Trump backers flood election offices with requests as 2022 vote nears

[Nevilledog]

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Kate Starbird
@katestarbird
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2020 election deniers are using seemingly coordinated public records requests as a kind of denial of service attack on elections infrastructure.

washingtonpost.com
Trump backers flood election offices with requests as 2022 vote nears
The requests for records related to the 2020 election have complicated preparations for November, which some officials say may be the point.
9:16 AM · Sep 12, 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/11/trump-election-deniers-voting/

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https://archive.ph/PwgEp

Supporters of former president Donald Trump have swamped local election offices across the nation in recent weeks with a coordinated campaign of requests for 2020 voting records, in some cases paralyzing preparations for the fall election season.

In nearly two dozen states and scores of counties, election officials are fielding what many describe as an unprecedented wave of public records requests in the final weeks of summer, one they say may be intended to hinder their work and weaken an already strained system. The avalanche of sometimes identically worded requests has forced some to dedicate days to the process of responding even as they scurry to finalize polling locations, mail out absentee ballots and prepare for early voting in October, officials said.

In Wisconsin, one recent request asks for 34 different types of documents. In North Carolina, hundreds of requests came in at state and local offices on one day alone. In Kentucky, officials don’t recognize the technical-sounding documents they’re being asked to produce — and when they seek clarification, the requesters say they don’t know, either.

The use of mass records requests by the former president’s supporters effectively weaponizes laws aimed at promoting principles of a democratic system — that the government should be transparent and accountable. Public records requests are a key feature of that system, used by regular citizens, journalists and others. In interviews, officials emphasized that they are trying to follow the law and fulfill the requests, but they also believe the system is being abused.

*snip*

[Fullduplexxx]

1. it's too close to the 2022 election to provide info on the 2020

[crickets]

2. Prioritize work for the upcoming election

and put their requests on hold until after November. Work regarding the upcoming election takes precedence over any requests related to an election that was decided two years ago.