"The #UCP’s reforms reflect a deeper shift toward the strategies pioneered by Trump #Republicans: leveraging #darkmoney, undermining #trust in #elections, weaponizing #recalls, #disenfranchising opponents, suppressing #voter turnout, and empowering radical #populist movements.
"This convergence is not accidental. It is a conscious political strategt."
https://drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/danielle-smiths-electoral-reforms
“True the Vote,”
the election denying activist group with ties to Donald Trump,
💥is asking sheriffs across the country to monitor ballot drop boxes 💥for supposed suspicious or fraudulent activity in swing states
— an apparent attempt 🔥to revive conspiracy theories leftover from Trump’s campaign that question the legitimacy of the 2020 election.🔥
Ballot drop boxes became an area of fixation for conspiracy theorists and election deniers in 2020
who were convinced that bad actors were using drop boxes to dump fraudulent ballots for President Biden.
👉This did not happen, 👈but groups like “True the Vote” and other election deniers clung to the narrative.
True the Vote gained traction with MAGA followers as it spread various lies about the election, primarily false claims of ballot stuffing in 2020.
Election experts have been sounding the alarm that drop boxes may become a target of election deniers’ #threats and #vigilante activity again in the fall, but this most recent admission from True the Vote is
particularly concerning due to the group’s reach and following among right-wing extremist and Trump supporters.
✅ Last month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court reinstated the use of ballot drop boxes for absentee voting.
Although it expands the franchise, 🔸the decision has also reignited concerns of ballot monitoring activity and voter intimidation.
🔸Some Republicans and online election denying conspiracy theorists, as TPM reported, have already begun to make plans on social media to monitor drop boxes.
Votebeat Wisconsin highlighted a user on Telegram who wrote:
⚠️ “Sit by those boxes like flies on shit.”
The concern here is that this type of #intimidation in patrolling drop boxes
could have the effect of #disenfranchising voters,
Wendy Via, president and co-founder of The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said in a previous interview with TPM.
It appears the effort has moved offline and into the far-right activist realm now too.
In a series of interviews, first reportedby Media Matters,
True the Vote founder #Catherine #Engelbrecht explicitly detailed the group’s ♦️plans to work directly with sheriffs in swing states ♦️throughout the country to urge them to monitor drop boxes for supposed instances of fraud.
This isn't just about #racialequality; they're targeting anyone who isn't a #white #Christian #male, extending to #suppressing #WomensRights, #LGBTQRights, and #disenfranchising other #marginalizedcommunities. This is a multi-layered #attack on #equality for all.
The #Republicans have been unhappy that everyone can #vote for a long time now, but it's uncommon that one makes #disenfranchising millions of Americans a pillar of his campaign. Don't believe for a second that Vivek #Ramaswamy is any less dangerous than Trump or DeSantis.
"This is outrageous! How dare the #government hold us accountable for our brazenly #criminal conduct, and attempt to overthrow #democracy by #disenfranchising literally millions of #voters! If the government keeps trying to uphold democracy, then we're going do a #CivilWar! Aaaarrrgh! #MAGA!!!"
Lib Dem local government spokesperson Helen Morgan called on #Tory chairman Greg Hands to launch an inquiry.
She said: “Not content with #disenfranchising people through their divisive and unnecessary voter ID plans, it appears the Conservatives have been wrongly telling people they don’t need photo ID to vote. It shows they are treating voters with total contempt.
Not surprising the #LibDems are taking this very seriously - they are defending #Eaton the area where the leaflets were delivered.
Like city of #SanMateo stealing the power of mayor Amourence Lee to appoint a replacement council person: “This effort—to remove powers from #elected representatives who are #Democrats—has become the new method of #disenfranchising #voters and maintaining perpetual Republican #PoliticalPower. And it is being undertaken with alarming frequency and speed across the country.”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/03/republicans-mitch-mcconnell-1980s-breaking-democracy.html
(White) Conservatives of WA are against improving #voting for citizens in #jail, further #disenfranchising Black and Brown folks, who are disproportionately arrested (that's another topic for another day).
"Support" these bills!
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=1048&Year=2023&Initiative=false
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=1174&Year=2023&Initiative=false
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RT @wavotingjustice
Hearing starting now on…
https://twitter.com/wavotingjustice/status/1613930659491516416
