Thousands of Wisconsin citizens were denied their right to vote when ballots were not mailed out in time to be returned by a tight artificial deadline, which the Trump courts upheld. Voting stations throughout the state were closed or badly run. In Milwaukee, where 180 were planned, just five operated. Incredibly brave poll workers were scarce and terrified. Their jobs were hampered by the demand for social distancing, face masks (when they could get them) protective gear and more.
As usual in urban areas, incredibly brave, dedicated citizens waited hours to vote--this time amidst a highly contagious Pandemic. At least some are likely to die from the experience.
In choking off the popular vote, Wisconsin Republicans entrenched a right-wing extremist on the state supreme court for ten more years.
In Ohio, the gerrymandered GOP legislature has blocked mailing ballots directly to registered voters, favored by the Republican Ohio Secretary of State and Ohio voting rights groups. Instead the legislature demands that voters must fill out an application to request an absentee ballot from their board of elections. The ballot is mailed to them, which must then be filled out, put inside an envelope, fill out personal information on the outside of that envelope, put that envelope inside another mailing envelope and either mail it or drop it off at the board of elections.
Strangely, the instructions are: "Important: Your voted ballot must be sealed in this envelope for your ballot to be counted." The bold letters are theirs, implying that if your inner envelope was not properly sealed, your vote won't be counted. Even stranger, the pre-paid postage stamp on the return mailing envelope appears on the back side of the envelope, not the side with the mailing address.
These mail-in ballots must be postmarked no later than April 27 to be counted.
Voter registration advocates have taken to dumping piles of absentee ballot applications in grocery stores like Kroger in hopes that people will pick them up and get their votes in on time.
Should enough Trump legislatures lock up their states like Ohio and Wisconsin, Trump's "election" will be a foregone conclusion.
As back-up, he might use the Pandemic he has prolonged to cancel actual voting. The GOP legislatures, which are entrenched in states with an Electoral College majority, might then simply proclaim his "victory." The Supreme Court, which has just adjourned until October, would rubber stamp the process, 5-4.
The American people now have just seven months to prevent this from happening. It won't be easy. But our lives depend on it.
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman have co-authored seven books on election theft, which are www.freepress.org, which Bob edits, and which hosts Bob's Fitrakis Files. Harvey is author of The People's Spiral of US History and Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth , both at www.solartopia.org
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