Florida voters have until Saturday to fix signature issue, federal judge says

Democrats are trying to win the race no matter what!

Federal Judge Mark Walker nominated by former President Barack Obama in 2012

 

 

 And you thought this recount was going to be honest??

A federal judge ruled early Thursday that thousands of voters who’ve had their ballots rejected due to issues with their signatures will have until Saturday to resolve the issue and possibly get a chance to have their votes counted, according to a report.
The Washington Post linked to the court's ruling and reported that the decision affects more than 4,000 ballots across 45 counties in the state that were set aside, according to the judge’s opinion. It is unclear how many other ballots were affected in other counties.
Uzoma Nkwonta, a lawyer for Sen. Bill Nelson, argued that the state should delay deadlines.
“There’s zero reason why this election and the recount and the certification of votes needs to occur on Nov. 20,” Nkwonta argued, according to Fox 35 Orlando.
Democrats asked U.S. District Judge Mark Walker to throw out the state’s existing signature match law. They say untrained experts should not be allowed to decide if someone’s signature on a mail-in ballot doesn’t match the signature included on a registration form that could be years old.
The lawsuit is one of a half-dozen related to Florida’s ongoing recount that involves three statewide races including U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s race against Gov. Rick Scott. Nelson, a Democrat, trails Scott, a Republican, by about 12,500 votes, down from Scott’s 56,000-vote lead on election night, Fox Orlando reported.
The paper reported that the ruling gives Nelson a chance to chip away at Scott's lead, but would be unlikely to change the race's outcome.
Scott's campaign is expected to appeal, the report said.

Judge rules some absentee ballots must be counted in Georgia gubernatorial election ( America going down hill again. )

Forecast by Bailey: "The Democrats will end up stealing this race just like they did the one in Arizona".

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the results of Georgia's gubernatorial race cannot be certified until certain absentee ballots have been counted.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Steve Jones came hours after Republican Brian Kemp claimed to have an "insurmountable lead" over Democrat Stacey Abrams, who is seeking to become the first black woman elected governor in the U.S.
Jones ruled that each county's certified vote tally must include absentee ballots on which the voter's date of birth is missing or incorrect, an order that stems from a request in a lawsuit filed by the Abrams campaign over the weekend. However, Jones declined Democratic requests to extend the period during which evidence could be submitted to prove the eligibility of voters who cast provisional ballots. He also declined to order that provisional ballots cast by voters who went to a precinct in the wrong county be counted.
Kemp currently has 50.27 percent of the vote, compared to 48.79 percent for Abrams. Abrams' campaign believes she needs a net gain of 17,759 votes to pull Kemp below the 50 percent threshold and force a Dec. 4 runoff. Kemp's campaign said even if every vote that Abrams campaign is arguing for is granted by the courts and counted for her, she cannot overcome his lead or force a runoff.
Both sides have accused the other of wrongdoing, with Democrats casting doubt on any vote count that ends with Kemp -- Georgia's former secretary of state -- being certified as the winner.
"We believe that Brian Kemp mismanaged this election to sway it in his favor," Abrams' campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo said earlier Wednesday, surrounded by Democratic lawmakers at the Georgia Capitol.
For their part, Kemp's campaign repeated calls for Abrams to concede, accusing her and her supporters of using "fake vote totals," "desperate press conferences" and "dangerous lawsuits" to try to steal the election.
"After all of the theatrics, the math remains the same," Kemp campaign spokesman Cody Hall said in an email. "Abrams lost and Brian Kemp won. This election is over."
The lawsuit Jones ruled on Wednesday was one of several election-related complaints filed before multiple federal judges.
U.S. District Judge Leigh May ordered Gwinnett County election officials Tuesday not to reject absentee ballots just because the voter's birth year is missing or wrong. She also ordered the county to delay certification of its election results until those ballots have been counted.
Jones' ruling effectively extended May's order to the other 158 counties in Georgia.
U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg late Monday ordered state officials not to do their final certification of election results before 5 p.m. Friday.
State law sets a Nov. 20 deadline, but secretary of state's office elections director Chris Harvey testified last week that the state had planned to certify the election results Wednesday, a day after the deadline for counties to certify their results. He said that would allow preparations to begin for any runoff contests, including those already projected in the races for secretary of state and a Public Service Commission seat.
Totenberg's order left untouched the county certification deadline. Candice Broce, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office, said Wednesday that all counties but Gwinnett have certified their totals.
Totenberg also ordered the secretary of state's office to establish and publicize a hotline or website enabling voters to check whether their provisional ballots were counted and, if not, why not. And she ordered the secretary of state's office to review or have county election authorities review the eligibility of voters who had to cast provisional ballots because of registration issues.

Migrant Caravan Cartoons

House Democrats to investigate Trump and his impact on DOJ, FBI

Here we go again !

Are subpoenas the only priority for Democrats?

House Democrats prioritize investigations of the Trump administration as the White House braces for the left's subpoena onslaught; reaction from former intelligence officer Don Bramer.

House Democrats are reportedly planning to use their incoming majority in Congress to probe President Trump’s impact on the integrity of the Justice Department and the FBI, and have asked for a response from the departments' leaders by the end of the year.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the incoming Democratic chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, urged top U.S. law enforcement officials to respond to over 100 letters House Democrats sent regarding Trump’s actions towards U.S. law enforcement, Reuters reported.
Nadler asked acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and FBI Director Christopher Wray to respond to the questions by Dec. 31.
"I write with growing concern over President Trump's repeated attacks on the integrity of the Department of Justice and the FBI,” Nadler said in the letter. "The president’s behavior appears to be motivated by an urge to shield himself, his family, and his business interests from the ongoing work of the department and the bureau," he added.

"The president’s behavior appears to be motivated by an urge to shield himself, his family, and his business interests from the ongoing work of the department and the bureau."
— Rep. Jerrold Nadler

HOUSE DEMOCRATS REPORTEDLY PREPARING ‘SUBPOENA CANNON’ FOR TRUMP-RELATED PROBES
The publicized letter is an indication that the incoming Democratic majority -- led by California Democrat Nancy Pelosi -- will use the House’s investigative powers to scrutinize Trump and his associates, potentially leading to a tense standoff between the two branches of government.
The Democrats are reportedly preparing a “subpoena cannon” for when the new Congress gets seated in January, starting investigations that cover everything from the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week to Trump’s past tax returns as a businessman to the findings of the Robert Mueller investigation of the 2016 election to Trump’s relationship with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Nadler recently asked on social media why the president changed the person in charge of Mueller. “We will be holding people accountable,” he said.
The letter refers to Mueller’s investigation as well and suggests Trump wants to curb the probe into the alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. "The president has called the special counsel’s investigation a 'witch hunt' at least 84 times this year," Nadler wrote in the letter.
“He has identified the investigation as a significant threat to his administration, stating that he wants it stopped. He has threatened to fire department officials for failing to ‘totally protect him’,” he continued.
“These actions are not normal,” the letter added. “And they ignore the guidance of the White House Counsel, flout the Constitution and undermine our federal law enforcement agencies.”

Customs and Border Protection prepares for migrant caravan arrival

Travelers entering the U.S. from Mexico through ports of entry can expect tightened security and longer wait times starting Wednesday, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel prepare for the approaching migrant caravan.
In San Diego, Department of Defense personnel working with CBP through Operation Secure Line will install concertina wire, Jersey barricades and fencing to close at least three lanes into the U.S. at the San Ysidro port and one lane at the Otay Mesa port, according to CBP.
The closures could significantly affect business and trade in both San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. Some 70,000 drivers and 20,000 pedestrians use the San Ysidro crossing to enter the U.S. every day, making it the busiest land port of entry in the Western Hemisphere, according to the General Services Administration.

Some 70,000 drivers and 20,000 pedestrians use the San Ysidro crossing to enter the U.S. every day.

“CBP officials in charge at our local border crossings must always maintain security while we work to efficiently process legitimate trade and travel into the U.S.,” Pete Flores, CBP's director of field operations in San Diego said in a statement.  “The materials will be used to help strengthen border security, to ensure the safety of the American people, the traveling public, CBP personnel and the communities in which we serve.”
Meanwhile, travelers in and around El Paso, Texas, are being told to expect delays while specialized officers are deployed to Arizona and California. Those officers will help with migrant processing and border security efforts.
“We suggest reducing or consolidating your cross-border trips, and if you must cross the border, build extra time into your schedule to accommodate these expected delays,” Hector Mancha, CBP's director of field operations at El Paso, said in a statement.

“We suggest reducing or consolidating your cross-border trips, and if you must cross the border, build extra time into your schedule to accommodate these expected delays.”
— Hector Mancha, Customs and Border Protection's director of field operations at El Paso, Texas

The border crossing in West Texas is critical to the economies of El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. Like San Ysidro, El Paso’s international bridges are used daily by tens of thousands of travelers coming into the U.S. for work, school and tourism.
The changes and potential for delays are expected to continue indefinitely, according to CBP.

Bob Woodward criticizes CNN's Acosta lawsuit, says media's 'emotionally unhinged' about Trump

Bob Woodward, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Watergate journalist whose recent book, "Fear," described chaotic infighting at the White House, on Tuesday criticized CNN for filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration and charged that too many media figures "have become emotionally unhinged."
Speaking at the Global Financial Leadership Conference in Naples, Florida, Woodward said "the remedy [isn’t suing the administration]. ... It’s more serious reporting about what he’s doing.” NBC reporter Dylan Byers first flagged Woodward's comments.
CNN filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday demanding that the White House restore the press credential of star reporter Jim Acosta. The administration suspended Acosta's "hard pass," which provided expedited access to the White House grounds, after he broke protocol by refusing to surrender his microphone during a press conference last week.
Acosta continued to pepper Trump with a barrage of declarative statements and questions -- at times talking over Trump -- until the president stepped away from the podium, even though reporters are typically afforded just one follow-up.
“In the news media there has been an emotional reaction to Trump,” Woodward said. “Too many people for Trump or against Trump have become emotionally unhinged about this.”

FILE - This June 11, 2012 file photo shows former Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward speaking during an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Watergate in Washington. 

Woodward added that CNN was taking Trump's "bait" by enlisting high-profile lawyer Ted Olson to pursue a federal case. "This is a negative," Woodward said. "Trump is sitting around saying, ‘This is great.'”
That sentiment was echoed in a piece in Rolling Stone on Tuesday by Ryan Bort titled, "CNN Has Played Right Into Trump's Hands."

"Too many people for Trump or against Trump have become emotionally unhinged."
— Journalist Bob Woodward

JUDGE NAP: CNN HAS A GOOD CASE AGAINST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
(Trump fiercely criticized Woodward after his book released earlier this year, saying "he’s had a lot of credibility problems.")
CNN's suit alleges that the White House violated Acosta's First and Fifth Amendment rights by punishing him for the content of his speech without providing notice or any due process, although the White House maintains that Acosta was penalized solely because of his behavior.
None of CNN's approximately 50 other "hard pass" holders has lost White House access, nor have reporters belonging to any other liberal-leaning media outlet -- although Trump has suggested that may change.
At the testy press conference the day after last week's midterm elections, Acosta continued to shout questions at Trump even after he tried to move on to another reporter, and he refused to hand the microphone to an intern who tried to retrieve it.
The litigation filed by CNN, which does not fully describe Acosta's actions during the press conference and contains several substantive factual inaccuracies, also asserts that the Secret Service violated the Administrative Procedures Act by taking a final agency action in penalizing Acosta without providing any notice or hearing.
The suit, in arguing that the White House was lying about its motivations for taking action against Acosta, additionally claims that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders shared a "doctored" clip of the episode on Twitter. In the low-resolution .GIF clip shared by Sanders, Acosta's arm moves slightly faster than it does in higher-quality footage of the press conference, appearing to show him more forcefully striking the intern's arm as she tries to take the microphone from him.
However, despite reporting from a wide variety of outlets that Sanders had shared a doctored clip, a Buzzfeed analysis suggested the changes in the video could have resulted inadvertently from the conversion of the footage to the lower-fidelity .GIF format, which is commonly used on Twitter. The format produces fewer frames per second than a higher-quality video source, making scenes appear to move faster.
White House officials, including Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, have acknowledged that the video was indeed "sped up" during the conversion process, while consistently denying that the clip was purposefully doctored.
The lawsuit states that Sanders used a bogus justification by claiming that Acosta had "placed his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as White House intern."
In responding to CNN's suit, Sanders on Tuesday said that Acosta's behavior had "impeded the ability of the President, the White House staff, and members of the media to conduct business.”
"After Mr. Acosta asked the President two questions—each of which the President answered—he physically refused to surrender a White House microphone to an intern, so that other reporters might ask their questions," Sanders said in statement.
"This was not the first time this reporter has inappropriately refused to yield to other reporters," she continued. "The White House cannot run an orderly and fair press conference when a reporter acts this way, which is neither appropriate nor professional. The First Amendment is not served when a single reporter, of more than 150 present, attempts to monopolize the floor."
Fox News' Howard Kurtz and Brian Flood contributed to this report.

Abrams' campaign plans on judge's favorable ruling in lawsuit, says Kemp's lead has narrowed

Democrat Stacey Abrams said she expects a federal judge to rule Wednesday in largely her favor regarding the federal lawsuit from her campaign filed over the weekend in hopes of forcing a runoff election in Georgia’s unsettled governor's race.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Abrams said her legal team plans on receiving “a ruling by noon tomorrow, and we expect to receive most of the relief we have asked for.”
If the judge rules in favor of Abrams, the suit would prevent officials from certifying county vote totals until Wednesday and could restore at least 1,095 votes that weren't counted as it would require officials to tally any votes that were wrongly rejected. The campaign said thousands of more ballots could be affected.
Each of Georgia's 159 counties must certify final returns by Tuesday, and many have done so already. The state must certify a statewide result by Nov. 20.
Brian Kemp, her Republican challenger, issued a statement on Saturday, a day before Abrams filed the lawsuit, calling for his opponent to concede. Kemp has declared victory and said it is "mathematically impossible" for her campaign to force a runoff.
Kemp had 50.3 percent of the vote as of late Tuesday evening, according to The New York Times and was leading by roughly 59,000 ballots.
Abrams’ campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, tweeted Tuesday afternoon that "it's not just provisionals, there are still Election Day and mail votes being reported in places that were ‘100%’ reported, & none from Gwinnett."
She said Abrams received 84.6 percent of the 2,738 votes reported Tuesday, before adding that the margin to force a runoff election has narrowed to 18,617.
In a separate lawsuit, a federal judge on Monday ordered Georgia to take steps to protect provisional ballots and to wait until Friday to certify the results of the midterm elections that include an unsettled race for governor.
Common Cause, a nonpartisan group, claimed in the suit that Kemp, while secretary of state, failed to maintain "the security of voter information despite known vulnerabilities" leading up to the midterm. The suit blasted the state's "provisional ballot scheme," that could disenfranchise a registered voter at the ballot box.
Judge Amy Totenberg, who was appointed by President Obama, also ruled that Georgia must not certify the election results before Friday at 5 p.m., which falls before the Nov. 20 deadline set by state law.
Abrams is hoping to become the first African-American woman governor of a U.S. state.
If Kemp is able to hold onto his narrow lead to avoid a runoff election, his governorship will be marred by lingering questions about his handling of a contentious election he oversaw as secretary of state.

Way to go Dumb asses in Arizona Cartoons

Federal judge rules to protect provisional ballots, Abrams' campaign cheers 'good news'

A federal judge on Monday ordered Georgia take steps to protect provisional ballots and to wait until Friday to certify the results of the midterm elections that include an unsettled race for governor.
Lauren Groh-Wargo, Abrams campaign manager, announced Judge Amy Totenberg's decision late Monday. WSBTV.com reported that the judge’s 56-page ruling could affect thousands of provisional ballots. Groh-Wargo called the ruling "good news."
Brian Kemp, her Republican challenger, issued a statement a day earlier calling for Abrams to concede. Kemp has declared victory and said it is "mathematically impossible" for her campaign to force a runoff.
Abrams' campaign did not immediately respond to a phone call from Fox News late Monday night.
Abrams, 44, a Democrat, has maintained that she will not concede until every vote has been counted, and pointed to the 5,000 votes tallied over the weekend that favored her.
Totenberg, who was appointed by President Obama, ruled in connection to Common Cause's lawsuit filed on Nov. 5. Totenberg's order doesn't change the Tuesday deadline for counties to certify their results.
Common Cause, a nonpartisan group, claimed in the suit that Kemp, while secretary of state, failed to maintain "the security of voter information despite known vulnerabilities" leading up to the midterm. The suit blasted the state's "provisional ballot scheme," that could disenfranchise a registered voter at the ballot box.
The suit pointed out cases where voters were turned around after computer glitches and cases where voters were not offered provisional ballots. One man voted for decades and was “disturbed” to learn his registration history was erased.
The court ruled that the secretary of state’s office must establish a hotline and publicize it on its website for voters to see if their provisional ballots were counted. Totenberg also ruled that Georgia must not certify the election results before Friday at 5 p.m., which falls before the Nov. 20 deadline set by state law.
"I am fighting to make sure our democracy works for and represents everyone who has ever put their faith in it. I am fighting for every Georgian who cast a ballot with the promise that their vote would count," Abrams said in a statement explaining her refusal to end her bid to become the first black woman elected governor in American history.
A total of 21,190 provisional ballots were cast in the state during the midterm, 12,151 were cast in 2014. Four Democratic-leaning counties with the largest number of provisional ballots -- Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett – “had not yet reported their numbers to the secretary as of November 11,” the suit said.
The lawsuit also asked that provisional ballots cast by a voter registered in another county be counted as if the voter had shown up at the wrong precinct. The lawsuit says that of the 1,556 provisional ballots Fulton County reported having rejected by Nov. 9, nearly 1,000 were disqualified because they were cast by voters whose registration records showed them registered in another county.
Edgardo Cortes, who currently works as an election security adviser at New York University, said these uncounted provisional ballots could sway the election and, despite Kemp’s claims, his unofficial vote total is so close to 50 percent, a runoff is possible.
Kemp was up 50.2 percent to Abrams' 48.7 percent early Tuesday. More than 3.9 million votes were cast in the election, and Abrams would need to acquire more than 20,000 additional votes to force a runoff.
Abrams' campaign filed a lawsuit Sunday asking a federal court to push the deadline for counties to certify their results to Wednesday, while also requiring that elections authorities count certain provisional and absentee ballots that have been or would be rejected for "arbitrary reasons."
“This ruling is a victory for the voters of Georgia because we are all stronger when every eligible voter is allowed to participate in our elections,” Sara Henderson, executive director for Common Cause Georgia, which filed the lawsuit, told AJC.com.

As media debate boycott, Trump still dominates the news

The press just can't quit Donald Trump.
No matter what he does — or doesn't do — he's the story. The biggest story. Often the only story.
And that story, the continuous story, inevitably involves we the media. The president excels at dragging the news business into the center of every controversy, and its members all too often fall into the trap.
Even the recent chatter about whether media outlets should boycott White House press briefings puts them in a potential confrontation with Trump, which is just the way he likes it.
The president was in Paris over the weekend, for the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, and this Washington Post story yesterday encapsulates the addictive nature of the coverage.
The lead notes that "on a trip to Europe, the president hardly said a word — and he still managed to outrage at almost every turn."
But is that alleged outrage fanned by the media? And if Trump generates outrage whether he speaks or not, isn't that a telling statement?
Other than one critical tweet about Emmanuel Macron (based on an inaccurate newspaper story, the Post notes), "Trump didn't throw any sharp elbows at his peers here. It was still all about him."
Translation: The media still made it all about him.
The newspaper's take is that "it was because of the images. He looked uncomfortable and listless in a bilateral meeting with Macron, whose sinewy energy stood in stark contrast to Trump's downbeat expression as the French leader patted him on the thigh."
We can't have that!
Trump also skipped a scheduled tour of a military cemetery for Americans, blaming the rain. And by the way, that was a legitimate issue to cover, as it felt like a snub by a president who had gone to France in part to honor the sacrifices made by our soldiers.
At an event at the Arc de Triomphe, Stone sat "stone-faced as Macron railed against the rise of nationalism — a rebuke of Trump's professed worldview. The overall takeaway to many was a president turning away from the world, a man occupying the office of the leader of the free world who appeared withdrawn and unenthusiastic on the global stage."
And the first quote was a tweet by former Obama aide David Axelrod, who said, "America First feels like America Alone."
The president made huge news on previous foreign trips by getting into confrontations with other western leaders. But on a trip where he largely avoided public conflict, for whatever reason, Trump still drew negative coverage.
(He offered a different take on Twitter: "Just returned from France where much was accomplished in my meetings with World Leaders. Never easy bringing up the fact that the U.S. must be treated fairly, which it hasn't, on both Military and Trade.")
Meanwhile, New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg weighed in yesterday on the fallout from the Jim Acosta controversy.
The White House suspended Acosta's credentials after a dustup in which he refused to stop asking Trump questions or give up the microphone. To his credit, Rutenberg pointed out that Acosta "is a somewhat polarizing figure, viewed by some of his press corps colleagues as a showboat."
After noting that CNN President Jeff Zucker told his producers not to play up the Acosta punishment, the column said that "CNN would not be led by the nose into giving significant airtime to another Trump attack on the news media ...
"Reporters could stage a group protest. But that would make them look like they're at war with the president, just as he always says they are. Or they could do nothing and effectively 'submit to his authority to determine who gets to hold him accountable,'" as GOP strategist and fierce Trump critic Steve Schmidt put it.
It's a no-win situation. And here's why a boycott wouldn't work:
— Much of the country would turn on the press for not doing its job. Refusing to show up at briefings is a very tough sell.
— Trump would pound away at the media, saying they have moved into the opposition camp.
— Journalists would be seen as hopelessly self-absorbed if they surrendered the chance to question the White House press secretary on the public's behalf.
— And most important of all, it would never happen. There's no way all the disparate media outlets, with their varying interests, would agree to a joint boycott, and the show would go on.
This is actually somewhat symbolic since Sarah Huckabee Sanders is now briefing only rarely as her boss takes more and more questions from reporters.
But it highlights once again that most media debates these days are about Donald Trump — and the media.