How scary is election day going to be this year?

TexanStar

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http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...bomb_for_racial_violence_on_election_day.html

http://www.politico.com/magazine/st...ennsylvania-polls-voters-trump-clinton-214297

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/lp/volunteer-to-be-a-trump-election-observer

A few different articles on the topic, which boil down to this... with Donald Trump actively suggesting that the US electoral system is fraudulent and rigged, and suggesting that his supporters go out and "monitor" other voters to try and prevent this supposed fraud... wtf is election day going to look like this year at the polls.

My state is open carry... I do not have a hard time at all picturing white men with long guns showing up at polling places in districts that are predominantly African American or Latino. We (Texas) are already on notice for violating a court order as regards our new voting laws which were struck down previously in the year for intentional disenfranchisement.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/...les-texas-defied-court-order-on-voter-id-law/
https://www.thenation.com/article/t...ws-are-straight-out-of-the-jim-crow-playbook/

Harris County (Houston)'s clerk may even be investigated for voter intimidation as regards how far he took his remarks in regards to threatening voters who act in accordance with the court ruling rather than the now unenforcable Texas law.

This whole thing is shaping up to be a powder keg. I've not once ever worried about violence on presidential election day, but this year is different. I'm not big enough of a history buff to know if this is how things started in countries that transitioned to less democratic forms of government from more Democratic ones, but it feels that way...
 

slurper_la

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Rare as it is I saw a rabid Trump supporter this morning yelling pro-Trump and waving a banner at passing cars at a busy intersection. Ironically he was 1 block away from a school where a polling place is always set up.

I have voted by mail for years and will again this time but on Election Day I will be at that polling place (or others / several) keeping an eye out, camera at the ready, for Trump Poll Watchers and will record any and all action one of them engages in.
 

TexanStar

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Checked, and fortunately open carry does not apply to election day here (guns are forbidden at polling places on election day and while early voting is in process)

Hrm. Was doing some more reading.

In Texas, poll watchers can not arm themselves with firearms. This is state law, not Federal.

In Pennsylvania, one of the states that Trump is specifically suggesting is engaging in fraud and needs to be monitored by his supporters, they can come to the polls with firearms...

Especially with the way he's carrying on, I'm still worried this is headed to some kind of tragedy on election day (above and beyond the actual selection of our next president)
 

Drifterwood

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Polarised ugly on both sides. That is now US politics, ugly, polarised and therefore mostly irrelevant other than to pander to the rage, the rage, be outraged. That's healthy.

I hope someone is running the show behind the scenes who doesn't have to play to this ugliest of pantomimes.
 
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TexanStar

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Polarised ugly on both sides. That is now US politics, ugly, polarised and therefore mostly irrelevant other than to pander to the rage, the rage, be outraged. That's healthy.

I hope someone is running the show behind the scenes who doesn't have to play to this ugliest of pantomimes.

Support may be polarized, but there is only one side in this election asserting that there is voter fraud ongoing and that if their candidate doesn't win that fraud will be behind it. Do you disagree with that?
 

Crimsonlurker

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Rare as it is I saw a rabid Trump supporter this morning yelling pro-Trump and waving a banner at passing cars at a busy intersection. Ironically he was 1 block away from a school where a polling place is always set up.

I have voted by mail for years and will again this time but on Election Day I will be at that polling place (or others / several) keeping an eye out, camera at the ready, for Trump Poll Watchers and will record any and all action one of them engages in.

I was about to say the exact same thing. The best thing everyone can do is use every last bit of technology they can so there will be absolutely no doubt whose doing what when and how. It's the brightest spot when it comes to technology. When people say or do something outrageous there will be no way they can spin, deny or hide from it. It'll be the very first time i ever do it but i'm pretty sure it won't be the last. Ha proof is the new black. :p
 
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ActionBuddy

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I so miss going to my polling place at the local elementary school, mostly run by sweet, older, African American ladies, dressed in their Sunday best... Big, colorful hats!... :)

It was a point of pride for my fellow citizens, in my very diverse neighborhood, to go to the polling places... Election Days at our polling places were where we acknowledged each other, each others' human rights, our diversity and similarities, as well as a just a place and time to safely express our opinions and choices. I miss the crowd, and the dance of figuring out which line to get in, for our own precinct...

I loved waiting in line there, blabbing with my neighbors, and then signing in with my precinct's wonderful lady who had been doing this since the 1950's. I miss her acknowledging smile as I approached her table. I miss her voice... I miss her awesome big, 'Red, White & Blue' hats!

My state went to voting by mail, only, in 2011... So, that experience is now long gone. Young people here will never have that prideful experience... "I took my lunch break to go vote last Tuesday!"... I only knew her on those few days a year... I only knew her as "Agnes"... I wish I had learned more about her.

But,
reading the news about what might happen in polling places in other states, perhaps voting by mail is the better way to make sure people are not intimidated, or worse, possibly physically attacked, when simply casting their votes... I'm sad, and pissed off about the political "atmosphere" in the U.S.A. these days.

A/B
 
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TexanStar

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Here they go again, right in my back yard.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/election/article108539187.html

The email also asked for poll watchers for both early voting and Election Day.

“We especially need poll watchers in Democrat-controlled locations,” the email stated. “Voter ID is still required in Texas. We want to make sure OUR VOTER ID LAW IS FOLLOWED.”


This is the county I live in. The fraud investigation is over mail-in ballots, but they've got a bug up their butt about in-person voting and with a clearly specified target of any areas that vote Democrat. I plan to do early voting so I don't think it'll be too crazy then, but maybe I'll see if they need any help on Nov 8th and take a day off work.
 

TexanStar

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Here they go again, right in my back yard.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/election/article108539187.html

The email also asked for poll watchers for both early voting and Election Day.

“We especially need poll watchers in Democrat-controlled locations,” the email stated. “Voter ID is still required in Texas. We want to make sure OUR VOTER ID LAW IS FOLLOWED.”


This is the county I live in. The fraud investigation is over mail-in ballots, but they've got a bug up their butt about in-person voting and with a clearly specified target of any areas that vote Democrat. I plan to do early voting so I don't think it'll be too crazy then, but maybe I'll see if they need any help on Nov 8th and take a day off work.

For anyone who's curious, this "largest fraud investigation in Texas state history" was prompted by precisely one case (which isn't even clearly intentional). A worker at a retirement home acted as a witness for 5 different mail in ballots in the primary (out of 20,000 ballots requested in the county).
 
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TexanStar

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For anyone who's curious, this "largest fraud investigation in Texas state history" was prompted by precisely one case (which isn't even clearly intentional). A worker at a retirement home acted as a witness for 5 different mail in ballots in the primary (out of 20,000 ballots requested in the county).

More details out now: http://www.fortworthbusiness.com/ne...cle_605efe4e-95a8-11e6-b480-c31b983a97e4.html

"The alleged activity Harris discovered does not have any connection to the upcoming Nov. 8 election.

In fact, he said, he has not seen any evidence of wrongdoing in any November elections he has looked into.

“This is a springtime offense,” he said, mostly targeting primary and local election voters."

So the group that uncovered this is reporting finding real fraud which has changed the outcome of several elections, but they're indicating small local elections (water board, school boards, shit like that). They didn't find any fraud in the big November elections.

But...

once conservative news outlets pick it up, such as here: http://www.dailywire.com/news/10042/texas-county-investigated-voter-fraud-aaron-bandler# , then they immediately try to paint a picture of Democrat sponsored fraud in Presidential elections (which in turn gets used as fodder for their voter disenfranchisement attempts).



 
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b.c.

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You know these are the kinds of things that serve to fuel the SENTIMENT I, and others like me, have for Trump, the Republican Party, and conservatives in general, an enmity that goes beyond mere ideological differences... that speaks to the despicable NATURE of WHAT they do and HOW they do it.

For decades now, THEY have run campaigns, local and national, that played upon bigotry and racism by DEMONIZING minorities to further their OWN gains.

For nearly another decade, they deliberately LIED about a minority voter registration and community empowerment organization to sabotage their efforts at registering voters. They LIED about voter fraud, while they quietly and NOT so quietly set about redrawing districts to dilute the minority vote, moving and closing polling places in minority communities, and creating so-called voter id laws for the EXPRESS and DELIBERATE purpose of depriving CERTAIN people of their basic right to VOTE.

In short, they behaved like the sneaky, lying, conniving, underhanded B********** they ARE. Which is why "deplorable" was TOO nice word to describe them, imo.

So it comes as no surprise that Trump would incite violence at the polls or worse (and frankly, I put NOTHING past the lot of 'em). FEAR of them is what they WANT.


Which is why it's incumbent upon, no, a MORAL imperative, for every last person inclined to put a stop to Trump and his litany of HATE to show up to vote, in DROVES.

Like I said before. I don't just want to see him lose. I want to see him beaten BADLY. Him and the rest of his "crew."
 
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ActionBuddy

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http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...bomb_for_racial_violence_on_election_day.html

http://www.politico.com/magazine/st...ennsylvania-polls-voters-trump-clinton-214297

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/lp/volunteer-to-be-a-trump-election-observer

A few different articles on the topic, which boil down to this... with Donald Trump actively suggesting that the US electoral system is fraudulent and rigged, and suggesting that his supporters go out and "monitor" other voters to try and prevent this supposed fraud... wtf is election day going to look like this year at the polls.

My state is open carry... I do not have a hard time at all picturing white men with long guns showing up at polling places in districts that are predominantly African American or Latino. We (Texas) are already on notice for violating a court order as regards our new voting laws which were struck down previously in the year for intentional disenfranchisement.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/...les-texas-defied-court-order-on-voter-id-law/
https://www.thenation.com/article/t...ws-are-straight-out-of-the-jim-crow-playbook/

Harris County (Houston)'s clerk may even be investigated for voter intimidation as regards how far he took his remarks in regards to threatening voters who act in accordance with the court ruling rather than the now unenforcable Texas law.

This whole thing is shaping up to be a powder keg. I've not once ever worried about violence on presidential election day, but this year is different. I'm not big enough of a history buff to know if this is how things started in countries that transitioned to less democratic forms of government from more Democratic ones, but it feels that way...

@TexanStar - Thank you so much for posting this!... I had only seen Samantha Bee on The Daily Show and @midnight... Now I'm her newest fan!

;)
 

tripod

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... but there is only one side in this election asserting that there is voter fraud ongoing and that if their candidate doesn't win that fraud will be behind it.

The Democrats have cooked up a whole litany of bullshit allegations against "Russian hackers" who they claim are trying to interfere with the election. This is setting up the possibility...

... that If Trump ends up winning, those hackers will be found to have "hacked our Democracy" which will be a pretext for NATO strikes.

Our intelligence agencies have the same high confidence that the hacking attacks are coming from "The Kremlin"... these are the same intelligence officials that had the same high confidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

These strikes are just a pretext to hack the living shit out of the Russians and do a new Stuxnet-style virus that disables Russia's infrastructure... supposed "payback" for the fictional hacking... it's all a carefully designed set-up and frame-up.


Assigning blame in the world of cyberespionage is extraordinarily difficult. Some of the clues uncovered are easy to forge and attackers routinely use misdirection to lead investigators astray. Others in the field are wary of companies such as CrowdStrike, which may face pressure from clients or investors to spin gripping stories about government hackers with codenames like "Fancy Bear" or "APT28."

"I don't like circumstantial evidence when it comes to blaming a foreign government," said Jeffrey Carr, the chief executive of Taia Global, a threat intelligence company. Carr rejected the idea of tying the DNC attackers to previous breaches based on their tools or their methods, saying it was "like finding a gun that was used in the commission of a crime. Anybody could be pulling the trigger." -
Matt Tait, a U.K.-based cybersecurity consultant


U.S. accusations that Russia was responsible for cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations lack any proof and are an attempt by Washington to fan "unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria", the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said.

"This whipping up of emotions regarding 'Russian hackers' is used in the U.S. election campaign, and the current U.S. administration, taking part in this fight, is not averse to using dirty tricks..."

"There is no proof whatsoever for such grave accusations, (They are)... fabricated by those who are now serving an obvious political order in Washington... continuing to whip up unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria."
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday in comments on the Foreign Ministry's website.
 

ActionBuddy

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This made me laugh today:

c0c1149c-2e5d-4a64-bf97-e92a18d30cec_800.jpg


Donald Trump's campaign plane passes Hillary Clinton's campaign plane as it lands in Las Vegas, Nevada. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

A/B