Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

So very ready.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

I really should read my own blog.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

People are complicated. Love is not.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

You cannot shame the shameless.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

We do not need to pander to people who do not like what we stand for.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Elected Officials Need Our Legal Help (Open Thread)

Elected Officials Need Our Legal Help (Open Thread)

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Election officials need our legal help against repressive laws and personal threats.   – Washington Post

It was Bob Bauer who kept me from full-blown panic in the days shortly after Nov 3, 2021 2020.

We already know this part:

Election officials are coming under unprecedented attack for doing their jobs. Some states are attempting to criminalize the exercise of these officials’ trained professional judgments; some officials have been the target of threats to themselves and their families. Any American — whether Republican, Democrat or independent — must know that systematic efforts to undermine the ability of those overseeing the counting and casting of ballots on an independent, nonpartisan basis are destructive to our democracy.

The two of us have been partisan opponents in the past, representing opposing political parties to the best of our abilities. But at this moment in time, we share a grave concern about attacks on those public servants who successfully oversaw what was arguably the most secure and transparent election in our country’s history, with record turnout, during a global pandemic. If such attacks go unaddressed, our system of self-governance will suffer long-term damage.

Opponents in the past, they are now teaming up.

Official Legal Defense Network (EOLDN), which will connect licensed, qualified, pro bono attorneys with election administrators who need advice or assistance. State and local election workers anywhere in the country can go to EOLDN.org, or call the toll-free number (877) 313-5210, at any time, 24/7, to request to be connected with a lawyer who can help them, at no cost.

This service will be available regardless of the officials’ political affiliation or where they work — that is, whether they are in a blue or red state or county. We already have lawyers committed to provide this volunteer support, and we are recruiting more. As co-chairs, we will be supported by a bipartisan advisory board of experienced state and local election officials of both parties, from across the nation. The response from these officials has been extraordinary and gratifying.

The unyielding barrage of threats to election officials — Republicans, Democrats, state level, locals — continues to this day. Many received threats to themselves and their families, regardless of which way their states voted in 2020. Often, these officials lack the legal resources to oppose efforts to intimidate them into violating their duties to voters and the law.

It doesn’t look like they are asking for money at this time, but if you’re an attorney, or you know any attorneys, I hope you will think about joining this effort.

Totally open thread.

Reader Interactions

55Comments

  4. 4.

    Sure Lurkalot

    I’m going to have to hold my breath to see proof of both sides here. For a while it seemed like Georgia’s Raffensperger and Sterling were allies until it turned out they are perfectly copacetic with Georgia’s new voting restrictions and the usurpation of local control. And who threatened these two? Republicans.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    days shortly after Nov 3, 2021.

    Do you know something we don’t? Also, any advice on lottery numbers or sportsball outcomes you could share?

  9. 9.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @WaterGirl: I’m not questioning the principals or the effort. It is horrific that it’s necessary.

    The framing is that “both sides” are being threatened…and both sides are threatening. Maybe Democrats are threatening Republican election officials and I’ve missed the story.

  10. 10.

    japa21

    @Sure Lurkalot: ​
      There is no statement that Democrats are threatening Republican election officials, just that Republican election officials have been threatened, which is true. And it is appropriate that they be willing to support and defend officials no matter what their party or location.

  21. 21.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Yutsano:  Stop doing that. Just because Wifey is there doesn’t mean you need to go too. Seriously, take care of yourself and get well.

  22. 22.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @japa21: From the article:

    Actual threats to these nonpartisan officials did not generally emerge until after the 2020 presidential election. We raised the issue earlier this summer, noting how the Iowa legislature criminalized election officials’ conduct in assisting voters, and how election officials in Anchorage were subjected to incidents of harassment and attempted intimidation by a candidate during a local election in Alaska. Since early June, several states, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Texas, have passed legislation imposing criminal penalties, including fines and jail time, on election officials and volunteer poll workers for simply doing their jobs. Several states have increased the power of partisan poll watchers, which can greatly increase tension in polling places and the burden on election officials to provide a safe and efficient polling place.

    Which legislatures are passing these laws? Who’s doing the harassing? Radio silence.

    Of course officials of either party should be able to their jobs without harassment or threat and good this group is banding together, but there is a truth that’s missing here.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Yutsano:

    At the ER. Again. Separate issue this time

    YUTS!! Don’t do that! We told you before!

    (In all sincerity, I hope it’s something easy to diagnose and quick to treat. Sending you the good thoughts left over from the batch I sent to asiangrrrl yesterday.)

  30. 30.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: “Tilt the mirror up a little… OK, now pick up the fistula probe — no, not that one, to the left — your left — OK, now hold your breath and insert it into….”

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    Meanwhile, in the Gem State,

    For the first time in Idaho’s history, officials in the state on Tuesday moved to start rationing medical care in some overburdened hospitals grappling with a surge in covid-19 patients — a grim reflection of the delta variant’s devastation and a dire warning for other health-care systems pushed to the brink by rising infections.

    Officials activated Idaho’s “crisis standards of care” for at least 10 hospitals in two public health districts, saying in a statement that a “massive increase in patients with COVID-19 who require hospitalization” had led to a shortage of staff and beds. Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, with less than 40 percent of the population fully vaccinated. Source

  37. 37.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:

    I just don’t understand how people can deny reality.

    It’s surprisingly easy.  It’s frustrating how often people do it, but plenty of people find it easier than dealing with reality.

  38. 38.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I first read Bob Bauer as Bob Barr…then made the mistake of going to his Twitter feed. I thought he had become an anti-Trumper but he’s bugfuck crazy as usual. I know I am not supposed to say shit about RWingers who are on ‘our sides’ at this point but fuck Ben Ginsberg.  He’s one of the fuckers who started this shit with Bush v Gore.

  41. 41.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @A Good Woman: I was talking about the radio silence in the WaPo article WaterGirl linked. There are links in the full article to a couple of incidents but the body of it does not name which party members are doing the harassing.

  43. 43.

    WaterGirl

    @Sure Lurkalot: I suggest that we don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.

    This is an important program that will fight for free and fair elections.  This is a program that will give election officials somewhere to turn when they are attacked.

    The fact that this program is for any and all election officials will give it credibility in some circles.  If 99% of the attacks are on Democratic election officials, we will get 99% of the benefit.

    We need to not lose focus on what’s important because we are justifiably annoyed with the both sides framing that is everywhere.

    This effort will be one more weapon as we defend our democracy from attack.

    I see that as a good thing.

  44. 44.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    @Yutsano:

    Aaagh! Everyone stop having to go to the hospital!! You, Minna, my sister…my niece just called to say that my sister is in the hospital, after a wellness check. Waiting to hear. Bated breath. For all of you.

  45. 45.

    Ken

    @NotMax: I’m beginning to think it’s not so much Republican projection, but some sort of curse. Surely they didn’t want rationed healthcare and death panels, but somehow — a decade after they were shrieking about them — Idaho of all places has them.

  47. 47.

    lurker

    @WaterGirl: aside from that, there are plenty of attacks on republican election officials by republicans.  While the both-sides framing is not great, what little I read (not the entire article) really did not identify the source of the attacks at all.  There are moderate and conservative republicans who are uncomfortable with these attacks, and there are right-wing attacks coming from people who would consider the republicans way too mainstream (not unlike some of our bernie-bro types or others in the Green party).

     

    Are the attacks almost all coming from red/conservative areas – sure.  Will we alienate potential supporters of fair elections by painting all republicans as against fair elections – potentially.  Bauer and Ginsberg had a friendly rivalry as high level election lawyers for a long time.  Ginsberg took some positions I found very troubling in Bush v Gore, but he has come around to the idea that Trump and his strain of GOP conspiracy mongering is way over the line.  Encouraging more of that on their side is important

     

    ETA: we want Republican election officials in red parts of states like PA or MI to be able to count votes of Democrats in red parts of those states to allow for proper vote counts throughout the state.  Just one example where defending everyone is important.  Similarly, while Raffensberger is largely a bog-standard R, he did certify the win for Biden in Georgia, and we want to encourage that kind of behavior too.  Even if it means someone like a Democratic governor of Kansas or Kentucky having to certify electors in that state for a Republican if the results come out that way.

  49. 49.

    Mike in NC

    Found out that a guy in our development has a girlfriend who owns a few restaurants in DC. We took Uber into the District and arrived at a place called Beau Thai. Basically got a complimentary dinner and appetizers. It was outstanding.

  54. 54.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Yutsano:

    At the ER. Again. Separate issue this time. 

    Hope everything turns out ok, and that this isn’t a detour off the road back to spicy food. :)

  55. 55.

    a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio

    @Yutsano: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I hope you’re home soon, with all things better, and that you can quit having to drop into the krankenhaus for these surprise visits.

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