Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
By Katelyn Polantz and Taylor Romine, CNN
Updated 10:52 PM ET, Thu October 29, 2020
(CNN)A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that mailed-in ballots in Minnesota must be received by elections officials no later than Election Day and suggested voters consider other options for casting their ballots.
The 2-1 ruling -- a win for the Republican challengers to the state's plans -- cuts off a weeklong window after Election Day where state officials had planned to receive ballots that had lingered in the mail. The court found the Minnesota secretary of state's accommodation went against a state law that said ballots delivered by mail to elections officials after 8 p.m. on Election Day should be marked late.
"The Secretary's instructions to count mail-in ballots received up to seven days after Election Day stand in direct contradiction to Minnesota election law governing presidential elections," the ruling stated.
The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals urged voters to consider voting in other ways, because the court has not yet decided if votes that come in via mail after Election Day are legal.
"Better to put those voters on notice now while they still have at least some time to adjust their plans and cast their votes in an unquestionably lawful way," the appeals court said in its ruling.
Voters in Minnesota can turn in their absentee ballot at designated drop-off locations by 3 p.m. on Election Day. They can also go vote in person even if they have requested absentee ballots; voters can track their ballots online and if they haven't been received by Election Day they are allowed to vote in person and their mail-in ballots will no longer count.
The appeals court said that the ballots received by officials after Election Day should be set aside separately from ballots that were received on time, and not counted.
The decision tackles absentee ballot deadlines in a battleground state a day after the US Supreme Court declined to wade into plans in Pennsylvania and North Carolina to continue to accept ballots after Election Day.
The Trump campaign had sided with cutting off the receipt of ballots by Election Day.
The decision on Thursday night potentially throws into chaos the plans of Minnesota voters who have not yet mailed their absentee ballots. It sets up the possibility those votes may not be counted if they are postmarked in the coming days.
In a news conference Thursday night, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said he didn't know yet if the ruling would be appealed.
Simon noted that while ballots received after 8 p.m. on Election Day must be segregated, it is undecided whether those votes ultimately will count toward the election total. Election officials are still allowed to count but not tabulate ballots received after the deadline, so it is possible that there will be two final tallies: ballots that made it in before 8 p.m. and those that didn't, he said.
As of Thursday evening, a little under 400,000 absentee ballots that had been requested by and sent to voters had not been received by election officials, Simon said.
"The consequences of this order are not lost on us," the court's opinion said. "We acknowledge and understand the concerns over voter confusion, election administration issues, and public confidence in the election. ... With that said, we conclude the challenges that will stem from this ruling are preferable to a postelection scenario where mail-in votes, received after the statutory deadline, are either intermingled with ballots received on time or invalidated without prior warning."
The appeals court sided with two of the Republican Party's nominees for its Electoral College slate in Minnesota. The two electors challenged the Minnesota secretary of state's decision to add a week for the state to receive ballots after Election Day.
US Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, told voters to not mail in their ballots after the ruling.
"Because of LAST MINUTE ruling, Minnesota DO NOT put ballots in mail any more," Klobuchar said on Twitter. "In the middle of a pandemic, the Republican Party is doing everything to make it hard for you to vote. Stand up for YOUR rights: Vote in-person or take mail-in ballot directly to ballot box."
Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said in a statement that the party was pleased with the decision.
"We applaud the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals for upholding the integrity of the election and affirming Election Day as November 3rd," she said. "The pandemic has caused upheaval in many areas of life but hiding behind the pandemic to manipulate the election process is not democratic, and we appreciate that our laws and interpretation of those laws matter."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, in an appearance on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" slammed Republicans for bringing the case and bemoaned their praise of the decision.
"It speaks volumes when your goal is to make it more difficult for people to vote," Walz said. "It probably speaks that they are not really happy with your policies, so here in Minnesota, we will still count all the votes, the system is still secure, those ballots will be segregated and I think this will obviously go up further through the judiciary to get a decision. But at this point in time, people can avoid all this by simply going and dropping their ballots off in person."
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
They changed the ruling less than a week before the election.
Seems a big deal, to me.
The goal should be to count all votes cast. Nothing else.
if you have followed the directions your state has set and mailed by the last day your state says, they should count. fucking elections arent certified for several werks anyway to.make a count official.
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memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
By Katelyn Polantz and Taylor Romine, CNN
Updated 10:52 PM ET, Thu October 29, 2020
(CNN)A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that mailed-in ballots in Minnesota must be received by elections officials no later than Election Day and suggested voters consider other options for casting their ballots.
The 2-1 ruling -- a win for the Republican challengers to the state's plans -- cuts off a weeklong window after Election Day where state officials had planned to receive ballots that had lingered in the mail. The court found the Minnesota secretary of state's accommodation went against a state law that said ballots delivered by mail to elections officials after 8 p.m. on Election Day should be marked late.
"The Secretary's instructions to count mail-in ballots received up to seven days after Election Day stand in direct contradiction to Minnesota election law governing presidential elections," the ruling stated.
The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals urged voters to consider voting in other ways, because the court has not yet decided if votes that come in via mail after Election Day are legal.
"Better to put those voters on notice now while they still have at least some time to adjust their plans and cast their votes in an unquestionably lawful way," the appeals court said in its ruling.
Voters in Minnesota can turn in their absentee ballot at designated drop-off locations by 3 p.m. on Election Day. They can also go vote in person even if they have requested absentee ballots; voters can track their ballots online and if they haven't been received by Election Day they are allowed to vote in person and their mail-in ballots will no longer count.
The appeals court said that the ballots received by officials after Election Day should be set aside separately from ballots that were received on time, and not counted.
The decision tackles absentee ballot deadlines in a battleground state a day after the US Supreme Court declined to wade into plans in Pennsylvania and North Carolina to continue to accept ballots after Election Day.
The Trump campaign had sided with cutting off the receipt of ballots by Election Day.
The decision on Thursday night potentially throws into chaos the plans of Minnesota voters who have not yet mailed their absentee ballots. It sets up the possibility those votes may not be counted if they are postmarked in the coming days.
In a news conference Thursday night, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said he didn't know yet if the ruling would be appealed.
Simon noted that while ballots received after 8 p.m. on Election Day must be segregated, it is undecided whether those votes ultimately will count toward the election total. Election officials are still allowed to count but not tabulate ballots received after the deadline, so it is possible that there will be two final tallies: ballots that made it in before 8 p.m. and those that didn't, he said.
As of Thursday evening, a little under 400,000 absentee ballots that had been requested by and sent to voters had not been received by election officials, Simon said.
"The consequences of this order are not lost on us," the court's opinion said. "We acknowledge and understand the concerns over voter confusion, election administration issues, and public confidence in the election. ... With that said, we conclude the challenges that will stem from this ruling are preferable to a postelection scenario where mail-in votes, received after the statutory deadline, are either intermingled with ballots received on time or invalidated without prior warning."
The appeals court sided with two of the Republican Party's nominees for its Electoral College slate in Minnesota. The two electors challenged the Minnesota secretary of state's decision to add a week for the state to receive ballots after Election Day.
US Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, told voters to not mail in their ballots after the ruling.
"Because of LAST MINUTE ruling, Minnesota DO NOT put ballots in mail any more," Klobuchar said on Twitter. "In the middle of a pandemic, the Republican Party is doing everything to make it hard for you to vote. Stand up for YOUR rights: Vote in-person or take mail-in ballot directly to ballot box."
Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said in a statement that the party was pleased with the decision.
"We applaud the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals for upholding the integrity of the election and affirming Election Day as November 3rd," she said. "The pandemic has caused upheaval in many areas of life but hiding behind the pandemic to manipulate the election process is not democratic, and we appreciate that our laws and interpretation of those laws matter."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, in an appearance on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" slammed Republicans for bringing the case and bemoaned their praise of the decision.
"It speaks volumes when your goal is to make it more difficult for people to vote," Walz said. "It probably speaks that they are not really happy with your policies, so here in Minnesota, we will still count all the votes, the system is still secure, those ballots will be segregated and I think this will obviously go up further through the judiciary to get a decision. But at this point in time, people can avoid all this by simply going and dropping their ballots off in person."
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
They changed the ruling less than a week before the election.
Seems a big deal, to me.
The goal should be to count all votes cast. Nothing else.
if you have followed the directions your state has set and mailed by the last day your state says, they should count. fucking elections arent certified for several werks anyway to.make a count official.
Agree. If the rules are changing back and forth they need to allow for that.
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
By Katelyn Polantz and Taylor Romine, CNN
Updated 10:52 PM ET, Thu October 29, 2020
(CNN)A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that mailed-in ballots in Minnesota must be received by elections officials no later than Election Day and suggested voters consider other options for casting their ballots.
The 2-1 ruling -- a win for the Republican challengers to the state's plans -- cuts off a weeklong window after Election Day where state officials had planned to receive ballots that had lingered in the mail. The court found the Minnesota secretary of state's accommodation went against a state law that said ballots delivered by mail to elections officials after 8 p.m. on Election Day should be marked late.
"The Secretary's instructions to count mail-in ballots received up to seven days after Election Day stand in direct contradiction to Minnesota election law governing presidential elections," the ruling stated.
The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals urged voters to consider voting in other ways, because the court has not yet decided if votes that come in via mail after Election Day are legal.
"Better to put those voters on notice now while they still have at least some time to adjust their plans and cast their votes in an unquestionably lawful way," the appeals court said in its ruling.
Voters in Minnesota can turn in their absentee ballot at designated drop-off locations by 3 p.m. on Election Day. They can also go vote in person even if they have requested absentee ballots; voters can track their ballots online and if they haven't been received by Election Day they are allowed to vote in person and their mail-in ballots will no longer count.
The appeals court said that the ballots received by officials after Election Day should be set aside separately from ballots that were received on time, and not counted.
The decision tackles absentee ballot deadlines in a battleground state a day after the US Supreme Court declined to wade into plans in Pennsylvania and North Carolina to continue to accept ballots after Election Day.
The Trump campaign had sided with cutting off the receipt of ballots by Election Day.
The decision on Thursday night potentially throws into chaos the plans of Minnesota voters who have not yet mailed their absentee ballots. It sets up the possibility those votes may not be counted if they are postmarked in the coming days.
In a news conference Thursday night, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said he didn't know yet if the ruling would be appealed.
Simon noted that while ballots received after 8 p.m. on Election Day must be segregated, it is undecided whether those votes ultimately will count toward the election total. Election officials are still allowed to count but not tabulate ballots received after the deadline, so it is possible that there will be two final tallies: ballots that made it in before 8 p.m. and those that didn't, he said.
As of Thursday evening, a little under 400,000 absentee ballots that had been requested by and sent to voters had not been received by election officials, Simon said.
"The consequences of this order are not lost on us," the court's opinion said. "We acknowledge and understand the concerns over voter confusion, election administration issues, and public confidence in the election. ... With that said, we conclude the challenges that will stem from this ruling are preferable to a postelection scenario where mail-in votes, received after the statutory deadline, are either intermingled with ballots received on time or invalidated without prior warning."
The appeals court sided with two of the Republican Party's nominees for its Electoral College slate in Minnesota. The two electors challenged the Minnesota secretary of state's decision to add a week for the state to receive ballots after Election Day.
US Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, told voters to not mail in their ballots after the ruling.
"Because of LAST MINUTE ruling, Minnesota DO NOT put ballots in mail any more," Klobuchar said on Twitter. "In the middle of a pandemic, the Republican Party is doing everything to make it hard for you to vote. Stand up for YOUR rights: Vote in-person or take mail-in ballot directly to ballot box."
Minnesota Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan said in a statement that the party was pleased with the decision.
"We applaud the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals for upholding the integrity of the election and affirming Election Day as November 3rd," she said. "The pandemic has caused upheaval in many areas of life but hiding behind the pandemic to manipulate the election process is not democratic, and we appreciate that our laws and interpretation of those laws matter."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, in an appearance on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" slammed Republicans for bringing the case and bemoaned their praise of the decision.
"It speaks volumes when your goal is to make it more difficult for people to vote," Walz said. "It probably speaks that they are not really happy with your policies, so here in Minnesota, we will still count all the votes, the system is still secure, those ballots will be segregated and I think this will obviously go up further through the judiciary to get a decision. But at this point in time, people can avoid all this by simply going and dropping their ballots off in person."
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
The big deal is the Secretary of State instructed ballots to be counted seven days after election day, as long as they were postmarked on election day.
Those were the rules of the state.
Now the Republicans have petitioned the judges to change that rule at the last minute. Now ballots have to be received by election day. That's a big change 5 days before the election when so many are voting by mail. Not to mention the thousands of people who don't have the luxury to vote in person, or drop their ballots off: such as military or people living abroad, elderly, people with multiple jobs, or without access to transportation.
Why do Republicans always want to make it more difficult for people to vote? Why do they have to lie cheat and steal to win an election?
Its not about making it more difficult. If you don't like the state law about the deadline, fine. Go through the proper channels and change it. But don't just say you're going to ignore it and count them anyway. Half the states in the country have that same deadline. Why should the state law be ignored? I'm sure it would be easier to vote if we got rid of registration and allowed people to vote all through November too, but there's voting rules ot follow. We can't just pick which ones to follow and ignore the ones we don't like.
yes, the pandemic started 10 months ago. if they wanted this changed, they had plenty of time to try to get that done.
however, you have to admit that the republican party does their damndest in many situations to suppress the vote.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
Unless I misunderstood the situation, that isn't what happened. So correct if I'm wrong, but the state law has been the deadline of election day. The election officials just said they are going to extend that and ignore the law without proper channels. The ruling of the court wasn't to change the deadline, it was do say they have to stick with what's written in the law. And I see no problem with that. I do see a problem with changing election rules mid election without going through the proper channels to change the state law though that dictates said election rules. Also, no one is making anyone vote by mail, Its a choice. In Wisconsin you have to request a mail ballot I believe. You could have requested the ballot a month ago and sent it back a few days later. No one's hands are being tied by this. If you don't want to mail a ballot in time, that's fine. Don't request one and go vote in person. If you needed those 5 weeks to read up on the election and cast your vote, fine, drop it off in person. No one is being limited by this decision to follow the election rules that are in place.
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
setting aside all the dictatorship/autocracy hyperbole for a second, educate me:
-does the secretary of state have the power to change the rules of the election in their own state, and, if so, -does no one else in the state have the power to appeal that decision to the courts, and, if so, -does the court not have the power to overrule the SoS?
if all of the answers to these questions is yes, how is that putting any thumbs on any scale? if it's well within the law, and i don't see an issue. do i like it? no, but i don't always like decisions made by those in power.
clearly, extending the voting deadline = advantage-democrats. with all the whining the left does about republicans trying every legal trick in the book to get elections to go their way, it's kind of hypocritical to complain when you try it and it doesn't work.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
setting aside all the dictatorship/autocracy hyperbole for a second, educate me:
-does the secretary of state have the power to change the rules of the election in their own state, and, if so, -does no one else in the state have the power to appeal that decision to the courts, and, if so, -does the court not have the power to overrule the SoS?
if all of the answers to these questions is yes, how is that putting any thumbs on any scale? if it's well within the law, and i don't see an issue. do i like it? no, but i don't always like decisions made by those in power.
clearly, extending the voting deadline = advantage-democrats. with all the whining the left does about republicans trying every legal trick in the book to get elections to go their way, it's kind of hypocritical to complain when you try it and it doesn't work.
My basic understanding is that the rules of elections are set by the states.
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
setting aside all the dictatorship/autocracy hyperbole for a second, educate me:
-does the secretary of state have the power to change the rules of the election in their own state, and, if so, -does no one else in the state have the power to appeal that decision to the courts, and, if so, -does the court not have the power to overrule the SoS?
if all of the answers to these questions is yes, how is that putting any thumbs on any scale? if it's well within the law, and i don't see an issue. do i like it? no, but i don't always like decisions made by those in power.
clearly, extending the voting deadline = advantage-democrats. with all the whining the left does about republicans trying every legal trick in the book to get elections to go their way, it's kind of hypocritical to complain when you try it and it doesn't work.
My basic understanding is that the rules of elections are set by the states.
yes, they are. but my questions are little more involved than that. who changes the rules? and who is allowed to appeal those changes?
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
Unless I misunderstood the situation, that isn't what happened. So correct if I'm wrong, but the state law has been the deadline of election day. The election officials just said they are going to extend that and ignore the law without proper channels. The ruling of the court wasn't to change the deadline, it was do say they have to stick with what's written in the law. And I see no problem with that. I do see a problem with changing election rules mid election without going through the proper channels to change the state law though that dictates said election rules. Also, no one is making anyone vote by mail, Its a choice. In Wisconsin you have to request a mail ballot I believe. You could have requested the ballot a month ago and sent it back a few days later. No one's hands are being tied by this. If you don't want to mail a ballot in time, that's fine. Don't request one and go vote in person. If you needed those 5 weeks to read up on the election and cast your vote, fine, drop it off in person. No one is being limited by this decision to follow the election rules that are in place.
I'm in Minnesota and I voted two weeks ago, so...
(Now I have to actually read this when I'm supposed to be working...)
Mea Culpa. I was wrong. The ruling is right. It's a tough pill to swallow that someone who chooses who they want to vote for today is not going to be counted, but I guess it's on them. Minnesota late Biden votes will be the butterfly ballots of this year.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
Unless I misunderstood the situation, that isn't what happened. So correct if I'm wrong, but the state law has been the deadline of election day. The election officials just said they are going to extend that and ignore the law without proper channels. The ruling of the court wasn't to change the deadline, it was do say they have to stick with what's written in the law. And I see no problem with that. I do see a problem with changing election rules mid election without going through the proper channels to change the state law though that dictates said election rules. Also, no one is making anyone vote by mail, Its a choice. In Wisconsin you have to request a mail ballot I believe. You could have requested the ballot a month ago and sent it back a few days later. No one's hands are being tied by this. If you don't want to mail a ballot in time, that's fine. Don't request one and go vote in person. If you needed those 5 weeks to read up on the election and cast your vote, fine, drop it off in person. No one is being limited by this decision to follow the election rules that are in place.
I'm in Minnesota and I voted two weeks ago, so...
(Now I have to actually read this when I'm supposed to be working...)
Mea Culpa. I was wrong. The ruling is right. It's a tough pill to swallow that someone who chooses who they want to vote for today is not going to be counted, but I guess it's on them. Minnesota late Biden votes will be the butterfly ballots of this year.
With them telegraphing that they were going to go for the mail in ballots as election fraud angle I am still scratching my head as to why anyone would do anything other than drop their ballot off in person or vote in person.
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
setting aside all the dictatorship/autocracy hyperbole for a second, educate me:
-does the secretary of state have the power to change the rules of the election in their own state, and, if so, -does no one else in the state have the power to appeal that decision to the courts, and, if so, -does the court not have the power to overrule the SoS?
if all of the answers to these questions is yes, how is that putting any thumbs on any scale? if it's well within the law, and i don't see an issue. do i like it? no, but i don't always like decisions made by those in power.
clearly, extending the voting deadline = advantage-democrats. with all the whining the left does about republicans trying every legal trick in the book to get elections to go their way, it's kind of hypocritical to complain when you try it and it doesn't work.
Someone will have to give more detailed answers. But what I read, every source referred to the election deadline as state law. I didn't realize election deadlines were state law to begin with, but that doesn't matter. But the secretary of state doesn't have the power to just change state laws on his own and not go through state legislature.
The court's decision in this case was simply saying they must follow what is written in the state law.
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
Unless I misunderstood the situation, that isn't what happened. So correct if I'm wrong, but the state law has been the deadline of election day. The election officials just said they are going to extend that and ignore the law without proper channels. The ruling of the court wasn't to change the deadline, it was do say they have to stick with what's written in the law. And I see no problem with that. I do see a problem with changing election rules mid election without going through the proper channels to change the state law though that dictates said election rules. Also, no one is making anyone vote by mail, Its a choice. In Wisconsin you have to request a mail ballot I believe. You could have requested the ballot a month ago and sent it back a few days later. No one's hands are being tied by this. If you don't want to mail a ballot in time, that's fine. Don't request one and go vote in person. If you needed those 5 weeks to read up on the election and cast your vote, fine, drop it off in person. No one is being limited by this decision to follow the election rules that are in place.
I'm in Minnesota and I voted two weeks ago, so...
(Now I have to actually read this when I'm supposed to be working...)
Mea Culpa. I was wrong. The ruling is right. It's a tough pill to swallow that someone who chooses who they want to vote for today is not going to be counted, but I guess it's on them. Minnesota late Biden votes will be the butterfly ballots of this year.
With them telegraphing that they were going to go for the mail in ballots as election fraud angle I am still scratching my head as to why anyone would do anything other than drop their ballot off in person or vote in person.
I actually thought one of the GOP's biggest screw ups was in how early they telegraphed that they were going to bring down the US Postal Service from the inside. I knew well before I could even get a ballot that there was no way in hell I was going to vote by mail. I didn't know when to draw that line, so I didn't. But for every person like us (Obsessed with this shit) there are two that, even if they do vote, aren't combing through details. "Oh, a pandemic. I can vote by mail. And when I send my brother a birthday card, it usually takes three days and he lives a thousand miles away."
Yeah, in a sense people "should" be more on top of this, but it's still aggravating to know that the likely outcome is that more people try to vote for Biden in enough states to win the EC and Trump's still going to probably win and all we can do is blame them and accept our fate.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Federal appeals court rules mailed ballots must be received by Election Day in Minnesota, cutting weeklong window
I don’t see a big deal about this. If you plan to vote by mail then know the rules of your state. Really not a big sea to mail them in time or drop them off in person if you want your vote to count.
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
Unless I misunderstood the situation, that isn't what happened. So correct if I'm wrong, but the state law has been the deadline of election day. The election officials just said they are going to extend that and ignore the law without proper channels. The ruling of the court wasn't to change the deadline, it was do say they have to stick with what's written in the law. And I see no problem with that. I do see a problem with changing election rules mid election without going through the proper channels to change the state law though that dictates said election rules. Also, no one is making anyone vote by mail, Its a choice. In Wisconsin you have to request a mail ballot I believe. You could have requested the ballot a month ago and sent it back a few days later. No one's hands are being tied by this. If you don't want to mail a ballot in time, that's fine. Don't request one and go vote in person. If you needed those 5 weeks to read up on the election and cast your vote, fine, drop it off in person. No one is being limited by this decision to follow the election rules that are in place.
I'm in Minnesota and I voted two weeks ago, so...
(Now I have to actually read this when I'm supposed to be working...)
Mea Culpa. I was wrong. The ruling is right. It's a tough pill to swallow that someone who chooses who they want to vote for today is not going to be counted, but I guess it's on them. Minnesota late Biden votes will be the butterfly ballots of this year.
With them telegraphing that they were going to go for the mail in ballots as election fraud angle I am still scratching my head as to why anyone would do anything other than drop their ballot off in person or vote in person.
not everybody has a driver's license or a car. some people are disabled and cannot easily get 20 miles away to drop off their ballot in person. not everyone can afford the luxury of uber.
it is not as easy to just drop off an in person ballot as the gop makes you believe it is.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
of course you're right. i find all of this just staggering, living in canada. this shit is unheard of. the fuckery sounds like something that should not be happening, or allowed to happen in plain sight, in a democr-, er, constitutional republic.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
of course you're right. i find all of this just staggering, living in canada. this shit is unheard of. the fuckery sounds like something that should not be happening, or allowed to happen in plain sight, in a democr-, er, constitutional republic.
shit, this is pretty much a banana republic by now.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
Apparently there's one per county in Texas.
And, yeah, any political junkie (like most of us) can and will find a way. But our attempt should be to actually capture the votes of anyone who makes an effort and to make it easier, not more difficult. I'll be honest with you, I don't know how to vote by mail, deal with a witness(es?), etc. (I'd have found out if I'd needed to) Now, that's because I went in person two weeks ago. Of course, I got in my 2019 car, on a Friday during work hours and drove six miles. Because my job is flexible as hell...
The world is set up for the middle-class and above 40-year old. Financial barriers, transportation barriers, disabilities, etc. are real for some people. I work in the transportation field and it's amazing how difficult trips that are nothing for us can be. Sure, people can / "should" do their homework, but a representative republic really ought to be doing all it can to make sure people can vote; not make it tricky and change rules by state, county, city, precinct; find reasons to invalidate; not count votes made in good faith. If I didn't know better, I'd say one party knows it's toast if the actual will of the people comes through.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
i have read many stories of people having to do just that, take a day off, or some time off (some people work more than 8 hours per day), take more than one bus/subway/etc to get there. there are valid concerns about voting availability. some people just honestly can't make it work.
loads of people have disabilities that make it incredibly difficult to do so. if my mom was alone, luckily she has my dad, she wouldn't be able to, even to get down the street, never mind across town. not in the winter. it's incredibly hazardous for her to be out in slippery conditions without assistance. and she is in otherwise good health, has money and means to get where she needs to go. imagine if she had other issues and couldn't afford a way to get there.
even in perfect conditions she has trouble. so to say there's no room for argument? that's just plain incorrect, and the exact reason republicans try so hard to make it so difficult for people in those situations to vote. if it was so easy for people, why would they waste the effort trying to suppress it?
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
and honestly, there's a very valid argument to be made that your first statement is a textbook definition of white privilege. (depending on your area's demographics)
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
It could get a lot easier if ballots postmarked on election day were accepted up to a week later. I mean, what's the rush? Inauguration isn't until the end of January. Why is the GOP so concerned about ballots mailed before or on election day that arrive after? It's petty.
Yes, there are plenty of options, and good for you that taking a day off from work isn't a big deal. For many it is and could cost them their job. My job is union protected and my employer is required to give me paid leave to vote on election day, which is great, but I challenged my HR the other day to consider changing the policy to allow paid time off for anytime once early voting begins because it's dumb we don't recognize those making the effort to vote early, especially during a pandemic.
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
I guess Texas doesn’t count they totally took the ability for folks to drop off ballots, it’s not as easy as you claim it to be voter suppression is alive&kicking all by GOP swine!
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
you live in a state with 100% mail in voting. of course its easy.
try considering each state has its similarities and differences.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
you live in a state with 100% mail in voting. of course its easy.
try considering each state has its similarities and differences.
step out of yourself and your experience....
It's also a state where there's no Governor acting in the interest of Donald J. Trump. Things are looking different in places like Texas and Georgia. Sure, they're making it harder on their own people, but overall reduced turnout is key.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Buh, Buh, Buh, Buh, Hunter Biden's laptop. Where are the calls for a criminal investigation? Where are the calls for Team Trump Treason Tax Cheat to step aside? Gee, don't think ol Willllllbuuuuuuur tried to influence anything, now do we? And a player in ol Wiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllbbbuuuuuuuuuuuur"s' investment firm refused to comment! Guess he's guilty and its all true! Suckers.
Wilbur Ross Remained on Chinese Joint Venture Board While Running U.S.-China Trade War
Chinese documents show that the U.S. commerce secretary did not successfully step down from all his corporate commitments.
Wilbur Ross, an investor-turned-U.S. commerce secretary, has long been accused of ethical violations because of his failure to extricate himself from his business ties. Documents obtained by Foreign Policy show that Ross’s potential conflicts of interest around Chinese business are greater than previously known.
In Chinese corporate documents obtained by Foreign Policy, Ross is listed as serving on the board of a Chinese joint venture until January 2019—nearly two years into his term as commerce secretary. That joint venture, now called Huaneng Invesco WLR (Beijing) Investment Fund Management Co., is an investment partnership formed in September 2008 between Huaneng Capital Services, the U.S. management company Invesco, and a firm Ross founded, WL Ross & Co. Huaneng Capital Services is an arm of China Huaneng Group, a major state-owned power producer.
The documents correspond to the information found on Chinese corporate data sites, such as Qichacha and Qixinbao, including the dates of board membership. The documents don’t say if Ross was paid for his board seat or whether there is any current financial relationship between Ross and the joint venture. It’s also unclear if Ross knew that he remained on the board seat: The more recent documents don’t include the signatures or seals of the individual board members. That Chinese documents state Ross was on the board of a Chinese joint venture until 2019 has not been previously reported.
The U.S.-China trade war started heating up in the summer of 2018, as Beijing and Washington levied increasingly onerous tariffs on each other. At the same time as Ross was overseeing the trade war as U.S. commerce secretary, he was still, according to the paperwork, on the board of a joint venture that was a partnership with a Chinese state-owned firm. “Instead of reporting on well-documented facts, including a dated and signed letter of resignation that I provided them, Foreign Policy Magazine is purporting a false narrative that I remained on the board of a Chinese company, citing Chinese documentation,” Ross replied in a statement sent by the U.S. Commerce Department. “It is clear which foreign policies Foreign Policy Magazine actually support and the American public deserves better.”
The letter that Ross provided to Foreign Policy is dated Feb. 27, 2017, marked “Confidential,” and has as its subject line “Re: Resignation from WLR Entities.” In the letter, addressed to WL Ross & Co., Ross writes that he “shall be deemed to have retired, resigned or withdrawn” from every entity affiliated with WL Ross & Co. Ross lists dozens of companies that he claims the letter applies to, including those affiliated with Huaneng. But Chinese corporate law experts consulted by Foreign Policy say that under Chinese law, writing a private letter to a U.S. parent company does not remove one from Chinese corporate boards.
But Chinese corporate law experts consulted by Foreign Policy say that under Chinese law, writing a private letter to a U.S. parent company does not remove one from Chinese corporate boards.
(Invesco, which owns WL Ross & Co., declined to comment for this story.) “The failure to withdraw from the board may have just been an inadvertent slip, but what you said is clearly not a ‘false narrative,’” said Fred Rocafort, an attorney at the international law firm Harris Bricken. “Chinese corporate records establish, without a doubt, that he was officially on the board until February 1, 2019.”
Ross’s position as commerce secretary allowed him to influence the direction of the U.S.-China trade war and America’s global trade policies. While there is no evidence that Ross directly benefited from the joint venture while serving as commerce secretary, entanglements like this have traditionally been seen as potential violations of the national interest. “Public trust demands that all employees act in the public’s interest, and are free from any actual or perceived conflicts when fulfilling the governmental responsibilities entrusted to them,” the then-acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics wrote to Ross in a July 2018 letter, about other inadvertent ethical violations.
On March 20, 2017, less than a month after Ross was confirmed as commerce secretary, the joint venture entered into a partnership with the parent company Huaneng and Taikang Assets Management Co., a subsidiary of the major Chinese insurance firm Taikang. The companies agreed to raise 5 billion RMB ($745 million) to invest in renewable energy projects—a market that Ross had influence over at the Commerce Department and which was directly affected by trade tariffs. Ross’s relationship to the Taikang partnership has not been previously reported. (Taikang Assets and Huaneng didn’t respond to requests for comment. A representative of the Huaneng joint venture, Catherine Han, didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
One set of documents that Foreign Policy obtained, dated March 2018, show that the joint venture filed paperwork stating which of its previous board members would continue to serve on the board. Ross’s name is on that list. Another document, from January 2019, removes Ross from the board and appoints the investor Nadim Qureshi as a new board member. Qureshi served on the board until September 2020. (At the time, Qureshi was a managing partner at WL Ross & Co., according to his LinkedIn profile; he didn’t respond to a request for comment.) The joint venture affixed its seal to the document. Under Chinese law, a seal is generally seen as more official than a signature.
Ross attended a board meeting in September 2012 and signed an agreement with other directors to, among other changes, increase the company’s registered capital to 170 million RMB ($25 million) and its total investment to 510 million RMB ($76 million) and to change the name of the joint venture from Huaneng Invesco WLR Investment Consulting Co. to its current name.
Long bullish about investing in China, Ross and his firm WL Ross & Co., along with Invesco, formed the joint venture to “tap into private equity investments in power generation in China,” the firm said in a 2008 press release. In 2000, Ross founded the private equity firm WL Ross & Co., which focused on distressed assets. He sold the firm to the money manager Amvescap (now Invesco) in 2006.
Ross continued serving as the CEO of Invesco’s private equity groups until joining the government in February 2017. But Ross only sold his shares in Invesco in December 2017—nearly a year into his tenure as commerce secretary. He was supposed to sell his shares, valued between $10 million and $50 million, before the end of May 2017. But the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity found that, because Invesco’s stock rose in the meantime, the delay netted Ross between $1.2 million and $6 million. “I discovered that the previously held stock had not been sold. I then promptly sold these shares,” he later wrote in a disclosure.
also, not everyone can afford to stand in line for hours on election day instead of being at work.
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
Its free to just drop off a ballot though.
but getting there is a challenge for many.
Where I've lived there's been many drop off boxes. I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth. You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
i have read many stories of people having to do just that, take a day off, or some time off (some people work more than 8 hours per day), take more than one bus/subway/etc to get there. there are valid concerns about voting availability. some people just honestly can't make it work.
loads of people have disabilities that make it incredibly difficult to do so. if my mom was alone, luckily she has my dad, she wouldn't be able to, even to get down the street, never mind across town. not in the winter. it's incredibly hazardous for her to be out in slippery conditions without assistance. and she is in otherwise good health, has money and means to get where she needs to go. imagine if she had other issues and couldn't afford a way to get there.
even in perfect conditions she has trouble. so to say there's no room for argument? that's just plain incorrect, and the exact reason republicans try so hard to make it so difficult for people in those situations to vote. if it was so easy for people, why would they waste the effort trying to suppress it?
So for all those you just described, what prevents them from mailing it in on time? They have a 4-5 week window to drop the ballot off in your mail box at your front door. In this day and age you literally don't have to leave your house to vote.
Comments
You don't see a problem with the US Court system putting its thumb on the scale for Trump five days before an election and overruling a state's Secretary of State ruling? While the US Mail is being sabotaged from within, by the way. It doesn't even matter what voters "should" know or "should" do. What matters is our federal courts infringing on state rules (not a very conservative thing to do) at the behest of the Party. This (and other court actions) isn't just going to swing the presidency; it's going to swing the Senate. Yeah, your guy's going to win and your policy preferences will mostly occur. But it's now a one-party autocracy; to be made official next week.
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
however, you have to admit that the republican party does their damndest in many situations to suppress the vote.
-EV 8/14/93
Also, no one is making anyone vote by mail, Its a choice. In Wisconsin you have to request a mail ballot I believe. You could have requested the ballot a month ago and sent it back a few days later. No one's hands are being tied by this. If you don't want to mail a ballot in time, that's fine. Don't request one and go vote in person. If you needed those 5 weeks to read up on the election and cast your vote, fine, drop it off in person. No one is being limited by this decision to follow the election rules that are in place.
-does the secretary of state have the power to change the rules of the election in their own state, and, if so,
-does no one else in the state have the power to appeal that decision to the courts, and, if so,
-does the court not have the power to overrule the SoS?
if all of the answers to these questions is yes, how is that putting any thumbs on any scale? if it's well within the law, and i don't see an issue. do i like it? no, but i don't always like decisions made by those in power.
clearly, extending the voting deadline = advantage-democrats. with all the whining the left does about republicans trying every legal trick in the book to get elections to go their way, it's kind of hypocritical to complain when you try it and it doesn't work.
-EV 8/14/93
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
-EV 8/14/93
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
The court's decision in this case was simply saying they must follow what is written in the state law.
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
it is not as easy to just drop off an in person ballot as the gop makes you believe it is.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
if the choice came down to making $30 for groceries i desperately need for my kids, or spending a half day standing in line to vote, i am going to work to make that grocery money for my kids.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
-EV 8/14/93
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
-EV 8/14/93
I honestly don't see any room for argument that someone doesn't vote because you can't afford to take a day off or its too hard to get to a voting booth.
You could have gotten a mail in ballot 4 or 5 weeks ago, you could have mailed it in up until about 3 or 4 days ago in any state, and in some you still can. You had 4 or 5 weeks to find a way to a drop off box. I mean, really, how much easier does it need to get?
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
loads of people have disabilities that make it incredibly difficult to do so. if my mom was alone, luckily she has my dad, she wouldn't be able to, even to get down the street, never mind across town. not in the winter. it's incredibly hazardous for her to be out in slippery conditions without assistance. and she is in otherwise good health, has money and means to get where she needs to go. imagine if she had other issues and couldn't afford a way to get there.
even in perfect conditions she has trouble. so to say there's no room for argument? that's just plain incorrect, and the exact reason republicans try so hard to make it so difficult for people in those situations to vote. if it was so easy for people, why would they waste the effort trying to suppress it?
-EV 8/14/93
-EV 8/14/93
Yes, there are plenty of options, and good for you that taking a day off from work isn't a big deal. For many it is and could cost them their job. My job is union protected and my employer is required to give me paid leave to vote on election day, which is great, but I challenged my HR the other day to consider changing the policy to allow paid time off for anytime once early voting begins because it's dumb we don't recognize those making the effort to vote early, especially during a pandemic.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
It's also a state where there's no Governor acting in the interest of Donald J. Trump. Things are looking different in places like Texas and Georgia. Sure, they're making it harder on their own people, but overall reduced turnout is key.
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
EXCLUSIVE
Wilbur Ross Remained on Chinese Joint Venture Board While Running U.S.-China Trade War
Chinese documents show that the U.S. commerce secretary did not successfully step down from all his corporate commitments.
Wilbur Ross, an investor-turned-U.S. commerce secretary, has long been accused of ethical violations because of his failure to extricate himself from his business ties. Documents obtained by Foreign Policy show that Ross’s potential conflicts of interest around Chinese business are greater than previously known.
In Chinese corporate documents obtained by Foreign Policy, Ross is listed as serving on the board of a Chinese joint venture until January 2019—nearly two years into his term as commerce secretary. That joint venture, now called Huaneng Invesco WLR (Beijing) Investment Fund Management Co., is an investment partnership formed in September 2008 between Huaneng Capital Services, the U.S. management company Invesco, and a firm Ross founded, WL Ross & Co. Huaneng Capital Services is an arm of China Huaneng Group, a major state-owned power producer.
The documents correspond to the information found on Chinese corporate data sites, such as Qichacha and Qixinbao, including the dates of board membership. The documents don’t say if Ross was paid for his board seat or whether there is any current financial relationship between Ross and the joint venture. It’s also unclear if Ross knew that he remained on the board seat: The more recent documents don’t include the signatures or seals of the individual board members. That Chinese documents state Ross was on the board of a Chinese joint venture until 2019 has not been previously reported.
The U.S.-China trade war started heating up in the summer of 2018, as Beijing and Washington levied increasingly onerous tariffs on each other. At the same time as Ross was overseeing the trade war as U.S. commerce secretary, he was still, according to the paperwork, on the board of a joint venture that was a partnership with a Chinese state-owned firm. “Instead of reporting on well-documented facts, including a dated and signed letter of resignation that I provided them, Foreign Policy Magazine is purporting a false narrative that I remained on the board of a Chinese company, citing Chinese documentation,” Ross replied in a statement sent by the U.S. Commerce Department. “It is clear which foreign policies Foreign Policy Magazine actually support and the American public deserves better.”
The letter that Ross provided to Foreign Policy is dated Feb. 27, 2017, marked “Confidential,” and has as its subject line “Re: Resignation from WLR Entities.” In the letter, addressed to WL Ross & Co., Ross writes that he “shall be deemed to have retired, resigned or withdrawn” from every entity affiliated with WL Ross & Co. Ross lists dozens of companies that he claims the letter applies to, including those affiliated with Huaneng. But Chinese corporate law experts consulted by Foreign Policy say that under Chinese law, writing a private letter to a U.S. parent company does not remove one from Chinese corporate boards.
(Invesco, which owns WL Ross & Co., declined to comment for this story.) “The failure to withdraw from the board may have just been an inadvertent slip, but what you said is clearly not a ‘false narrative,’” said Fred Rocafort, an attorney at the international law firm Harris Bricken. “Chinese corporate records establish, without a doubt, that he was officially on the board until February 1, 2019.”Ross’s position as commerce secretary allowed him to influence the direction of the U.S.-China trade war and America’s global trade policies. While there is no evidence that Ross directly benefited from the joint venture while serving as commerce secretary, entanglements like this have traditionally been seen as potential violations of the national interest. “Public trust demands that all employees act in the public’s interest, and are free from any actual or perceived conflicts when fulfilling the governmental responsibilities entrusted to them,” the then-acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics wrote to Ross in a July 2018 letter, about other inadvertent ethical violations.
On March 20, 2017, less than a month after Ross was confirmed as commerce secretary, the joint venture entered into a partnership with the parent company Huaneng and Taikang Assets Management Co., a subsidiary of the major Chinese insurance firm Taikang. The companies agreed to raise 5 billion RMB ($745 million) to invest in renewable energy projects—a market that Ross had influence over at the Commerce Department and which was directly affected by trade tariffs. Ross’s relationship to the Taikang partnership has not been previously reported. (Taikang Assets and Huaneng didn’t respond to requests for comment. A representative of the Huaneng joint venture, Catherine Han, didn’t respond to requests for comment.)
One set of documents that Foreign Policy obtained, dated March 2018, show that the joint venture filed paperwork stating which of its previous board members would continue to serve on the board. Ross’s name is on that list. Another document, from January 2019, removes Ross from the board and appoints the investor Nadim Qureshi as a new board member. Qureshi served on the board until September 2020. (At the time, Qureshi was a managing partner at WL Ross & Co., according to his LinkedIn profile; he didn’t respond to a request for comment.) The joint venture affixed its seal to the document. Under Chinese law, a seal is generally seen as more official than a signature.
Ross attended a board meeting in September 2012 and signed an agreement with other directors to, among other changes, increase the company’s registered capital to 170 million RMB ($25 million) and its total investment to 510 million RMB ($76 million) and to change the name of the joint venture from Huaneng Invesco WLR Investment Consulting Co. to its current name.
Long bullish about investing in China, Ross and his firm WL Ross & Co., along with Invesco, formed the joint venture to “tap into private equity investments in power generation in China,” the firm said in a 2008 press release. In 2000, Ross founded the private equity firm WL Ross & Co., which focused on distressed assets. He sold the firm to the money manager Amvescap (now Invesco) in 2006.
Ross continued serving as the CEO of Invesco’s private equity groups until joining the government in February 2017. But Ross only sold his shares in Invesco in December 2017—nearly a year into his tenure as commerce secretary. He was supposed to sell his shares, valued between $10 million and $50 million, before the end of May 2017. But the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity found that, because Invesco’s stock rose in the meantime, the delay netted Ross between $1.2 million and $6 million. “I discovered that the previously held stock had not been sold. I then promptly sold these shares,” he later wrote in a disclosure.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/29/ross-china-board-trade/
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In this day and age you literally don't have to leave your house to vote.