REPUBLICANS ARE NOW CONTESTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS ONE BY ONE

[Demovictory9]

REPUBLICANS ARE NOW CONTESTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS ONE BY ONE
Instead of trying to cut off expanded access to voting, Republicans are challenging individual votes and, in some cases, trying to invalidate ballots that have already been cast.
BY CHARLOTTE KLEIN

Now that more than 85 million people have already voted, many using mail-in ballots, Republicans have reportedly shifted their political strategy to challenging individual absentee votes and, in some cases, attempting to invalidate ballots already cast.

According to the Washington Post, recent tactics aimed at challenging individual votes include a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign this week in Nevada “seeking images of the signature of every registered voter in Democratic-leaning Clark County — a potential first step toward challenging individual votes on grounds that the signed ballots don’t match the signatures on file.”

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The strategy is a pivot away from broader GOP efforts to limit expanded access to voting, a campaign that began months ago with President Donald Trump’s incessant and false claims linking mail-in voting to fraud — misinformation that Republican officials have embraced in trying to adjust election rules at the last minute.


https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/10/republicans-are-now-contesting-absentee-ballots-one-by-one

[Blue_Adept]

1. I hate things like that. my signature never looks the same.

One job i had for ten years required my signature hundreds of times a day. It just became a squiggly after the first year and forevermore.

[Claustrum]

3. That's why I didn't want to do mail in this year.

My signature changed compared to when I first registered almost 20 years ago.

[Squinch]

8. But even in person, I had to give my signature. My original is from 40 years ago, and this

year I had to sign on a tablet. The two signatures look nothing alike. In the past I voted on Election Day in my polling place where my neighbor is a poll worker, so I had no concerns about being identified.

But if they decide to go by signatures this year, I wonder if mine would pass.

[Claustrum]

10. I think they are less likely to contest a in person vote's signature.

They have the clear precedent to match the signature of mail in ballots. Perfect excuse to throw them out based on a little different signature.

[Squinch]

11. But the same thing applies. If I had voted by mail, they would be comparing my signature

to my signature of 40 years ago.

[Blue_true]

15. Actually, if you had to sign to vote in person, like Florida requires, it is

even easier for them to challenge your signature, since both the signature you used while voting and the one on file are electronic. They can use comparator software that they have rigged to find and challenge millions of signatures in mere hours. With paper ballots, they have to convert images into a firm that they can then use their jacked up software on.

This irritates me on so many levels. One thing that it shows is that Trump won’t hesitate to totally burn down our democracy if that suits his ends. The man is pure evil.

[Blue_true]

14. Your in person signature is also saved. Expect them to come after that if they succeed

in getting rid of enough mail-in ballots to make states they are losing close enough to then go after in-person voter signatures. They are trying an evil ploy that is extremely dangerous to democracy, I hope that even trumped-up Judges realize that if they wrongfully approve this tactic, that there won’t be a democracy left and Courts would have lost all of their social relevance.

[Blue_true]

12. My signature also mostly changes from day to day, even hour to hour.

But there are 3-4 pieces of my signature that never really change, I believe signature matching software look for features like that when looking for a match. I am sure that republicans will try the same thing in other states that look lost to Trump, to try to make them close enough so that they can then try other tactics. They likely realize that Nevada is lost, so they are going after that state. Expect to see suits in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona, if current polls hold up.

I believe that republicans should lose the lawsuit on merit, but with Trump/McConnell packed Courts, who knows what the outcome will be.

[beachbumbob]

2. really doesn't work this way

[mucifer]

4. That's why we have thousands of lawyers this time And dems pay their lawyers although

I bet a lot of them are volunteering

[PatSeg]

7. Thanks for the reminder

We often hear about what the republicans are doing, but not how Democrats are fighting back.

[Renew Deal]

5. Looks like the goal is to slow things down

Possibly to even make Mail voting painful long term.

The reason why republicans don’t want mail and early voting is it’s harder to intimidate voters. So they’ll try to find other ways to do it.

[Clearly fogged in]

28. Not chasing ct here - the bigger plan with usps

further down, mail of the future in corporate hands, no public oversight

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

6. That seems inefficient

and a ridiculous waste of time.

[Blue_true]

17. Yes it is. But their goal is to eliminate valid democratic votes,

what they are trying doesn’t have to make sense or be ethical (a word that would be something that Trump has ever dealt with).

[Iliyah]

9. Apparently they know ...

that it does not look good for their savior and master.

[mopinko]

13. i made sure to sign the envelope as much like my old sig as possible.

but i wouldnt even know, except that i have been a judge, so i know what the file looks like.
not anything like i sign at the polls.
i also dropped it off.

eta- sig if 40 yrs old.

[Blue_true]

16. I can almost promise you that 60% of your signature won't look alike, if

every single stroke is evaluated like the republicans seem to want to do. Four parts of my signature that never change is the stroke that I begin my first name with, the stroke that I end my first name with, the stroke that I begin my last name with and the stroke that I end my last name with. I would guess that signature matching software look for unchanging features like the ones I listed, and if a person also sign their middlename (I don’t have one) or middle initial, it may look at how that begins and end.

[mopinko]

20. yeah, most ppl.

but i'm a trained artist, and my autograph is quite fixed.
it's does shrink or grow a tad, but that depends on how important whatever i am signing is.

but as a judge, i saw many changed sigs. as you say- major elements were always consistent. never turned a voter down over it. or asked from id for that matter.

[Blue_true]

23. I can see how you have trained yourself to be consistent with

your signature given you being an artist.

[mopinko]

24. yup. first show i had

i had someone else design the postcard. he told me that my -mo- sig was a great brand.
it started out as a potter's mark.
i had some tshirts made, and i signed them on the back.

limited edition reproductions signed verso.
ppl dont know what they have. most of the ppl that bought them wore.them.out.

ps- i dont do much art these days. my farm is my canvass now, and i do design work when i can get it.
you can see it at http://facebook.com/mo-clay

[Liberal In Texas]

18. Tell them it would take months to get them the photocopies of the sigs.

And who is going to be the arbiter? Them? Or will there be a Democratic judge and a repub? One says OK and one says not, who is to decide?

This is just a way to gum up the system and a hope they can get some votes thrown out.

[abqtommy]

19. Kindly people should lead the reTHUGS quietly away and place them in an environment

where they cannot be a threat to themselves or others. I hear it's quiet and safe at Gitmo.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

21. Republicans will cheat in every way they possibly can.

That is as predictable as the sunrise.

[Baitball Blogger]

22. Knowing how they project their moves, maybe we should be doing the same thing?

[Blue_true]

25. I order for them to succeed in their fishing expedition, they will

have to admit that all the voter suppression changes that they put in place, like computer signature match, rejecting valid state issued birth certificate and causing people to jump through hoops to vote doesn’t work.

[NotASurfer]

26. Require them to request each signature one at a time

and in person, at the Recorder's office, with appropriate paperwork affirming the signature will not be misused to commit identity fraud of any kind, and for a reasonable processing fee for each signature requested. After a reasonable period of time to perform background checks on every person requesting a signature, to make sure the person asking for the signature does not have a criminal record, professional ethics violations, or affiliations indicating the intent may be nefarious, the clerk may release the signature.

If they don't like it, they can find lawyers who enjoy not getting paid and take it up with the courts

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

27. K&R

[brooklynite]

29. Federal Judge today threw them out of Court.

[Totally Tunsie]

30. That'll keep 'em busy for a while.

While I don't know the procedures in other states, I know that Rhode Island has a back-up to the signature match in that you can optionally add the last 4 numbers of your Social Security number or your RI Driver's License number to your Mail Ballot Certificate.

https://vote.sos.ri.gov/Voter/VotebyMail

Complete the Voter's Mail Ballot Certificate
Insert voted ballot into Voter’s Mail Ballot Certificate (smaller envelope).
Print your name.
Provide a telephone number in case there are questions pertaining to your Voter’s Mail Ballot Certificate Sign the envelope.
The signature on your Mail Ballot Certificate envelope will be compared to the signature on your mail ballot application.
You may provide your RI Driver’s License or State ID number or the last 4-digits of your Social Security Number as optional information.
Rhode Island mail ballot

In addition, voters can update their signature with the BofE or City/Town Clerk to keep it aligned with your current style.