RandySF
RandySF's JournalRI-01: After signature review, state elections panel affirms Matos' place on ballot
Four signatures.
That’s the difference in the number of legitimate John Hancocks identified by a state election panel review of Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos’ congressional nomination papers and the prior validation of the same papers by municipal election authorities.
It’s hardly enough to signify an “obvious pattern of fraud,” Robert Rapoza, executive director of Rhode Island Board of Elections, said in a meeting on Tuesday. And even with losing another four signatures, the 726 signatures deemed valid and legitimate in the state review put Matos well above the 500-signature threshold, solidifying her spot on the Sept. 5 Democratic primary ballot.
Yet doubt lingers, especially because of news reports that uncovered forged signatures that were included in Matos’ final count. Which is why the state elections panel isn’t ready to close the book on its investigation.
The board voted 4-2 Tuesday to resume its review of Matos’ papers after the Sept. 5 primary, but no later than a week after the Nov. 7 election. That review may include calling all the people who gathered signatures for Matos’ campaign to come testify under oath to the validity of the signatures.
The decision came after more than an hour of debate in which board members struggled to balance their duty to uphold election integrity with the timing of an ongoing review – early voting in the special congressional election primary starts on Wednesday. Vice Chairman David Sholes and member Michael Connors voted against the continued review.
https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2023/08/15/after-signature-review-state-elections-panel-affirms-matos-place-on-ballot/
CO: Georgia and Colorado election security breaches part of same ongoing threat, Griswold says
A key component of the election subversion indictment that was unsealed Monday in Georgia is a security breach of election equipment in the Coffee County elections office — an alleged criminal episode that bears striking resemblance to a security breach that occurred in the election offices of Mesa County, Colorado.
In both cases, extreme supporters of former President Donald Trump are alleged to have accessed election equipment to obtain sensitive data in pursuit of false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. In both cases the breach was facilitated by a top county election official. Both counties used election equipment from Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems.
And the alleged perpetrators in both counties are facing felony charges.
The similarity of events in Mesa County and Coffee County were of particular interest to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who has been vocal about the need for vigilance against “insider threats” to election systems. In response to the Georgia indictment, Griswold said such threats, as the nation heads into a new election year in which Trump is the leading GOP candidate for president, remain active.
“I strongly believe Coloradans and Americans deserve and need to know ongoing attempts to steal elections,” Griswold told Colorado Newsline.
https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/08/15/georgia-colorado-election-security-breaches-griswold/
How Trump wrecked the Georgia GOP
For well over a decade, the GOP controlled both legislative chambers and the offices of governor, attorney general and secretary of state. It also had possession of the bulk of the state’s 14 House seats and both U.S. Senate seats.
But in the seven years since Trump first appeared on Georgia’s ballot, the GOP fortunes have taken a dramatic turn for the worse.
On the surface, not much has changed: Republicans still control state government. But Cobb and Gwinnett counties, once the Atlanta area’s fast-growing, reliably Republican suburban giants, have bolted the GOP camp. Joe Biden won the state in 2020, marking just the second time in 28 years that Georgia voted Democratic for president. And Republicans lost both U.S. Senate seats — in elections where Trump can be said to be the proximate cause of defeat.
In 2024, Georgia figures to be one of the key presidential battleground states.
Meanwhile, the state party is at war with itself, a needless conflagration set off by Trump after top Republicans refused to heed his demands to overturn the 2020 results. Trump vigorously attacked and endorsed primary challengers to both Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both of whom had been thrown under the bus by David Shafer, the former state party chair who now faces eight felony counts.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2023/08/15/how-trump-wrecked-the-georgia-gop-00111350
Air Force Reserve 'Hurricane Hunter' Charged for Jan. 6 Capitol Breach
A Mississippi man once accused of helping to kidnap his friend’s daughter was arrested on Monday and charged over his alleged role in the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021. David Scott Stapp, 44, was hit with four misdemeanor charges, according to a criminal complaint that accuses him of breaching the Capitol. The filing states Stapp went by the “vanity name” Rambo Stappers SP on Facebook, and his profile lists him as a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s Hurricane Hunters, a squadron known for flying in stormy weather. It was on Facebook that, hours after the riots, Stapp messaged a friend, “May or may not have got a tour of the inside of the capital today.” In a post the next day, Stapp wrote, “It was one of the best things I have ever gotten to do. That was history. We took over the fucking capital. Shows them what a small percentage of unarmed Americans can do. Just think of all the patriots came and cane [sic] armed.” In 2015, according to court records in Georgia, Stapp was accused of helping a friend take his then-5-year-old daughter from her elementary school, allegedly knocking down a teacher on the way out. Both Stapp and the friend were cleared of all charges in the case two years later.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/david-scott-stapp-hurricane-hunter-in-air-force-reserve-charged-with-breaching-the-capitol-on-jan-6?utm_campaign=owned_social&utm_medium=socialflow&via=twitter_page&utm_source=twitter_owned_tdb
George Santos Missed the Deadline to Reveal His Finances. Now What?
The filing of House financial disclosure reports each year is usually considered a routine affair. But for Representative George Santos of New York, who is facing 13 felony charges related to his finances, the matter has the potential to become yet another soap opera.
Mr. Santos, a first-term Republican, missed the Aug. 13 deadline to file his disclosures, a lapse that could lead to fines. He had already received a 90-day extension from the initial deadline, which was May 15. A spokeswoman for Mr. Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The House Committee on Ethics receives and reviews the disclosures, which provide the public with some of the most detailed financial information available on their representatives.
There has been considerable speculation about whether Mr. Santos’s financial disclosure might shed light on the source of the more than $700,000 he lent to his campaign.
Mr. Santos has maintained that he earned the money legally through his company, the Devolder Organization, which he said acts as a paid go-between in deals involving wealthy people.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/nyregion/george-santos-financial-disclosure.html?smtyp=cur
Election 2023: A Look At The PA Supreme Court Contest
We are just 84 days away from the 2023 general election. And the biggest statewide prize is the open seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Democrat Dan McCaffery and Republican Carolyn Carluccio will vie for the spot, vacated by the passing of former Chief Justice Max Baer.
The winner of the contest will not change the majority makeup of the seven-member court, as Democrats currently hold four of the six seats.
McCaffery currently sits on the Pennsylvania Superior Court and served on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas from 2013-19.
A U.S. Army veteran, he received a B.A. from Temple University and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law. His previous work experience included working as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia and the law firm of Freidman, Schuman, P.C.
https://www.politicspa.com/election-2023-a-look-at-the-pa-supreme-court-contest/124451/
Kansas newspaper says it investigated local police chief prior to newsroom raid
The small-town Kansas newspaper raided by police officers on Friday had been looking into allegations of misconduct against the local chief just months ago, according to the paper's publisher, raising further concerns about the law enforcement officers' motives.
The Marion, Kansas police department confiscated computers, cell phones and a range of other reporting materials from the office of the Marion County Record — the sole local paper in a small city of about 2,000 residents. Officers spent hours in the newsroom. It also seized material from one of its journalist's homes. Eric Meyer, the publisher and co-owner of the newspaper, said his 98-year-old mother passed away the day after police raided her house, where Meyer was staying at the time. He said he believes the stress from the raid contributed to her death.
The raids sparked coast-to-coast outrage among journalists and advocates for freedom of speech, including a letter of protest signed by the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN and the Wall Street Journal, among others.
"The U.S. Supreme Court, over the years, has said that people in authority — government officials — have to suffer a free press," says Sandy Banisky, a lawyer who taught media law at the University of Maryland's journalism school and also former senior editor at the Baltimore Sun. “Incidents like this have to be examined and exposed thoroughly to be sure that the kind of raid that happened in Marion, Kansas doesn't happen around the country.”
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/14/npr-kansas-newspaper-raid-police-chief-investigation
New Mexico investigates whether 'fake electors' violated state law in 2020 election
The Director of Communications for the AG, Lauren Rodriguez, sent the following statement:
"The prior administration referred this matter to the United States Department of Justice and we have been in regular contact with the Department about its progress. In addition, Attorney General Torrez ordered a separate inquiry to determine whether the alleged conduct violated state law. That inquiry is ongoing and now that Special Counsel Jack Smith has unsealed a federal indictment referencing specific conduct in New Mexico, we will work with his office to obtain any and all evidence relevant to the state’s inquiry. Our paramount concern is to gather a complete factual record before making any formal decision in this matter and to coordinate our efforts with our federal law enforcement partners in a manner that best secures the public’s faith in the integrity of the electoral process."
https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-fake-electors-2020-election-probe/44819624
Special prosecutor will examine actions of Georgia's lieutenant governor in Trump election meddling
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia state agency said Tuesday that it will name a special prosecutor to consider whether the state's Republican lieutenant governor should face criminal charges after former president Donald Trump and 18 of his allies were indicted Monday for working to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was one of 16 Republican electors who falsely claimed that Trump won Georgia. As a state senator, he also sought a special session of Georgia’s Legislature aimed at overturning President Joe Biden’s narrow win in the state. But Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was barred by a judge from indicting Jones. Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney agreed with Jones that Willis, an elected Democrat, had a conflict of interest because she hosted a fundraiser for the Democrat who lost to Jones in the 2022 election for lieutenant governor.
McBurney said in a hearing that Willis’ decision to host the fundraiser was a "what are you thinking?" moment.
That leaves the Prosecuting Attorneys Council, a state agency that supports district attorneys, to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether Jones' actions were criminal. Pete Skandalakis, the council's executive director, said Tuesday that he will begin looking for an appropriate prosecutor.
“Ultimately, the special prosecutor will make the decision about whether or not to file any charges," Skandalakis told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
https://news.yahoo.com/special-prosecutor-examine-actions-georgias-180116809.html
Virginia voters will soon determine the commonwealth's course on abortion
Last year’s Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which effectively overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, dramatically changed how women access reproductive health services, including abortion.
Virginia is one of only two states that doesn’t codify access to abortion in its constitution and didn’t have a law on the books set to take effect when Roe fell. That puts the issue front and center on the ballot in November, when voters should protect reproductive health choices for women throughout the commonwealth.
Though the pro-life movement had fought for the court to overturn Roe for decades, when those efforts proved successful last year, it created a cloud of uncertainty about the future of abortion services in America.
The Roe decision rested on the conclusion that the Due Process Clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment includes a right to privacy, which supersedes state restrictions on abortion services. Dobbs, conversely, says there is no such right and punted the issue back to individual states.
https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/08/12/editorial-virginia-voters-will-soon-determine-the-commonwealths-course-on-abortion/
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