their minds.

  4. Saturday Scorecard:
    Vibes?  Pushing toward Harris
    Right/Wrong track? Helping Trump big time
    Media Cycle? Cheney replaced Biden “garbage”
    Travel? Harris sched smart, Trump dumb. NM? VA? 4 Stops in NC not a good sign
    Ground Game? Edge to Harris in MI, PA, WI, NV. Musk, Charlie Kirk GOTV questionable at best

  5. Trump is starting his day by calling into Fox… he is on the phone with the hosts of “Fox & Friends Weekend” right now

    Strong closing messages such as “Mark Cuban can’t hit a golf ball more than 50 yards, if you want to know the truth”

  8. Any American who votes for Trump after his obscene display has flunked the character test themselves and earns the “honorific” Joe bestowed on them. 

  13. it’s not that trump is the best they’ve got, it’s that they don’t have anyone good

    is how such a bad candidate is their candidate

  20. I support Mark Cuban’s comment about tRUMPsky being intimidated by strong, intelligent women.   The women sitting behind him at his rallies aren’t strong; they are the mean girls we knew in school.  Just look at Boebert and mTg; they did not evolve beyond their mean girl behavior.  But actual strong women like Liz Cheney? Woo boy, Adolf was bothered.   What Cuban said is getting some blowback, but he was not wrong.   The women still aligned with Orange Adolf are white nationalists.   Seek help! 

  21. https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/02/uk/uk-conservative-leadership-contest-results-intl/index.html

    “Britain’s humbled Conservative Partyelected Kemi Badenoch as its new leader on Saturday, turning to a right-wing favorite who has railed against identity politics, transgender rights and state spending to rebuild its reputation after a devastating election defeat.”

    “Badenoch, a Nigerian-raised former banker, served as minister in the equalities, business, housing and trade departments while the Conservatives were in office.”
     
     
    “Her selection all but ensures a rightward shift to Britain’s political discourse over the next several years, and creates a jarring stylistic clash between the new opposition leader and Keir Starmer, Labour’s serious and straightlaced prime minister.”

    “Badenoch, who relishes confrontation and has received muted support from her own lawmakers in her various moves for the leadership, has leant into US-style cultural clashes on a swathe of topics, inspiring grassroots members on the Conservatives’ right-wing in the process.”
     
     
     
     
    Jesus H

  22. Harris campaign official in Pennsylvania says their volunteer team is averaging 2,000 door-knocks per minute across the state on Saturday as of 12:54 pm 

    (Average during typical door-knocking hours)

  24. May be my hopeful thinking but media with their ” neck and neck” forecast is really irritating.  The numbers by registration by party may be equal.  That doesn’t mean the votes are.  Wish there were some way to identify the percentage of Republicans voting Kamala!  Anyone revealing the internals?

  25. Well, if there were 1,000 registered Dems in a county, and Harris were to get more than 1,000 votes in that county, then someone broke ranks.  There are also folks who don’t register with a party affiliation (me, for instance) because it doesn’t feel safe, though.

  27. Jamie, a data point I’ve noticed is GOP turnout for early vote spikes in a lot of counties where Nikki Haley outperformed. Maybe that suggests some Never Trump Republicans might be voting Harris?

  28. As I said from my observation here in redneck city, there were way more women than men early voting. We have abortion rights on the ballot and that may be driving turnout. but given the numbers, women voting in large numbers has to benefit the Democrats.
    Jack

  29. That is a good closing ad.
    All those people out there are just neighbors. Some time you get along with neighbors sometimes you don’t but your kids all play ball with each other.
    BTW I was watching Walz in AZ, He was on fire, hitting all the right notes, but his voice is about gone. He may make to Tuesday evening.
    Jack

  31. So, the weekend before America chooses between fascism and a brighter future, the New York Times is pushing an article to my phone: “Where to Eat Pizza in NYC”
     
    😑

    “In New York City, finding a decent slice of pizza is as easy as jaywalking. But finding a great one is much harder.”

    So hard to find great cheese on bread made the same way everywhere, NYT can help!

  36. How we feelin’ about “shocker” House and Senate control, Mr. C?

    Media has conditioned me to consider it an unrealistic expectation. Still, one can hope…

  37. David Axelrod
    @davidaxelrod
    Iowa Poll: Kamala Harris pulls ahead in state Donald Trump won twice
    This is a stunning poll. But Ann Seltzer has as stellar a record as any pollster of forecasting election outcomes in her state. Women are powering this surge. Portents for the country

  41. palms are sweaty, Mom’s spaghetti!
     
    🤞

    WaPo:

    “Harris spoke later 35 miles away in Charlotte, reprising her closing argument that Trump is not someone ‘who is thinking about how to make your life better,’ as she cast a spotlight on his threats and inflammatory rhetoric. She called him a candidate ‘who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance,’ and warned he would walk into the Oval Office ‘stewing over an enemies list.’

    -imo Harris has done a great job of criticizing trump without getting bogged-down by his inane distractions (unlike me), great messaging and discipline from her👍

  42. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/30/business/trump-stock-truth-social/index.html

    “Trump loses $1.3 billion in net worth after the worst-ever day for his social media stock”

    “After a ridiculous spike over the past five weeks that had absolutely nothing to do with the company’s actual business, former President Donald Trump’s social media stock is suffering a sudden setback.”

    “Between September 23 and Tuesday’s closing bell, Trump Media had quadrupled in value.”

    “The enormous gains boosted Trump Media’s value to $10.3 billion as of Tuesday’s close. That means it was briefly worth more than the implied value of X, the Elon Musk-owned social network formerly known as Twitter.”

    “That’s despite the fact that X has about 70 million monthly active US users on iOS and Android as Truth Social, according to Similarweb data shared with CNN. That’s roughly 100 times Truth Social’s 698,000 monthly active US users.”

    “The smarter traders know you make your money and get the hell out. And leave the not-smarter traders holding the bag.”

  44. Craig
    some other numbers that are telling, From the Des Moine Register

    Trump leads with those living in rural areas (55% to 35%) and those living in towns (49% to 40%). But Harris carries those in cities (61% to 33%) and suburbs (59% to 36%).

    Claire McCaskill always believed if she could do better than 30% in the rural counties and break even in the suburbs then she would win in Missouri. I suspect the same is true in Iowa, Maybe even Nebraska?, Kansas? 
    Jack, (thinking about a Reagan/Nixon sweep)

  45. At Greensboro rally just now, Trump says he asked hurricane victims who lost their loved ones in Hurricane Helene, “just out of curiosity, are they going to be able to vote?”

  46. I wonder what the shock value of that poll is. Will it encourage Democrats up and down the ticket? Discourage Republicans?

  49. well this rally speech finally over but not before this choice moment.. While Trump was claiming Harris never worked at McDonalds, a supporter in the crowd yelled: “She worked on corner!”
    The crowd laughed, and Trump looked around for the attendee before saying:
    “This place is amazing … just remember, other people said it, not me”

  51. Yep, it’s the red mirage; the US mao with a big, red midsection.  Cattle and cornstalks can’t vote.   Those numbers in cities and suburbs are big numbers.  Those rural percentages are pffft. 

    I hope folks are voting blue down ballot. They stopped straight-party voting in Texas. There were folks who were behind me in line who buzzed on out after they voted for Biden.

  53. Trump’s final pitch to this crowd was a real motivator:

    “If I don’t win this thing after all this talk, I’m in trouble. Will you please go vote? I came here, whatever the hell time it is, who the hell knows. I’m giving you the full bore. You wouldn’t let me leave in half an hour. I would have been home sleeping right now”

  56. Craig
    Also part of that poll.

    A majority of Iowans oppose the state’s new “fetal heartbeat” law, which bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, according to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. 
    The poll found that 59% of Iowans — including 69% of women — disapprove of the new restrictions. It found 37% of Iowans favor the new law, and 5% are not sure. 

    The Alito surge?

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