The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 15, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Cleta Mitchell, a 2020 Trump election lawyer who later pushed so-called ‘election integrity’ laws in states around the U.S., is calling for all U.S. Department of Justice voting rights and civil rights lawyers to be fired. 

Mitchell served in Trump’s team of lawyers trying to overthrow the results of the 2020 election.  Since then, her Election Integrity Network group helped state legislatures make it harder to vote by mail and to register and vote on election day.  She also called for states to leave the ERIC, the interstate Electronic Registration Information Center, because of a conspiracy theory that it was run by George Soros.  And most recently, she championed Trump’s debunked claims of widespread voting by undocumented immigrants.

November 13th, the same day Rep. Matt Gaetz was nominated for U.S. Attorney General by President-elect Trump, Mitchell wrote in a social media post, QUOTE, “Every lawyer in the Voting Section and likely in the Civil Rights Division needs to be terminated.   They are not supportive of Pres Trump or MAGA.  There has to be a reckoning.  These are leftwing activists who have come from and should return to their leftwing organizations. UNQUOTE

It’s unclear whether Mitchell’s influence is enough to dismantle the DOJ’s Voting Rights and Civil Rights units, but it’s indicative of the voting rights challenges ahead.

We have more on Mitchell and her so-called ‘election integrity’ projects at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Cleta Mitchell on X – “Every lawyer in the Voting Section and likely in the Civil Rights Division needs to be terminated.”

Mitchell’s Only Citizens Vote Coalition – No country can survive that allows guests and illegals
Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network – Election Integrity Network website
The New Republic – The Shadowy Right-Wing Group That’s Suppressing the 2024 Vote
The Guardian – She was a firebrand Democrat. Now, Cleta Mitchell is a rising star of Republican election denialism
The Hill – (2023) The 39 people the Georgia special grand jury recommended charges against
Free Speech for People – Letter to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Regarding Cleta Mitchell

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #USDOJ #CletaMitchell #BigLie

The post Trump ‘Election Integrity’ Lawyer Cleta Mitchell Calls for the Firing of All DOJ Voting & Civil Rights Lawyers appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 30, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

The FCC levied a $6 Million dollar fine Sept. 26th for an A-I deep fake robocall in January’s NH Presidential Primary, and on the eve of a civil trial, conservative outlet Newsmax settled a lawsuit with voting machine maker Smartmatic. 

In February, we reported on a robocall using an A-I generated voice of President Joe Biden, urging citizens not to vote in the New Hampshire Presidential Primary.  After a federal and state investigation, the FCC fined Steve Kramer, the political consultant allegedly behind the scheme, $6 Million dollars. A separate $1 Million dollar fine was levied on Lingo Telecom in August.  Kramer also faces felony charges in New Hampshire.

Just days before a civil trial was to begin, conservative outlet Newsmax settled with optical ballot machine maker Smartmatic, September 26th.  Like Dominion Voting Systems, Smartmatic’s machines were falsely implicated in a 2020 voter fraud conspiracy theory, driven by former President Trump’s false claims about the election.  Those claims were widely aired on Newsmax, Fox News and other outlets. No settlement terms were disclosed.

Fox News and Fox Corporation, which settled with Dominion Voting Systems for $787 Million dollars, also faces a $2.7 Billion dollar suit by Smartmatic, a case likely to be heard in 2025.   Fox says it is protected by the First Amendment.

We have more on both of these stories at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – Suspected Senders Identified in AI-Generated Robo Calls Faking Joe Biden’s Voice Before New Hampshire’s Presidential Primary
Federal Communications Commission – FCC FINES MAN BEHIND ELECTION INTERFERENCE SCHEME $6
MILLION FOR SENDING ILLEGAL ROBOCALLS THAT USED
DEEPFAKE GENERATIVE AI TECHNOLOGY
InDepthNH – Consultant Fined $6M for NH Robo Calls Imitating Biden Before January Primary
CNN – Fox board members subpoenaed in Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit over 2020 election lies

NPR – Voting-tech company settles with right-wing network over false election claims
The Guardian – Newsmax and Smartmatic settle 2020 US election defamation lawsuit
American Democracy Minute – (2023) Fox News Troubles Not Over Yet, With More Potentially Embarrassing Lawsuits Pending

Check Your Voter Registration:

• U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
• USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
• Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
• Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote
  
  

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #FoxNews #Smartmatic #Newsmax #BigLie

The post FCC Fines Man Allegedly Behind NH Primary AI Robocall $6 Million; Newsmax Settles with Smartmatic Over Airing 2020 Voting Machine Conspiracy Theories appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Aug. 19, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

In the midst of our series on protections against bad actors not certifying the Presidential election came the news of the felony conviction of a former Colorado election official who allowed election deniers access to her county’s voting machines.  

A jury convicted former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters on four felony charges for giving unauthorized access to the county’s Dominion Voting Systems electronic ballot tabulators to two election conspiracy theory activists associated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Colorado Newsline reports testimony that Peters misused another county employee’s identity to fraudulently give access to an official inspection of ballot counting machines by a Dominion Voting Systems employee and a representative of the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.  Election data was later allegedly copied and distributed online.   

The Colorado County Clerks Association said after the verdict,  “Colorado Clerks across the state are pleased to see justice done today. We take seriously our role as guardians of the best election process in the nation and are grateful to see the justice system hold those who would harm our elections accountable.”

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement, “Today’s verdict sends a clear message: we will not tolerate any effort to threaten the security of our gold standard elections. I am proud that justice for Colorado voters has been served today.”

We’ve linked to local reporting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Colorado Newsline – (2021) ‘Serious breach’ of voting security at center of investigation of Mesa County clerk’s office
Colorado Newsline – Tina Peters, former Mesa County clerk, guilty on 7 counts

Colorado Secretary of State Office  – Secretary Griswold Statement on Verdict in Tina Peters Trial
Associated Press – Former Colorado clerk Tina Peters, one-time hero to election deniers, convicted in computer breach

Check Your Voter Registration

• U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
• USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
• Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
• Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote
  
  

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ElectionDeniers #StoptheSteal

The post Colorado Election Official Who Allowed 2020 Conspiracy Theory Activists Access to County Voting Machine Data Found Guilty appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 11, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Disinformation spread about the 2020 election by candidates & partisan groups mobilized extremists to harass or threaten election officials. Many of those officials resigned.  But a large national study also found other reasons for large-scale turnover, and some hope for the 2024 election.

The Bipartisan Policy Center surveyed over 18,000 chief elections officers in all 50 states and confirmed that turnover reached a 20-year high in 2022 of 38.7%. While the survey acknowledges that threats and harassment are factors, it also found that older election officials are retiring, due to an increasing workload, underfunding, and an increasingly complex election system.  Turnover is not just limited to specific states, either, but both red and blue states, and large and small communities.

Despite the turnover nationally, the researchers found that most officials were being replaced with election workers with recent experience.  For 2024, 65% of local election officials will have run a Presidential election previously, down only slightly from 2020.  

It also found that turnover was highest for election officials in large jurisdictions, reaching 46% between 2018 and 2022.  Sixty-seven percent of those officials also reported being abused, harassed or threatened.  The good news is that researchers found most replacement chief election officers have multiple years of experience in running federal elections.

You can find the Bipartisan Policy Center study linked from our website, AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Bipartisan Policy Center – Election Official Turnover Rates from 2000-2024
American Democracy Minute – Rules, and ‘Election Integrity’ Vigilantes Led to an Election Official Brain-Drain
Pew Research Center – Older people account for large shares of poll workers and voters in U.S. general elections
Brennan Center for Justice – Election Officials Under Attack
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Be a Poll Worker!
Power the Polls – HELP STAFF YOUR LOCAL POLLING PLACE

Groups Taking Action:
Issue One, Election Official Legal Defense Network, Power the Polls, Center for American Progress

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers #BeaPollWorker

The post National Study of Elections Officials Confirms Turnover from Harassment, But Also Finds An Aging Workforce and Increasing Workloads are Factors appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 22, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

The election denier group True the Vote is one of the loudest and most aggressive in casting doubt on the 2020 election.  In Georgia, its claims of fraudulent absentee ballots being deposited in drop boxes was used in a documentary, parroted by former President Donald Trump and his allies, and led to the banning of drop boxes in several states.  In a court filing this week, True the Vote said it had no such evidence.

According to the Associated Press, the group filed a complaint with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2021, saying it had, quote, “a detailed account of coordinated efforts to collect and deposit ballots in drop boxes across metro Atlanta.” 

The Georgia Board of Elections repeatedly requested the evidence from the Texas-based group, to no avail.  The Board of Elections asked a superior court judge to subpoena the information, resulting in a court filing last week obtained by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  In response to the subpoena, the group said, QUOTE, “True the Vote has no such documents in its possession, custody or control.”

Such claims fueled the now-debunked documentary, 2000 Mules, and drove state legislatures to limit or eliminate drop boxes.  The alleged “ballot mules” shown were legitimate voters or family members delivering ballots.  Twelve states have since banned drop boxes, and many others have made absentee voting more difficult.   

We have more reporting linked at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Georgia Recorder – Georgia election board dismisses claims of ‘ballot harvesting’ in 2020 election
USA Today – Fact check: Georgia investigation into alleged ballot harvesting is not evidence of election fraud

American Democracy Minute – Defamation Lawsuit Against Producers of Debunked Drop Box Fraud Film “2000 Mules” Can Proceed in Georgia Court Ruling
Kansas Reflector – States target ballot drop boxes in fight over voting rights
Movement Advancement Project – State Policies on Drop Boxes
Associated Press – Election officials sue conservative voting group over refusal to produce ballot-harvesting evidence
Associated Press – Conservative group tells judge it has no evidence to back its claims of Georgia ballot stuffing
PBS NewsHour – How 2020 election denialism became a litmus test for the GOP

Groups Taking Action:
Fair Fight Action,  All Voting is Local Georgia, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Showing Up for Racial Justice, ACLU Georgia

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ElectionDeniers #Georgia #ProtectElections

The post True the Vote’s Claim of Evidence of 2020 Ballot Stuffing in Georgia Were . . . Not True appeared first on American Democracy Minute.