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U.S. Election Observer Charged With Felony After Refusing to Wear Mask During 2024 Presidential Count

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A Washington election observer has been charged with a felony after refusing to wear a mask during the November presidential vote count.

Timothy Hazelo, a Republican from Oak Harbor, was charged last week with unauthorized access to a voting center over a dispute that started when he refused to don a mask while monitoring ballot-counters.

Police were called on the 57-year-old when he refused to follow the mask-mandate that Island County Auditor Shelia Crider had imposed on local ballot-counting rooms — a measure that Hazelo says the elected official had no legal right to establish. . .

“It was determined Hazelo would be offered one final opportunity to comply with the policy set by the Island County Auditor to wear a mask in the ballot processing rooms, and if he continued to refuse to comply with the policy, he would be asked to exit the room,” an arrest report read.

Body-cam footage from the incident obtained by KOMO showed Hazelo being non-combative but telling an election worker, “I know who you are” as he left — which the worker told police made them feel they were being threatened. (Read more from “U.S. Election Observer Charged With Felony After Refusing to Wear Mask During 2024 Presidential Count” HERE)

Court: Safeguards Barring Foreign Money in Ohio Ballot Campaigns Can Take Effect for 2024 Election

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An Ohio law prohibiting the use and acceptance of foreign money in state ballot initiative campaigns can take effect for the 2024 election, a federal appellate court ruled Tuesday.

Writing on behalf of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Amul Thapar granted an emergency request by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Attorney General David Yost to place a stay on an August district court injunction that prevented the law from being enacted. The district judge overseeing the case argued the statute’s definition of “foreign nationals” is “likely unconstitutional,” adding these individuals “have political speech rights” covered by the First Amendment.

The appellate court issued a temporary stay on that injunction last month while it considered the merits of the case.

“Because our initial review suggests that the district court’s First Amendment analysis was flawed, we now grant Ohio’s motion for a stay of the district court’s order,” Thapar wrote.

Thapar was joined in his majority opinion by Judge David McKeague. The dissent was authored by Judge Stephanie Davis. (Read more from “Court: Safeguards Barring Foreign Money in Ohio Ballot Campaigns Can Take Effect for 2024 Election” HERE)

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Bombshell Lawsuit: Arizona’s Elections Chief Is Hiding Info on 218K Voters Lacking Proof of Citizenship

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Arizona’s Democrat elections chief is illegally withholding the identities of approximately 218,000 registered voters on the state’s voter rolls who lack documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC), a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges.

Brought by the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona (SCFA) against Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and the Arizona Department of State, the legal challenge “seeks to restore public trust in [Arionza’s] electoral system by ensuring transparency about the Defendants’ failures to ensure that registered voters have provided DPOC, as required by law.” The group is represented by America First Legal and a law firm spearheaded by former Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright.

The lawsuit addresses an issue that first came to light last month, in which Arizona election officials announced they discovered approximately 98,000 registered “full-ballot” voters who have not provided documentary proof of citizenship required to participate in state and local elections. The error appears to have resulted “from the way the Motor Vehicle Division provides driver’s license information to the state’s voter registration system,” according to Votebeat Arizona.

Fontes said most of the affected voters are registered Republicans, according to the outlet.

In Arizona, voters registering via state registration form must show DPOC to vote in state and local races. Individuals who are unable to provide such documentation are registered as “federal-only” voters and can only cast ballots in federal races. (Read more from “Bombshell Lawsuit: Arizona’s Elections Chief Is Hiding Info on 218K Voters Lacking Proof of Citizenship” HERE)

Georgia Election Board Approves Rule to Hand-Count Ballots Night of Election

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The Georgia State Election Board voted 3-2 on Friday to require counties to hand-count all ballots, in addition to machine tallies, in the 2024 election.

The decision, driven by the board’s Republican majority, means that ballots in Georgia will be hand-counted by election workers the night of Nov. 5 in addition to the normal machine tallies that take place. The move was celebrated by allies of former President Donald Trump, who believe that the changes will help alleviate concerns of voter fraud the former president raised four years ago in relation to President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the Peach State.

“GREAT NEWS!” former Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington said, praising the passage of the resolution. “HAND COUNT at precinct level to ensure the totals match with the machines … This is a HUGE win and was opposed by the Fake News, the Left, and Raffensperger.”

The decision also sparked some criticism from election officials and democracy advocates who fear it will cause delays, errors, and increased costs for the state. In the 2020 election, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced six days after Election Day that there would be a statewide hand recount, and the results were not certified until Nov. 20.

Opponents argue that the hand count could take weeks or months, leading to uncertainty in the presidential race. Ethan Compton, an elections supervisor, emphasized that it is too late to adopt such changes, stating, “The election has begun.” (Read more from “Georgia Election Board Approves Rule to Hand-Count Ballots Night of Election” HERE)

DOJ Threatens to Sue to Lock in 2020 Election Chaos; AZ Auditors Complete Third Ballot Recount

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By The Federalist. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice issued two “guidance documents” purportedly “to ensure states fully comply with federal laws regarding election.” Those documents, however, really represent the Biden administration’s latest attempt to squelch investigations into potential voting irregularities, silence critics of the 2020 election, and cement forever the free-for-all COVID voting “procedures” implemented last voting cycle.

Wednesday’s guidance came in the form of two documents entitled, respectively, ”Federal Law Constraints on Post-Election ‘Audits’” and “Guidance Concerning Federal Statutes Affecting Methods of Voting.” In the DOJ’s guidance on post-election audits, the Biden administration began with its familiar refrain that “the November 3rd election was the most secure in American history,” and that notwithstanding “automatic recounts or canvasses,” there was no evidence “of either wrongdoing or mistakes that casts any doubt on the outcome of the national election results.”

Yet, as the DOJ put it, there has since been an “unusual second round of examinations” by states looking at “certain ballots, election records, and election systems used to conduct elections in 2020.” Then, with a not-so-veiled threat, the Biden administration rattled off the “federal constraints, which are enforced by the Department of Justice,” on these audits. . .

Among other laws, the federal guidance on post-election audits highlighted Section 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 that “requires state and local election officials to ‘retain and preserve’ all records relating to any ‘act requisite to voting’ for twenty-two months” after the covered election. This mandate, the DOJ explained, means that election records must “be retained either physically by election officials themselves, or under their direct administrative supervision,” the latter of which requires election officials to have physical access to the records, according to the DOJ.

While not singled out by name, the detail contained in its guidance statements suggest the DOJ has in its sights the Arizona Republicans leading the probe into Maricopa County voting. Just Monday, the Republican-led Arizona Senate served another subpoena on officials in Maricopa County, seeking its routers and other information necessary for the legislature to complete its audit. (Read more from “DOJ Threatens to Sue to Lock in 2020 Election Chaos” HERE)

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AZ Auditors Complete Third Ballot Recount, Ship Materials Back to Maricopa County

By Washington Examiner. Auditors working on the Arizona Senate-led Maricopa County 2020 general election review completed a third and final ballot recount late on Wednesday and prepared materials to return to county custody on Thursday.

The monthslong audit conducted at the Phoenix state fairgrounds since late April will now shift its focus to drafting a comprehensive report based on the results of the election machines and other voting material analyzed during the review. The Maricopa County Elections Department arrived with trucks at the audit site Thursday morning to retrieve the materials. . .

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, who hired the Florida-based firm Cyber Ninjas to lead the audit, said on July 13 the third recount was necessary because initial audit counts and the number certified by Maricopa County officials did not match. (Read more from “AZ Auditors Complete Third Ballot Recount, Ship Materials Back to Maricopa County” HERE)

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Amazon Employees Accessed Mailbox for Union Election Ballots, Worker Says

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A mailbox that was supposed to be accessible only to the US Postal Service was unlocked by two Amazon security guards during a contentious union election in Alabama, according to testimony from worker Kevin Jackson in a hearing Friday. As he was finishing up a night shift, Jackson saw the guards going through the opened mailbox for “a minute or two” as though looking for something, he said, adding that he later saw Amazon employees locking and unlocking the mailbox multiple times.

The testimony came at a hearing before the National Labor Relations Board that will consider complaints from the union that Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, voted to reject in an election that ended in April. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union claims that Amazon’s actions during the election amounted to illegal influence on the vote. It was the first union election at an Amazon facility in seven years.

Amazon has said the company had no access to the mailbox, and repeated that statement in response to Jackson’s testimony. (Read more from “Amazon Employees Accessed Mailbox for Union Election Ballots, Worker Says” HERE)

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Things to Know About H.R. 1, ‘For the People Act’; ‘Every Single American Should Be Outraged’ by H.R. 1 Passage

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By Breitbart. House Democrats passed H.R. 1, the so-called “For the People Act,” on Wednesday. The bill would radically change American democracy, nationalizing elections and making permanent changes to voting rules that would virtually ensure Democrats never lose another election.

The bill is 791 pages long — a massive piece of legislation, adopted with little examination or debate. Some provisions — like expanding access for voters with disabilities, improving election security, and ensuring that all voting machines use in U.S. elections are also manufactured in the U.S. — are uncontroversial. Others are potentially explosive. . .

Federal control over congressional elections: The bill begins by declaring that “Congress finds that it has broad authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of congressional elections under the Elections Clause of the Constitution.” The Constitution actually gives primary authority to the States, but allows Congress to “make or alter such Regulations.” The House Democrats interpret this provision as dramatically as possible to override the states.

Declaring that “States and localities have eroded access to the right to vote”: The bill declares that photo ID, “burdensome” voter registration procedures, purges of ineligible voters, restrictions on vote-by-mail, rules against felons voting, and other measures that states and municipalities have taken to guarantee the integrity of elections are, in fact, “restrictions on the right to vote.” It also suggests these are forms of “racial discrimination” and “systemic racism.”

Restricting challenges to H.R. 1 to the federal court system in D.C.: The bill declares that the only courts with jurisdiction to hear challenges to its constitutionality, or to the validity of regulations promulgated under the law, are courts within Washington, D.C. — a notoriously Democrat-friendly jurisdiction. That minimizes the chances that any challenges could be brought to more conservatives courts, or to judges appointed by past Republican presidents. (Read more from “Things to Know About H.R. 1, ‘For the People Act’” HERE)

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Steve Scalise: ‘Every Single American Should Be Outraged’ by H.R. 1 Passage

By Breitbart. “Every single American should be outraged” by the Democrat-led House passing H.R. 1, or the “For the People Act,” Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) said Wednesday evening.

“Democrats just voted to ban voter ID nationwide and force every state to permanently expand mail-in voting,” he explained following the bill’s passage, which was praised by congressional Democrats:

The House passed the bill Wednesday evening on party lines, prompting praise from Vice President Kamala Harris, who said she looks forward to “working with Congress to strengthen our democracy and protect the voting rights of all Americans.”:

(Read more from “Steve Scalise: ‘Every Single American Should Be Outraged’ by H.R. 1 Passage” HERE)

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Pence Slams Democratic Voting Reform Bill HR 1 as an ‘Unconstitutional Power Grab’

By Business Insider. Former Vice President Mike Pence came out swinging on Wednesday, writing an op-ed that criticized House Democrats’ sweeping election reform bill as “unconstitutional power grab.” . . .

In his article for The Daily Signal, Pence argues that the bill would take away responsibilities that should be left to the states.

“Election reform is a national imperative, but under our Constitution, election reform must be undertaken at the state level,” he wrote. “Our Founders limited Congress’ role in conducting our elections for good reason: They wanted elections to be administered closest to the people, free from undue influence of the national government.”

He added: “While legislators in many states have begun work on election reform to restore public confidence in state elections, unfortunately, congressional Democrats have chosen to sweep those valid concerns and reforms aside and to push forward a brazen attempt to nationalize elections in blatant disregard of the US Constitution.” (Read more from “Pence Slams Democratic Voting Reform Bill HR 1 as an ‘Unconstitutional Power Grab'” HERE)

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Alaska Approves Ranked-Choice Voting

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Alaskans voted for ranked-choice voting in statewide elections, according to The Washington Examiner.

Roughly 50 percent of Alaskans voted for the measure that will enable Alaskans to rank their choices of candidates from most favorable to least favorable, according to The Washington Examiner. Starting in 2022, the top four political candidates in the state will advance to the general election.

If one candidate receives more than half of first-choice votes, the candidate wins, Fox News reported. If a candidate does not receive over half of the votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, Fox News reported. The votes that ranked the eliminated candidates as the first choice would go to the second choice until a candidate receives over half of Alaskans’ votes, according to Fox News. (Read more from “Alaska Approves Ranked-Choice Voting” HERE)

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Supreme Court Eyes Ballot Harvesting Case That Could Affect Election Integrity Across Nation

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With mail-in voting becoming a national issue during the COVID-19 crisis, the Supreme Court could decide to hear a cornerstone election integrity case.

On the line is Arizona’s ban on ballot harvesting. The state prohibits political operatives and activists from having access to large amounts of absentee ballots for the purpose of collecting votes.

Arizona is one of 20 states with a law restricting the practice.

Also on the line is Arizona’s in-precinct voting law, which, as in most states, requires voters to cast an in-person vote at a polling place in their local precinct.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a liberal bench that frequently is overturned by the Supreme Court, in late January struck down Arizona’s 2016 election law in the case of Democratic National Committee v. Hobbs.

“I anticipate that a bunch of states will be interested in joining our case,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich told The Daily Signal in a phone interview.

“If the 9th Circuit decision stands, it could put in jeopardy all kinds of commonsense voter integrity measures. That means laws preventing voter intimidation, laws preventing multiple voting, and laws protecting the secrecy of the ballot,” Brnovich, a Republican first elected in 2014, said.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez praised the 9th Circuit’s finding that the state’s law violates the federal Voting Rights Act.

“The court’s ruling will restore out-of-precinct voting and ballot collection for the 2020 election after finding that this Republican voter-suppression effort was a discriminatory attack on voters of color, including Native American, Latinx, and African-American communities,” Perez said in a written statement in late January. “As Democrats, our goal is to engage every eligible American voter as an active participant in our democracy by making it easier for people to vote, not harder.”

Ballot harvesting, which allows professional campaign operatives and political activists to have access to absentee ballots and authority to recruit voters, is allowed in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

Two Senate Democrats—Ron Wyden of Oregon and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota—have proposed a bill that would, among other things, allow nationwide ballot harvesting. They are promoting the legislation as a means to allow more voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Critics of ballot harvesting say it exposes voters to coercion and intimidation in their own homes, without protections normally present at polling places. There is also a significant record showing that legal vote harvesting leads to illegal fraud and intimidation.

For progressives, ballot harvesting has become a major priority nationally.

“The pandemic has created new opportunities,” Jason Snead, executive director of the watchdog group Honest Elections Project, said during a conference call last week. “The first is ballot harvesting. We saw the Nevada case; they are pushing for legalized ballot harvesting, and they are pushing it in other cases as well. They are advancing significant wins to date.”

In Minnesota, Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, settled a challenge to the state’s ban on ballot harvesting. Under the settlement, candidates in that state will be allowed to help cast ballots, Snead noted.

The Arizona case is significant, he said.

“Fortunately, the state of Arizona is seeking Supreme Court review,” Snead said. “So there is an opportunity there for anyone looking to provide amicus support to file a brief. That is a tremendously important case in terms of protecting our elections against ballot harvesting.”

Brnovich, the Arizona attorney general, contends that the case largely is about the left’s trying to seize control of elections.

“The hard left always tries to advance its agenda,” Brnovich told The Daily Signal. “Tom Steyer and George Soros are pushing their left-wing agendas by trying to control the election process. These elitist billionaires just want to control lives and can do that by controlling elections.”

Brnovich said this is shortsighted ambition for the Democratic Party, considering a North Carolina congressional race in which the Republican candidate nearly stole an election through ballot harvesting.

“We want people to have confidence and faith in the election system,” the attorney general said.

The Arizona Legislature passed legislation in 2016 to restrict ballot harvesting in the state unless the person collecting a ballot is a family member, a person living in the same household, or a caregiver.

Brnovich said the law was based in part on the bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform in 2005 chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker.

The Carter-Baker commission recommended that states “prohibit a person from handling absentee ballots other than the voter, an acknowledged family member, the U.S. Postal Service or other legitimate shipper, or election officials.”

The commission found that absentee ballots “remain the largest source of potential voter fraud.”

Since the 1970s, Arizona has required voters to vote at a polling place in their precinct.

If the Supreme Court agrees to take the case, it will have a substantial record to review, Brnovich said.

The Democratic National Committee filed suit over the Arizona law in 2016. Arizona won the case in the U.S. District Court in 2018 after a 10-day trial with 33 witnesses.

The DNC appealed, and a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit initially sided with Arizona. However, the DNC appealed to a larger panel of the 9th Circuit, which reversed the ruling Jan. 27.

Arizona then appealed to the Supreme Court.

Brnovich obtained a stay of the 9th Circuit’s decision, leaving Arizona’s laws restricting ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting in place while the high court decides whether to hear the matter.

Arizona’s petition contends that since so many states have similar measures, the case presents an appropriate vehicle to establish a clear rule of law for the country. (For more from the author of “Supreme Court Eyes Ballot Harvesting Case That Could Affect Election Integrity Across Nation” please click HERE)

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Experts Surprised to Find No Evidence of COVID-19 Spike From State’s In-Person Voting

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Among the many stories peddled by Democrats and their allies in the media about how Republicans supposedly want people to die from the coronavirus, perhaps none have been more prominent than the in-person election held April 7 in Wisconsin. Experts confidently predicted that the election would lead to a spike in coronavirus-related deaths.

Democratic strategist James Carville actually said that “Republicans will literally kill people to stay in power,” and he was not alone. The internet was virtually flooded with hot-take think pieces from liberals confidently predicting that Republicans would be held accountable for killing people by requiring them to show up and vote. . .

There’s one major problem with that narrative: The in-person voting does not appear to have killed anyone. The state of Wisconsin could identify only about two dozen in-person voters who were infected with coronavirus, and it was impossible to prove that even those people got the virus from voting in person, as opposed to any other method.

“With the data we have, we can’t prove an association,” said the head of the state’s Department of Health Services, according to National Review. . .

Oguzhan Alagoz, an infectious disease modeling expert at the University of Wisconsin, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “I don’t think that the in-person election led to a major effect, to my surprise. I expected it.” (Read more from “Experts Surprised to Find No Evidence of COVID-19 Spike From State’s In-Person Voting” HERE)

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