Axios – “If you’re planning to cast your ballot by mail this year rather than voting in person, these are the most common mistakes to avoid so you can ensure your vote is counted. Why it matters: About 1% of absentee ballots that were cast in the 2016 and 2018 elections were ultimately tossed, according… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Free Speech
States are getting creative to prepare for the pandemic election
Fast Company – “For all the things that seem to be threatening the integrity of the November 3rd election, states have also done a lot of very constructive things to ensure that things go off fairly and safely, election experts say. Over the past six months, the media and the public have become increasingly concerned… Continue Reading
This database shows eight years of polling place locations
Poynter – “While reporting two years ago, Carrie Levine heard from voters that polling place closures were an issue. Levine, a senior reporter for the Center for Public Integrity, also read about the closure and moving of polling places, “all of which seemed limited by the fact that detailed location data wasn’t available,” she told… Continue Reading
Internal USPS documents link changes behind mail slowdowns to top executives
Washington Post includes the 16 page presentation – “A senior executive at the U.S. Postal Service delivered a PowerPoint presentation in July that pressed officials across the organization to make the operational changes that led to mail backups across the country, seemingly contradicting months of official statements about the origin of the plans, according to… Continue Reading
Power and Status (and Lack Thereof) in Academe
Power and Status (and Lack Thereof) in Academe: Academic Freedom and Academic Librarians, In the Library with the Lead Pipe, September 16, 2020. “Academic librarians do not experience full academic freedom protections, despite the fact that they are expected to exercise independent judgment, be civically engaged, and practice applied scholarship. Academic freedom for academic librarians… Continue Reading
What Ruth Bader Ginsburg Would Want America to Do Now
Slate – Throughout all of the late-breaking, notorious fame, the justice knew that she was just one link in the chain : “Whenever she spoke, Justice Ginsburg was at pains to say that she stood on the shoulders of giants. At her confirmation hearings, in her prepared statement to the Senate, she was meticulous about… Continue Reading
Mail-in voting fraud – It’s nearly impossible
CNET – Election officials and the FBI say it’s almost impossible to pull off fraud via mail-in ballots. Spreading disinformation about voting-by-mail is much easier. “Millions of Americans have voted by mail securely for more than 150 years, with fraud historically being so rare that election officials wouldn’t even consider it significant enough to be… Continue Reading
Biden Creates Legal War Room, Preparing for a Big Fight Over Voting
The New York Times – With two former solicitors general and hundreds of lawyers, the Biden campaign is bracing for an extended legal battle and hoping to maintain trust in the electoral process. “…Inside the campaign, they are creating a “special litigation” unit, which will be led by Donald B. Verrilli Jr. and Walter Dellinger,… Continue Reading
How Google, Facebook, and Twitter plan to handle misinformation surrounding 2020 presidential election results
Fortune via Yahoo Finance: “Google, Facebook, and Twitter are preparing for an unprecedented hurdle they may face on the night of Nov. 3: Not knowing who won the 2020 presidential election. A massive number of voters are expected to vote by mail, at least partially driven by a desire to avoid contracting the coronavirus. But… Continue Reading
Washington Post guide to registering and casting your ballot in your state
“We’ve compiled what you need to know about voting in your state so you can make sure your voice is heard this November.” This is an easy to use site – you provide the name of your state, Y/N are you registered to vote, how you plan to vote – In Person or By Mail… Continue Reading
House Intel Cmte Releases Whistleblower Reprisal Complaint Alleging Serious Misconduct By Senior Trump Administration Officials
News release: “Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, announced that, as part of its ongoing investigation into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), the Committee received a whistleblower reprisal complaint alleging serious wrongdoing by officials at the Department… Continue Reading
For decades vote-by-mail business was a sleepy industry that stayed out of the spotlight
The California Sunday Magazine – Then came 2020. “…Since the early 1990s,the portion of votes cast by mail has nosed upward in every presidential-election cycle, hitting an all-time high in 2016: 24 percent, or about 33 million ballots. But the national numbers mask a state-by-state variance. As a rule, voting by mail dominates the western states,… Continue Reading
