Judge Rules in Rick Scott's Favor, Says Broward County 'Violated Constitution'

[DonViejo]

Last edited Fri Nov 9, 2018, 06:53 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Law & Crime

by Matt Naham | 4:18 pm, November 9th, 2018

Florida Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips has ruled that Broward County’s Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes must hand over voting records by 7 p.m. Friday night, as requested by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rick Scott in an emergency filing.

Scott and Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson are locked in a race that remains too close to call.

Link to tweet

According to NBC6 reporter Jamie Guirola, Phillips ruled that Broward County “violated [the] constitution by not following open records laws.”

Link to tweet

Scott has argued in a court filing that “[t]wo days after voting has concluded, the Supervisor of Elections is unwilling to disclose records revealing how many electors voted, how many ballots have been canvassed, and how many ballots remain to be canvassed.”

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/breaking-judge-rules-in-rick-scotts-favor-says-broward-county-violated-constitution/

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Law and Crime revised its headline from, BREAKING: Judge Rules in Rick Scott’s Favor, Says Broward County ‘Violated Constitution’ to what it is now on the subject line of the OP

[NoMoreRepugs]

1. Wonder how Senator Nelson will respond.

[msongs]

2. isn't this info public record anyway? nt

[marylandblue]

9. It is, but they stopped releasing it yesterday.

[questionseverything]

13. the article says,she didn't say she wouldn't release the info

honestly this info,

how many ab ballots were requested, how many were sent,how many were received, how many have been counted should all be public and reported daily on the election webpage

more transparency is always the answer

[marylandblue]

17. They are supposed to provide periodic updates, every 30 minutes or something

That's what they stopped doing. In looking at this particular Election Supervisor, she has a history of screwups. Her predecessor too was summarily fired. You'd think she'd be more careful.

[questionseverything]

20. i can see where every 30 minutes might be a burden but

the information in general should be available to anyone at least daily

I actually complained to my own election board this week because they don't make that info public

has she released the overall number of absentee ballots sent out?

or is that part of what he is suing for?

[marylandblue]

24. I saw data on total number of absentee ballots sent out before the election

Not sure where it is now, probably on the county's website.

[questionseverything]

32. found this but it is from the 4th

https://www.browardsoe.org/Portals/Broward/Images/EVGeneral2018Day14.pdf

if I am reading this correctly 299,154 were requested and 168,951 processed by the 4th

https://enr.electionsfl.org/BRO/1985/Precincts/21073/?view=detailed

I have a stupid question

in precinct A008. scott shows no votes in the categories but 35 in the totals

precinct A024 same thing with 86 in totals

C027 same with 35 in totals

how does that happen?

[Honeycombe8]

12. I guess that's what the lawsuit was about.

Scott couldn't get the "voter records," whatever that is.

[jpak]

3. But it doesn't stop the count

nope

[Bleacher Creature]

19. That was my first reaction as well.

[Tiggeroshii]

4. 2000 all over again

Just gov and senate instead of presidential

[Eliot Rosewater]

5. Jeb Bush appointed crook , this judge. Goodbye America

[beachbum bob]

6. i am sure a stay is being pursued on appeal

[diva77]

7. A jeb bush appointee -- judges in place to keep rethuglican rule

https://ballotpedia.org/Carol_Lisa_Phillips

Carol-Lisa Phillips is a Civil Division judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida. She was appointed by former Governor Jeb Bush in 2003. She was re-elected in 2006 and 2012. Her current term expires in January of 2019.

she was "re-elected"

[Honeycombe8]

11. Reminds me of Kathryn Harris as Sec of State during the Bush-Gore election. nt

[diva77]

18. Turns out, Lisa-Ann Phillips ran UNOPPOSED in 2012. I hope FL finds some progressive candidates for

the courts in upcoming elections.

[BeyondGeography]

8. Kangaroo courts FTW!

Gotta admit, the cons have this subversion of democracy thing down to a science.

[Honeycombe8]

10. What is a "voting record"? A list of votes?

It's not the actual votes, or that would mean they can't be counted.

[Mr.Bill]

14. In California, it's a matter of public record.

It's posted at every polling place and updated every hour. Among other things, it's an aid to advocates for a candidate or proposition to see who has not voted yet and then contact those people to get them out to vote.

[Honeycombe8]

16. You mean a list of all who are registered to vote?

With a notation of who has voted so far?

That's the list that Trump was ordering all the states to give him, so he could make a national database of voters?

Louisiana has it, but you have to pay to get it. (List of all reg. voters)
I lived in TX before Louisiana. Texas has it, I guess. After an election, we could look of everyone who voted, by precinct.

[Mr.Bill]

21. Yes. And also who recieved mail in ballots, IIRC.

There are companies who sell these records, but they are free to those wishing to do the legwork. Many campaigns pay for the records, but it is not a fee the state charges, it's a private company selling them to multiple entities for a fee that is theoretically less than it would cost you to round up the info yourself.

[Honeycombe8]

25. I see. Thanks. Louisiana has them electronically.

Anyone can order them...for a price. List all registered voters, with party, addresses & phone numbers & all. It also sells each person's voting record for the past 10 years (I assume whether voted, not who they voted for).

[Mr.Bill]

27. No one knows who you voted for.

Once you drop those ballots in the box, they are anonymous. They don't have your name on them. They can make an assumption by the party you are registered with, but can't be certain.

Of course I am referring to hand-marked ballots. I'm no expert on how they keep electronic ballots anonymous, but I'm sure they do.

[Honeycombe8]

28. I think some areas do know, and keep that info.

I know this because when I voted in Texas...Texas does not require registering to a party. So no one knows if you vote Dem or Republican or what. (Of course, even a registered Dem may vote for a different party sometimes.)

I got mail a couple of times noting that I had voted "Democratic" in such-and-such election. I remember it because I was shocked. No one should have known that.

[Mr.Bill]

31. Junk mail with assumptions are a common thing.

How many times have you received a piece of mail from a company you never heard of saying "Here's the information you requested" on the envelope.

I was a printer for over 30 years. I've seen all the tricks. It's just casting a wide net. All they expect is around a 2% response.

[Honeycombe8]

33. Yeah...maybe so. nt

[Progressive Jones]

37. The same goes here in Illinois. No party "registration".

Where I vote, it's clear that the ballots are anonymous.
You walk in, and sign a form. The sig on the form is compared to your sig on your registration form.
No other ID is required. Then, a receipt is printed, with a 4 digit number on it.
This number is not connected with your name. They also come out randomly, and not in numerical order.
You go to the voting machine, enter that 4 digit number, and begin voting.
In all fairness, I might add that the elections in my County are very much on the up-and-up.
Until recently, this county was controlled by Republicans who are about as moderate, and honest, as you can find.
Never any election complaints, and believe me, they are watched closely.

[underpants]

15. This says another judge ruled differently

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211403992

[questionseverything]

23. no it doesn't,it just includes info on the ruling pertaining to

rejected ballots also

both articles allow the scott campaign to see the voting records

[underpants]

29. Okay. Thanks.

[Honeycombe8]

26. No, that's the same ruling.

The ruling is that the electoral clerks must let others review the ballots. (Scott was complaining they couldn't get a list of the votes or voters. So the Judge rules that the clerks must give those records to Scott.)

[underpants]

30. Thanks

[pecosbob]

22. What Scott wants is for the counting to stop...this will not do that

This will give Rs access to start challenging the votes, but it's the best they could do. Further the order clearly states that "any ballot thrown out as illegitimate by Bucher or her staff will need to be reviewed by the canvasing board."

[Honeycombe8]

34. Yes. Glad the electors fought it, though.

They may have suspected shenanigans, and at least Scott was slowed down for a day.

He was also complaining that his staff could only view the recount (or count, depending how you look at it) through a glass, and they couldn't see everything...implying he wanted his people IN the room. Can you imagine what they would have done, if allowed in the room with those votes? I wouldn't put anything past the Republicans. They are corrupt.

[MaryMagdaline]

35. Judge PHillips is probably right on the law but she was the

One judge I was most afraid would get the case. She is married to the former mayor of Fort Lauderdale who openly supported George W and is a Democrat in name only. If there was a way to make snipes look bad, she would do so. Why snipes is not disclosing, is beyond me. She certainly isn’t trying to help us too much.

[iluvtennis]

36. If FL state constitution requires voter records be disclosed, then it should be done. BUT

rethugs are accusing Snipes of fraudulently creating voted ballots - that's wrong. GOP has no evidence of such a thing.

Maybe she/her organization are just slow and disorganized. I don't want people votes not counted because she did JUMP to give Scott the voting records. I want free and fair elections.

[duforsure]

38. If trump or his minions do anything to

Defraud this election by pressuring judges, using putin's hackers, or under counting intentionally the votes , they will be caught this time red handed, and charged, and be convicted of it all. I would hate to be anyone involved with election fraud anywhere , and has ties to putin and his hackers used this time. They were watching them I suspect do it this time too, and they know everyone involved already now. trump is setting himself up now even more , because he will continue corrupting everything he touches . This will be exposed, and they will all be charged. Scott is as bad as many people thought he was, and will end up where he deserves to be. Corruption running wild out of this White House.