Tag: mail-in ballot

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New Netflix Series BOOTS + William Shatner’s Message To LGBTQ Fans + More News

Liam Oh and Miles Heizer in Netflix's BOOTS

Some news items you might have missed:

• Netflix: The upcoming comedic drama series BOOTS (above) centers on a young closeted gay and his best friend navigating Marine Corps boot camp’s tough and volatile environment in the 1990s. Continue reading “New Netflix Series BOOTS + William Shatner’s Message To LGBTQ Fans + More News”

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Ohio Gov. Vetoes Anti-LGBTQ Measures + 3-Time Gold Medalist Comes Out + More

Stock image of a highway sign as you enter Ohio

Some news items you might have missed:

• Cincinnati Enquirer: Gov. Mike DeWine (R) decided that state lawmakers went too far in the culture war against LGBTQ Ohioans and vetoed 3 provisions that would have: defunded homeless shelters that support trans kids, hid LGBTQ books from school students, and banned Pride flags.

• Outsports: Three-time Olympic gold medalist speed skater Martina Sablikova came out publicly revealing her 12-year same-sex relationship. Continue reading “Ohio Gov. Vetoes Anti-LGBTQ Measures + 3-Time Gold Medalist Comes Out + More”

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News Round-Up: March 9, 2021

Pfizer announced its new antiviral pill reduced risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by 89 percent

A new once-a-month pill for PrEP is proving to be ‘extremely potent’ in testing
Some news items you might have missed: • Metro Weekly: Pharmaceutical company Merck has released data from the second phase of trials into its antiretroviral drug islatravir, a once-a-month pill to protect against HIV infection, which has proven to be “extremely potent.” • Billboard: Of the eight Grammy nominees for best new artist, three — CHIKA, Kaytranada and Phoebe Bridgers — openly identify as LGBTQ. • New York Daily News: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said on Monday that she’s “excited” to sign a bill banning transgender girls and women from participating in sports teams that correspond to their gender identity. South Dakota is the second U.S. state this year, after Mississippi, to pass legislation targeting transgender sports athletes. • Amazon Prime: “Love The One You’re With” (2021) is a dramatic comedy from award winning comedian and filmmaker Sampson McCormick that follows a couple, Miles and Avery as they navigate the possible ending of a long term relationship. The story offers surprise twists, lots of laughter and a mind stirring story line.

• The Independent: The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was able to combat a new variant that was rapidly circulating in Brazil, a new study has found. • Des Moines Register: Four months after Iowans voted in record numbers, Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed legislation cutting the state’s early voting period and closing the polls an hour earlier on Election Day. Every Republican present for debate in the House and Senate voted for the legislation. Every Democrat voted against it. #AndSoItBegins • Palm Beach Post: Despite his false claims about mail voting during the 2020 election cycle, Donald Trump requested a mail ballot on Friday for the third time in his Palm Beach County voter history. • Law and Crime: In their bid to get him out of the Grady County Jail in Oklahoma, attorneys for an 18-year-old defendant in the U.S. Capitol siege said another inmate attacked him. They also said their client caught COVID-19 while behind bars. He allegedly assaulted a police officer and was armed with a baton.

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PA Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Another Trump Election Challenge

Donald Trump (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain)
Another loss for Team Trump as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed an election challenge led by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, who attempted to argue that universal mail-in voting violated the state constitution. From NBC News:

Kelly, along with several other Pennsylvania Republicans, sought to invalidate millions of mail-in votes, which could have ceded a key state won by President-Elect Joe Biden to President Donald Trump.

The ruling said, “Petitioners sought to invalidate the ballots of the millions of Pennsylvania voters who utilized the mail-in voting procedures. … Alternatively, Petitioners advocated the extraordinary proposition that the court disenfranchise all 6.9 million Pennsylvanians who voted in the General Election and instead ‘direct the General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania’s electors.'”

The high court ruled no on all counts and said, “All other outstanding motions are dismissed as moot.” It said the claim could have resulted in the “disenfranchisement” of millions of voters.

The court also criticized Kelly and company for filing their lawsuit more than a year after the law establishing universal mail-in voting was passed by the state legislature. Today’s ruling wipes out a lower court order that had blocked officials from certifying the Keystone State’s election results. More than 26  election challenges filed by Team Trump have now been dismissed by courts in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. So. Much. Winning.

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Georgia: Trump Depressed His Own Voting Base By Discouraging Mail-In Voting

A prosecutor in Georgia is reportedly in the early stages of investigating Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the election results in the state

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says Donald Trump actually depressed his own voting base by demonizing mail-in ballots. According to the stats, 24,000 Republicans that voted by absentee ballot in the 2020 primary didn’t vote at all in the general election which President-elect Joe Biden won by 14,000. From HuffPost:

Raffensperger, a Republican, ordered a recount. But he also told Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB that the president hurt his own cause by discouraging mail-in voting, which he portrayed as a “scam.”

Raffensperger told the station that 24,000 Republican voters who voted absentee in the primary did not vote in the general election.

“Those 24,000 people did not vote in the fall,” Raffensperger said. “They did not vote absentee because they were told by the president, ‘Don’t vote absentee. It’s not secure.’ But then they did not come out and vote in person.”

“He actually depressed, suppressed his own voting base,” he added.

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Postal Worker Admits He Lied About Mail-In Ballot Tampering

(stock image of a mail-in ballot)
A postal worker in Pennsylvania who claimed that a postmaster in Erie told post office employees to backdate ballots received after Election Day has reportedly admitted he lied. His claims have been spread by high ranking Republicans as evidence of “widespread voter fraud.” This was supposed to be the Republicans big “gotcha.” From the Washington Post:

A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities admitted to U.S. Postal Service investigators that he fabricated the allegations, according to three officials briefed on the investigation and a statement from a House congressional committee.

Richard Hopkins’s claim that a postmaster in Erie, Pa., instructed postal workers to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day was cited by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) in a letter to the Justice Department calling for a federal investigation.

Attorney General William P. Barr subsequently authorized federal prosecutors to open probes into credible allegations of voting irregularities and fraud, a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy.

But on Monday, Hopkins, 32, told investigators from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General that the allegations were not true, and he signed an affidavit recanting his claims, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation.

The original allegations were reported last week by Project Veritas, an organization that has been caught spinning fiction into made-up ‘facts’ trying to demonize the mainstream media. After being hailed as a hero among Trump supporters, a GoFundMe campaign was launched that raised over $135K for Hopkins – until the campaign was yanked down today in light of his reversal. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee tweeted the revelations late Tuesday.