TLO

[Paul Mitchell @paulmitche11]

First off "ballot harvesting" is a crazy term - it actually was historically used for illegal practices, and people conflate the state's "ballot delivery" process with this.

The vast majority of ballot delivery is done by people delivering ballots for friends and neighbors. Like my mom who went to Adventist hospital in LA where her friend is in rehabilitation from a medical issue, and she got her ballot and delivered it for her.

Do I want to end that? Of course not.

Do I want to make it illegal for someone to take someone's ballot, fill it out for them and deliver it? Yes. I do want that to be illegal. And, oh, wow, that is actually illegal!!

Do I want to make sure that there aren't incentives for cheating, like having campaign pay people to collect ballots - like a per-ballot program, sure. I would be fine with that kind of restriction. Oh, and that is actually the law!

[TLO @tedlinko]

@RichardHanania Um...which books???

[TLO @tedlinko]

@279NASCARFan @whiteygleason No they didn't, because they never had it to turtle away. Knicks were just better, tougher, more experienced. They were the better 4th quarter team in just about every game.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@BrettSiegelNBA @slashbrofc The word "should" is doing a lot of work there. Sure. they are extremely talented and have had great starts every game, but playoff games aren't won in the first half. Their youth and inexperience showed down the stretch. That's what NY has that they don't...yet.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@BooMan23 @mtaibbi This describes me 100%. I used to love going to the polls on ED. Thought I'd miss it. You know? I DON'T!!! The ballots show up in the mail, my wife and I sit down & research, fill them out and drop them off on the way to work. (& the county texts me saying they got it. Easy)

[TLO @tedlinko]

@SovernNation @mtaibbi Hell, I'm not a younger and I find it incredibly convenient!!! I used to be a poll voter but it's so much easier to sit at home, read abt the candidates AND propositions, and complete my ballot - drop it off on the way to work.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@mtaibbi I used to think you were a bit odd, but a responsible journalist. Sadly, you've become a red-pilled nutjob conspiracy theorist.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@mtaibbi In the past, if you weren't a VBM/absentee, you had to vote at your local precinct (not convenient for many) Now you can vote in person or drop your completed ballot at ANY vote center in the county. Exponentially more convenient/accessible.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@mtaibbi Not quite true. Any CA voter has had the choice to become "permanent absentee" for 20 years. No excuse needed. What changed after COVID was just automatic ballots mailed to everyone. We also moved from precinct voting to more centralized vote centers + drop boxes.

[Terry Moran 🇺🇸 @TerryMoran]

It’s not about arguments. It’s about facts.

I know one great fact about American elections, and I know it because the Republican Party has proved it to me:

There is no election fraud of any consequence anywhere in the United States.

The Republican Party and its allies, FOR DECADES, have been searching high and low, in every corner of our country, for evidence of election fraud.

This effort has been made with vast sums of money and other resources, and with some of the greatest powers in our nation at the party’s disposal:

A presidential commission under President Donald Trump.

The Department of Justice under President Donald Trump, armed with the resources of the FBI, and the powers of subpoena.

Committees of Congress under Republican control, also armed with the powers of subpoena and the investigative resources of the first branch of government.

State legislatures under Republican control, also with subpoena powers, have launched similar efforts to find evidence of election fraud.

Republican-controlled states have set up special commissions and task forces, some with subpoena powers, all well-funded and with access to the state’s electoral systems.

Conservative academics and think tanks have launched projects seeking out evidence of election fraud.

Fox News and the rest of MAGA media have dedicated significant resources to finding evidence of election fraud.

What is the result of this enormous Republican effort to find election fraud?

Ask The Heritage Foundation.

For nearly a decade, Heritage has maintained an “Election Fraud Database.”

The database contains “proven instances of election fraud.”

It covers elections going back nearly fifty years.

That’s billions and billions of American votes.

Right now, the total number of proven instances of election fraud that Heritage can document is:

1620.

That’s an infinitesimal number, vanishingly small, and it is solid proof of two things:

1. Some individuals commit election fraud.

2. There is no evidence at all of systemic or even widespread election fraud anywhere in the USA.

The election-fraud panic is the Big Lie of our time.

It is peddled by people who know better. Their own investigations over decades demonstrate that.

Stop trying to subvert our democracy.

🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

[TLO @tedlinko]

@IAmJoyceChow @dcopechatter How do you know it was received but not counted? The notice I received confirmed both at the same time, in the same text/email. Or did you just make this up?

[TLO @tedlinko]

@Dougtwit23 @murphymike Also, the mod vs lib, progressive labels, etc are complicated. There are a fair number of socially liberal, fiscally moderate voters, and many w/ frankly heterodox views. It's not that the state is all DSA lefties, but the GOP brand is so toxic, its a political death sentence.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@Dougtwit23 @murphymike You're not wrong, the extreme partisanship is a core issue. But one reason the GOP has so few "decent candidates" is that the party has become so toxic, the ppl you're describing now mostly run as mod Ds.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@Dougtwit23 @murphymike The challenge w/ your vision is that I don't think the base of the current Republican party has any appetite for the kind of GOP moderate former Govs you are talking about.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@Dougtwit23 @murphymike In raw numbers, yes, CA has a lot of Rs, but as a share of reg voters, it's only 25% (vs 45% D,25% I). 1/3rd Indies are true swing. Rest lean 60/40 D. Given current polarization, it wld req a major shift for GOP to compete statewide. Unlikely anytime soon, even w/out Trump.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@Dougtwit23 @murphymike OK, sure, perhaps, but #1 what is a "normal" Republican at this point? The party of McCain, Romney, or Arnold (the last GOP statewide winner) is long gone. Also #2. Define "the future."

[TLO @tedlinko]

@Dougtwit23 @murphymike In this political environment, NO candidate with an R next to their name is going to win a statewide race in California. The ONLY chance Hilton had was locking the Ds out in the top2.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@Lauren_V_Egan I'm truly mystified at the D freakout. The man acknowledged his past up front - in fact moving beyond that is central to his message. Voters seem to get that, and respond to it even if consultants and talking heads seem unable. The man is an effective communicator.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@Vince14Genius_0 @williamjordann Speaking for myself, i can't stand him. I've seen rich guys with no public service background try 2 buy their way into office and it rarely works out. They are arrogant, thinking they know better than everyone how things should work. Steyer was maybe my 5th/6th choice at best.

[TLO @tedlinko]

@sooner_john1 @Logically_JC @DanMax288 I'll trade some warships and ballistic missiles for affordable education and health care. -- in a minute -- Sign me up!!! Not sure who's the stupid one here. 🤣🤣