Thousands of absentee-ballots discovered in postal facility, declared invalid.

[DetlefK]

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/11/postal-facility-locked-pro-trump-mail-bomber-may-thousands-ballots-democrat-heavy-district/

An anonymous tip led to the discovery of “scores” of absentee ballots in a mail distribution facility that pipe bombs traveled through — after Miami-Dade County announced it finalized its vote counts for the 2018 midterms.

The Miami New Times reported that the Opa-locka mail distribution center was evacuated in October after Trump megafan Cesar Sayoc allegedly sent pipe bombs that passed through the facility.

That same center reportedly is still home to a huge number of uncounted mail-in ballots. Two sources that spoke to the New Times estimated the total could be in the hundreds or thousands.

Local activists demonstrated outside the mail facility and at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department over the uncounted ballots — but according to an official with the Elections Department, the ballots are now invalid.

[OnDoutside]

1. Someone should go to jail for this incompetence, fired and sued at the least. How difficult is it

for EVERY box to be individually numbered and given a numbered security tag, for for that number to be on ONE list that includes who got it, where it was being brought to, what date and time it was brought back, and by whom ?

Seriously, no wonder Dems are losing elections in Florida with this shit going on.

[LisaL]

2. Sounds to me that these ballots were mailed in but got stuck in the mailing facility when it was

closed down. So they weren't brought to anyone or brought back anywhere, they got stuck.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. It sounds like the board of elections was making runs to pick up ballots on Election Day.

In that case, the ballots were in control of the board of elections as far as I’m concerned.

If it can be shown the ballots were at the post office on Election Day they should count. The election officials made the post office the end of the line as far as the mail system is concerned. If they picked up other ballots they had a duty to pick up these ballots.

[empedocles]

26. 'Incompetence' ?

[Blue_true]

56. I doubt that it was incompetence.

That specific type of mail from a deep blue area was separated out and stored. All it took to move it on was a postmark that took 3 seconds. This was done purposely.

[Blue_true]

59. Why not just postmark it and let it continue to the SOE.

Democrats are losing elections in Florida because too many people set themselves up to be ratfucked. If each of those people had in person voted, we could be talking an entirely different election.

Trump is implying that there could be a revote in Florida. Well, enough ballots to potentially change the election outcome being sidelined would warrant a revote.

[UCmeNdc]

4. This is how the GOP plays it. These votes were intentionally left there.

They were in the mail and made it to the post office in time. The election officials knew this. Collect the votes and count them.

[912gdm]

5. I want out of this reality...

mail in ballots that were waylaid because of the magabomber basically grinding mail to a halt are now invalid.

Jesus fucking christ.

A sane and sensible person would assume they are valid since they were taken into Postal custody at the correct time, etc.

[joshcryer]

6. FL's election overseers are a disgrace.

They need to be publicly shamed. I don't care if they're D or R. They're all incompetent.

[onetexan]

7. second that

i'd like to know who makes up the state's election board and what their party affiliation is. Betcha they're the head-in-the-RW-Koolaid variety. Dems need to go to war. This is sickening and maddening every time i read about another case of election fraud/voter suppression.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. Good reason not to mail in ballots if you can possibly vote in person.

I'm in New Mexico, a state not noted for voter fraud, and one that has excellent early voting. A friend commented yesterday that since he mailed his ballot in, he had no way of knowing if it was received, let alone counted. Without any prompting from me he decided that next time he'd do in person early voting.

And I do understand that for many people the mail-in absentee ballot is, or can be wonderful. Assuming it gets counted. And these ballots absolutely should be counted.

[quakerboy]

9. Because there might be bombers?

Im from Oregon, a state also not noted for voter fraud. And that has 100% mail in voting. And its easy to know when my ballot was received, because I was able to check online

My Mom's ballot seems to have gotten mislaid, as it never showed up as received. She wasnt certain if she dropped it in the mail or lost it in some recycling she was taking in. So she went in day of and filled out a replacement. Problem solved.

Mail in is not the problem. Transparency is, Random MAGA types committing violence is, but mail in is not.

But yeah.. When people vote it should be counted. Every time.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. Yep.

[pazzyanne]

15. The Minnesota Secretary of State keeps track of all absentee ballots

and provides a link so you can track you ballot online. They let you know when it arrives and then you can check to see if it was approved for counting. If your ballot does not arrive or is not approved for counting, you can go to the polls on election day to fill out a replacement ballot. I have never had issues with this process.

[llmart]

25. Same with Michigan.

I mailed mine in and tracked it online until it was received.

[druidity33]

24. Does Oregon tell you...

both when it's received and when it's counted? Or does it having been received mean that it was counted? I dislike the terminology they use if so...

[Reader Rabbit]

35. They tell you it *will* be counted.

“Your ballot has been received, and your vote will be counted.”

If there are problems, they tell you. For example, a friend was told her ballot wouldn’t be counted, because the signatures didn’t match. So she had the opportunity to go in and show them the reason—she had broken her wrist and was in a cast.

Easy peasy.

[MissB]

41. They even tell you by text if you want.

Which is fantastic.

[quakerboy]

67. It specifies whether they have recieved the returned ballot

https://multco.us/elections/voting-oregon-vote-mail

[Native]

27. I take my sealed mail-in ballot to my Supervisor of Elections office and wait until the signature..

is verified. I also hang around to watch them deposit it in their lock-box. This way I avoid the lines and know my ballot was received and processed.

[Blue_true]

62. You likely would have saved 15-30 minutes simply by walking around a corner.

and doing in person early voting.

[Native]

68. My polling place was actually further, and the lines were insane every day. I saved hours.

[Blue_true]

69. In Florida, we can in person early vote at the SOE office.

The longest that I waited for a ballot was this year, a wait of about 15 minutes.

[Native]

71. Yeah, parking at our courthouse isn't easy on a normal day. As it was, I had no wait at all!

And I was able to deliver 2 other ballots in addition to mine and watch them verify the signatures and lock box all 3. Glad you had such a short wait! It was a madhouse here.

[Sunsky]

29. I agree

I do not believe in VBM unless there is no other choice especially in Republican controlled states.

[IrishObserver]

11. So Much For Democracy

Watching these events from Ireland, I am astounded that a nation that takes such pride in its democracy can have such a shambolic approach to the exercise of franchise.

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. GOP.

[octoberlib]

31. Federalism is to blame. All states get to enact their own

voting laws.Conservative states do everything they can to suppress the vote because they can’t win otherwise

[red dog 1]

45. Welcome to DU!

[nitpicker]

12. That's why I do my absentee voting in-person

It's allowed in VA as long as I have an excuse to vote absentee.

[phylny]

30. I voted in person in VA, but my husband voted absentee.

He forgot to put his employer on the ballot and actually got a call from the Board of Elections here in rural, red Virginia asking him what it was so that his ballot would count.

[treestar]

60. I wonder why do they need to know the voter's employer?

And voters could be self-employed or unemployed.

[phylny]

72. I think it's so they can check to see if you're really not

available to vote. You are supposed to have a reason for absentee ballots. Traveling, working during the time the polls are open, etc. And you can state that you are self-employed or retired.

[cwydro]

14. I've never trusted mailing in my ballot.

Never will.

[Codeine]

47. Maybe I'm paranoid

but I always vote on Election Day in person.

[Blue_true]

63. Same here. nt

[LeftInTX]

16. I think paper ballots are overrated

Someone can throw them away/

[ret5hd]

51. Don't even have to do that if your vote is electronic.

[Blue_true]

64. That can be done with paper mailin ballots.

Paper ballots that are scanned during in person voting are a lot more difficult to tamper with. A person would have to throw away ballots, and alter the scanner count of the number of ballots scanned.

[Achilleaze]

17. republican ripoff of the American voter

as usual

[bonniebgood]

18. I dont see why they are "invalid" when Florida is still counting. nt

[LisaL]

19. They had to arrive at the board of election by certain time

and they didn't because they were stuck in a closed postal facility.
Which really sucks, since if there really are that many of them, that presumably could have flipped the election back to democrats.

[Blue_true]

66. If they were not postmarked, no way of knowing when they came in.

Trump made noises about a revote in Florida. But if his flunkies hold on and win, don't expect to hear anything more about it. But if they lose, expect Trump and the Republican Party to use the stalled ballots in Dade County as a reason why there should be a revote.

[tavernier]

20. You would think some top notch lawyers could start a class action suit

on behalf of the voters whose votes were robbed. People died in order for American citizens to have the right to vote, and no one should be able to take that away.

It wouldn’t help in this case, but a mega money settlement might deter future “mistakes”.

[AllaN01Bear]

21. quit playing with my right to vote .

[Botany]

22. When were they postmarked?

If prior to the election they should be counted.

[peekaloo]

32. According to Frederica Wilson they were postmarked AFTER the 6th.

Last minute deluge? Hmmmm

Stinky as hell? Yas

I haven't voted absentee in years but does it require you to indicate the date you filled it out? If so I'm curious about the range of dates on them (don't know if they'll be opened).

I do realize people could have waited until the last minute but it still stinks and the fact that it is in Ms Wilson's district makes me wonder.

[mopinko]

37. mine, in illinois

was dated on the envelope, so....

[peekaloo]

39. ?

I meant when you sign it do you date it as well?

I may be kinda foggy this a.m.

[mopinko]

40. yes.

[Botany]

38. I'm from Ohio

And I smell a big hairy ass rat. Get somebody on the inside in the USPS to set aside absentee ballot envelopes during two or 3 weeks prior to the close of voting by mail and magically all those votes are spoiled because they were "too late" to be counted for the election.

And after the Republican "wins" the talking heads will blather on and on about how the Democrats lost because they missed on their messaging to the voters.

Fuckers need to be jail for this crap. This was no mistake.

[red dog 1]

46. + 1

[neohippie]

23. Were they postmarked already with a previous date

I would challenge the law, if the voters did what they were required to do mail them in on time and had them postmarked, and then something as extraordinary happened, this needs to be challenged in court

[Sunsky]

28. Someone should be locked up for this

I don't believe these were all "late" ballots.
We need monitoring for the tri-county area general elections (Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach). These are the dirty tricks the Republicans use to steal statewide elections in Fl. The tri-county area holds the three largest population in FL and they are heavily Democratic. The Panhandle could not overcome the votes in the tri-county area plus St Lucie, Hillsborough, Orange county and others which are trending blue.
The first election where I have noticed that after the panhandle results come in, Broward, Dade and Palm Beaches results didn't have a significant impact on the vote count, was 2016. It was strange for many of us prudent election observers. Now we begin to see why. It seems as if- 1) These large population areas do not give in their vote totals until a day or more post election, IMO Broward used to report its numbers quicker under SOE Oliphant. Also, how can early votes that are fed through a machine not be counted almost 24 hrs after an election? and 2) mail-in votes are mysteriously disappearing here/ left uncounted.
If the election wasn't challenged would these votes just disappear and left unmentioned?
Thank you Sen Bill Nelson for your tenacity and not conceding on election night. If the election wasn't contested all these issues would have been swept under the rug as usual.
Lesson here- NO Democrat should concede FL until all the votes have been counted in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach!

[sinkingfeeling]

33. It's the post mark that determines if they are valid.

[lindysalsagal]

34. I'm willing to admit that I could believe the pipe bomber was on a mission

to give them reasons to lock up the ballots.

They're capable of anything.

[lostnfound]

36. Friendly advice, Step back from the edge...there are easier ways for them to do it.

Reality is bad enough without imagining extreme plots

👋

[spanone]

42. if they were found, why were they declared invalid?

why not count them now

[kentuck]

43. It's hard to believe that "thousands" would mail in their absentees late??

Maybe a few?

Sounds fishy.

[marybourg]

44. I live in AZ, so I may be wrong, but I

believe that Opa-Locka is a heavily black area.

[red dog 1]

48. Florida again?

The Repukes tamper with all Florida elections, and this is just more proof of that!

[BSdetect]

49. Its supposed to be a federal election so why are states interfering with this crap?

[former9thward]

50. The federal government does not run elections.

Actually for the most part neither do the states. There are about 8000 voting jurisdictions in the U.S. Each one of them runs elections in their locality. There were federal offices on the ballot but there were also many local offices and measures.

[MineralMan]

53. We have no "federal" elections

All elections are run by the states, even Presidential elections. That was established by the Constitution, which gave all such powers to the state or the "people" as they often put it.

The federal government does not conduct elections, although it regulates them in some ways.

[marlakay]

52. Reason though my state is by mail

I drop off at elections office drop box.

I guess someone could destroy the box but ugh!!!

[Le Gaucher]

54. Now Tell me why is VBM acceptable while Mobile voting is not?

Its time to reduce barriers to voting

[Blue_true]

55. When people mail in ballots from deep blue areas they are taking chances.

The completed ballots came in dynamically, tens of thousands of people didn't show up over a short time to mail in the ballots. Someone collected that specific type of mail and likely did not postmark any of it, making all invalid for lack of a postmark. All it takes in a deep blue area is a small band of rightwing hacks to effectively kill tens of thousands of likely blue votes, it does not matter that they kill some red votes, that was not their concern.

People, if you don't have physical limitations that dramatically affect your mobility, fucking do either early in person voting or Election Day in person voting.

[bluestarone]

57. Any chance to go to court with this?

[treestar]

58. So why are they invalid?

The rule that they have to be received rather than postmarked by a date means any mail-in is subject to postal delay.

[GoCubsGo]

61. The whole Florida election needs to be done over--with UN observers. nt

[superpatriotman]

65. "An official" ?

I call horseshit.

It will take more than one official to negate legitimate votes.

More than meets the eye with this story.

[triron]

70. Hopefully lawyers for Nelson and Gillum with be onto this pronto.

[MichMan]

73. 266 not 'thousands"

The elections board in Florida's Miami-Dade County has collected a set of mysterious ballots in the Opa-locka mail facility after Democrats raised concern about the uncounted votes.

The uncounted ballots have emerged as one of many battles over the fiercely contested Florida elections that moved this weekend into a recount phase.

Suzy Trutie, a spokesperson for the county's supervisor of elections, told CNN there were 266 ballots in the shipment and that the votes will not be counted. Florida law requires all ballots sent by mail to arrive at the election facility by 7 p.m. on Election Day, and these ballots did not meet that standard, Trutie said.


https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/11/politics/florida-miami-dade-election-uncounted-ballots/index.html