The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Aug. 16, 2023

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 a follow up to our past reports on Coffee County, GA, Monday’s RICO indictment of former President Donald Trump includes evidence of alleged COORDINATION of voting machine tampering by Trump’s legal team, and indictments of lead actors involved in the alleged access to, and tampering with the county’s ballot tabulation machines.

Indicted Attorney Sidney Powell allegedly initiated the effort to breach Coffee County’s voting data by hiring Atlanta legal tech firm Sullivan-Strickler to coordinate the tampering effort.  Tampering suspect Scott Hall has been charged with conspiracy, computer trespass, conspiracy to commit election fraud, among several other charges.  Coffee County Elections Director Misty Hampton, who allegedly invited and gave access to the tampering team, faces similar charges.   

Also among the indicted is Cathleen Latham, then chair of the Coffee County GOP, who faces the same computer theft and conspiracy charges, but also impersonating a public officer, forgery, and filing false statements charges. 

Notably absent from the indictment were Doug Logan, founder of Cyber Ninjas, and Paul Maggio, mentioned only in the indictment as “Chief Operations Officer of SullivanStrickler LLC,” whom the indictment indicates was the point person at the firm and was allegedly present in the Coffee County elections office.  Logan was given access two weeks later, and was allegedly involved in a similar tampering incident in Michigan, but has not been charged in either case.   

We have a link to the AP’s searchable indictment on AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Associated Press – Full Searchable Indictment from the Fulton County Superior Court
Associated Press – Video shows ‘unauthorized access’ to Ga. election equipment
Reuters – (2022) Michigan widens probe into voting system breaches by Trump allies
CNN – Text messages reveal Trump operatives considered using breached voting data to decertify Georgia’s Senate runoff in 2021
CNN – Exclusive: Georgia prosecutors have messages showing Trump’s team is behind voting system breach

Sullivan|Strickler – Management Team
The Guardian –  Trump allies face potential charges in Georgia over voting machine breaches

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The post Georgia Indictment of Trump & Allies Includes Ties to Breach of Voting Machines in Coffee County, GA appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

Listen!

Today’s Links

Articles:
ProPublica – The Fight Against an Age-Old Effort to Block Americans From Voting

Groups Taking Action:
ACLU Georgia, FairFight, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, New Georgia Project

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

An investigative report just released by nonprofit news organization ProPublica follows the story of one woman’s quest to provide assistance to low-literacy voters in her community. It also shows the efforts by local and state government to stop that assistance, which is guaranteed by the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The article chronicles the efforts of Olivia Coley-Pearson from Coffee County, Georgia, where one-third of the population reads only at a basic level. Coley-Pearson helps those needing assistance at the polls with voter registration and ballots, as affirmed by Congress in Voting Rights Act changes in 1982.

But ProPublica’s reporting shows that while the literacy tests used to suppress Black voters in the 1960s may be gone, literacy is still wielded as a weapon in some polling places. Ballots and registrations are sometimes invalidated for misspellings in addresses and names, or for errors in dates.

Some state legislatures have even passed laws which require illiterate voters to explain in a WRITTEN affidavit as to why they need assistance. Other states prevent from bringing sample ballots to the polls, and limit the number of volunteers providing assistance.

Coley-Pearson herself has been reported by election officials, investigated, brought up on baseless charges of improperly assisting voters in what smacks of an effort to intimidate her from her work.

That literacy would still be a barrier to Americans who make the effort to exercise their constitutionally-guaranteed right to vote demonstrates just how far we are from a free and fair election system. Find a link to ProPublica’s excellent article at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.

For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl

The post ADM for Sept. 16, 2022: A New ProPublica Report Chronicles One Women’s Quest to Assist Low-Literacy Voters – And the Attempts to Stop Her appeared first on American Democracy Minute.