LGBTQ news and entertainment
Through an in-depth investigation, CBS News has found a grassroots effort by conservative activists to remove eligible voters from local registration rolls. Continue reading “Conservative Activists Working To Remove Eligible Voters From Registration”
Douglass Mackey, 34, was sentenced to 7 months in prison today for his efforts in 2016 to trick people into thinking they could “vote” for Hillary Clinton by text message, attempting to suppress her supporters’ votes. Another case to file under “F*cked around, found out.” Continue reading “7 Months In Prison For Trying To Trick Voters Into ‘Voting By Text’”
Lil Nas X (screen capture)
— United Airlines (@united) April 5, 2021
According to a new survey by Pew Research Center, the number of Republicans who say “everything possible” should be done to make voting easy has dropped precipitously since 2018. Of course, this comes after their candidate lost the 2020 presidential election thanks to record-breaking voter participation. As a response, state legislatures have introduced over 360 voter restriction bills this year. Many election experts say the new laws will disproportionately affect voters of color, as well as those with disabilities. Georgia, whose close elections for president and U.S. Senate drew national attention, has already passed a bill that effectively suppresses the vote in the Peach State. Some aspects of the Georgia law include reducing the time period voters have to request absentee ballots, limiting the use of ballot drop boxes, and making it illegal to hand out water to voters standing in line for hours. Crunching the Pew Center’s data:
• 59% of U.S. adults overall say everything possible should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote, while 39% say citizens should have to prove they want to vote by registering ahead of time.
• 85% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say everything possible should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote, while 14% say citizens should have to prove they really want to vote by registering ahead of time.
• 28% of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents say everything possible should be done to make it easy for all citizens to vote, while 71% say American citizens should prove they really want to vote by registering ahead of time.
It’s worth noting that prior to the 2018 mid-term elections, 48% of Republicans said everything possible should be done to make it easy to vote, while 51% said citizens should have to prove they really want to vote by registering ahead of time. That shows a clear 20 point shift in Republican attitudes on voting in less than 3 years. Broken down by race, 84% of Black adults and 69% of Hispanic adults say everything possible should be done to make it easy to vote, only 51% of white respondents said the same. On the issue of election security:
• 61% of U.S. adults overall say it would not make elections less secure if election rules were changed to make it easier to register and vote.
• 82% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say the same.
• 37% of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents say the same.
A Florida lawmaker has introduced legislation that would follow Georgia’s lead in barring handing out water or food to people waiting in line to vote within 150 feet of a polling venue. Via Politico:
“It’s influencing the vote and that’s what we are trying to stop because they are a captive audience,” Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill), the bill sponsor and the former chair of the Republican Party of Florida, said at a hearing Monday. “The 150 feet area is supposed to be a safe zone where they are not going to be bothered by a campaign.”
Ingoglia also said that nothing in the proposal would prevent local election supervisors from handing out water to people in line if they wanted. “I just think it should be a function of the government,” he said.
So, people not affiliated with any campaign – folks who just want to encourage people to stay in line and vote, Democrat or Republican – can’t hand someone a bottle of water? #srsly
Florida may bar outside groups from giving food or water to voters standing within 150 feet of polling places. The provision is drawing comparisons to a much broader prohibition included in a contentious election bill recently enacted in Georgia. https://t.co/0Maw5HDvtI
— POLITICO (@politico) March 30, 2021
Joe Jonas (image via Instagram)
• The Advocate: Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a bill into law today that will bar transgender student athletes from competing under their gender identity. In a statement, Hutchinson said that female athletes “should not have to compete in a sport against a student of the male sex when the sport is designed for women’s competition.” • CNN: The Republican-controlled Georgia legislature quickly passed a sweeping elections law that substantially reduces voter access. The Georgia bill would limit drop boxes, make giving food or drinks to a voter a crime, & grant state officials broad rights, including the ability to replace local election officials. • Variety: Late-night host and comedian Jay Leno has issued an apology for decades of jokes told over his career targeting Asian communities.
Jay Leno Apologizes for Decades of Jokes About Asians: ‘In My Heart I Knew It Was Wrong’ https://t.co/91t58CCxrY
— Variety (@Variety) March 24, 2021
Drive-through voting in Harris County, TX (screen capture)
In a terse order, the three-judge panel wrote: “It is ordered that appellants’ motion for injunctive relief to issue a preliminary injunction banning drive-thru voting on Election Day, November 3, 2020, is denied.” No explanation was given.
The move is yet another loss for Texas Republicans who had sought to challenge the legality of some 127,000 votes cast at drive-through voting sites in the Houston area.
On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen threw out that suit, ruling the plaintiffs don’t have legal standing to sue. The Texas Supreme Court dismissed a similar challenge on Sunday.
Harris County, Texas’ most populous county and majority Democratic, erected 10 drive-through sites, mostly tents, to expedite the early voting process as a way of allowing people to cast ballots safely during the coronavirus pandemic. They were also in place this summer before the state’s primary.
Noting that point, Hanen, a George W. Bush appointee, asked plaintiffs, “Why am I just getting this case?” He later said that the suit was not timely and that “this has been going on all summer.”
Harris County Clerk Christopher Hollins decided to shut down 9 of the ten Election Day drive-thru voting sites out of concern that the votes could later be thrown out via ongoing legal challenges filed by Republicans.
The Trump campaign and the Nevada GOP are attempting to stop the count of mail-in ballots in my home city of Las Vegas (Democratic stronghold Clark County) by suing the Nevada secretary of state and Clark County registrar on Friday. From The Hill:
The lawsuit, filed less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 elections, says observers cannot get close enough to workers and machines as they tally votes in Nevada’s largest and most Democratic county, which includes the city of Las Vegas.
Republicans are arguing that observers cannot confirm that votes get second- and third-step validation, warning that the situation runs the risk of permitting fraudulent votes from being tabulated.
Judge James Wilson in Carson City later decided to not issue an immediate order to stop the count but did schedule a hearing on the issue set to take place next Wednesday.
The Nevada Democratic Party dismissed the lawsuit as an effort by Republicans to suppress the vote, casting it as a “desperate play.”
“This lawsuit from Trump and Republicans is nothing more than an obvious attempt to impede record-breaking momentum in Clark County, the most diverse county in the state,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Chairman William McCurdy. “The demands articulated in the GOP’s lawsuit amount to voter suppression, plain and simple.”
Currently, 516,000+ ballots have been cast in Nevada in the 2020 general election. As you can see via the Secretary of State’s website, Democrats are voting by mail at more than twice the rate of Republicans. • 304,448 mail-in ballots – 160,125 received from registered Democrats; 74,384 from registered Republicans; 69,939 Other • 211,930 in-person votes have been cast – 70,504 by registered Democrats; 99,808 by registered Republicans; 41,618 Other
Chippendales’ Jeffrey Garrovillo and co-star (via Instagram)
Meanwhile in Florida clear folks feeling entitled lol 😷 #COVID19 #coronavirus #maskon #maskoff #mask pic.twitter.com/AqbBqGABff
— Cali_CoCo (@CaliCoCo3) June 20, 2020
Daniel Newman (via Instagram)
(via kenneth-in-the-212)