From Greg Palast Website
By Dennis Bernstein and Greg Palast for Flashpoints' Election Crimes Bulletin
The Republicans could use the fraudulent hysteria they've whipped up about vote-by-mail fraud to steal the presidency in the event that Donald Trump fails to win the Electoral College. Constitutional expert Thom Hartmann and I are concerned the GOP-controlled Legislatures could claim that mail-in ballots are fraudulent and thereby refuse to certify a Democratic win in states such as Wisconsin and Georgia. By refusing to send electors to the Electoral College and thereby denying any candidate 270 votes in the Electoral College, under Article XII of the Constitution, the election shifts to the House of Representatives whose members will cast one vote per state Wyoming gets the same vote as California. Trump would then be "reelected" even if he loses both the popular vote and the Electoral College. That's what happened in 1824 when John Quincy Adams LOST the popular vote and electoral vote but was elected by the House -- a total swindle!
In this edition of the Election Crimes Bulletin, Palast and Bernstein explore the real and present danger presented by Article XII of the Constitution. They also reveal how the GOP have used and abused the legal system to snatch victory from the jaws of recent defeats in Texas and Wisconsin, and how Georgia's Brian Kemp has colluded with right-wingers in the judiciary to do away with an election altogether, because why bother stealing an election if you can simply cancel it and appoint a winner instead?
Transcript
Dennis Bernstein: You're listening to another edition of the Election Crimes Bulletin. I'm Dennis Bernstein. We are joined weekly by muckraking reporter Greg Palast. He is again on the front lines protecting your vote. He's got an upcoming book, which is worth checking out if you're interested in trying to protect your vote. It'll be out soon, How Trump Stole 2020. It's really about how to prevent him from stealing it, and that's what this Crimes Bulletin is all about. Greg, welcome back. There's been some activity in Texas, there has been a battle going on in Michigan, and the battle for the vote, and our lives, continues.
Greg Palast: Yes. A lot of skullduggery. My book is called How Trump Stole 2020, but we can steal it back. That is, we can bust the crime. It is not about whether you're for or against Trump. I'm just hoping that this time, unlike 2016, the voters actually choose the president. That would be refreshing.
Bernstein: That'd be nice. So Texas, there was a bit of a victory. They went for the jugular, but they got beaten back. What happened?
Palast: Yeah. I hope you were enjoying the victory of democracy for the several hours we had it. A federal judge ruled that the Texas requirement, the hoops you have to jump through in order to vote absentee in Texas had to be swept away. Because it said you have to claim a disability in Texas or be over 65, they're the main reasons that you can get an absentee ballot. And you have to certify that you have this disability. The judge said, if you were worried about being susceptible to the virus, that's a physical disability. So anyone that claims a concern cause they're susceptible or vulnerable -- if they have the virus -- should be able to get an absentee ballot.
In addition, by the way, the idea that you can be 65 and get that absentee ballot is a direct violation of the 26th amendment to the U.S. constitution. If you remember, during the war in Vietnam we lowered the voting age to 18. That amendment to the constitution also said that there could be no discrimination by age in voting as long as someone's 18 or more. So young people, sometimes we refer to them as Democrats, if young people want an absentee ballot, they're out of luck because of their age which is direct violation of the constitution.
But while the judge caught this, within about two days, you ended up with the federal appeals court in that circuit setting aside the judge's ruling. I gotta read from Judge Fred Biery's statement on why. He said that you don't have to die to vote in Texas, even though he was overruled. He wrote:
"Two hundreds forty-years on, Americans now seek Life without fear of pandemic, Liberty to choose their leaders in an environment free of disease and the pursuit of Happiness without undue restrictions. There are some among us who would, if they could, nullify those aspirational ideas to return to the not so halcyon and not so thrilling days of yesteryear of the Divine Right of Kings, trading our birthright as a sovereign people for a modern mess of governing pottage in the hands of a few and forfeiting the vision of America as a shining city upon a hill."
No wonder they slapped him down. That's the story in Texas. So in other words, in Texas, if you want to have to avoid standing in line and getting infected, I advise you to cut off part of your leg or age very rapidly. And let's not forget this is not the only problem with Texas. We're forgetting all the other things that happen in which this pandemic maximizes the problem.
You've mentioned many times that the forced election in Wisconsin in March resulted in the collapse of the number of voting stations in the African American majority city of Milwaukee from 180 polling stations to five. Well, Texas started long before there was a virus.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
