Biden’s Georgia Speech

[Alan]

Yea, well it's pretty much a dead horse anyway, but national election, national rules.

All elections are local. Many people consider Presidential or Senate elections to be national but they're actually not. Senators run in one state and Presidential contenders run nationally but the votes they receive are attributed to the states as well to determine how electoral college results are applied.

There's no need to replace local boards of election with one national arbiter of how your school board or county sheriff are elected.

[Rogar]

I do not favor ceeding one more inch of control to the Feds, taking it from the states. The feds can recommend standards but not impose them. I suppose The Feds can even throw shit tons of money at states who will do it the way they want it done as enticement, more stupid money going out, but any further step than that is wrong.

And how do you feel about pollution standards, the military, and other federally regulated "big gobrmt" public interests.

[iris lilies]

And how do you feel about pollution standards, the military, and other federally regulated "big gobrmt" public interests.

The federal government has a role. It has overstepped its role. That’s how I feel. At minimum it should provide defense for our country’s borders. It has some regulation of national commerce.

[Alan]

The federal government has a role. It has overstepped its role. That’s how I feel. At minimum it should provide defense for our country’s borders. It has some regulation of national commerce.

The only reason to support a federal government is to coordinate the defense of the country. As far a commerce goes I think it should only be an arbiter of disputes between the states. Of course we've well exceeded those simple responsibilities long ago.

[Rogar]

From what I’ve read, Texas now requires the ballot application to match the driver’s license number, state ID number or last four digits of the social security number the voter provided when they registered.

I am thinking it's more complicated, but this is what the Texas web site says. I guess they don't have snow days there, but probably work or transportation issues that could include or exclude certain classes of people.

To be eligible to vote early by mail in Texas, you must:

• be 65 years or older;
• be sick or disabled;
• be out of the county on election day and during the period for early voting by personal appearance;
• be expected to give birth within three weeks before or after Election Day; or
• be confined in jail, but otherwise eligible.

https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/voter/reqabbm.shtml

[LDAHL]

I think the founders did an excellent job of creating obstacles for individuals, groups and even passing majorities from grabbing and exercising arbitrarily power over the individual.

But I’m wondering if they didn’t foresee one branch of government ceding power in the way Congress has been to the Executive for the last century or so. Or how the Executive has ceded power to an administrative bureaucracy.

[Rogar]

The only reason to support a federal government is to coordinate the defense of the country. As far a commerce goes I think it should only be an arbiter of disputes between the states. Of course we've well exceeded those simple responsibilities long ago.

Probably a lengthy and futile discussion could ensue, but I still get a chuckle over Rick Perry's speech when he proposed eliminating three government agencies, but couldn't remember the department of energy as the third. I have a friend who works at NREL and he later paid them a visit as head of the department and made an illustrious speech supporting their efforts. He did better in Dancing with the Stars.

[befree]

Rogar's listing of the requirements to request a mail-in ballot in Texas (already some of the most restrictive in the nation) are as they have been for a while. The new requirements also include that you put your DL number and last 4 of your social security on the request, and apparently a lot of people aren't used to filling this addtl info out, so the requests are being tossed due to being "incomplete." Also, Texas mailed out 11,000 notifications to voters that required them to come down to the election office and prove they were citizens, by bringing in a copy of their birth certificate. All this, in spite of the fact that election fraud is negligible

[Alan]

All this, in spite of the fact that election fraud is negligible

We hear that election fraud is negligible in national elections, but what about local ones? We never hear about those.
We only vote for President every four years, but we vote for state and local representatives, school and fire levies and a host of other things much more often. It doesn't take much fraud to unduly influence those things.

[Rogar]

We hear that election fraud is negligible in national elections, but what about local ones? We never hear about those.
We only vote for President every four years, but we vote for state and local representatives, school and fire levies and a host of other things much more often. It doesn't take much fraud to unduly influence those things.

I could buy into that if there were significant evidence in states like mine will less restrictive practices. Or maybe we've had it all along and no one knows. The again, there were the 17 pallets of missing ballots found in the back alley in Georgia, mostly for Trump.