The United States Postal Service (USPS) is delaying the release of documents related to election integrity planning until after Election Day, creating questions about the security of ballots cast from overseas amid the Democratic Party’s push to mobilize voters abroad.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program, the government office tasked with assisting voters living outside our borders, <a href="https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/overseas-citizen-population-analysis" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/overseas-citizen-population-analysis&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3SBiBqA03TMFT96ivEVXM0">estimates</a> that 2.8 million eligible voters currently reside outside the United States. The Democratic Party, however, <a href="https://democrats.org/news/dnc-announces-innovative-six-figure-investment-in-democrats-abroad-to-ensure-engagement-of-key-voters-living-outside-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://democrats.org/news/dnc-announces-innovative-six-figure-investment-in-democrats-abroad-to-ensure-engagement-of-key-voters-living-outside-u-s/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Pqw0sF0lSFE3ENMUK_xlg">estimates</a> that there are 9 million such voters and is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democrats-target-us-swing-state-voters-overseas-win-support-harris-2024-08-12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democrats-target-us-swing-state-voters-overseas-win-support-harris-2024-08-12/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1EdeoF05_coGt_XbXlavq2">spending</a> $300,000 in a get-out-the-vote effort specifically tailored to them. Democrats Abroad did not respond to a request for comment on how it obtained its estimate.
Eligible voters abroad include military service members, military spouses, diplomats, and other Americans studying or working abroad. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) protects their right to vote, and a majority of completed UOCAVA ballots are <a href="https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/2022postelectionreporttocongress" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/2022postelectionreporttocongress&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3q4tNt4AdZtMYRZ17rJx5H">returned</a> by postal mail.
Postal mail in Georgia has been disastrous for much of this year, thanks to a new mail processing plant that opened in February in the tiny town of Palmetto. In March, <a href="https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-ranked-worst-state-mail-service-usps-end-q2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less than 43%</a> of the state’s First-Class Mail was delivered <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/how-is-the-mail-delivery-near-you-the-postal-service-has-a-tool-to-measure-that/5IAWKX2NJJCY7JGIQZRNTWMOGU/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on time</a>. People missed bills and legal notices and ran out of prescription medications, through no fault of their own.
Months later, more than 20% of inbound First-Class Mail is still being <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/news/special-reports/postal-problems/atlanta-postal-problems-regional-processing-distribution-center/85-1ae6c5f6-4e8a-4749-8ce5-bbf948fcce65" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delivered late</a>, according to the <a href="https://spm.usps.com/#/main" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://spm.usps.com/%23/main&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730905619292000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2YPcp30NshRIT6tjRoVnIA">USPS performance dashboard</a>. If this continues through the election, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is on track to disenfranchise thousands of would-be voters. Meanwhile, USPS is trying to assuage public concern by <a href="https://about.usps.com/what/government-services/election-mail/pdf/fact-sheet_election-mail_09242024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://about.usps.com/what/government-services/election-mail/pdf/fact-sheet_election-mail_09242024.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3ar2eb2hHVtBVBm1y-981M">adding</a> additional pickups and deliveries and expediting election mail, among other measures.
On August 30, I filed a public records request asking the USPS to release emails, text messages, and other records from ten officials related to the security of mail-in ballots, including overseas ballots, being returned to Georgia. Federal transparency law requires the USPS to respond within 20 business days in the absence of “unusual circumstances.” On October 10, the USPS told me that “unusual circumstances” apply, and it was granting itself an extension of another 20 working days. Conveniently for them, that places the new deadline three days after Election Day.
Incompetence at the USPS leaves mail-in ballots vulnerable to the most obvious form of voter fraud, in which legal ballots do not get counted. But UOCAVA ballots are also vulnerable to the form of fraud in which illegal ballots do get counted.
Several states <a href="https://www.fvap.gov/guide/chapter2" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fvap.gov/guide/chapter2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Ck6y7F34DA0KhFYFjyKrq">accept</a> UOCAVA ballots that arrive after Election Day so long as they were postmarked on or before Election Day. Georgia is one of these states, with a three-day grace period; Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina each have even more generous return policies and thus even a larger span of time for fraud to take place.
The Democratic Party claims to know exactly how many UOCAVA voters are eligible to vote in each swing state, as evidenced by a handy <a href="https://democrats.org/news/dnc-announces-innovative-six-figure-investment-in-democrats-abroad-to-ensure-engagement-of-key-voters-living-outside-u-s/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://democrats.org/news/dnc-announces-innovative-six-figure-investment-in-democrats-abroad-to-ensure-engagement-of-key-voters-living-outside-u-s/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Pqw0sF0lSFE3ENMUK_xlg">chart</a> included in their press release. In Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, the DNC says the number of UOCAVA voters is higher than the margin by which Biden won the state in 2020.
The DNC created a dedicated <a href="https://www.votefromabroad.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.votefromabroad.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2axzWu-1AiwmkNKqEtA46B">registration site</a> for UOCAVA voters, which has the added benefit of transmitting a voter’s information through Democratic Party-owned servers when anyone uses the site to register or to request a ballot. Voters may not realize this: The site’s home page appears politically neutral, save for small text in the bottom right identifying the site as being paid for by the Democratic Party Committee Abroad. The site <a href="https://www.votefromabroad.org/privacy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.votefromabroad.org/privacy/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw32Qmf74lSPi7Ckkk8DoJLp">claims</a> it does not store sensitive information nor have access to it, though other information is <a href="https://www.votefromabroad.org/terms-of-use/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.votefromabroad.org/terms-of-use/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0RRiObFBhJ0QfEili-yqIM">stored</a> for 90 days following the election.
Should the Democrats be less than truthful about which data they store and access, they would find themselves equipped with nearly everything it would take to submit fake ballots. They would not even need the ballots sent out by states: Voters abroad who are registered but do not receive a ballot in time may use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), a blank ballot not tailored to any state or district, and send it to their polling place. While this is well-intentioned to protect the voting rights of Americans abroad, the FWAB requires only basic information from a voter, including their address and signature.
The future of this country hinges on a free and fair election with no room for doubting its integrity. The current UOCAVA voting system, combined with poor performance by the USPS, leaves our election integrity at risk.
 * * *
Angela Morabito is a visiting fellow at Independent Women’s Forum (<a href="http://iwf.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://iwf.org&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1730900020951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mIBjpCmSRemlIunpPU9V7">iwf.org</a>) and the spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Americans Go To The Polls In The 2024 Elections

USPS Appears To Hide Election Integrity Records Amid Overseas Ballot Controversy

2024 Election

Georgia

Opinion

USPS

Vote Fraud

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that Democrats were responsible for a Chinese student in Michigan who illegally voted in the presidential election and was subsequently arrested and charged last week.
Cruz made the remarks during the most recent episode of his &#8220;Verdict&#8221; podcast with co-host Ben Ferguson while talking about the incident.
&#8220;Well, it&#8217;s infuriating. And understand why this happens,&#8221; Cruz said. &#8220;This happened because the Democrats in Michigan passed a law, their voter ID law allows people to show a current student photo ID card from an educational institution in order to vote.&#8221;
&#8220;Now the only problem is, you don&#8217;t have to be an American citizen to get a student ID,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;In this case, you had a Chinese national who was from China. He had a student ID, he could be a student that&#8217;s allowed, but Chinese nationals are not allowed to vote in American elections, and yet, this individual did so.”
Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s office <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/non-citizen-from-china-charged-after-casting-ballot-in-michigan-his-vote-will-still-count">revealed</a> two charges against the 19-year-old student, who was not identified, in a statement on Wednesday.
The Chinese student reportedly contacted the local clerk’s office after voting and asked if he could get his ballot back. The Detroit News reported that “two sources familiar with Michigan election laws” said election officials cannot retrieve the illegally cast ballot after it went through a tabulator, a rule that prevents ballots from being tracked back to specific voters.
Cruz noted that Democrats voted against the SAVE Act in Congress which would have required that every person registering to vote in the election prove that they are a U.S. citizen.
&#8220;And yet, part of the one of the reasons the Democrats voted &#8216;no&#8217; is they claimed, &#8216;oh, this is not a problem, no non-citizens vote,'&#8221; Cruz said. &#8220;Well, tell that to the Chinese national who just voted in Michigan.”
He said that the key for Republicans now was to turn out voters as the highest level possible so that no matter what happens, Republican candidates will win because the margin for victory is large enough.
The Chinese student was charged with perjury — making a false statement on an affidavit for the purpose of securing voter registration — and being an unauthorized elector who attempted to vote.
Attempting to vote as an unauthorized elector is punishable by up to four years in prison while perjury can result in up to 15 years in prison.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
It is infuriating that a Chinese foreign national voted in our election.
The SAVE Act would have prevented this by requiring people to prove their citizenship in order to vote.
It&#8217;s basic commonsense, and that&#8217;s why Democrats opposed it.<a href="https://t.co/GcKMQ342lE">https://t.co/GcKMQ342lE</a> <a href="https://t.co/98jPIxqZnQ">pic.twitter.com/98jPIxqZnQ</a>
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1852899878638096465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2024</a></blockquote>

Senate-hearing-on-Trump-assassination-attempt

Ted Cruz: Democrats Are Responsible For Chinese Student Illegally Voting In Michigan

Communist China

Ted Cruz

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced charges on Tuesday against six individuals for allegedly voting as non-citizens in previous elections. 
The indictments come after Ohio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-secretary-of-state-orders-removal-of-nearly-500-non-citizens-from-voter-rolls">removed</a> 500 non-citizens from its rolls in August after an audit of its voter registration database. Other states, like Georgia and Texas, have removed thousands of non-citizens from their rolls in recent months in the lead up to the November election. 
“The right to vote is sacred,” Yost <a href="https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/October-2024/Grand-Juries-Indict-6-for-Illegal-Voting#:~:text=Illegal%20voting%20is%20a%20fourth,will%20continue%20to%20be%20enforced.”" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “If you’re not a U.S. citizen, it’s illegal to vote – whether you thought you were allowed to or not – you will be held accountable.”
Those charged included Ramesh Patel, 68, of North Royalton; Lorinda Miller, 78, of Hudson; Nicholas Fontaine, 32; Ahmed Aden, 35, of Columbus; Van Thuy Cooper, 53, of Hilliard; and Maria Dearaujo, 62, of Columbus. They could all face up to 18 months in prison if convicted. 
Patel was accused of voting as a non-citizen in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and is expected to be arranged on November 1 in Cuyahoga County. 
Miller, Fontaine, Aden, Cooper, and Dearaujo are all described as legal permanent residents of the United States. They were accused of illegally voting in multiple elections: Miller (2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019), Fontaine (2016 and 2018), Aden (2008 and 2020),  Cooper (2016 and 2020), and Dearaujo (2016 and 2018). 
Yost said the indictments should not undermine confidence in the upcoming presidential election. 
“Irregularities like this are rare, and this is a small number of cases,” he said. “We should all be confident in the upcoming election, knowing that the laws are being enforced and will continue to be enforced.”
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1729077615157000&amp;usg=AOvVaw17Kprl74oE9DYOLREdiBPU">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ COMING TO DAILYWIRE+ OCT. 28</a>
As Republican officials have pushed to clean up voter rolls across the country, Democrats and the legacy media have repeatedly downplayed concerns about non-citizen voting. 
States like Alabama and Virginia have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-biden-suing-va-for-purging-illegals-from-voting-rolls-even-though-doj-approved-the-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced lawsuits</a> from the Justice Department over efforts to clean up voter rolls, arguing that the states’ actions were taking place too close to the presidential election. 
Earlier this year, the House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nearly-all-house-dems-vote-against-bill-requiring-voters-prove-citizenship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> legislation that would have required individuals to show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in elections for federal office. The legislation also would have pushed the states to remove non-citizens from their rolls. The bill advanced to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it stalled out.

Voters Cast Ballots In Ohio Primary

‘You Will Be Held Accountable’: Ohio Charges Six Non-Citizens With Illegally Voting

Elections

Ohio

Politics

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania">Pennsylvania</a> governor-elect Josh Shapiro <a href="https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/ag-shapiro-announces-charges-against-philadelphia-man-for-orchestrating-the-forgery-of-signatures-on-election-nomination-petitions-in-municipal-primary-races/">announced</a> Wednesday his office arrested a former political consultant on allegations of forging thousands of Democratic primary ballots for the Philadelphia city elections in 2019.
Currently serving as the commonwealth&#8217;s attorney general, Shapiro said authorities arrested Rasheen Crews and charged him with Criminal Solicitation to Commit Forgery and Theft By Failure to Make Required Disposition for duplicating signatures on nomination petitions to get his clients on the ballot.
&#8220;In advance of the 2023 municipal elections, this arrest is an important reminder that interfering with the integrity of our elections is a serious crime,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;By soliciting and organizing the wide scale forgery of signatures, the defendant undermined the democratic process and Philadelphians&#8217; right to a free and fair election.&#8221;
Shapiro&#8217;s announcement comes days after securing the governor&#8217;s race victory against Republican Senator Doug Mastriano, who conceded in the race Sunday evening after losing by more than 14 points.
Pennsylvania&#8217;s incoming governor often criticized his gubernatorial opponent for his endorsement from former President Donald Trump and casting doubts about the 2020 Presidential Election results.
However, according to an arrest <a href="https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-11-16-Rasheen-Crews-CC.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">affidavit</a>, Shapiro&#8217;s office opened an investigation into the allegations against Crews in September 2019, which found that the campaign consultant hired multiple candidates to help with the petition work by writing in enough names, addresses, and forging signatures on nomination petitions in a hotel room.
Crews would then allegedly have the petitions notarized and filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State.
The attorney general&#8217;s office said over 1,000 signatures showed duplicated information, which led some candidates to withdraw from the election entirely.
The affidavit shows his clients were unaware of the scheme.
The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/pennsylvania-ag-josh-shapiro-charges-former-campaign-consultant-with-wide-scale-voter-fraud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> Pennsylvania campaign finance database shows Crews consulted for dozens of federal, state, and local candidates for at least six years, including Shapiro&#8217;s attorney general campaign, which paid Crews $2,000 in 2016.
A spokesperson for Crews told <a href="https://whyy.org/articles/rasheen-crews-philadelphia-forgery-charges-2019-democratic-primary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local media</a> when the allegations first came up in 2019 that the political consultant did not use his normal vetting process for hiring workers to collect signatures to help more people than he could manage.
U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chairman of the Democratic City Committee, told <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/rasheen-crews-arrest-charged-philadelphia-ballot-petition-signature-forgery-20221116.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a> that he reached out to judicial candidates three years ago after hearing about issues with the petitions, adding that they appeared to be &#8220;kitchen-table jobs.&#8221;
Brady said Crews has attempted reconciliation with the party and was offered a deal despite being under criminal investigation that would bar him from circulating petitions and other political activities. Brady, however, assumed Crews did not take the deal considering the criminal charges announced by the attorney general&#8217;s office.
&#8220;I guess they&#8217;re sending a message to people not to mess around with petitions,&#8221; Brady said. &#8220;Nothing wrong with that.&#8221;

Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Josh Shapiro Holds Election Night Event

Pennsylvania Gov. Elect Josh Shapiro Charges Former Political Consultant With ‘Wide Scale’ Voter Fraud

2022 Election

Crime

Election Fraud

Pennsylvania

A top <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/milwaukee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Milwaukee</a> elections official has been fired for alleged fraud in what may have been a stunt to spotlight how easy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-military-ballots-discarded-in-troubling-discovery-all-opened-ballots-were-cast-for-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fake military ballots</a> can be trafficked in Wisconsin, authorities said.
Kimberly Zapata, 44, was fired as deputy director of the city’s Election Commission after she allegedly had unsolicited military ballots sent to a state representative&#8217;s home. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the case is under investigation but may have been a bid to expose how easily the election system can be exploited.
&#8220;This has every appearance of being an egregious blatant violation of trust [and] this matter is now in the hands of law enforcement,&#8221; Johnson said, <a href="https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-election-worker-under-investigation-for-ballot-fraud/41856252" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to WISN</a>.
“It does not matter to me that the alleged crime did not take place at work,” he added. “It does not matter to me that the city of Milwaukee ballots were not a part of this, nor does it matter that there was no attempt to vote illegally or tamper with any election results.”
The drama came less than a week before Wisconsin voters go to the polls to select a governor and senator, among other races. Zapata could face a felony charge of malfeasance in office and a misdemeanor charge of illegally requesting a ballot, a source told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Zapata&#8217;s attorney, Michael Maistelman, declined to answer questions about his client&#8217;s alleged actions.
&#8220;We will litigate this in the courtroom, not the media,&#8221; Maistelman <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/milwaukee-election-official-fired-fraudulently-154838417.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</a>.
The alleged caper came to light earlier this week when state Rep. Janel Brandtjen posted on social media photos of three military absentee ballots sent to her home on Oct. 27. Brandtjen said the ballots appeared to be sent from clerks in Menomonee Falls, South Milwaukee and Shorewood and were each addressed to a fictitious “Holly” with three different last names.
<div id="attachment_459408" style="width: 726px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-459408" class="wp-image-459408 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.17.51-PM-716x576.png" alt="Wisconsin state Rep. Janel Brandtjen posted photos of military absentee ballots sent to her home on Oct.27" width="716" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.17.51-PM-716x576.png 716w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.17.51-PM-300x241.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.17.51-PM-768x618.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.17.51-PM-1536x1235.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.17.51-PM.png 1716w" sizes="(max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px" />Wisconsin state Rep. Janel Brandtjen posted photos of military absentee ballots sent to her home on Oct.27. (Office of Rep. Janel Brandtjen)</div>
Brandtjen, a Republican and chair of the Assembly Elections Committee, said she also suspects someone, possibly Zapata, was trying to prove a point.
“I believe someone was trying to point out how easy it is to get military ballots in Wisconsin,” she said. “Registration for military ballots is not required, so a fictitious name and birthdate is all that is required to obtain a military ballot online.”
Under state law, military voters are not required to register to vote and do not have to provide photo ID or any other identification. Milwaukee Election Commission chief Claire Woodall-Vogg said Zapata was likely trying to show Brandtjen the system’s vulnerability.
<div id="attachment_459414" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-459414" class="size-medium wp-image-459414" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.50.06-PM-300x279.png" alt="Milwaukee Elections Chief Claire Woodall-Vogg said Zapata was likely trying to show Brandtjen the system’s vulnerability." width="300" height="279" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.50.06-PM-300x279.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/Screen-Shot-2022-11-03-at-1.50.06-PM.png 556w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Milwaukee Elections Chief Claire Woodall-Vogg (above) said Zapata was likely trying to show Brandtjen the system’s vulnerability. (Milwaukee Election Commission)</div>
“It’s my belief that she was pointing out that you can go onto the public system, make up a person and request a ballot,” Woodall-Vogg said.
In August, a Racine man was accused of using the state’s MyVote system to fraudulently request absentee ballots in the names of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason in order to show flaws in the system. Harry Wait, a leader of a Racine County-based group known as H.O.T. Government, was praised for the action by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who called him a &#8220;white hat hacker&#8221; for &#8220;trying to show a vulnerability&#8221; in the system overseen by the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Early Voting For Midterm Elections Begins In Wisconsin

Milwaukee Elections Official Fired After Possible Gambit To Expose Voter Fraud

Milwaukee

U.S.

The American Civil Liberties Union (<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/aclu" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">ACLU</a>) filed a motion on Wednesday that urges <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://dailywire.com/topic/2022-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://dailywire.com/topic/2022-midterms" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">election</a> officials in <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Pennsylvania</a> to count <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mail-in-voting" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mail-in-voting" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">mail-in ballots</a> missing a handwritten date on the envelope.
The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled that mail-in ballots without the required date on the return envelope should be counted. However, after the Supreme Court vacated the decision, acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh Chapman issued a <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/state-details.aspx?newsid=536" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/state-details.aspx?newsid=536" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">statement</a> claiming that the opinion was “not based on the merits of the issue and does not affect the prior decision.&#8221;
The ACLU is therefore seeking to intervene in Ball v. Chapman, a lawsuit pushing for election officials to refrain from counting ballots without a date on the envelope, and contends that thousands of voters’ disenfranchisement is at stake.
​​“Throwing out valid votes because of a minor paperwork error is undemocratic, illegal, and smacks of desperation,” ACLU attorney Ari Savitzky said in a <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/voting-rights-advocates-file-intervene-pennsylvania-mail-ballot-lawsuit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “This effort threatens thousands of Pennsylvanians, most of them senior citizens and longtime voters, with disenfranchisement. Under Pennsylvania state law and federal law, a ballot cannot be tossed if a voter simply forgets to handwrite an inconsequential date on the outer return envelope. These votes must be counted.”
The <a href="https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/ball-v-chapman-application-intervention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">motion</a>, backed by voting rights groups such as the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference and the Black Political Empowerment Project, argues that any new restrictions would unduly interrupt the midterm election cycle.
“Election officials know when ballots are sent to voters and when they are received,” League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania Executive Director Meghan Pierce added. “A voter adding a handwritten date to their return envelope does not add a verification of any sort. This latest attempt to disenfranchise voters for the simple mistake of not dating their return envelopes attempts to undo the progress Pennsylvania has made in making elections more accessible.&#8221;
Strife over the commonwealth’s laws regarding undated mail-in ballot envelopes emerged between Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick, who competed to secure the Republican nomination for the Pennsylvania Senate race earlier this year. The Oz campaign <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/following-the-democrats-playbook-oz-campaign-blasts-mccormick-for-trying-to-count-undated-mail-in-ballots-in-deadlocked-pa-senate-primary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blamed</a> McCormick for “following the Democrats’ playbook” and eroding voter confidence in the election by pressing officials to count the disqualified ballots. Voters will choose between Oz and Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman, a Democrat, next month.
The Republican National Committee, which joins plaintiff David Ball in the <a href="https://prod-media-assets.protectthevote.com/media/document/news/PA_Kings_Bench_Undated_Ballots_0xgwfo47.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a>, argues that returning a mail-in ballot with an undated envelope violates state law. The group asserts that the Supreme Court’s opinion made sufficiently clear that such votes should not be counted and said that Chapman was wrongly usurping the high court in her attempt to disregard the ruling.
“Republicans are holding Pennsylvania Democrats accountable for their brazen defiance of the Supreme Court and the rules duly set by the legislature,” state and national Republican officials said in a <a href="https://gop.com/press-release/rnc-nrcc-pagop-sue-commonwealth-of-pennsylvania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “Pennsylvania Democrats have a history of election integrity failures and Pennsylvanians deserve better: this lawsuit is the latest step in Republican efforts to promote free, fair, and transparent elections in the Keystone State.”
The Senate race between Oz and Fetterman is among the most competitive in the country and could help Democrats retain control of the upper chamber. According to a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surprising-group-of-voters-is-helping-dr-oz-narrow-the-gap-against-john-fetterman-in-pennsylvania-senate-contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from Emerson College and The Hill, the former candidate is supported by 43% of the voting population, while the latter is supported by 45%.

Voters Across The Country Head To The Polls For The Midterm Elections

‘Smacks Of Desperation’: ACLU Files Motion Over Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballots

ACLU Files Motion Over Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballots

ACLU

Mail-In Voting

Republican National Committee (RNC)

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/democrats">Democrat</a> who was booted from the House of Representatives and went to prison for his role in a 1970s bribery scandal pleaded guilty Monday to stuffing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>-area ballot boxes with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/voter-fraud">fraudulent votes</a> for years to get his party&#8217;s candidates elected.
Former U.S. Rep. Michael J. “Ozzie” Myers, who was expelled from Congress in 1980 after being caught taking bribes in the Abscam sting investigation, cheated to help local candidates he worked for win the elections, federal prosecutors said. Myers, 79, was a political consultant in the Philadelphia area.
“Votes are not things to be purchased and democracy is not for sale,” U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said in a news release.
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Former U.S. Rep. Michael “Ozzie” Myers, convicted in the ‘70s Abscam investigation, plead guilty in Philly to fraudulently adding votes for candidates (2014-16)who had hired him. He persuaded poll workers to stuff ballot boxes. Faces 20 yrs. To life. <a href="https://t.co/3DdHNu1hZi">https://t.co/3DdHNu1hZi</a>
&mdash; ❣️Anne❣️ (@USA_Anne711) <a href="https://twitter.com/USA_Anne711/status/1534510690857365504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Myers pleaded guilty to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery and obstruction. Prosecutors said Myers stuffed ballot boxes in elections from 2014-2018.
Myers&#8217; &#8220;criminal efforts were generally, although not exclusively, directed at securing election victories for local judicial candidates running for Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas or Municipal Court who had employed Myers as a ‘political consultant,’” prosecutors said.
Myers admitted he bribed elections judge Domenick Demuro to add votes for his chosen candidates, including clients who were running for judge. The bribes were for as little as $300 and as much as $5,000, authorities said. Demuro pleaded guilty in May 2020 and was convicted for his role in accepting bribes to cast fraudulent ballots and certify false voting results. Myers also conspired with another elections judge, Marie Beren, to pressure voters on election days to vote for candidates that Myers had selected. Been, who cast fraudulent votes for people who did not appear at the polls, pleaded guilty to election crimes last October.
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In the late 1970s Abscam sting, Myers, then a two-term congressman, was convicted of bribery and conspiracy for taking $50,000 from FBI agents posing as Arab sheiks. He served just over a year in prison. Myers had served six years in the Pennsylvania legislature before being elected to Congress in 1976.
The Abscam sting swept up five other U.S. House members all but one of whom were Democrats, U.S. Senator Harrison Williams, (D-N.J.), three Philadelphia City Council members and the then-mayor of Camden.
One of the House members netted in the sting, South Carolina Democrat John Jenrette, was famously caught telling an undercover agent posing as a sheikh and offering a bribe, &#8220;I&#8217;ve got larceny in my blood. I&#8217;d take it in a goddamn minute.&#8221;
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Myers faces up to 20 years in prison on the new charges.
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Michael Myers

Ex-Dem Congressman Who Took Abscam Bribes Admits To Rigging Philly Elections

Bribery

Democratic Party

Philadelphia

Filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza announced on Twitter that his new movie, “2000 Mules,” will be screened today at the EU in Brussels. 
“Remarkable! “2000 Mules” is being screened today at the EU in Brussels, followed by a discussion of the worldwide problem of election fraud,” the 61-year-old political commentator <a href="https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/1526948209075134464?s=20&amp;t=LhgAHRZHNPQD8ncq2hDnpw">shared</a> with his more than two million Twitter followers.
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Remarkable! “2000 Mules” is being screened today at the EU in Brussels, followed by a discussion of the worldwide problem of election fraud <a href="https://t.co/81Bq1R310w">https://t.co/81Bq1R310w</a>
&mdash; Dinesh D&#39;Souza (@DineshDSouza) <a href="https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/1526948209075134464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
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He was retweeting Dutch politician Thierry Baudet’s post, which <a href="https://twitter.com/thierrybaudet/status/1526826267433218050">said</a>, &#8220;Today, @fvdemocratie organizes a screening in the @Europarl_EN (Brussels) of @DineshDSouza’s groundbreaking documentary on the 2020 US Presidential election fraud. Afterwards, I will participate in a panel discussion with #FVD MEP @MJRLdeGraaff and #AFD MEP @Joachim_Kuhs.”
D&#8217;Souza also retweeted the announcement that “2000 Mules” would be returning to theaters this weekend rather than limiting the film to special event screenings, which will make the tickets cheaper. 
“2000 Mules” is a film alleging voter fraud that’s been making headlines for weeks. The Daily Wire originally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dinesh-dsouzas-2000-mules-movie-alleging-voter-fraud-makes-1-million-on-streaming-sites">reported</a> that the documentary made more than $1 million on streaming sites Rumble and its subscription-based platform, Locals, in the first weekend post-release. 
D’Souza said the project was inspired by True the Vote’s Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips, who he claims gained access to a “treasure trove of cellphone data, this is called cellphone “geotracking,” which they believed proved “election fraud.” 
The title refers to 2,000 people who allegedly made dozens of trips each to drop boxes to deposit mail-in ballots, which were targeted to swing states including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Phillips interviewed an informant from Yuma County, Arizona, who claimed “mules” were paid based on the quantity of ballots they stuffed in drop boxes. Previously, the Department of Homeland Security had assured the public that the last presidential election as &#8220;the most secure in American history,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/pro-trump-sheriffs-ludicrous-voting-probe-denounced-private-investigators-question-clerks-1610743">Newsweek</a>. 
“I would get a call to find out how many ballots were brought in and if they were already pre-filled out first,” the informant said. The person kept their identity obscured for the movie.
The film has received both high praise and extreme criticism, mostly divided on party lines. DeSouza shot back at critic Amanda Carpenter, who called “2000 Mules” a &#8220;performance piece&#8221; and “hilarious mockumentary.” She said it’s “an investigative documentary in roughly the same way Reno 911 was a hard-hitting look at real-life police work.&#8221;
The filmmaker <a href="https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/1526534504462045184?s=20&amp;t=6JqsYd1izi-emfbbgM-yHw">shot back</a>, &#8220;Ball State grad @amandacarpenter offers a good lesson in the limitations of studying film criticism at a third-rate university.&#8221;
The film has a 7.2/10 <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18924506/">rating</a> on IMDb.

Dinesh D’souza at the Democratic Party at CPAC

‘Remarkable!’: Dinesh D’Souza Announces ‘2000 Mules’ Screening At EU In Brussels

Dinesh D’Souza

Documentaries

Election Results

European Union

Filmmaker Dinesh D&#8217;Souza&#8217;s movie alleging voter fraud in the 2020 election, &#8220;2000 Mules,&#8221; has made more than $1 million on streaming sites Rumble and its subscription-based platform, Locals in the first weekend out.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/the-new-socialism-with-dinesh-d-souza">conservative political commentator&#8217;s</a> latest film hit the streaming site at noon on Saturday, and after 12 hours it had grossed &#8220;more than one million dollars&#8221; on Rumble and Locals, making the sales &#8220;good enough&#8221; to put the film in the &#8220;estimated box office top ten for the weekend of May 6th to May 8th,&#8221; according to PRNewswire.com. The movie also played on a limited basis in selected theaters on May 2 and May 4, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-2000-mules-film-election-fraud-dsouza-rittenhouse-1703680">reported</a> Newsweek.
&#8220;The success of &#8216;2000 Mules&#8217; on Rumble is a great sign for creators who do not want to be silenced or censored for their speech,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/prageru-what-is-identity-socialism">D&#8217;Souza</a> told the outlet.
&#8220;Supporting creative independence is core to our values, and we are thrilled to offer creators a new way to distribute and sell movies independently,&#8221; Locals President Assaf Lev told the outlet.
<a href="https://rumble.com/embed/v10rzll/?pub=kqd4p">D&#8217;Souza said</a> the idea for the film came from <a href="https://rumble.com/embed/v10rzll/?pub=kqd4p">True the Vote&#8217;s</a> Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips, who he said got a hold of a &#8220;treasure trove of cellphone data, this is called cellphone &#8220;geotracking,&#8221; which they believed proved &#8220;election fraud.&#8221; The two purport to show 2,000 people who allegedly made dozens of trips each to multiple drop boxes where they deposited mail-in ballots in key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan.
In the film, Phillips interviews an informant from Yuma County, Arizona, who alleged &#8220;mules&#8221; were paid based on the quantity of ballots they stuffed in drop boxes.
“I would get a call to find out how many ballots were brought in and if they were already pre-filled out first,” the informant, whose face was obscured and voice altered.
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-covid-technology-health-arizona-e1b49d2311bf900f44fa5c6dac406762">Associated Press</a> said the film used &#8220;flawed analysis of cellphone location data and ballot drop box surveillance footage&#8221; to cast doubt on the 2020 election. It explained why it came to this conclusion:
The film focuses on &#8220;ballot harvesting,&#8221; which is a term for &#8220;dropping off completed ballots for people besides yourself.&#8221; The AP noted that the practice is &#8220;legal in several states but largely illegal in the states True the Vote focused on.&#8221;
D&#8217;Souza&#8217;s films have generated controversy in the past. His 2012 documentary, &#8220;2016: Obama&#8217;s America,&#8221; was based on his book, &#8220;The Roots of Obama&#8217;s Rage,&#8221; and grossed $33 million.More recently, he released &#8220;Trump Card&#8221; in 2020, which explored corruption in the Democratic Party.

Dinesh D’Souza-2

Dinesh D’Souza’s ‘2000 Mules’ Movie, Alleging Voter Fraud, Makes $1 Million On Streaming Sites

Dinesh D'Souza '2000 Mules' Movie, Alleging Voter Fraud, Makes $1 Million

2020 Election

Movies

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich praised a Thursday Supreme Court ruling upholding state election reforms and signaling how the court intends to rule on other similar cases.
“Today is a win for election integrity safeguards in Arizona and across the country,” Brnovich said in a <a href="https://www.azag.gov/press-release/attorney-general-mark-brnovich-successfully-defends-arizonas-election-laws-us-supreme">statement</a>. “Fair elections are the cornerstone of our republic, and they start with rational laws that protect both the right to vote and the accuracy of the results.”
The Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-upholds-arizona-voter-restrictions-spelling-trouble-for-doj-georgia-voter-rights-lawsuit">ruled</a> 6-3 in favor of Arizona and upholding two state election reforms enacted in 2016. One law criminalized turning in someone else’s completed early ballot with limited exceptions for family members and caregivers. The other law voids ballots that voters submit at a precinct other than the one they are assigned to.
Brnovich’s office outlined the history of the case:
<blockquote>The Democratic National Committee (DNC) challenged Arizona’s regulation of ballot-harvesting and limitation on out-of-precinct voting in 2016. The DNC erroneously claimed the measures violated the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and that the ballot-harvesting law was enacted with discriminatory intent. The U.S. District Court of Arizona rejected the DNC’s challenges after a full trial, but a majority of judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed those findings to invalidate Arizona’s laws.
Today, the justices strongly refuted the DNC’s claims stating, “&#8230;neither Arizona&#8217;s out-of-precinct rule nor its ballot-collection law violates §2 of the VRA.&#8221; SCOTUS further concluded: &#8220;Under our form of government, legislators have a duty to exercise their judgment and to represent their constituents. It is insulting to suggest that they are mere dupes or tools.&#8221;</blockquote>
The state attorney general’s office also said that the ruling may have a broad impact on similar court cases that spring out of an ongoing push by GOP state legislatures to reform election laws after the 2020 election. One case over such laws has already been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-biden-admin-sues-georgia-over-election-reforms">filed</a> in court by the Department of Justice against Georgia. Brnovich’s office said:
<blockquote>Approximately twenty states have some regulation of ballot harvesting. Ballot harvesting occurs when third-parties or political operatives go door-to-door and collect voters’ ballots. There are exceptions in Arizona’s law for family, caregivers, mail carriers, and election officials.
Additionally, the majority of states require ballots to be cast in the correct precinct. Requiring voters to vote in their assigned precinct furthers important state interests in administering the election free from fraud and ensuring voters get a ballot with the correct local races.</blockquote>
Brnovich <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-backs-georgia-in-fight-against-doj-over-election-reforms">sent</a> a letter of support to his counterpart in Georgia, Attorney General Christopher Carr, last week, offering to do “whatever we can to push back against this blatantly political and unmerited attack.”
“Today, the fight has come to Georgia. Tomorrow, it will be in Arizona, and if left unchallenged, the DOJ will intimidate other states in an attempt to undermine the Constitution and force submission to the relentless will of the current federal administration. We must not be deterred by these threats,” Brnovich said. “As state officials, we must all stand together to defend federalism and state sovereignty against federal overreach.”

Supreme Court

Arizona AG Praises SCOTUS Ruling Protecting Election Laws: ‘A Win For Election Integrity … Across The Country’

Arizona

Actress Kerry Washington (&#8220;Scandal&#8221;) joined the chorus of celebrities denouncing Republican-backed voter-integrity laws, arguing that they disenfranchise minorities and people of color.
In a tweet on Monday, Kerry Washington urged her 5.5 million followers to reach out to Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), Kyrsten Sinema (R-AZ), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Rob Portman (R-OH) and demand they vote &#8220;Yes&#8221; in favor of the &#8220;For the People Act.&#8221;
&#8220;Black and Brown voters are being specifically targeted when it comes to voter suppression. PLEASE. <a class="css-4rbku5 css-18t94o4 css-901oao css-16my406 r-1n1174f r-1loqt21 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0" role="link" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CallOutYourSenators?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">#CallOutYourSenators</a>. Tell them they need to be on the right side of history when this vote goes down, they need to vote YES. Your voices and your votes need to [be] heard,&#8221; she said. 
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Black and Brown voters are being specifically targeted when it comes to voter suppression. PLEASE. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CallOutYourSenators?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CallOutYourSenators</a>. Tell them they need to be on the right side of history when this vote goes down, they need to vote YES. Your voices and your votes need to heard. ✊🏾🙏🏾🙌🏾 <a href="https://t.co/dyeMEHTrpI">pic.twitter.com/dyeMEHTrpI</a>
&mdash; kerry washington (@kerrywashington) <a href="https://twitter.com/kerrywashington/status/1404484550449790976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Despite the Left’s insistence that election integrity laws, such as the one enacted in Georgia, discriminate against minorities, the evidence says otherwise. In fact, some of the proposed requirements, like the voter ID requirement, have majority support among black voters, per reports.
“Nearly 70% of black people living in America support laws that require prospective voters to provide an ID, such as a driver’s license, before being allowed to cast their ballot,” reported <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/if-voter-id-laws-are-so-racist-why-do-70-of-black-people-support-them">The Daily Wire</a>. “It turns out that the vast majority of black people in America — the very individuals Joe Biden assures us are victims of racism under voter ID laws — think it’s perfectly reasonable to require some form of proof that you are who you say you are before voting.”
Kerry Washington&#8217;s tweet came on the same day that actress Jennifer Lawrence released a PSA scolding Republicans for passing voter integrity laws in states like Texas and Georgia.
“Whatever your personal politics are, whatever side of the aisle you find yourself on, you need to know that your vote matters and the outcome of our elections are not maneuvered and manipulated,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnB34NSY4W0&amp;t=3s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">she said in the PSA</a>. “In Texas, Georgia and Florida, and 44 other states, there’s a radical wing of the Republican Party that is actively dismantling America’s right to vote because they don’t have the numbers to win otherwise.”
“Without Gerrymandering or shutting down hundreds of voting facilities within reach of minorities, and specifically targeting and carving out people of color, they can’t win. But this is cheating and it is not democracy,” she added.
Lawrence then touted the “For the People Act” as a law that will protect democracy and stop billionaires from stealing elections.
“There’s a law in the Senate right now called the For the People Act and it can reverse these anti-voting laws and it can stop billionaires from being able to buy our elections,” she says. ” It even says that all voting machines need to be made here in the U.S. But it’s going to take a lot of pressure from us to get it to pass.”
“Let the politicians bicker and throw tantrums, let’s just make sure they remember who they work for,” she concluded.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jennifer-lawrence-bashes-republicans-in-new-voting-rights-psa">Jennifer Lawrence Bashes Republicans In New Voting Rights PSA</a>

2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones – Arrivals

Kerry Washington: Voter Integrity Laws Target ‘Black And Brown’ People

Kerry Washington

Racism

More than 100 corporate leaders met on a mega-conference call Saturday in order to coordinate opposition to changes in state voting laws like the ones made in Georgia, according <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/04/11/companies-voting-bills-states/">to The Washington Post</a>, and mocked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who warned a number of corporations, last week, to stay out of politics.
The group, organized in part by Yale management professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and the &#8220;Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism,&#8221; the &#8220;Chief Executive Leadership Institute,&#8221; and the &#8220;Leadership Now Project,&#8221; according <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-100-business-leaders-join-call-to-discuss-non-partisan-action-against-restrictive-voting-law-proposals-301266213.html">to a press release about the call</a>, convened to &#8220;discuss critical information regarding voting law proposals and to explore non-partisan actions business leaders could take to defend voting rights and our democracy.&#8221;
The Post reported that &#8220;[e]xecutives from major airlines, retailers, and manufacturers — plus at least one NFL owner — talked about potential ways to show they opposed the legislation, including by halting donations to politicians who support the bills and even delaying investments in states that pass the restrictive measures.&#8221;
The call was reportedly convened in response to the Georgia legislature&#8217;s decision to pass new election regulations, changing some restrictions on absentee and in-person voting, requiring voter ID, and preventing some forms of electioneering.
While Major League Baseball moved its All-Star Game as a way of sending a message to Georgia legislators &#8212; and around 200 other corporate leaders <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-voting-law-response-corporate-ceos-meeting/">issued a strongly worded statement on the matter</a> &#8212; many corporations headquartered or with major hubs in Georgia were, in many cases, silent on the changes, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/business/corporate-america-voting-rights.html">according to The New York Times</a>, prompting Sonnenfeld and others to organize corporate leaders in opposition to voting law changes.
&#8220;While no final steps were agreed upon, the meeting represents an aggressive dialing up of corporate America’s stand against controversial voting measures nationwide,&#8221; the Post reported Sunday.
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CONFIRMED: First-of-its-kind call between more than 100 top corporate leaders on Saturday focused on how to respond to proposed changes in state voting laws. Participants included top leaders of airlines, media, law, investment.
&mdash; Ed O&#39;Keefe (@edokeefe) <a href="https://twitter.com/edokeefe/status/1381362593017819141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Those invited include leaders of <a href="https://twitter.com/AmericanAir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmericanAir</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/united?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@United</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AtlantaFalcons</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/LeviStraussCo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LeviStraussCo</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Walmart?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Walmart</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/viacomcbs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ViacomCBS</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ArielInvests?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArielInvests</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/LinkedIn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LinkedIn</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Twitter</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AMCTheatres?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AMCTheatres</a>, among others, people familiar with the meeting tell <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cbsnews</a>.
&mdash; Ed O&#39;Keefe (@edokeefe) <a href="https://twitter.com/edokeefe/status/1381363233739653123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Sonnenfeld, who spoke to The Washington Post about the call, said that the gathering shows that corporations will not be &#8220;cowed&#8221; into staying out of politics.
“They felt very strongly that these voting restrictions are based on a flawed premise and are dangerous,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;The discussion — scheduled to last one hour but going 10 minutes longer — was led at times by Kenneth Chenault, the former chief executive of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier, the chief executive of Merck, who told the executives that it was important to keep fighting what they viewed as discriminatory laws on voting,&#8221; the Post reported. &#8220;Chenault and Frazier coordinated a letter signed last month by 72 Black business executives that made a similar point — a letter that first drew attention to the voting bills in executive suites across the country.&#8221;
The Post&#8217;s Ed O&#8217;Keefe also noted that there was &#8220;mockery&#8221; directed at Mitch McConnell who warned corporations to &#8220;stay out of politics,&#8221; suggesting that consumers would respond to corporate efforts to oppose voter rights laws.
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ALSO NOTABLE: “There was humor and mockery&quot; about <a href="https://twitter.com/LeaderMcConnell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LeaderMcConnell</a>&#39;S calls for business leaders to &quot;stay out of politics,&quot; a comment he later walked back. 
But participants said, &quot;It wasn’t a primary area of discussion&quot; and that meeting was in the works before McConnell&#39;s words.
&mdash; Ed O&#39;Keefe (@edokeefe) <a href="https://twitter.com/edokeefe/status/1381364483440934912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;There was a defiance of the threats that businesses should stay out of politics,” Sonnenfeld said, referencing McConnell&#8217;s comments. &#8220;They were obviously rejecting that even with their presence. But they were there out of concern about voting restrictions not being in the public interest.”
News of the call was met with deep concern from Republicans, who pointed out that calculated collaboration between corporate officials could quickly become problematic for consumers and others who might oppose a more &#8220;woke&#8221; agenda.
&#8220;If this happened in the service of a patriotic American cause, the media and the left would call it fascism,&#8221; strategist Dave Reaboi noted on social media. &#8220;Today it’s &#8216;voting laws&#8217;—within the next couple of years (or less), these forces will opine on every facet of American life and policy, destroying everyone in opposition.&#8221;
Others, like former Trump official Richard Grenell, warned that Republicans may want to reconsider their relationship with corporate America following news of coordination to oppose laws targeting vote fraud, particularly when it comes to advocating for corporate tax cuts at a federal level.
&#8220;It’s time Republican lawmakers stop protecting the large corporations who continue to pander to the Left,&#8221; Grenell said. &#8220;They reward the Left while getting protected by the Right. It’s time to stop. If the Left wants to raise corporate taxes &#8211; then let them.&#8221;
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley also weighed in, calling the gathering an example of &#8220;oligarchy.&#8221;
&#8220;Oligarchy defined: The most powerful corporations in America get together to plan how to control legislation in dozens of states,&#8221; Hawley said.
Although the call did not reach a conclusion, according to the Post, nor did the participants lay out a set strategy for opposing legislation, organizers suggested in their press release that they consider the coordination, itself, an achievement and noted that some of the corporate leaders present on the call plan to take action.
&#8220;CEOs indicated readiness to act individually and collectively to shore up American democracy and ensure Americans have access to a world-class voting system,&#8221; the group crowed in its release. &#8220;CEOs who participated in a live poll indicated they will re-evaluate donations to candidates supporting bills that restrict voting rights and many would reconsider investments in states which act upon such proposals.&#8221;

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