Election-procedure changes because of COVID-19 - postponements, cancellations, absentee ballots, ...

[lpetrich]

Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 - Ballotpedia

At this time, covered changes are limited to those impacting statewide primaries, general elections, and the 2020 presidential election. Covered changes may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Changed election dates
• Cancelation of in-person election activities in favor of by-mail or absentee election activities
• Changed candidate filing requirements

Lots of postponements and acceptance of absentee ballots.

Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Signs Executive Order Temporarily Modifying Election Procedures to Reduce Spread of Coronavirus | Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

The executive order suspends the candidate petitioning process — effective 5PM on Tuesday — for the June primaries for Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly and Judicial races.

The executive order also modifies the signature requirements for ballot access; candidates will only need to collect 30 percent of the statutory threshold. For Congress, candidates would need 375 signatures rather than 1,250. For State Senate, candidates would need 300 signatures rather than 1,000. For Assembly, candidates would only need 150 signatures rather than 500.

 

[lpetrich]

Carolyn B. Maloney on Twitter: "Joint Statement from @CarolynBMaloney @VoteAshcraft @PeteHarrisonNYC concerning petitioning in #NY12 and @surajpatelnyc's refusal to join our pledge. #SafetyOverSignatures #Covid_19 https://t.co/Tc8mynRirB" / Twitter
2020 Mar 13
That's NY-12, with incumbent Carolyn Maloney seeking re-election, and challengers Lauren Ashcraft and Peter Harrison all agreeing to suspend petitioning, but challenger Suraj Patel not agreeing to do so.

Samelys López for NY-15 (Bronx) on Twitter: "#COVID19 has triggered a national emergency that is unprecedented in our time. ..." / Twitter

#COVID19 has triggered a national emergency that is unprecedented in our time. In response to the global pandemic, our campaign is centering the well-being of our neighbors and standing in solidarity with colleagues running for office across NYC. 1/

Our campaign suspended petitioning in order to center our neighbors’ health and economic well-being alongside my NYC DSA slate colleagues @phara4assembly @JabariBrisport, @ZohranKMamdani and @MarcelaforNY. 2/

We made clear that our values drive our campaigns, which is why we called for an end to moratoriums, universal paid sick leave/health care and increased economic protections for our vulnerable neighbors. 3/

We pledged not challenge petitions of NY-15 candidates. Today, @NYGovCuomo announced an EO that will lower the petition threshold & end the petitioning period on 3/17. I affirm the Gov’s decision since it aligns w/ my colleagues' call to center the health of our communities. 4/

In times of a national emergency we must act to promote, instead of restrict, democracy. Which is why our campaign is pledging not to challenge the petitions of our fellow candidates in NY-15. 5/

Lowering the petition threshold is not enough b/c it will not prevent Wall Street & #DisasterCapitalism from preying on our communities. We need to fight for a #HomesGuarantee #UniversalHealthcare #UniversalChildcare & a #UBI that protects the existing entitlement benefit system.

 

[lpetrich]

Lauren Ashcraft, challenging Carolyn Maloney:
Paul Warren on Twitter: "Dropping these babies off! Help fund our next stage, and also if you're considering donating #NOWISTHETIME! This is the final quarter of reporting before the election! https://t.co/TCZ4C4CG18" / Twitter
noting
Lauren Ashcraft for NY-12 on Twitter: "Feeling great about the number of signatures we handed to our attorney! Almost 4x the required number. I want to take this moment to thank my team who worked very hard to get our campaign on the ballot!
Please chip in to help us spread the word! [url]https://t.co/kQefqCo7ur https://t.co/KDxcadjQc6" / Twitter[/url]

Shaniyat Chowdhury, challenging Gregory Meeks:
Shaniyat Chowdhury for US Congress NY5 on Twitter: "Heading to Albany to file these petitions. Long drive, so listening to The Weekend’s new album, “After Hours”.
Highly recommend it. https://t.co/AuWlrzmNnY" / Twitter

Shaniyat Chowdhury for US Congress NY5 on Twitter: "Just got back from Albany and we finally handed in our petitions. In the meantime, we will continue to support the people of Queens with mutual aid effort alongside many other organizers & campaigns. For help, email [email]info@shan2020.com[/email] https://t.co/VkCpVhv6X6" / Twitter

Some of AOC's challengers have done so:

Badrun Khan on Twitter: "Filing legally sufficient petitions for primary election against AOC & Company today DESPITE veiled threat from Conservative Republican strategist working for one of my Celebrity Democratic opponents. I must be doing something right! #wontbethreatened!" / Twitter
and
Badrun Khan on Twitter: "It’s done! #VoteNYC #Khan2020 https://t.co/Xqucw2dMDv" / Twitter

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera on Twitter: "Just filed our petitions! Our campaign is still (safely) going! Please consider chipping in today to keep up the momentum! https://t.co/9y6Lt6NNhU" / Twitter

I couldn't find anything about AOC herself in this context, though I found some stuff from 2018, like this:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "If I had a petition signature for every cat call, I’d be on the ballot already " / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Melanie D'Arrigo is in NY-03, challenging Tom Suozzi:
Melanie D'Arrigo for Congress on Twitter: "Today we filed our petitions to get on the ballot. In just under 2 weeks our amazing volunteers collected over 6x the necessary amount.
Thank you to all that walked for me and to each and everyone of you that signed.
Our people-powered movement will not be stopped. https://t.co/rAE8eHALf8" / Twitter

A month ago:
Melanie D'Arrigo for Congress on Twitter: "We've heard from multiple sources that my opponent is "freaking out" about getting enough signatures to get on the ballot.
He's working to change the process and be added to a State Senator's petition because he knows he's lost support.
He's scared. Let's keep him that way" / Twitter
then
Melanie D'Arrigo for Congress on Twitter: "Here are two things you can do right now:
1⃣Donate, because they will challenge every single one of our signatures in court:
[url]https://t.co/yuvTHqfMFN
2⃣Sign up to knock doors and join our movement: https://t.co/OOO2fFI3ea" / Twitter[/url]

Back in 2018, AOC and her campaigners collected some 5,000 petition signatures, about 4 times the threshold of 1,250 of them.

 

[lpetrich]

Pennsylvania to delay primary election as coronavirus spreads | TheHill - from Apr 28 to Jun 2.

Political responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020 - Ballotpedia

 

[lpetrich]

Drama llama in Wisconsin:

Governor Tony Evers (D) decreed that the election scheduled on April 7 will be delayed to June 9. But the Republicans overruled him.

Republican intransigence in Wisconsin is stoking an electoral disaster - The Washington Post

Voters will vote in the Presidential primary, and also in numerous state and local races.

But the state is not ready. Some 7,000 poll workers have withdrawn, leading to widespread polling-place closures. In-person voters will have to cram into the small number of locations that will still operate. Gov. Tony Evers (D) is asking state workers and even National Guard troops to help staff them. The state is distributing gallons of hand sanitizer and using tape to mark out where voters should stand to observe proper social distancing principles. Some polling places have fashioned plexiglass into sneeze-guards to protect staff.

For voters, the obvious option is to vote by mail. But a surge in absentee ballot applications has led to long delays in processing requests and returning ballots to those who have asked for one. Mr. Evers last month asked the state legislature to relax the deadline for returning ballots, so that those postmarked by Election Day would still count, as well as a cumbersome requirement that absentee voters upload images of their ID. The Republican-led legislature refused. Mail-in voters face other unnecessary hassles, too: The state requires that a second party witness absentee ballots — at a time when public health officials are telling people to stay away from one another.

The author proposes that the Republicans are trying to win by making it more difficult to vote.

Republicans also tend to be less concerned about the virus than Democrats, so they would be less deterred from turning out.

Surprise twist in Wisconsin voting wars points to GOP plot to save Trump - The Washington Post

By now most political observers agree that President Trump’s reelection hopes will probably turn on Wisconsin. If he can’t win there, he’s all but certain to lose.

But if he can, he has a real chance at pulling off another electoral college win — even if he loses Pennsylvania and Michigan, the other “blue wall” states he cracked in 2016 — and Wisconsin is demographically very favorable to him.

...
All this has led to reasonable speculation that Wisconsin Republicans are actively hoping to carry through this election with lower turnout, because they believe that will benefit them in a big race: one that pits conservative Justice Daniel Kelly against liberal challenger Jill Karofsky, competing for a 10-year term in a coveted state supreme court seat.

As Ari Berman bluntly put it: “Republicans may be counting on low Democratic turnout to help them win.”

...
Wikler posited that this fall, Republicans will again want to try to ensure the lowest possible turnout — with Democratic constituencies not showing up due to pandemic fears — just as they are now.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Drama llama in Wisconsin:

Governor Tony Evers (D) decreed that the election scheduled on April 7 will be delayed to June 9. But the Republicans overruled him.

Republican intransigence in Wisconsin is stoking an electoral disaster - The Washington Post

Voters will vote in the Presidential primary, and also in numerous state and local races.

But the state is not ready. Some 7,000 poll workers have withdrawn, leading to widespread polling-place closures. In-person voters will have to cram into the small number of locations that will still operate. Gov. Tony Evers (D) is asking state workers and even National Guard troops to help staff them. The state is distributing gallons of hand sanitizer and using tape to mark out where voters should stand to observe proper social distancing principles. Some polling places have fashioned plexiglass into sneeze-guards to protect staff.

For voters, the obvious option is to vote by mail. But a surge in absentee ballot applications has led to long delays in processing requests and returning ballots to those who have asked for one. Mr. Evers last month asked the state legislature to relax the deadline for returning ballots, so that those postmarked by Election Day would still count, as well as a cumbersome requirement that absentee voters upload images of their ID. The Republican-led legislature refused. Mail-in voters face other unnecessary hassles, too: The state requires that a second party witness absentee ballots — at a time when public health officials are telling people to stay away from one another.

The author proposes that the Republicans are trying to win by making it more difficult to vote.

Republicans also tend to be less concerned about the virus than Democrats, so they would be less deterred from turning out.

Surprise twist in Wisconsin voting wars points to GOP plot to save Trump - The Washington Post

By now most political observers agree that President Trump’s reelection hopes will probably turn on Wisconsin. If he can’t win there, he’s all but certain to lose.

But if he can, he has a real chance at pulling off another electoral college win — even if he loses Pennsylvania and Michigan, the other “blue wall” states he cracked in 2016 — and Wisconsin is demographically very favorable to him.

...
All this has led to reasonable speculation that Wisconsin Republicans are actively hoping to carry through this election with lower turnout, because they believe that will benefit them in a big race: one that pits conservative Justice Daniel Kelly against liberal challenger Jill Karofsky, competing for a 10-year term in a coveted state supreme court seat.

As Ari Berman bluntly put it: “Republicans may be counting on low Democratic turnout to help them win.”

...
Wikler posited that this fall, Republicans will again want to try to ensure the lowest possible turnout — with Democratic constituencies not showing up due to pandemic fears — just as they are now.

Huh? How does low turnout in a primary help them?

 

[Elixir]

Drama llama in Wisconsin:

Governor Tony Evers (D) decreed that the election scheduled on April 7 will be delayed to June 9. But the Republicans overruled him.

Republican intransigence in Wisconsin is stoking an electoral disaster - The Washington Post

Voters will vote in the Presidential primary, and also in numerous state and local races.

The author proposes that the Republicans are trying to win by making it more difficult to vote.

Republicans also tend to be less concerned about the virus than Democrats, so they would be less deterred from turning out.

Surprise twist in Wisconsin voting wars points to GOP plot to save Trump - The Washington Post

Huh? How does low turnout in a primary help them?

It's low because the Dem turnout is suppressed because Democrats are a bunch of whining, bleeding heart weaklings. Republicans are strong, brave and determined individuals who will lay their very lives on the line to preserve the Holy Cause.

I think they might have blown it this time though. Seems like all the did was piss off the Democrats, and some of them won't forget by November.

 

[marc]

Huh? How does low turnout in a primary help them?

They are also voting on a state supreme court seat.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

This exposes our current issue. If things aren't settled by November, and quite honestly, how could they, we need processes approved by Legislatures for alternative voting methods. With NY, the GOP in the US Congress could say their slate of delegates is disqualified because they voted in a manner that wasn't legal, and discount them. The GOP has proven, there appears to be little ground they are principled enough not to tread on.

Drama llama in Wisconsin:

Governor Tony Evers (D) decreed that the election scheduled on April 7 will be delayed to June 9. But the Republicans overruled him.

Republican intransigence in Wisconsin is stoking an electoral disaster - The Washington Post

Voters will vote in the Presidential primary, and also in numerous state and local races.

The author proposes that the Republicans are trying to win by making it more difficult to vote.

Republicans also tend to be less concerned about the virus than Democrats, so they would be less deterred from turning out.

Surprise twist in Wisconsin voting wars points to GOP plot to save Trump - The Washington Post

Huh? How does low turnout in a primary help them?

The Daily had a great piece to explain the answer to this. It is 30 minutes, so I'll make it short.

Wisconsin Governor wanted to transition from booth to mail-in ballot voting. However, the Governor lacks the power to do such a thing on their own. They needed Legislature's help.

The GOP's concern is that this could stick and mail-in ballots could result in larger turnouts, which generally work more in the Democrats' favor. So the GOP fought tooth and nail to prevent going to a mail-in ballot option for this primary / a few statewide contests, so that they could avoid using it pretty much... ever.

 

[lpetrich]

Republicans Pursue Limits on Voting by Mail, Despite the Coronavirus

President Trump and his Republican allies are launching an aggressive strategy to fight what many of the administration’s own health officials view as one of the most effective ways to make voting safer amid the deadly spread of Covid-19: the expanded use of mail-in ballots.

The scene Tuesday of Wisconsinites in masks and gloves gathering in long lines to vote, after Republicans sued to defeat extended, mail-in ballot deadlines, did not deter the president and top officials in his party.

Republican leaders are opposing increased absentee and mail-in balloting in MI, MN, AZ, NM, etc. Trump puts the issue starkly. Expansion of early voting and vote-by mail would mean that “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.”

He made exceptions for big parts of his base, like old people and military people.

 

[Keith&Co.]

He made exceptions for big parts of his base, like old people and military people.

Not really. He seems to think there's some difference between Absentee Ballots, for old people and military who cannot travel to polls, and Voting By Mail, which is just corruption and fraud with extra steps. I don't think he sees them as exceptions, just completely discrete things.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Yup, this is how the GOP rolls.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Republicans Pursue Limits on Voting by Mail, Despite the Coronavirus

President Trump and his Republican allies are launching an aggressive strategy to fight what many of the administration’s own health officials view as one of the most effective ways to make voting safer amid the deadly spread of Covid-19: the expanded use of mail-in ballots.

The scene Tuesday of Wisconsinites in masks and gloves gathering in long lines to vote, after Republicans sued to defeat extended, mail-in ballot deadlines, did not deter the president and top officials in his party.

Republican leaders are opposing increased absentee and mail-in balloting in MI, MN, AZ, NM, etc. Trump puts the issue starkly. Expansion of early voting and vote-by mail would mean that “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.”

He made exceptions for big parts of his base, like old people and military people.

He knows how the GOP benefits from the absentee ballots, he wants to ensure the Democrats can't do what the Republicans are doing.

 

[ZiprHead]

White House rejects bailout for U.S. Postal Service battered by coronavirus
The pandemic has pushed USPS to the brink, but Trump and Mnuchin shot down emergency aid

The Postal Service’s decades-long financial troubles have worsened dramatically as the volume of the kind of mail that pays the agency’s bills ― first-class and marketing mail ― withers during the pandemic. The USPS needs an infusion of money, and President Trump has blocked potential emergency funding for the agency that employs around 600,000 workers, repeating instead the false claim that higher rates for Internet shipping companies Amazon, FedEx and UPS would right the service’s budget.

Trump threatened to veto the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or Cares Act, if the legislation contained any money directed to bail out the postal agency, according to a senior Trump administration official and a congressional official who, like others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Can't vote by mail if there's no mail service.

 

[ZiprHead]

Tiffany Trump, Steve Bannon, Steven Mnuchin Registered to Vote in Multiple States
President Trump called for an investigation into voter fraud, alleging that registration in two states could be an indication of fraudulent activity.

Tiffany Trump is registered to vote in both Pennsylvania and New York. Steven Mnuchin is registered to vote in both New York and California. Steve Bannon is registered to vote in both New York and Florida.

During the election, it was revealed by The Guardian that Bannon was registered in Florida at a vacant house in Miami-Dade County. The owner of the property said at the time he had never lived at the address where he was registered, a possible violation of Florida election law that prohibits "willful misrepresentation" of residency and bars registering some place that is not a primary residence. Bannon changed his Florida registration to the home of a friend after The Guardian's report in August; it's not clear if he ever lived at that home either.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I had a flashback to 2000. The Florida Supreme Court, after being asked by the Gore Campaign to recount specific counties for a recount, ruled that the entire state needed a recount. It honestly seemed like a fair idea.

W's campaign, fearing losing the election decided otherwise, and went to SCOTUS and managed to stop the recount from continuing and ultimately stop the recount from ever happening.

One of the reasons the W campaign used against a Statewide recount? Unequal Protection. They argued that the counties had differing standards for what would count as a vote, specifically for chads and optical ballots that were under or over votes.

So that takes us to 2020, and potentially states with mail-in ballots. We have already seen push back from the GOP on mail-in ballots. So the question is, if some states expand on mail-in ballots, which includes sending ballots to people that did not expressly demand them (but were registered to vote), can or will the GOP protest this in court after the fact, arguing equal protection that some people were given too easy access to the ballot?

The Constitution gives the power to the states to decide, but the legality of laws can be expressly up to the whim of SCOTUS.

 

[fromderinside]

So if one is registered one can claim she had no intention to vote? Got any ten-day-sitting-on-the-counter salmon?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So if one is registered one can claim she had no intention to vote? Got any ten-day-sitting-on-the-counter salmon?

The argument need not be sound to pass far-right SCOTUS muster. After all, these far-right justice are very smart and can legally obfuscate anything with ease.