Approximately 400 noncitizens voted in New Jersey after some 6,600 residents were improperly registered to vote between June 2023 and June 2024, due to a software glitch at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The mistake led to fewer than 400 noncitizen votes being cast — about 0.005% of all votes cast in the state during that period.
• Broadway World: The pro-shot of the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along (above) will be released in movie theaters worldwide December 5, 2025.
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
Donovan Crowl (mugshot) We all recall the chaos and mayhem caused by the hundreds of Trump supporters who invaded the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. You know, the ones who felt so DEEPLY that the presidential election they held SO DEAR had been stolen from them? CNN did a deep dive into the voting histories of some 80+ people who have already been arrested for taking part in the insurrection and found many of the insurrectionists didn’t even vote. Just one story:
Federal authorities later identified Crowl, 50, as a member of a self-styled militia organization in his home state of Ohio and affiliated with the extremist group the Oath Keepers. His mother told CNN that he previously told her “they were going to overtake the government if they…tried to take Trump’s presidency from him.”
Despite these apparent pro-Trump views, a county election official in Ohio told CNN that he registered in 2013 but “never voted nor responded to any of our confirmation notices to keep him registered,” so he was removed from the voter rolls at the end of 2020 and the state said he was not registered in Ohio.
Crowl was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of destruction of government property and conspiracy for allegedly coordinating with others to plan their attack.
There’s much more at the click. CNN notes that some of the voting records of those who have been charged in the Capitol riots were not available to the public. So there may be even more hypocritical ‘patriots’ out there who couldn’t bother to cast a ballot.
They stormed the Capitol to overturn the results of an election they didn’t vote in:
Some of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol did not vote in the very election they were protesting.https://t.co/aiAIKuVSRD — Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) February 1, 2021
OK. Why would you protest if you didn’t care enough to vote?
Drive-through voting in Harris County, TX (screen capture)And stay out! First, the Texas state Supreme Court said ‘no.’ Then, a federal District Court judge said ‘no.’ Now, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has said ‘no’ to a bid by Texas Republicans to block Election Day drive-through voting in Harris County. From NPR:
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.”
Chris Renfro and Michael Henry (screen capture) Which is worse – being called a ‘basic’ gay or being kicked out of bed for not voting? I have to say Michael Henry’s latest video exploration into the world of the gays had me scratching my head a bit. I know I’ve heard of gays who don’t vote, but do they really exist? Really? In the video, Clint shares a recent story of a nooner gone bad after he casually mentioned he doesn’t vote, nor does he plan to. Shaken out of his afterglow by the revelation, Nathan throws Clint out of his apartment. Needless to say, Clint’s indignation over being kicked to the curb falls on less than sympathetic ears as Michael and Chris are just as horrified by his lack of civic duty. “Would you kick someone out of bed for not voting?” asks Clint with a – pardon the expression – straight face. Clint Keller (screen capture) Chris and Michael in unison: “YES!” The democratic duo then goes into all the reasons how not voting serves no purpose whatsoever. Oh, and Clint also admits he won’t be going out this weekend because he partied so hard at Atlanta Pride he got gout. “What’s the big deal? It’s my right to have a good time in a dark warehouse. So what if it’s a ‘super spreader’ event at the public’s expense?” In this day and age of Donald Trump packing the courts with ultra-conservative judges whose rulings can shape (or reduce) LGBTQ rights, kicking transgender soldiers out of the U.S. military and arguing at the Supreme Court it’s fine to fire someone for who they love, why would someone choose to not vote? I mean, not even fill out a mail-in ballot? Michael Henry is, once again spot-on not only on the issue but with his timing as the election is only one week away. Watch the quick video below, then make sure you vote! Note: For those concerned about coronavirus safety, Michael Henry shares, “Nathan and Clint are in a relationship and we filmed in their apartment.”
(image: Element5 Digital/Pexels) Georgia’s Secretary of State says 1,000 Georgians voted twice in the June 9 primary, although the double-voting didn’t change the outcome of any races. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Tuesday that 1,000 Georgians voted twice in the state’s June 9 primary, a felony that he said will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
These voters returned absentee ballots and then also showed up to vote on election day June 9, Raffensperger said. County election officials are able to stop double-voting most of the time, but they weren’t able to catch everyone.
“A double voter knows exactly what they’re doing, diluting the votes of each and every voter that follows the law,” Raffensperger said during a press conference at the state Capitol. “Those that make the choice to game the system are breaking the law. And as secretary of state, I will not tolerate it.”
Of those, 1,000 voters had returned their absentee ballots to county election offices, and poll workers also allowed them to vote in-person.
In the report, Raffensperger doesn’t note the party affiliation of the double-voters.
Today marks 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote.
The culmination of decades of activism from women suffragettes, the amendment was originally passed by Congress on June 4, 1919. Just over a year later, on August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, securing its adoption.
This footage shows just a handful of the 8 million women who took to the polls a few months later, in November 1920, for a presidential election that saw Republican Warren G. Harding defeat Democrat James Cox.
My friend Jerome shared this advice on Facebook for people who might feel unsafe about voting in person but now fear the USPS will be unable to deliver a “mail-in” ballot in a timely fashion. There is a way around it: 1. Request a mail-in ballot. 2. Do not mail it. 3. Google your supervisor of elections to see where you can drop off your mail-in ballot. Its usually NOT THE POLLING PLACE. All states allow this! Here is what you’re accomplishing by doing this: 1. Your ballot gets in on time no matter what happens to the USPS. 2. You don’t have to worry about standing in long lines and risking infection. You’re just stopping by to drop it off. 3. You still voted! Hooray! Also, when you drop it off, find out how to track it online to make sure it is verified. California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado have systems that can track your ballot just like tracking a package from Amazon. All CA vote centers (which are open for weeks to a month before election day) have ballot drop-off boxes too! Many government buildings have them as well, so there’s no need to wait until election day when it’s crowded to drop them off. The list of drop-off sites is always posted on each county’s voter info website.
