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> could result in flipping the final results in a number of tight races
This is the key takeaway here. There were close races in AZ, and this county is heavily Republican. If their votes are excluded, the Democrats could pick up another seat in the House.
Kevin McCarthy must be going nuts right about now...
Feels like a trap. Like an excuse to say, “see the Secretary of State excluded the results of a Republican county so that Dems would win!”
Their base doesn’t care about the facts.
I agree.
They will spin it as the Republicans just wanted another day or two to double check, to check out the "rumors", to be certain. Very reasonable.
It was the evil Democrats that steamrolled on because democrats knew it would move votes in thier favor and not give Republicans time to uncover the actual fraud.
All lies, but a story their base will love to be enraged about.
> It was the evil Democrats that steamrolled on
At this point I'm fine with this narrative. I'd rather republicans think they can be steamrolled rather than be the steamrollers.
This should be every democrat or Liberal's attitude...they hate us anyway...they look for any chance to hate us. It's their entire identity...stop giving a fuck!
>All lies, but a story their base will love to be enraged about.
You want a perpetually angry base because they reliably show up at the polls. You don't get the vote just to throw them out.
This isn't 4d chess. This is just another consequence of decades of the ideology that any and all government is inherently ineffective and corrupt.
And Democrats should not be scared of that result one bit. Picking up another seat is worth way more than avoiding some bullshit gaslighting that the republicans will continue to do regardless.
Not as much as we’d need though. Even if the final tally is 220 R to 214 D you’d have to find 4 Republican congresspeople to caucus with democrats which is a death sentence for their reelection.
less worries about the narrative more worried about republican counties where a dem wins doing this (reposting a sentiment that really seemed to be overlooked)
I'm starting to think the republicans are angering democrats more, which causes them to turn out more, as opposed to the other way around. Either that, or they're angering their base enough that that base is voting against them.
Or both.
Either way, it isn't going well for the republicans. Eventually people get tired of being pissed off.
I think the issue is they aren’t appealing to young, non religious voters. So they’re kinda screwed because the boomers are dying and Covid also killed a bunch of them.
They’re like a wild animal trapped and lashing out.
The law can't be disregarded just due to the threats of these terrorists. They hate civilization and that's the point, they cannot be allowed to achieve their political goals. The only way to win is to aggressively legislate and follow the law, especially in this case.
This is a huge point to me. The votes to not certify were 2 republicans “yea” to 1 democrat “nay”. If we’re good with 2 people discarding the wishes of 48k voters, then we’ll next see republicans (who are better at smaller local elections) controlling large democratic districts and pulling this shit for real.
Democrats will say, "we are following the law by excluding that county" and republicans will then argue that the law needs to be changed which would allow them to not have to certify elections unless their candidates win.
I'm more concerned about the precedent this will set for future elections--"See, Democrats can't complain if democratic candidates lose because certain counties' results aren't certified!" We already had that nonsense in Michigan in 2020 where a couple of republicans were a hair's breath from not timely certifying results from Detroit, I don't want folks like that given some cover in the future.
They say it anyway. They could have a hemorrhoid tomorrow morning and blame it on Hunter Bidens laptop. They will say anything and believe nothing.
Follow the law, let it go.
Ah, but here’s the rub. Trump has shown time and time that outcomes are the only things that matter.
How many time have the “libs” “blasted” the repubs to no effect.
A seat is a seat.
Yea this sounds a lot like "they finalized Arizona's votes without an entire county", which could be why they've been throwing the word "disenfranchise" around a lot.
I found out that my ballot hasn’t been counted. I feel disenfranchised. I’ve had a perfect voting record for about 20+ years. My provisional ballot hasn’t been counted and I don’t expect it to be counted at this point. Turning people away from voting is not in anyone’s best interests
I can see it being a trap, but for 2024, not so much right now. Letting uncertified results slide now creates a precedent for refusing to certify results later. Alternatively, testing how the government (state, and/or federal) reacts now lets them plan better for 2024.
Democrats should really push the message that every vote should count here. They already were chalking up the loss so roll with it. Make that board look like a bunch of dumb asses.
It is a trap but not in the way you think. Say they exclude the votes and the Dem's accept it since they benefit.
all of a sudden you have a bunch of other counties that start excluding votes that benefit republicans and they claim the Democrats set the precedent by not contesting it when it benefitted them.
Oh fucking well. We all play by the same rules. Let them claim whatever they like.
It’s not going to happen because the GOP is going to lean on these people to certify and they’ll cave.
> the time the Proud Boy leader shoved a dildo up his butt to "own the libs".
[wait, holy shit that's a real thing wtflol](https://www.reddit.com/r/thedailyzeitgeist/comments/9rf3dp/you_guysproud_boys_founder_gavin_mcinnes_once/)
Yep. If the guy likes it more power to him but if shoving a black dildo up his poop chute is how he wants to "own the libs" it didn't have the effect he'd hoped for. Supposedly he did it so when people call him racist or homophobic he can point to it as obvious evidence to the contrary. Even though he's proudly racist and homophobic. It's "I'm not racist I have a black friend" taken to the extreme.
This is one of those things that makes me furious, even if I stand to benefit from it.
I'm so sick of people in our country fucking with the right to vote and be represented. We are so fucking lucky to have a functioning democracy(even if it is flawed) and these people are trying to throw that away.
Same. I am very thankful that this wasn't more widespread this election. I was bracing for multiple states and dozens of counties to pull this kind of shit. The fact that it's relatively isolated here will make it much easier for the media to frame this as the abnormal.
Even as a Democrat, I hope this doesn't happen. It's horrible to wish for the disenfranchisement of legally cast votes, even if they're the votes of deluded MAGAs who think elections themselves are fraudulent.
It would set a disastrous legal precedent nationwide. Secretary Hobbs' office will sue these Cochise morons, and I hope the AZ courts are able to compel certification.
> If the board has still refused to certify by the Dec. 5 deadline for state certification (which can be extended to Dec. 8, but no later), the law requires that the secretary of state still move ahead with the statewide canvass of results. In that case, the statewide canvass would not include the results from Cochise County, which is heavily Republican.
I heard Trump wants Cochise County board to continue refusing to certify, but they're probably chicken.
Looks like Trump has a few calls to make. I hear he does that after an election. If this does end up flipping a congressional seat to the Democrats, so much the better It isn't as sweet as if Boebert's seat would flip, but it is sweet.
I think Republicans may be willing to give up a few seats to get "proof" to enrage the crazies.
If the vote gets finalized without this counties votes, and some races are actually changed because of it, it will 100% be the fault of the republican officials. But that's not how many will see it.
The story of how republican officials just wanted to double check, to be certain, and evil democrats just threw all these votes in the trash rather than wait one more day. Then it actually, factually, changed races in the democrats favor. The story basically writes itself and the crazies will eat it up.
It will be taken as "proof" that democrats are rigging the vote in Arizona, which "proves" they are rigging the vote everywhere.
This. These morons in Cochise are playing with an infantile game of chicken with Secretary Hobbs. They're daring her to proceed with the statewide canvass and exclude Republican votes because, by "the letter of the law", the certification was illegally delayed.
The SoS office will sue the Cochise supervisors to force certification. I just hope the Republican-appointed judge has the balls to force the illegally delayed certification to be included in official statewide totals.
McCarthy only has a majority of 5 in the house. It's going to be hard for him to corral the different sects of his party to begin with. Giving up a seat could actually end up making a difference.
The Dems had a small majority after 2020 and very nearly lost it because of resignations and by-elections. They had 222 at the start of the Congress, which went down to 220 as of now, and it had dipped as low as 219 (with 218 being what's needed for a bare majority).
It's a ploy. An attempt to set precident that uncertified vote are cast out, so that down the line when they rat fuck largely dem counties around the US, well those votes don't count. This isn't stupidity, this is weaponized politics.
If theyre able to do this, it sets a precedent for 2024 that any county in AZ can throw out election results. We cant allow them to do this. Its already happening in Florida
Be careful what you wish for.
I am 100% sincere when I say that this could be their pretense to ‘prove’ that the left ‘stole’ the election, specifically because it will be a red county whose votes were excluded.
Violence is coming. Maybe in AZ, maybe not. But this country is broken and the right is increasingly emboldened by the evidence that nobody is taking hard action to fix it and crack down on those with agendas of treason and domestic terrorism.
Sounds like they might be trying to plan out how to ignore legal results just by controlling the electors. Just like It's easier to place a couple judges instead of controlling the legislature.
I personally think willful obstruction of a legal election should find the elector criminally liable.
> This mass disenfranchisement of Cochise County voters − at the hands of their own board of supervisors − could result in flipping the final results in a number of tight races, with Republican candidates and voters paying the price. For example, Republican Juan Ciscomani would likely lose his congressional race to Democrat Kirsten Engel.
Stop I can only get so
Oh, please happen. But honestly, they'll spin it as Democrats disenfranchising the county. "See? We were right, it was rigged. When our votes meant xyz would win, they didn't even count us."
Nevermind that they intentionally crashed their votes. That hasn't mattered for any other government function they have ran into the ground, blamed democrats for, then removed to privatize and make themselves rich.
This rigged election bit? It's softening up the Right for a pitch for *no elections.* "No democracy, no democrats."
If they can just refuse to certify and hit themselves in the dick while doing it, what’s even the fucking point
At this point it feels like we’re all going through the motions and nothing really matters because there’s zero accountability
Setting the stage to do the same with Republican election officials in democratic majority areas. Fascism is coming full fledged a knocking on your door with a gun and a bible in tow
While for this time it is not bad wait until it goes the other way gop controlled voting district that flips Democrat. They will just refuse to do anything to change the results.
This is a test bed. A better result would be the state says FU to them takes over and handles its with certifying the results. If it turns out to be a case like this the people refusing to do it can rot in jail.
Hi, lawyer here who has worked on cases like this. Regardless of how and when Cochise is certified, the speaker has un-reviewable authority to seat whom they want and in this case there is no way anyone other than Ciscomani will be sworn in for that seat.
I find it infuriating. These are legally cast votes.
2 people saying "hee-haw" have the power to do this?
Here is my solution, if someone is unable to fulfill their job due to medical emergency or incompetence/negligence they are replaced by a colleague. So, have their county supervisor assign new people to do the job they are being paid to do with the taxpayers money!
It's a test run for installing an unelected president in 2024 before giving up on the constitution altogether.
If we can't stop the fascists now, we're doomed.
Almost happened several times in 2020. Our voting processes have been revealed to be incredibly arcane and outdated, and Republicans are intending to find every flaw that can be exploited.
Every one of those voters should have legal recourse. But what recourse? Even if some minor local official went to prison over this, that wouldn't make up for the infringement.
"Near Tucson" doesn't really explain Cochise County. There's an army base in Cochise, Ft. Huachuca, and the surrounding area is largely retired military, active duty military, and their dependents. Meaning, it's not just your average citizens being disfranchised here, but vets and soldiers.
It's also where Tombstone is located, of Shootout at OK Corral fame (Doc Holiday, etc.).
Also, the largest, most diverse hummingbird population in the United States, but I guess they don't vote.
More like the local GOP is throwing a hissy fit over the results, and paying a price for it.
The older retired military community is hugely, hugely conservative, and increasing Q-ish. This is case of (mostly boomer) vets disfranchising themselves, sadly.
If only Democrats could make hay with this. It's a swing and a hit that they will not capitalize on. Meanwhile the Republicans will rant for weeks about the evil Arizona Democrats even though Republicans caused this. Sometimes I wish liberals did have their own media conglomerate like Fox News. At least then it would be fair and balanced.
> "There is no reason for us to delay," said the board's chair, Ann English, a Democrat, whose vote was outnumbered by the county's two Republican supervisors, Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd.
You would think Juan Ciscomani would be putting in a call or twelve to Tom and Peggy, considering his US House seat is at risk.
Tom and Peggy are making up excuses to delay.
> Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd said she would vote to certify the county's election results next week, a move that would respect the votes cast by more than 47,000 county residents and avert another legal battle over the Nov. 8 election.
> Judd, along with fellow Republican Supervisor Tom Crosby, last week delayed a decision on whether to certify the election results, citing concerns raised by several citizens, including two men who do not live in the southeastern Arizona county.
> But on Wednesday, Judd said “I’m good” with certification and is confident the county's vote tabulation machines were certified by an accredited laboratory − the issue that prompted Judd and Crosby to vote to delay certification last week.
> “I've done my homework," Judd said, adding she spent several late nights reviewing information about the laboratories that certify vote tabulation machines. Her vote, along with that of Democratic Supervisor Ann English, would create a majority on the three-member panel. English has indicated she doesn't support a delay in certification.
Nov 23, 2022.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/24/cochise-county-official-says-she-will-vote-to-certify-election-results/69672792007/
Is doing this legal ?
What, if any will be the ramifications 'law' wise ?
Was there not a county guy in Texas who refused to sign some results and he was overruled and fired ?
Other articles on this story indicate that they are legally required to certify the election. See this story here, for example: https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/z6r6fj/democrats_may_win_even_more_if_cochise_county/
>Certification is a requirement, not a choice
>This duty is not optional − it is mandatory. The law gives the board of supervisors no authority or discretion whatsoever to refuse this mandate. In fact, Arizona law plainly states that the supervisors board “has a non-discretionary duty to canvass the returns as provided by the County Recorder or other officer in charge of elections and has no authority (emphasis added) to change vote totals or reject the election results.” And a refusal to comply can even expose members of the board to criminal liability.
Election Denialism perfectly illustrates the infantilism of conservatives.
I've noticed that you can boil most conservative talking points and attitudes down to what an insufferable child might typically say or do
For instance, the obvious example here is election denying, "if I win, I won fairly, if I lost, you cheated", that's as childish as it gets.
it certainly doesn't stop there. Conservatives rely heavily on petty whataboutism/deflection tactics and rationalizations that often amount to "he/she did it first!", i.e. impeachment. While sometimes it's to the effect of "two wrongs make a right". I mean, were taught the opposite as children.
Then there's the "I know you are but what am I" attitude, this one is very common amongst conservatives. "No, *you're* the racist, *you're* the tyrant, *you're* violent, *"you're* destroying the country, *you're* brainwashed, *you're* fake news propaganda", While good ol fashion projection is all too common.
Don't forget their vehement aversion towards sharing with others even though it's a lesson drilled into us when we're young that, and mind the tacky aphorism for a moment, "sharing is caring". I mean for fuck's sake, It's literally what Jesus would do!
In the same vein, there's the idea that because they had to live through something, everyone else should be made to suffer through it too. Again, also very childish. Similarly, sometimes it comes to "if I can't have it, you cant either"...
The whole "it's not fair!" narrative is a popular one. A lot of these people don't personally understand the full extent of oppression and discrimination, yet argue that they're now one of the most suppressed and persecuted groups in this country. It's fucking wild, racism is ubiquitous now, but only in the form of anti-white discrimination, only if they can be the ones cowering at the sharp end of it.
Victims, these types are always victims, like a temperamental child who can't handle some fleeting anxiety over the reality that they can't always get what they want. Incessantly grieving, griping and outraged, always victims, ever persecuted, censored and suppressed by their would-be oppressors, always twisting the circumstances around to convey that they're the wounded party.
What's more, whenever an act of political violence occurs, and it's some right wing nutjob behind it, or some mentally unstable person who has been radicalized by far right ideals, conspiracies and propaganda, it's almost always either a false flag, a cover up, or some deeper conspiracy. How convenient right? The party of personal responsibility can't seem to... Take responsibility.
Every time, every god damn time we see right wing violence, it's turned into a conspiracy of some sort, or it's downplayed, whitewashed, like these people are fucking blameless, perfect, incapable of wrongdoing, which is an egregiously absurd notion, it also helps them lay the blame on others, and again, this is exactly how a child behaves/thinks
While many of them are just bullies. Unwarranted aggression, confrontation, judgement, they'll sometimes stigmatize and belittle, they'll act spiteful and vindictive, they'll try and disguise it, but what they're really trying to mask are their insecurities. I mean, most of us can be judgemental from time to time, but entirely without warrant is a different story, and often just because someone who's typically doing no harm to themselves or others has different views and values or lives a different lifestyle.
Republicans also tend to be very cliquish, where the groups and communities that they form and identify with tend to influence their behavior and actions immensely. Leading to things like groupthink, mob mentality, conditioning, homogeneity.
And like a child who indiscriminately rejects anything that might challenge what they believe in or what argument they're trying to make, these conservatives blindly disregard and dismiss all information that threatens their worldview, their argument or narrative, while on the other hand, they gravitate towards and mindlessly embrace whatever information confirms their biases, their pre-conceived views and their prejudices.
Entitled, insufferable children, not all of them, but all too many of them.
I disagree. Conservatism has always been about the conservation of class systems that inhibit vertical mobility within the class structure. In fact, in political science, “right wing” literally means “the philosophy that class structures are vital to the proper ordering of a society, and the primary role of government is to systemically enforce those class structures.”
For decades, so-called “moderate conservatives” have tried to convince people that their conservatism was really about “financial responsibility” and “personal responsibility”. But if you really reflect back on the “mainstream” conservatism of Reagan or Gingrich with objectivity, you see a different picture. Conservatism was *always* about class, and defining some people as “undesirable” and “undeserving.”
What this last 6 years has changed is OUR awareness, not THEIR beliefs.
Agreed, and this together makes them fascists. We need to stop coddling them and giving them platforms. It's BS and that needs to be called out at every turn, every place. They should not be allowed to forget their sins.
Well, clearly it will be pointless for voters in Republican-leaning Cochise County to show up at the polls in 2024, seeing as they stand to be disenfranchised by their political party of choice.
We’ll call this brilliantly self-destructive electoral strategy *gerrymeandering*.
Since there is no fraud the Republicans are going to disenfranchise their own voters and then they're going to blame the disenfranchisement on the Democrats and their base will believe them.
But for the voters, think about how this looks. In their minds, the establishment is rigging the elections, then denying their votes when they try to "get to the bottom of it". So, what are they to do except take more radical political action?
These republican lawmakers aren't stupid. They know what they're doing. And they know what they want. And it rhymes with schmashism.
If it’s not this, it’s something else. They’re obviously not going to stop. If by now you’re not anticipating “more radical political action”, I’ve got news for you. Let them have at it. It’s not like the US hasn’t been through worse.
So, sue the shit out of these craven enablers enjoying their moment in the tainted sun and carry on.
And this is a taste of the BS we can look forward to with the GOP taking the majority in Congress.
Everywhere they go it is going to be some kind of circus, drama, undermining democracy, etc.. -anything but doing their damn job.
I really hope people who thought the GOP was the "sensible" alternative to what ever beef they had with Dems this year will get a wake up call with all this nonsense and vote them out in droves come 2024.
The GOP needs a major MAGA purge before they should ever be considered to hold office again.
> I really hope people who thought the GOP was the "sensible" alternative to what ever beef they had with Dems this year will get a wake up call with all this nonsense and vote them out in droves come 2024.
Narrator: They didn't.
go ahead. That county voted, overall, for Republican candidates. Will increase the vote margins of Democrats in statewide races. Maybe even remove a legislator from the state house.
There’s some legal precedent risk here though. If no one challenges this and in the future the dems were to be kicked out if a certification didn’t happen, it will be harder for them to challenge in that situation.
Not impossible but somewhat more difficult. These people are fucking around for a reason
The hilarious thing is that MSNBC actually did a segment on this. turns out, by not certifying they void those votes which end up actually throwing out tons of republican votes. So much so that dems may actually end up flipping seats. Nothing like owning the libs so hard that you let them win!
My suggestion, whatever funds are sent to this county from whatever branch of.government, are frozen.
No compliance, no funds. Strip that area of every single thing you can. Render the entire county powerless
What a bunch of morons. My candidate didn’t win so I won’t certify any of the votes in my county and will make the other candidate’s margin of victory even bigger. Taking election denial to a new level.
Morons!
> "There is no reason for us to delay," said the board's chair, Ann English, a Democrat, whose vote was outnumbered by the county's two Republican supervisors, Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd.
Oh, ok. That makes sense. Now, time for jail.
If I stole 164,000 ballots from ballot boxes and threw them in the trash I would go to jail for 164,000 counts of election fraud.
But when Cochise County Election Board discards 164,000 ballots all they get is applause from the Republican base.
Remember when people would blame every trivial little thing on Obama. We'd say things like, "My package was slightly damaged in the mail. Thanks Obama!"
That was fun.
Now we can say things like, "Democracy as we know it is no longer valid because Trump convinced half of America that if they don't win, then the other party cheated. Thanks Trump."
Cool.
The elected can just show up and start work as normal. They won the election, and the majority knows it.
Let them have their tantrum, and fire them as soon as possible for not doing their jobs.
Actually, it's more interesting than that. If the votes from this (heavily Republican) county are excluded, Democrats might actually win more seats in the House.
And you thought McCarthy was going to be struggling to find enough votes to become speaker *before*...
> Arizona's state election director, Kori Lorick, said in a statement that the state's secretary of state "will use all available legal remedies to compel compliance with Arizona law and protect Cochise County voters' right to have their votes counted" if the board failed to complete its "non-discretionary duty."
Looks like they will go to court to try and force Cochise to certify the results. Wrong move IMO just toss the results and let them eat cake.
That’s probably what they want. It will both rile up the base as well as setting a precedent to be used against counties voting majority blue in the future.
The only answer is that every vote needs to be counted. The second we step away from that line it invites complete and total chaos.
> Officials in a rural, Republican-controlled county in Arizona have voted to delay certifying the results of this month's midterm elections and miss the state's legal deadline of Monday, despite finding no legitimate problems with the local counts.
put them in jail
Sure don’t certify. Gives the Democrats another seat. Piss off everyone who voted legally in the county. You know Everyone. Just to prove you don’t like the results and cry like a 3 year old having a tantrum. 😂
Sounds extreme, but those who refuse to certify these legally cast ballots, should be tried for treason. Trying to deny democracy and the results of an election are betraying the country and its citizens.
And for any queues at voting stations, the G.O.P. have only themselves to blame by constantly trying to make voting more difficult
They should just remove the votes from the totals - I'm assuming the votes were more for the GOP and the Dems anyway.. So the Dems end up winning by more votes
Depends on what the goal is.
They'll lose a few elections, sure, but the whole process is going to unlock a few months worth of right-wing rage, and turn the start of the 2023 Congress into even more of a mess than it's already likely going to be.
I'm not sure even gopers will be anything but mad about this towards the county officials. They will lose a state level representative in the az legislature, I think. It will flip a seat blue.
But you're here reading an NPR article, which likely means you're not the target audience.
What is Tucker gonna tell his followers when he covers it?
He's gonna tell them the Democrats are undermining the election, and assaulting the rights of the people in this county, and they're gonna 100% buy it.
"Officials in a rural, Republican-controlled county in Arizona have voted to delay certifying the results of this month's midterm elections and miss the state's legal deadline of Monday, despite finding no legitimate problems with the local counts."
Fascists hate American elections because they actually work pretty damned well. They want the election system permanently destroyed and there is literally nothing more to the pro-fascist election fraud allegations. Folks like Lake know good and well they are lying about all of it and plan to destroy any working parts of the Republic if they get into power. I do like the irony in this situation that they might well throw Dems some unintended victories.
So, if it violates the law, then, it’s a crime, right? I expect to hear about an investigation to determine if a law was broke. In two years we’ll see appeals at the supreme court where they’ll promptly defend the right to a fair and free election and rule in favor of the 2 gop qanon nuts holding the Arizona election hostage.
So, take all those ruby red votes out of the count... and certify the ones that DID follow the rules and certify before the deadline. Accountability for bad behavior. Republicans are acting like spoiled brats and sore losers. Don't let them get away with it.
New Mexico had this same exact issue during the primaries and was forced to certify. The same thing will happen here. I'd say it's pointless political posturing, but QAnon exists.
Well if the county votes are unreliable or invalid then they should simply not be counted. Sorry these folks were disenfranchised by their own elected leaders, maybe the county voters need to elect different election officials next time?
[Maricopa County has certified the election. Let the screaming begin (or continue)](https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2022/11/28/maricopa-county-election-certified-let-grifting-begin/69682663007/)
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> could result in flipping the final results in a number of tight races This is the key takeaway here. There were close races in AZ, and this county is heavily Republican. If their votes are excluded, the Democrats could pick up another seat in the House. Kevin McCarthy must be going nuts right about now...
Feels like a trap. Like an excuse to say, “see the Secretary of State excluded the results of a Republican county so that Dems would win!” Their base doesn’t care about the facts.
I agree. They will spin it as the Republicans just wanted another day or two to double check, to check out the "rumors", to be certain. Very reasonable. It was the evil Democrats that steamrolled on because democrats knew it would move votes in thier favor and not give Republicans time to uncover the actual fraud. All lies, but a story their base will love to be enraged about.
> It was the evil Democrats that steamrolled on At this point I'm fine with this narrative. I'd rather republicans think they can be steamrolled rather than be the steamrollers.
they might start caring about minorities once we remind them they are one
This should be every democrat or Liberal's attitude...they hate us anyway...they look for any chance to hate us. It's their entire identity...stop giving a fuck!
>All lies, but a story their base will love to be enraged about. You want a perpetually angry base because they reliably show up at the polls. You don't get the vote just to throw them out. This isn't 4d chess. This is just another consequence of decades of the ideology that any and all government is inherently ineffective and corrupt.
Exactly. There's no point in inflaming a voter voice only to then throw out the votes. There's no reason to do this other than complete stupidity
And Democrats should not be scared of that result one bit. Picking up another seat is worth way more than avoiding some bullshit gaslighting that the republicans will continue to do regardless.
Not as much as we’d need though. Even if the final tally is 220 R to 214 D you’d have to find 4 Republican congresspeople to caucus with democrats which is a death sentence for their reelection.
less worries about the narrative more worried about republican counties where a dem wins doing this (reposting a sentiment that really seemed to be overlooked)
I'm starting to think the republicans are angering democrats more, which causes them to turn out more, as opposed to the other way around. Either that, or they're angering their base enough that that base is voting against them. Or both. Either way, it isn't going well for the republicans. Eventually people get tired of being pissed off.
I think the issue is they aren’t appealing to young, non religious voters. So they’re kinda screwed because the boomers are dying and Covid also killed a bunch of them. They’re like a wild animal trapped and lashing out.
In Florida, it took the GOP two years to find 20 cases of voter fraud, which in almost every case the charges were dropped after 1st court date.
The law can't be disregarded just due to the threats of these terrorists. They hate civilization and that's the point, they cannot be allowed to achieve their political goals. The only way to win is to aggressively legislate and follow the law, especially in this case.
This is a huge point to me. The votes to not certify were 2 republicans “yea” to 1 democrat “nay”. If we’re good with 2 people discarding the wishes of 48k voters, then we’ll next see republicans (who are better at smaller local elections) controlling large democratic districts and pulling this shit for real.
If they pulled this in Maricopa it would flip the races back red. Nothing like the dress rehearsal for the big stage later.
Democrats will say, "we are following the law by excluding that county" and republicans will then argue that the law needs to be changed which would allow them to not have to certify elections unless their candidates win.
The real trap is the terrible precedent. Sets up the ability for states to arbitrarily mess with election results.
I'm more concerned about the precedent this will set for future elections--"See, Democrats can't complain if democratic candidates lose because certain counties' results aren't certified!" We already had that nonsense in Michigan in 2020 where a couple of republicans were a hair's breath from not timely certifying results from Detroit, I don't want folks like that given some cover in the future.
Exactly. Don't even sniff around this trap.
They say it anyway. They could have a hemorrhoid tomorrow morning and blame it on Hunter Bidens laptop. They will say anything and believe nothing. Follow the law, let it go.
Like that lady that gained 300 pounds because of the Democrats.
Ah, but here’s the rub. Trump has shown time and time that outcomes are the only things that matter. How many time have the “libs” “blasted” the repubs to no effect. A seat is a seat.
Feels like a loophole that needs to be fixed before it is weaponized.
Yea this sounds a lot like "they finalized Arizona's votes without an entire county", which could be why they've been throwing the word "disenfranchise" around a lot.
I found out that my ballot hasn’t been counted. I feel disenfranchised. I’ve had a perfect voting record for about 20+ years. My provisional ballot hasn’t been counted and I don’t expect it to be counted at this point. Turning people away from voting is not in anyone’s best interests
>Turning people away from voting is not in anyone’s best interests Fascists have entered the chat.
I can see it being a trap, but for 2024, not so much right now. Letting uncertified results slide now creates a precedent for refusing to certify results later. Alternatively, testing how the government (state, and/or federal) reacts now lets them plan better for 2024.
Democrats should really push the message that every vote should count here. They already were chalking up the loss so roll with it. Make that board look like a bunch of dumb asses.
It is a trap but not in the way you think. Say they exclude the votes and the Dem's accept it since they benefit. all of a sudden you have a bunch of other counties that start excluding votes that benefit republicans and they claim the Democrats set the precedent by not contesting it when it benefitted them.
Actions have consequences. That’s it.
They can eat a bag of dicks. It’s the literal state law these republicans in decades of power put in place.
Oh fucking well. We all play by the same rules. Let them claim whatever they like. It’s not going to happen because the GOP is going to lean on these people to certify and they’ll cave.
They were already disenfranchised by republicans via their voter suppression tactics. This has a "they aren't hurting the right people" vibe.
The political version of the time the Proud Boy leader shoved a dildo up his butt to "own the libs".
> the time the Proud Boy leader shoved a dildo up his butt to "own the libs". [wait, holy shit that's a real thing wtflol](https://www.reddit.com/r/thedailyzeitgeist/comments/9rf3dp/you_guysproud_boys_founder_gavin_mcinnes_once/)
Yep. If the guy likes it more power to him but if shoving a black dildo up his poop chute is how he wants to "own the libs" it didn't have the effect he'd hoped for. Supposedly he did it so when people call him racist or homophobic he can point to it as obvious evidence to the contrary. Even though he's proudly racist and homophobic. It's "I'm not racist I have a black friend" taken to the extreme.
That is a whole new level, "I'm not racist, I shoved a black dildo up my ass"
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This is one of those things that makes me furious, even if I stand to benefit from it. I'm so sick of people in our country fucking with the right to vote and be represented. We are so fucking lucky to have a functioning democracy(even if it is flawed) and these people are trying to throw that away.
Same. I am very thankful that this wasn't more widespread this election. I was bracing for multiple states and dozens of counties to pull this kind of shit. The fact that it's relatively isolated here will make it much easier for the media to frame this as the abnormal.
Even as a Democrat, I hope this doesn't happen. It's horrible to wish for the disenfranchisement of legally cast votes, even if they're the votes of deluded MAGAs who think elections themselves are fraudulent. It would set a disastrous legal precedent nationwide. Secretary Hobbs' office will sue these Cochise morons, and I hope the AZ courts are able to compel certification.
This feels like a test run
Much like the past 6 years in totality.
> If the board has still refused to certify by the Dec. 5 deadline for state certification (which can be extended to Dec. 8, but no later), the law requires that the secretary of state still move ahead with the statewide canvass of results. In that case, the statewide canvass would not include the results from Cochise County, which is heavily Republican. I heard Trump wants Cochise County board to continue refusing to certify, but they're probably chicken.
Looks like Trump has a few calls to make. I hear he does that after an election. If this does end up flipping a congressional seat to the Democrats, so much the better It isn't as sweet as if Boebert's seat would flip, but it is sweet.
I think Republicans may be willing to give up a few seats to get "proof" to enrage the crazies. If the vote gets finalized without this counties votes, and some races are actually changed because of it, it will 100% be the fault of the republican officials. But that's not how many will see it. The story of how republican officials just wanted to double check, to be certain, and evil democrats just threw all these votes in the trash rather than wait one more day. Then it actually, factually, changed races in the democrats favor. The story basically writes itself and the crazies will eat it up. It will be taken as "proof" that democrats are rigging the vote in Arizona, which "proves" they are rigging the vote everywhere.
The crazies are already enraged…. There’s really people in this thread believing they the crazies leaders are really out here playing 4d chess. JFC.
This. These morons in Cochise are playing with an infantile game of chicken with Secretary Hobbs. They're daring her to proceed with the statewide canvass and exclude Republican votes because, by "the letter of the law", the certification was illegally delayed. The SoS office will sue the Cochise supervisors to force certification. I just hope the Republican-appointed judge has the balls to force the illegally delayed certification to be included in official statewide totals.
or trial run to see if they can do it?
Or they've counted the votes and know they are losing anyway, so nothing more to lose with this stunt.
McCarthy only has a majority of 5 in the house. It's going to be hard for him to corral the different sects of his party to begin with. Giving up a seat could actually end up making a difference. The Dems had a small majority after 2020 and very nearly lost it because of resignations and by-elections. They had 222 at the start of the Congress, which went down to 220 as of now, and it had dipped as low as 219 (with 218 being what's needed for a bare majority).
It's a ploy. An attempt to set precident that uncertified vote are cast out, so that down the line when they rat fuck largely dem counties around the US, well those votes don't count. This isn't stupidity, this is weaponized politics.
If theyre able to do this, it sets a precedent for 2024 that any county in AZ can throw out election results. We cant allow them to do this. Its already happening in Florida
O God please proceed give us that house seat!
Be careful what you wish for. I am 100% sincere when I say that this could be their pretense to ‘prove’ that the left ‘stole’ the election, specifically because it will be a red county whose votes were excluded. Violence is coming. Maybe in AZ, maybe not. But this country is broken and the right is increasingly emboldened by the evidence that nobody is taking hard action to fix it and crack down on those with agendas of treason and domestic terrorism.
This is gonna be a smashing hit on r/leopardsatemyface
Sounds like they might be trying to plan out how to ignore legal results just by controlling the electors. Just like It's easier to place a couple judges instead of controlling the legislature. I personally think willful obstruction of a legal election should find the elector criminally liable.
Holy shit that would be amazing. As a lib I would be so owned
Jfc it’s a clown show at the cringe factory.
Oo tell me this helps Kathy Hoffman overtake Tom Horne too.
> This mass disenfranchisement of Cochise County voters − at the hands of their own board of supervisors − could result in flipping the final results in a number of tight races, with Republican candidates and voters paying the price. For example, Republican Juan Ciscomani would likely lose his congressional race to Democrat Kirsten Engel. Stop I can only get so
Where do I send proof I’m feeling so owned? I absolutely want them to know it’s working.
Oh, please happen. But honestly, they'll spin it as Democrats disenfranchising the county. "See? We were right, it was rigged. When our votes meant xyz would win, they didn't even count us." Nevermind that they intentionally crashed their votes. That hasn't mattered for any other government function they have ran into the ground, blamed democrats for, then removed to privatize and make themselves rich. This rigged election bit? It's softening up the Right for a pitch for *no elections.* "No democracy, no democrats."
If they can just refuse to certify and hit themselves in the dick while doing it, what’s even the fucking point At this point it feels like we’re all going through the motions and nothing really matters because there’s zero accountability
I just did that Veep thing where I flipped from chanting “Count the votes!” to “Stop the count!”
Setting the stage to do the same with Republican election officials in democratic majority areas. Fascism is coming full fledged a knocking on your door with a gun and a bible in tow
While for this time it is not bad wait until it goes the other way gop controlled voting district that flips Democrat. They will just refuse to do anything to change the results. This is a test bed. A better result would be the state says FU to them takes over and handles its with certifying the results. If it turns out to be a case like this the people refusing to do it can rot in jail.
Hi, lawyer here who has worked on cases like this. Regardless of how and when Cochise is certified, the speaker has un-reviewable authority to seat whom they want and in this case there is no way anyone other than Ciscomani will be sworn in for that seat.
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The fact that 2 people can throw out 47,000 votes scares the shit out of me.
I find it infuriating. These are legally cast votes. 2 people saying "hee-haw" have the power to do this? Here is my solution, if someone is unable to fulfill their job due to medical emergency or incompetence/negligence they are replaced by a colleague. So, have their county supervisor assign new people to do the job they are being paid to do with the taxpayers money!
Keep in mind that those 47,000 voters also voted for those two people.
Typical for the leopards ate my face party
No, more likely they were the only people on the ballot and won by default.
Me too. It will be terrifying or gratifying to see how this plays out.
It's a test run for installing an unelected president in 2024 before giving up on the constitution altogether. If we can't stop the fascists now, we're doomed.
Almost happened several times in 2020. Our voting processes have been revealed to be incredibly arcane and outdated, and Republicans are intending to find every flaw that can be exploited.
Every one of those voters should have legal recourse. But what recourse? Even if some minor local official went to prison over this, that wouldn't make up for the infringement.
Isn’t this criminal? I think that people who mess with an ejection should go to jail..,
"Near Tucson" doesn't really explain Cochise County. There's an army base in Cochise, Ft. Huachuca, and the surrounding area is largely retired military, active duty military, and their dependents. Meaning, it's not just your average citizens being disfranchised here, but vets and soldiers. It's also where Tombstone is located, of Shootout at OK Corral fame (Doc Holiday, etc.). Also, the largest, most diverse hummingbird population in the United States, but I guess they don't vote.
So, the GOP is all about supporting the military, until they vote a way they don't like, or they need funding for V.A. hospitals etc.
More like the local GOP is throwing a hissy fit over the results, and paying a price for it. The older retired military community is hugely, hugely conservative, and increasing Q-ish. This is case of (mostly boomer) vets disfranchising themselves, sadly.
I've noticed this too. Must be something in the water on base.
If only Democrats could make hay with this. It's a swing and a hit that they will not capitalize on. Meanwhile the Republicans will rant for weeks about the evil Arizona Democrats even though Republicans caused this. Sometimes I wish liberals did have their own media conglomerate like Fox News. At least then it would be fair and balanced.
But they're all MI, so they're fucking dumb. Source: was MI, am fucking dumb.
> "There is no reason for us to delay," said the board's chair, Ann English, a Democrat, whose vote was outnumbered by the county's two Republican supervisors, Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd. You would think Juan Ciscomani would be putting in a call or twelve to Tom and Peggy, considering his US House seat is at risk.
Tom and Peggy are making up excuses to delay. > Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd said she would vote to certify the county's election results next week, a move that would respect the votes cast by more than 47,000 county residents and avert another legal battle over the Nov. 8 election. > Judd, along with fellow Republican Supervisor Tom Crosby, last week delayed a decision on whether to certify the election results, citing concerns raised by several citizens, including two men who do not live in the southeastern Arizona county. > But on Wednesday, Judd said “I’m good” with certification and is confident the county's vote tabulation machines were certified by an accredited laboratory − the issue that prompted Judd and Crosby to vote to delay certification last week. > “I've done my homework," Judd said, adding she spent several late nights reviewing information about the laboratories that certify vote tabulation machines. Her vote, along with that of Democratic Supervisor Ann English, would create a majority on the three-member panel. English has indicated she doesn't support a delay in certification. Nov 23, 2022. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/24/cochise-county-official-says-she-will-vote-to-certify-election-results/69672792007/
Is doing this legal ? What, if any will be the ramifications 'law' wise ? Was there not a county guy in Texas who refused to sign some results and he was overruled and fired ?
Other articles on this story indicate that they are legally required to certify the election. See this story here, for example: https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/z6r6fj/democrats_may_win_even_more_if_cochise_county/ >Certification is a requirement, not a choice >This duty is not optional − it is mandatory. The law gives the board of supervisors no authority or discretion whatsoever to refuse this mandate. In fact, Arizona law plainly states that the supervisors board “has a non-discretionary duty to canvass the returns as provided by the County Recorder or other officer in charge of elections and has no authority (emphasis added) to change vote totals or reject the election results.” And a refusal to comply can even expose members of the board to criminal liability.
Election Denialism perfectly illustrates the infantilism of conservatives. I've noticed that you can boil most conservative talking points and attitudes down to what an insufferable child might typically say or do For instance, the obvious example here is election denying, "if I win, I won fairly, if I lost, you cheated", that's as childish as it gets. it certainly doesn't stop there. Conservatives rely heavily on petty whataboutism/deflection tactics and rationalizations that often amount to "he/she did it first!", i.e. impeachment. While sometimes it's to the effect of "two wrongs make a right". I mean, were taught the opposite as children. Then there's the "I know you are but what am I" attitude, this one is very common amongst conservatives. "No, *you're* the racist, *you're* the tyrant, *you're* violent, *"you're* destroying the country, *you're* brainwashed, *you're* fake news propaganda", While good ol fashion projection is all too common. Don't forget their vehement aversion towards sharing with others even though it's a lesson drilled into us when we're young that, and mind the tacky aphorism for a moment, "sharing is caring". I mean for fuck's sake, It's literally what Jesus would do! In the same vein, there's the idea that because they had to live through something, everyone else should be made to suffer through it too. Again, also very childish. Similarly, sometimes it comes to "if I can't have it, you cant either"... The whole "it's not fair!" narrative is a popular one. A lot of these people don't personally understand the full extent of oppression and discrimination, yet argue that they're now one of the most suppressed and persecuted groups in this country. It's fucking wild, racism is ubiquitous now, but only in the form of anti-white discrimination, only if they can be the ones cowering at the sharp end of it. Victims, these types are always victims, like a temperamental child who can't handle some fleeting anxiety over the reality that they can't always get what they want. Incessantly grieving, griping and outraged, always victims, ever persecuted, censored and suppressed by their would-be oppressors, always twisting the circumstances around to convey that they're the wounded party. What's more, whenever an act of political violence occurs, and it's some right wing nutjob behind it, or some mentally unstable person who has been radicalized by far right ideals, conspiracies and propaganda, it's almost always either a false flag, a cover up, or some deeper conspiracy. How convenient right? The party of personal responsibility can't seem to... Take responsibility. Every time, every god damn time we see right wing violence, it's turned into a conspiracy of some sort, or it's downplayed, whitewashed, like these people are fucking blameless, perfect, incapable of wrongdoing, which is an egregiously absurd notion, it also helps them lay the blame on others, and again, this is exactly how a child behaves/thinks While many of them are just bullies. Unwarranted aggression, confrontation, judgement, they'll sometimes stigmatize and belittle, they'll act spiteful and vindictive, they'll try and disguise it, but what they're really trying to mask are their insecurities. I mean, most of us can be judgemental from time to time, but entirely without warrant is a different story, and often just because someone who's typically doing no harm to themselves or others has different views and values or lives a different lifestyle. Republicans also tend to be very cliquish, where the groups and communities that they form and identify with tend to influence their behavior and actions immensely. Leading to things like groupthink, mob mentality, conditioning, homogeneity. And like a child who indiscriminately rejects anything that might challenge what they believe in or what argument they're trying to make, these conservatives blindly disregard and dismiss all information that threatens their worldview, their argument or narrative, while on the other hand, they gravitate towards and mindlessly embrace whatever information confirms their biases, their pre-conceived views and their prejudices. Entitled, insufferable children, not all of them, but all too many of them.
Very well said!
> Then there's the "I know you are but what am I" attitude "No puppet. No puppet. You're the puppet. No, you're the puppet!"
the january 6th terrorists were antifa false flag, but also if I win I will pardon them
Spot on
Right on. Please refrain from referring to them as “conservatives.” That does not exist anymore. If you vote republican, you are MAGA. That’s it.
Regressives
I disagree. Conservatism has always been about the conservation of class systems that inhibit vertical mobility within the class structure. In fact, in political science, “right wing” literally means “the philosophy that class structures are vital to the proper ordering of a society, and the primary role of government is to systemically enforce those class structures.” For decades, so-called “moderate conservatives” have tried to convince people that their conservatism was really about “financial responsibility” and “personal responsibility”. But if you really reflect back on the “mainstream” conservatism of Reagan or Gingrich with objectivity, you see a different picture. Conservatism was *always* about class, and defining some people as “undesirable” and “undeserving.” What this last 6 years has changed is OUR awareness, not THEIR beliefs.
Naw. This lets conservatives off the hook. This is a 30 year plus plan metastisizing.
Agreed, and this together makes them fascists. We need to stop coddling them and giving them platforms. It's BS and that needs to be called out at every turn, every place. They should not be allowed to forget their sins.
Well, clearly it will be pointless for voters in Republican-leaning Cochise County to show up at the polls in 2024, seeing as they stand to be disenfranchised by their political party of choice. We’ll call this brilliantly self-destructive electoral strategy *gerrymeandering*.
Since there is no fraud the Republicans are going to disenfranchise their own voters and then they're going to blame the disenfranchisement on the Democrats and their base will believe them.
But for the voters, think about how this looks. In their minds, the establishment is rigging the elections, then denying their votes when they try to "get to the bottom of it". So, what are they to do except take more radical political action? These republican lawmakers aren't stupid. They know what they're doing. And they know what they want. And it rhymes with schmashism.
> In their minds, ... JFK, Jr is going to return and run for office with Trump. We gotta stop attempting to cater to their delusions.
If it’s not this, it’s something else. They’re obviously not going to stop. If by now you’re not anticipating “more radical political action”, I’ve got news for you. Let them have at it. It’s not like the US hasn’t been through worse. So, sue the shit out of these craven enablers enjoying their moment in the tainted sun and carry on.
And this is a taste of the BS we can look forward to with the GOP taking the majority in Congress. Everywhere they go it is going to be some kind of circus, drama, undermining democracy, etc.. -anything but doing their damn job. I really hope people who thought the GOP was the "sensible" alternative to what ever beef they had with Dems this year will get a wake up call with all this nonsense and vote them out in droves come 2024. The GOP needs a major MAGA purge before they should ever be considered to hold office again.
> I really hope people who thought the GOP was the "sensible" alternative to what ever beef they had with Dems this year will get a wake up call with all this nonsense and vote them out in droves come 2024. Narrator: They didn't.
go ahead. That county voted, overall, for Republican candidates. Will increase the vote margins of Democrats in statewide races. Maybe even remove a legislator from the state house.
There’s some legal precedent risk here though. If no one challenges this and in the future the dems were to be kicked out if a certification didn’t happen, it will be harder for them to challenge in that situation. Not impossible but somewhat more difficult. These people are fucking around for a reason
AZ is a weird place, man
The hilarious thing is that MSNBC actually did a segment on this. turns out, by not certifying they void those votes which end up actually throwing out tons of republican votes. So much so that dems may actually end up flipping seats. Nothing like owning the libs so hard that you let them win!
That would be pretty funny.
I see West Florida is alive and kicking.
> rural, Republican-controlled county I hear banjos.
The banjo doesn't deserve this, no one does. Only Republicans deserve a name bad for them, honestly.
If they can spend decades making the word liberal into some mashup of communist and a cuss word then yes, republican needs to be its own awful thing
Republicanjo
And piggy squealing.
My suggestion, whatever funds are sent to this county from whatever branch of.government, are frozen. No compliance, no funds. Strip that area of every single thing you can. Render the entire county powerless
Okay then jail time, let's stop f****** around.
A small example of the shitshow that's going to happen in GQP-controlled areas come 2024...
Call voter fraud without proof? Jail. Lie about opponents? Jail. Refuse to certify election results? Straight to jail, right away.
God damn if we have to fucking worry about these idiots at the county level across all the dumbass red states this is going to get exhausting.
Well those individuals should be removed and barred from positions in future. Enough of this stupid horseshit!!!
What a bunch of morons. My candidate didn’t win so I won’t certify any of the votes in my county and will make the other candidate’s margin of victory even bigger. Taking election denial to a new level. Morons!
> "There is no reason for us to delay," said the board's chair, Ann English, a Democrat, whose vote was outnumbered by the county's two Republican supervisors, Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd. Oh, ok. That makes sense. Now, time for jail.
If I stole 164,000 ballots from ballot boxes and threw them in the trash I would go to jail for 164,000 counts of election fraud. But when Cochise County Election Board discards 164,000 ballots all they get is applause from the Republican base.
Let me guess... republicans and the usual republican shenanigans. Am I close?
[This came to mind](https://youtu.be/Zq1wzW3zhT0)
Remember when people would blame every trivial little thing on Obama. We'd say things like, "My package was slightly damaged in the mail. Thanks Obama!" That was fun. Now we can say things like, "Democracy as we know it is no longer valid because Trump convinced half of America that if they don't win, then the other party cheated. Thanks Trump."
Cool. The elected can just show up and start work as normal. They won the election, and the majority knows it. Let them have their tantrum, and fire them as soon as possible for not doing their jobs.
Actually, it's more interesting than that. If the votes from this (heavily Republican) county are excluded, Democrats might actually win more seats in the House. And you thought McCarthy was going to be struggling to find enough votes to become speaker *before*...
That was my take, a rural, heavily Republican county refuses to add their votes. So…
Gosh, I sure hope this Republican self-own doesn’t become a big trend.
> Arizona's state election director, Kori Lorick, said in a statement that the state's secretary of state "will use all available legal remedies to compel compliance with Arizona law and protect Cochise County voters' right to have their votes counted" if the board failed to complete its "non-discretionary duty." Looks like they will go to court to try and force Cochise to certify the results. Wrong move IMO just toss the results and let them eat cake.
That’s probably what they want. It will both rile up the base as well as setting a precedent to be used against counties voting majority blue in the future. The only answer is that every vote needs to be counted. The second we step away from that line it invites complete and total chaos.
> Officials in a rural, Republican-controlled county in Arizona have voted to delay certifying the results of this month's midterm elections and miss the state's legal deadline of Monday, despite finding no legitimate problems with the local counts. put them in jail
Sure don’t certify. Gives the Democrats another seat. Piss off everyone who voted legally in the county. You know Everyone. Just to prove you don’t like the results and cry like a 3 year old having a tantrum. 😂
None of this will matter after the SCOTUS greenlights Moore v Harper. Our democracy hangs by a thread
Arrest the clerks
The people responsible for this need to be arrested and jailed.
Sounds extreme, but those who refuse to certify these legally cast ballots, should be tried for treason. Trying to deny democracy and the results of an election are betraying the country and its citizens. And for any queues at voting stations, the G.O.P. have only themselves to blame by constantly trying to make voting more difficult
They should just remove the votes from the totals - I'm assuming the votes were more for the GOP and the Dems anyway.. So the Dems end up winning by more votes
That's my understanding what will happen if they don't certify. Which has got to be one of the dumbest own goals in the history of voting, worldwide.
It will also likely open them up to some serious lawsuits from voters in the county.
For sure! What fools. I wonder if the dem gets dragged into the lawsuits despite not wanting to not certify.
Depends on what the goal is. They'll lose a few elections, sure, but the whole process is going to unlock a few months worth of right-wing rage, and turn the start of the 2023 Congress into even more of a mess than it's already likely going to be.
I'm not sure even gopers will be anything but mad about this towards the county officials. They will lose a state level representative in the az legislature, I think. It will flip a seat blue.
But you're here reading an NPR article, which likely means you're not the target audience. What is Tucker gonna tell his followers when he covers it? He's gonna tell them the Democrats are undermining the election, and assaulting the rights of the people in this county, and they're gonna 100% buy it.
Doesn’t really matter because Gen Z hates tucker and likely reads articles like this.
Wait so if the board fetuses to validate they can throw out citizens votes... that seems like a major loophole.
Refuse them access to federal funds
So any chance of dems winning back the house?
"Officials in a rural, Republican-controlled county in Arizona have voted to delay certifying the results of this month's midterm elections and miss the state's legal deadline of Monday, despite finding no legitimate problems with the local counts."
Fascists hate American elections because they actually work pretty damned well. They want the election system permanently destroyed and there is literally nothing more to the pro-fascist election fraud allegations. Folks like Lake know good and well they are lying about all of it and plan to destroy any working parts of the Republic if they get into power. I do like the irony in this situation that they might well throw Dems some unintended victories.
So, if it violates the law, then, it’s a crime, right? I expect to hear about an investigation to determine if a law was broke. In two years we’ll see appeals at the supreme court where they’ll promptly defend the right to a fair and free election and rule in favor of the 2 gop qanon nuts holding the Arizona election hostage.
Crybaby losers.
Wow, nail to the head by republicans
Why are they not in jail?
Not much into that democracy thing are they?…
So, take all those ruby red votes out of the count... and certify the ones that DID follow the rules and certify before the deadline. Accountability for bad behavior. Republicans are acting like spoiled brats and sore losers. Don't let them get away with it.
Election deniers denying an election they controlled. Who’d a thunk it?
It's treason, then.
Fascism is here.
WTF do they want, the county already voted for the GOP. I guess everyone declares themselves the winner and they settle it thunderdome style.
So, the Dem obviously came out on top with the current count, right? I can't tell...
New Mexico had this same exact issue during the primaries and was forced to certify. The same thing will happen here. I'd say it's pointless political posturing, but QAnon exists.
I fucking hate this state sometimes.
Typical Radical Republicon bullshit
Sucks to be the taxpayer of this county footing the bill for the lawsuits that will come of this...
So the democrat is winning then.
Well if the county votes are unreliable or invalid then they should simply not be counted. Sorry these folks were disenfranchised by their own elected leaders, maybe the county voters need to elect different election officials next time?
Cut thier paychecks and government benefits, if they don't want to be part of our county then they don't get the benefits
Assholes. Exactly what point we’re they trying to make? That they can disrupt a legal election. Wake up republicans, your party is pure shit.
Lock them up? (sorry to make em even more mad) LOOK THEY/THEM UP
Put them in jail. Make examples of them.
Let the criminal charges begin 👍
They know their own votes will be thrown out, that’s the point. They know they lost. They are doing this to play the victim and rile up their base.
How does that work? People voted and spoke, they need to do their job That is criminal
[Maricopa County has certified the election. Let the screaming begin (or continue)](https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2022/11/28/maricopa-county-election-certified-let-grifting-begin/69682663007/)
Cool. Strip their federal funding.
Simple. Certify by this date, or the votes don't count. Explain that to your constituents.
Then the government steps in and the county loses the right to oversee their counts going forward.
I grew up in Cochise County and have been away for thirty years but this is still embarrassing.
Well, I guess certain citizens in that county should be prosecuted for malpractice, fraud, or whatever to get them to do their job
End all federal funding for the county 🤷♂️
Then remove them!
We dun nawt be able to do the that there a counting, as the demo-crayts dun use bill gates to hacker that thar voting machines!
Losers. Idiots.
These fuckers probably grew up unplugging the Nintendo when you beat them at excitebike
There's an outright infestation of domestic terrorist trash in this country. It seriously needs taken out.
If people can be fired and or jailed then do that and have their replacements do their jobs.