2020 Election Thread

[Indy]

The left and the left wing media said his Presidency was illegitimate because of Russian/foreign interference. But in a closer election in 2016 there weren't lawsuits or claims of voter fraud, and the only recount to my knowledge came from Jill Stein with Wisconsin which felt like more a cash grab from donors. Hillary hemmed and hawed a bit but conceded and moved on.

The Rs now are using PA to drag this out to delegitimize Biden's win and undermine faith in the election and its process. I'm growing more and more convinced that somehow, someway they'll end up flipping PA back for Trump and then will use it as a means to flip GA as well. These people do not sound like they have any intention of leaving - Trump, Barr's DOJ or Pompeo with his quote today about a smooth transition to a second Trump administration. Top people in the admin are being replaced/fired and questionable replacements most likely loyal to Trump are being installed.

Worst case, the admin will try and antagonize the left to protest and take to the streets so Trump and Barr can call in the National Guard/military and institute some form of martial law or Insurrection Act.

Even if that happens, with NV and AZ, Biden still wins. And based on there only being about 50k votes left and Biden up by 15k, the rest would have to break 65% for Trump, which is hasn't come close to doing.

[ShelC]

They're focused on PA for a reason, maybe to set some sort of precedent. I think they knew all along they'd lose PA which is why they moved to stall the count until after election day. I know they'd need other states to flip as well, but if they get one, they'll work on the others to get the results they want. That's all this is about.

[Nodack]

The Trump administration has been BY FAR the most corrupt administration in US Barr none.

[Indy]

They're focused on PA for a reason, maybe to set some sort of precedent. I think they knew all along they'd lose PA which is why they moved to stall the count until after election day. I know they'd need other states to flip as well, but if they get one, they'll work on the others to get the results they want. That's all this is about.

They are focused there because it is the biggest number of EVs, he looked ahead with in-person voting early on, it has a DEM as governor, and it is close to DC and NY--that is the only place Trump has people to work for him without getting paid (officially).

[Superbone]

The Trump administration has been BY FAR the most corrupt administration in US Barr none.

I see what you did there.

[Superbone]

It's all the gyrations of a loser. I'm not worried about it in the slightest. Trump is a honey badger. He don't give a F about our country.

[Mori Chu]

PredictIt has Trump priced at 17¢, and PolyMarket at 15¢.

I wish I could say, “No way that happens, put your money on Biden,” but I can’t.

Priced at 17 cents to do what? Put your money on Biden to do what? Win the 2020 election? Why are people betting on something that is already over? Are they taking bets on whether Lebron and the Lakers will win the 2020 NBA Finals?

[Nodack]

This worries me. Trump has gone on a firing spree replacing top people, especially at the Pentagon with “his” loyal people.

Trump’s ‘Post-Election Purge’: At Least 9 Senior Officials Fired, Quit Or Reassigned
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcev ... eeca727f67

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, fired
The Defense Department’s chief of staff, Jen Stewart, fired
Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense Joseph Kernan, fired

The Pentagon’s top policy official, James Anderson, who has served as the acting undersecretary of defense for policy since February, resigned on Tuesday after reportedly pushing back against a White House attempt to install several Trump loyalists at the Defense Department.

The head of the Department of Justice’s election crime branch Richard Pilger, who has held the role for 10 years, resigned on Monday to protest Attorney General Bill Barr’s memo authorizing investigations of “substantial allegations” of voter fraud before the results of the current election are certified, which contradicts the DOJ’s long-standing guidance designed to prevent the department from interfering with elections.

Between Nov. 6 and Nov. 8, the Trump administration also quietly fired the heads of the three federal agencies overseeing nuclear weapons, electricity and natural gas regulation, and overseas aid: Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; Bonne Glick, the deputy administrator of the U.S. agency for International Development; and Neil Chatterjee, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, who said his dismissal could “perhaps” be retaliation for recent actions promoting an agency response to climate change.

The Trump administration also removed Michael Kuperberg, the scientist who oversees climate change for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, last week, with The New York Times reporting that people familiar with the changes expect the position to be given to a climate change skeptic.


Pentagon sees flurry of resignations after Trump ousts secretary
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5253 ... signations

Overnight Defense: Pentagon faces leadership shakeup after Trump fires Esper | Trump approves UAE weapons package | Senate panel proposes $696B spending bill
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/over ... ht-defense

Defense acting policy chief resigns
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5253 ... ef-resigns

Edit: The obvious reason for this for me is that Esper refused to use US troops on US citizens to quell unrest. Trump seems to be remedying this. Is this his way of assuming control over the military? Is he planning on keeping the WH by force by installing his yes men at the last minute?

[Nodack]

Second group of international election observers report no evidence of fraud
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5 ... vidence-of

US postal worker recants voter-fraud claims after Republicans call for inquiry – reports
Democrats on House oversight committee say worker retracted allegations in interview with investigators
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... or-inquiry

The Times Called Officials in Every State: No Evidence of Voter Fraud
The president and his allies have baselessly claimed that rampant voter fraud stole victory from him. Officials contacted by The Times said that there were no irregularities that affected the outcome.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/us/p ... fraud.html

[Indy]

PredictIt has Trump priced at 17¢, and PolyMarket at 15¢.

I wish I could say, “No way that happens, put your money on Biden,” but I can’t.

Priced at 17 cents to do what? Put your money on Biden to do what? Win the 2020 election? Why are people betting on something that is already over? Are they taking bets on whether Lebron and the Lakers will win the 2020 NBA Finals?

It isn't over. It looks all but certain, but it isn't over. Any idea what the penalty is for electors to vote for someone OTHER than who their state chose?

Faithless elector laws
As of 2020, 33 states plus the District of Columbia have laws against faithless electors, though the laws in half of these jurisdictions have no enforcement mechanism. Washington became the first state to fine faithless electors after the 2016 election in the wake of that state having 4 faithless elector votes. In lieu of penalizing a faithless elector, some states such as Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota specify a faithless elector's vote be voided. Colorado was the first state to void an elector's attempted faithless vote during the 2016 electoral college vote. Minnesota also invoked this law for the first time in 2016 when an elector pledged to Hillary Clinton attempted to vote for Bernie Sanders instead. Until 2008, Minnesota's electors cast secret ballots. Although the final count would reveal the occurrence of faithless votes (except in the unlikely case of two or more changes canceling out), it was impossible to determine which elector(s) were faithless. After an unknown elector was faithless in 2004, Minnesota amended its law to require public balloting of the electors' votes and invalidate any vote cast for someone other than the candidate to whom the elector was pledged.

And they are encouraging it...

https://fernandinaobserver.com/general/ ... l-college/

[ShelC]

The Biden Admin and the rest of the government officials need to come forward and end this. I know it's tricky because they don't want to make it look like they're taking this by force but this is all in bad faith to steal the election for Trump. FBI, CIA, Pentagon, DoD, branches of the Armed Services, Rs and Ds need to step up and get these guys out of the White House asap. And I don't know why, with all the lawsuits thrown out already, Trump and his enablers are allowed to consistently message out that there's been voter fraud and the election was rigged. No gag order? No restraining order for the sake of election integrity or our actual democracy?

I just feel like Biden's admin is going to be in court with lawyers proving how much he won and how Trump has no basis for anything while Trump and Barr are giving their marching orders to factions of the Govt and Military loyal to them.

[Indy]

The Biden Admin and the rest of the government officials need to come forward and end this. I know it's tricky because they don't want to make it look like they're taking this by force but this is all in bad faith to steal the election for Trump. FBI, CIA, Pentagon, DoD, branches of the Armed Services, Rs and Ds need to step up and get these guys out of the White House asap. And I don't know why, with all the lawsuits thrown out already, Trump and his enablers are allowed to consistently message out that there's been voter fraud and the election was rigged. No gag order? No restraining order for the sake of election integrity or our actual democracy?

I just feel like Biden's admin is going to be in court with lawyers proving how much he won and how Trump has no basis for anything while Trump and Barr are giving their marching orders to factions of the Govt and Military loyal to them.

If you can't indict a sitting president even for murder, who do you think could issue a gag order?

[ShelC]

I guess we've always been a dictatorship then and no one's taken advantage until now.

[Indy]

I guess we've always been a dictatorship then and no one's taken advantage until now.

It is a gentlemen's club built by slave owners. As long as you kept your decorum, and the 'help' didn't get out of line, things run smoothly.

[ShelC]

Recounts until they get the results they want....get ready

[Indy]

It makes sense to do it. The difference is .28% right now. The law in GA says that if it is under .5% the losing candidate can ask for a recount.

[Split T]

Arizona will probably end up closer than Georgia. Do they recount as well?

[Indy]

Arizona will probably end up closer than Georgia. Do they recount as well?

It is a stricter requirement. I believe it is 0.1% or 200 votes. With ~3.3M votes cast, that would mean it would have to get within 3300 votes. It could, but probably not based on the latest reports.

~46k ballots left to count, but some of those are uncured ballots that might not be cured...

Trump would have to win just over 60% of them to get to a recount territory, and just over 63% to draw even.

[Nodack]

They just called AZ for Biden.

Trump 219 Electoral votes.
72,609,925 votes

Biden 290 Electoral votes.
77,920,048 Votes

Not very close

[Superbone]

It took a while but I’m proud of my home state. They renounced that clown.