Republicans appeared to defeat a Democrat-led legal effort Monday to compel Florida taxpayers to fund the cost of mailing ballots, eliminate deadlines for returning ballots, and void laws restricting the practice of “ballot collection,” which allows political agents to retrieve ballots by mass mail and return them to polling places.
PAC’s super-democratic priorities in the United States sued the Republican Party and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, but agreed to a settlement that dismissed the case just before the trial began Monday. The settlement includes provisions to educate voters on how to register to vote and cast ballots by mail, while educating election supervisors about prepaid postage.
“Even under normal circumstances, Florida’s vote-by-mail postage requirement, which dictates that voters pay the postage required to mail their ballot-in-mail unless individual counties choose to bear that burden for them, significantly increases the money and transaction costs associated with voting, “the Democrats’ original complaint said. “Not only must a postal voter pay postage to vote, but they must also purchase postage, which, in this digital age in which many people do not keep stamps at home, often requires a trip to the post office or another essential business. ” “
READ THE COMPLAINT … READ THE JUDGE’S JUDGMENT DENIAL .. READ YOUR SECOND DENIAL
The complaint continued: “Florida’s Voter Assistance Ban, codified in Fla. Stat. Ann. § 104.0616, also significantly increases the risk of large extensions of legal and eligible voters, many of whom are likely to have limited mobility and limited access. by mail – will be deprived of your rights. “
In late June, US District Judge Robert Hinkle denied Democrats’ request for a court order in the case, saying he was in trouble. Hinkle ruled that “the plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed in their assertion that the [state] it must provide postage to mail in on a ballot “in part because the” Twenty-Fourth Amendment prohibits a state from denying or restricting the right to vote in a federal election for not paying “any electoral or other tax.”
“Postage charged by the United States Postal Service, like the fee charged by any other courier service or the bus fee for arriving at the polls to vote in person, is not an” inadmissible “tax,” said Hinkle.
FILE – In this May 5, 2020 file photo, Jordan Smellie moves the ballots in absentia to count them at the City Hall in Garden City, Michigan. The Michigan appeals court has denied a request to require the recount of absentee ballots received after the polls close. on election day. The ruling says the deadline remains intact despite voter approval of a constitutional amendment that extended voting by mail. (AP Photo / Paul Sancya, file)
In July, Hinkle denied another court order request, in part because the impending trial meant there was no risk of serious imminent harm. The judge also found that the plaintiffs had not adequately demonstrated that a secret ballot could be certain of the risks of fraud.
Republicans quickly applauded the apparent end of the case on Monday.
“Today’s victory is a victory for Florida voters and a victory for electoral integrity,” RNC President Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “The Democrats’ assault on our electoral process is not based on facts or reasons, so they are dismissing every claim in their radical lawsuit. The RNC will continue to intervene and fight against Democratic attempts to circumvent the existing law and weaken our electoral process. ”
However, in another statement, Guy Cecil, president of Priorities USA, indicated that the matter may not be resolved.
What is ballot collecting?
“Republicans themselves are quick to make empty statements about the life and legacy of the congressman [John] Lewis continues to fight for full and fair access to the ballot in Florida and across the country, ”said Cecil. “While we hope to reach a settlement with the state of Florida, we will continue to explore all of our options to ensure Florida has the tools they need to vote in November, including bringing the case to trial.”
Several experts have called the vote by mail an invitation to widespread fraud, and observers have said that a “genuine absentee ballot fraud scandal” is currently underway in an election for the New Jersey city council.
“Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential electoral fraud,” reads the conclusion of a 2005 bipartisan report prepared by the Federal Electoral Reform Commission, which was chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker State.
However, Twitter verified the facts in President Trump’s Twitter warning about the risks of voting by mail. Within days, Trump signed an executive order that could limit Twitter’s immunity from some lawsuits, saying he was acting as a publisher of information and therefore gave up his protections.
Republicans have taken an all-hands approach to the issue. In May, the RNC launched ProtectTheVote.com, a digital platform that the Republican Party says is part of its effort to “protect against the assault by Democrats in our elections” as progressives push for radical changes, including voting by mail and more ballot collection. , in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The launch came after the RNC-Trump campaign doubled its legal budget to $ 20 million after an initial commitment of $ 10 million in February, saying they wanted to “fight frivolous Democratic lawsuits and defend the integrity of the electoral process.” .
FORMER CLINTON LAWYER THREATENS DEMAND UNLESS VOTING HARVEST IS PERMITTED
“In battlefield states across the country, Democrats are using the coronavirus as an excuse to push their long-sought partisan agenda, but we are fighting to protect the vote,” McDaniel told Fox News at the time. “The RNC will stop.” nothing to guarantee the integrity of our elections against the brazen assaults of the democrats. Americans deserve to have confidence in their elections, and we won’t be left idle as Democrats try to demand their way to victory in November. “
That was a message echoed by President Trump in a tweet from the previous month: “GET RID OF THE VOTING HARVEST, IT’S RAMPANT WITH FRAUD. THE UNITED STATES MUST HAVE A VOTER ID, THE ONLY WAY TO GET AN HONEST COUNT! “
