I am warning all now, my state of registration (CA) is going to turn into a pure shitshow tonight

[Celerity]

and for days (weeks?) after

I have been trying to sound the alarm for days

NPP

No Party Preference

they got ballots with no POTUS choice

well over half a million

Sanders is going to go full stop bonkers over the ones who did not vote for whatever reason

here is

Greg Palast on this

he is normally loved here, in GD, as he has been an anti-voter suppression leader for ages

some will not like this

but I just want to show you what is coming like a train in a tunnel






Will California steal 553,000 votes from Bernie Sanders?

by Greg Palast

https://www.gregpalast.com/how-california-will-steal-votes-from-bernie/

[Los Angeles] In February, California mailed 3.7 million primary ballots that, to the astonishment of many who received them, excluded the presidential candidates. These ballots do have candidates for all other primary races, including for Congress, but not the race for president. Within this mountain of primary ballots, artifacts of California’s arcane and complex voting system, lies the potential to cripple Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign, the favored candidate among independent party voters.

Particularly at risk of losing their vote are 18 to 24-year olds and LatinX voters, groups that strongly favor “Tio Bernie.” A quarter of independent voters are LatinX. Even if Sanders, as expected, wins the plurality of California’s votes, he could well be shorted out of hundreds of thousands of votes and scores of delegates. The other candidate at risk in California’s odd, troubled balloting: Michael Bloomberg. How did this happen? While Californians,including independent voters,vote overwhelmingly for Democrats in general elections, 5.3 million Golden State voters register “NPP,” that is, with No Party Preference. These five million NPP independents legally have the right to vote in the Democrat primary, but the Democratic Party has created an inscrutable obstacle course for them to do so, one that amounts to another type of voter suppression.

Disenfranchisement by Postcard

The problem begins with a postcard.

Last autumn, all five million NPP voters were mailed a postcard allowing them to request a ballot with the Democratic Party presidential choices. However, as many states have found out, postcards with voter information largely look like junk mail and get thrown out. If the independents don’t respond to the postcards, they get a ballot without presidential choices. But they have one more chance to vote for a candidate in the primaries: at the ballot box. At the polling station, though, things remain confusing. According to rules set by the Democratic National Party, the independent voters have to bring in their NPP ballot to the polling station and request to exchange it for a “Crossover Democratic” ballot which lists the candidates. However, if the voter fails to ask for the “Crossover” ballot by its specific name, the pollworker is barred from suggesting it and they won’t receive it. Pollworker Jen Abreu told me about the disaster this created in 2016. She said, “If this NPP voter did not specifically ask for a Democratic crossover ballot, they were given an official NPP ballot, which did not list presidential candidates.”

There’s another, new way NPP voters may obtain a presidential ballot: re-register from NPP to Democrat right at the polling station on Election Day, and thereby get a presidential ballot. However, this same day registration option is little known, not advertised by the state -- and I found not a single sign at the 4 voting centers I visited mentioned the new option. What’s the impact of this labyrinthine ballot dance? A lot, according to statistician Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., a private firm employed by both Republican and Democratic parties. Mitchell recently completed a poll of 700 independent voters and found that while 61% wanted to vote in the Democratic primary, nearly half (45%) were clueless about how to get a Democratic ballot. Another third of NPP voters believe that they cannot exchange their no-candidate ballot—though the law says they may.

This year, hundreds of thousands of these voters have already mailed back the NPP ballot without presidential candidates because, according to Mitchell’s polling, they assumed they had no ability to exchange it. This past week, Mitchell’s pollsters also asked 300 NPP voters whom they’d vote for if they had obtained the correct ballot. About 26% preferred Sanders, which translates to 553,000 potential lost votes, by Mitchell’s estimates. Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, could come up 383,000 votes short. The Democratic National Committee chiefs, who created and uphold the rules, show little sympathy for the millions of non-Democrats who want to exercise their right to vote in their primary but refuse to register as Democrats. And that could be because they will continue to back only establishment candidates. Notably, Joe Biden is endorsed by the California official who directs this tragi-comic voting process, Secretary of State Alex Padilla. By contrast, in Colorado, another vote-by-mail state, the Secretary of State simply ignores the DNC, sending every independent voter both a Republican and a Democratic Party primary ballot – providing an easy way to vote as they choose. Will California’s voters choose the Democratic candidate...or will the DNC obstacle course bend the outcome?

[honest.abe]

1. Good grief. No doubt the Sanders gang will be screaming the system is rigged.

If they don’t do as well as they expected.

[Hortensis]

28. This is bad. But who's kidding whom? Sanders, and Biden,

will benefit at the expense of all other candidates, even Bloomberg. And, yes, the possibility of pernicious election tampering has to be raised, but only fools would automatically assume it had to be against Sanders. Claiming everything that happens, and a lot that doesn't, is a plot against Sanders to destroy belief in Democrats is SOP for Sanders and for Russia and the Trump/Repub swiftboat machine trying to get him nominated.

Sanders and those helping him have invested hugely in California (FAR, FAR more than Biden's been able to), and Sanders is extremely well known there now. He will benefit from the confusion of many who believe the Sanders/Repub/Russia lies about Joe and the evil DNC but don't remember who grabbed their fancy in some debate and just default to the name they can remember.

But even a great Sanders victory occurred and could be proven to have been assisted by this, that would not keep this from being of enormous use to his and the Trump-Russia operations. The ballot mess is real, and they'll use it from now on to stimulate the wonderful, "alive" feeling of outrage. They've helped millions adopt whole pernicious belief systems around the delusion that it's the Democrats who are evil, aided by the pleasurable feelings that come with generating just the right brain chemicals.

Link to tweet

[msongs]

2. amazing that ballots have been out for weeks yet this is only tonight being known/ hmmm

[Celerity]

7. I have been talking about this for days, they (the Bernie people) have been going bonkers for weeks

[stopdiggin]

75. at least three different ways for NPP voters

to vote in the Demo primary. If you blow off all three options ...
Maybe you're not all that interested?
Not crying any big tears for any of these people.

[msongs]

3. and even more odd not a peep from the sanders campaign even tho this is so well known..or not

[LuvLoogie]

48. He doesn't want more registered Democrats...

He wants more votes and a scapegoat when he loses.

[MH1]

72. Ding ding ding !! we have a winner!

(last clause of your post)

[stopdiggin]

74. extremely likely!

can't have an election without the whinging and crying!

[ucrdem]

4. It is indeed complicated.

The new laws are intended to allow more voters easier access, but there are many of them, and every county has its own way of implementing them, so if you're not registered D or R, it gets complicated fast. But in case anyone needs them, here are the hotline and website:

(800) 345-VOTE (8683)
http://www.sos.ca.gov

[lapfog_1]

5. Honestly, if they registered as Democrats

they would have a say as to who the DEMOCRATIC nominee is.

That we allow them to follow some simple instructions to get a ballot with the choices for Democratic Presidential Candidate is a gift to them.

I would not expect to be given a ballot to choose the Republican nominee or the Green Party nominee if I was not either a Republican or Green party member.

Why should these people even be allowed to pick my parties nominee?

Register as Democrats. There, problem solved.

Or if you can't do that, follow the instructions on the postcard and return the NPP ballot for a Democratic ballot.

Good Lord.

[Rorey]

26. Completely agree

I've yet to hear a valid argument for why non-Democrats should pick our candidate.

I mean, should we willingly allow other countries to pick our President?

[former9thward]

36. Well you may have a narrow definition for the word "valid".

The fact is when you allow indies a chance to vote for a candidate in a primary they become invested in that party and will likely support the party in the general. When you exclude them they are not invested in anything and may either not vote or shift to the other side in the general.

You may not care about that in CA where the Ds will win in November but indies decide the swing states. Not Ds and not Rs.

[Rorey]

38. Ok, change valid to convincing

And you haven't convinced me.

[former9thward]

71. I tried!

[grantcart]

79. Unfortunately we need closed primaries

We give outsiders too many opportunities to screw with us

[catchnrelease]

6. I was freaked out at first

I am an NPP by mail voter and got the postcard in December. But I was away from home and when I looked at it, it said it had to be returned by Dec 20 and I got it on the 15th. So, I sent it in immediately and also sent them an email (which was also an option) saying I was doing both and why. As it turned out it really didn't have to be in until sometime in Feb.

Since then I checked my voter status multiple times and on the page which showed my NPP registration, it had a statement that said something to the effect that I would not get a ballot with presidential candidates on it. So I called the Sec of State voter status number--which was not easy to get through due to the phone menu choices--and the first time I was told my Democratic ballot choice didn't show yet. (That was a few weeks after they should have received the postcard back from me) The second time I was told the status was there and correct--Democratic ballot. I checked more recently and it did show online the correct info. And finally, after I sent in my ballot I checked it's status and showed it was received and counted. That was last week. I voted for Pete. I hope the results will show how many votes he gets in CA from early voting, just for the heck of it.

Anyway, it is definitely a confusing system and if you are not on top of it and aware of what's going on, you may get an unpleasant surprise when you go to fill out your ballot. I did know that I had the back up choice of going to the polling place if I didn't get the correct ballot. But as your post says, if you don't know the 'magic' phrase or know about this option you will still be out of luck. I really hope it's not a huge disaster.

[stopbush]

8. If there's anyone who looks bad in a fedora it's Greg Palast.

[Celerity]

10. lolol, this is true

[msongs]

9. so its not rigged, its just a bad system for people who dont bother to read their mail before they

toss it.

[SunSeeker]

12. Exactly. It was pretty much the same system in 2016.

If Bernie's campaign can't educate their non-Democratic supporters, that's on them.

[Retrograde]

67. it goes back to 2000 IIRC

This is a repeat of the whining we saw in 2016

[msongs]

11. and california has same day registration nt

[Journeyman]

13. Within the Voter Information Guide I received, so-called NPP voters have 3 options . . .

No Party Preference (NPP) voters can either:

1) If they choose to be nonpartisan, they fill out the ballot they received and mail it in.

2) If they wish to vote Democratic, American Independent, or Libertarian, they can select one of those party's ballots at their local Vote Center, which has been active for the past 10 days and will be open all day Tuesday, March 3, from 7 am to 8 pm.

3) To vote Republican, Green, or Peace and Freedom, voters needed to re-register with one of those parties by February 18.

[Celerity]

14. the problem is it looks like hundreds of 1000's just mailed in the NPP ballots with no POTUS choice

[Journeyman]

16. Well, it is an opportunity for us all to make choices . . .

some make better choices than others.

[TwilightZone]

42. That's on them.

At some point, people should probably take at least a little responsibility for their own actions. If millions can manage to get it right, they probably can, too.

[Celerity]

43. I am not the one who is going to going batshit, foaming at the mouth cray.

I agree it is on them. All I am doing is prognostication about what I think is about to go down.

[TwilightZone]

47. Well, we know from experience that the results will be delayed.

That alone is going to cause consternation. Sanders and his supporters will want to celebrate a big win there, and they won't really be able to as much as they might expect.

A little Pete payback for Iowa, I guess. haha

[denem]

15. Wow. OK Celerity - I get it now.

What a clusterfuck! There's a shitstorm coming all right. Yikes.

[pnwmom]

18. Bernie can't claim not to have known this because they had the same issue in 2016.

It was up to him to make sure his followers knew they had to be Democrats to vote for him.

[bluedye33139]

53. Maybe he just assumed that the rules have been changed in his favor without looking?

[stopdiggin]

78. DID NOT have to be registered Democrats

and the options for NPP voters were clearly explained!
(at least three options to obtain a Demo ballot)

[Sancho]

19. Similar in Florida...

most are getting mail in ballots. You can't vote for the Democratic candidates unless you register by party, and the majority are NPP. Fl has been registering a lot of young people who could not vote for Bernie or Pete on their ballot without changing to a party preference. They often don't know how it works.

Registering here can be difficult, and requires documentation (birth certificate, etc.).

We are seeing lots of TV and social media ads from Bloomberg - nothing from anyone else - but regardless of your plans, the ballots were mailed and we mailed ours back. Of course, a lot of people already also voted for candidates who have dropped out too.

It's a mess.

[LoisB]

20. I am registered Non-Partisan. My voter registration number was scanned, a screen came up

with options as to which ballot I wanted. I selected the Democratic ballot and all the Presidential choices were presented when I voted. I was only unable to vote for Democratic committee members. I did not have to re-register, my ballot was accepted. In years past, I simply requested the Democratic ballot. Never had a problem.

[Enter Username Here]

21. What happens to the folks that early voted for candidates that have now dropped out?

Did they just waste their vote? I hope not.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. I was thinking the same but then I keep forgetting that people actually vote for "delegates"

and the delegates would then "pledge" to the voter's chosen candidate. And I think that is why the endorsements by several of the candidates who dropped out... Usually they will instruct or at least encourage their delegates to move their support to one of the remaining candidates.

[Sunsky]

24. Is it an open primary?

In Florida only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary and registered Republicans vote in the Republican primary. NPP can't vote in party primaries, they can vote for anything not party affiliated like judges, city issues etc.
When I first registered to vote, I didn't have a party affiliation because I was scared of being purged but then I couldn't participate in my party's primary, so I registered as a Democrat. Don't know the rules in CA but this is how it should be. Why should outsiders choose our nominee?

[Celerity]

25. We have (for POTUS) a semi-closed primary, which is the type

I favour. We have jungle primaries for the other offices, where the top 2, now matter what Party, move onto the general.

I am not in favour of open primaries, nor am I in favour of closed primaries. Independent, NPP voters dominate in many states and it is perilous to not allow them to have a stake in the process.

Semi-closed, with rigid procedures to block actual hostile party members from having the ability to have any sort of significant influence are the best balance. It is why semi-open primaries are the most common type of primary in the United States.

[Sunsky]

27. I prefer a closed primary

If you are not willing to associate yourself with a specific party, you should not be allowed to pick the party's standard-bearer. Everyone will have their say in the General election. Allowing independents to vote in a primary is a grey area that leaves the process more open to ratfu*king IMO.
In my example, I was not registered to a party but I was a Democrat. If NPPs were allowed to vote in either primary, I could have easily chosen to vote on the Republican ballot every primary for a dimwit that's easy to beat. A closed primary lessens the chance of this happening.

[Celerity]

44. I disagree. It will hurt us in the general IMHO, as there are so, so many

indies that are key to us pulling in.

[wnylib]

65. They choose to be independent because

tbey don't want to affiliate with a party. So I don't see what difference it makes in the general, whether they have a voice in the primary or not.

[Celerity]

66. why tempt fate, the last thing we need to do is to take a more restrictive, reductionist stance

Big tent theory includes non club members. All I want is to try to best exclude the actual Rethugs from playing tactical games in the primaries, which a robustly designed semi-closed scheme does, if properly enforced. There are tens of million of indies we need to win, taking a hardliner, in or out stance will alienate a shedload. It is just the statistical breakdown of the US electorate.

[wnylib]

68. Sorry, just can't agree. They know

what they're doing when they identify as indie and I don't see how it would affect their vote to let them participate in primaries. I also don't see how any safeguard against manipulation can be effective. Isn't that what makes the CA primary confusing now to many people, not to mention vulnerable to Sanders complaints of rigging?

To me, big tent means being open to everyone to join, not being open for everyone who does not join to choose our candidates.

[chia]

29. I'm registered as NPP in CA, requested the Democratic ballot, voted for Biden. It wasn't difficult.

I also checked online to see if my vote was counted. It was.

In 2016 I didn't vote by mail, I voted at my polling place. I asked for a Democratic ballot, and voted for Hillary.

I'd like to hope that most NPPs know what they have to do, and I for one am glad that the Democratic Party allows us to vote for their candidates while the GOP doesn't, I consider that a win-win.

[still_one]

33. It isn't difficult, and well documented in the voter registration pamplet sent to every registered

voter

Palast falsely made the claim that California was throwing votes away last time. That was untrue

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/uncounted-california-ballots/

Funny how he wasn't called out on that one

Don't people have the responsibility if their ballot isn't correct to ask? They can go to any polling place to do that, where the polling place people will answer their questions

[chia]

34. +1000

The directions are very clear, yes - and thanks for that link.

Another reminder, as I posted in another thread:

Link to tweet

?s=20

[dsc]

30. Other than the refusal to give them a ballot with names at precincts

I don't see the issue here. If they miss the card, the still get, with the ballot, instructions on what to do. Why can't they follow those instructions?

[Celerity]

31. Hundreds of thousands of NPP mailed in the ballots with no POTUS choices

Many had no clue they could swap.

[still_one]

35. They can go to any polling place including on election day and ask. If I receive a ballot without a

POTUS choice, that is what I would do

There is such a thing as personal responsibility

[JudyM]

39. Not once they mailed them in. When they're looked up in the system they'll be blocked.

[still_one]

41. That is correct, however, when I look at my ballot, and if I don't see a selection for the

a Democratic candidate, what do you think I will do?

I sure as heck won't return the signed ballot, but will either contract the voter register or on of the many polling places and request a new ballot

The NPP registration has been in effect here in California for over decade, and instructions in the voter pamphlet which are mailed to every registered voter are pretty clear how to deal with it, an where to go if there are problems

[JudyM]

49. Great if you have time and transportation, not a given for folks who are taking a bus to two jobs

and may have kids, as an example. Not a problem for others, certainly, but folks who it’s harder for would’ve been the most likely to have requested mail-ins. Not worth arguing about.

[still_one]

50. good points

[OnDoutside]

54. They could be people voting for any candidate.

[JudyM]

57. Of course. But demographically speaking it would make a relative difference.

[OnDoutside]

61. Hispanic voters perhaps, but then I'm being told on another thread that Sanders ground game is

so good in California, it doesn't sound that way if you believe this story ?

[Retrograde]

69. There's this new-fangled thing called a telephone

it's only been around since the late 1800s, but it lets you contact a remote person and ask questions or get problems resolved. Or there's this internet thing that lets you do the same at any time. Or one could simply read the mail the registrar sends out (available in a number of different languages). Or one could just whine about how the Man makes it so hard.

California has been moving more and more towards mail voting over the past decade. Not only can you sign up as a permanent mail voter, many counties - including large ones - are being proactive about sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters. And people still complain about how difficult it is.

[stopdiggin]

81. THANK YOU !

Not difficult. Not complicated. Options clearly laid out ... Plenty of help available for questions ..
And still it's .. "But some people ..."

Yep. 'Yer right .. "some people ..."

[dsc]

37. If they sent instructions on how to swap whose fault is that?

Is it really too much to expect voters to read instructions?

[Celerity]

40. Apparently so. I am not playing devils advocate, just trying to inform on what the Sanderite crowd

is doing and will do.

[still_one]

45. I know you are. I did a similar thing in 2016 here telling folks if they were registered as NPP,

how to request a Democratic ballot

The important thing is if someone has a ballot, and it isn't what they expect or doesn't have nominee choices, they need to find out what they should do, and that is what you are informing them of which is a good thing

It is also listed where they can go in their voter registration pamphlet if they have any questions.

Because California goes out of their way to insure all votes are counted, including provisional ballots, I have no doubt it will take time to get a final count, and suspect conspiracy theories will be forth coming

I suspect Sanders will come out in first place in California, but based on the fast moving events, it will be interesting to see by how much

A lot of these issues could have been avoided in my view if people just registered as a Democrat

I do appreciate what you are doing, trying to keep people informed


Thanks

[Celerity]

46. Yw!

[still_one]

51. ...................

[stopdiggin]

80. there was a voter information pamphlet

(not just a post card) Options for NPP voting clearly spelled out.
If you didn't know what you were doing .. it wasn't that the info wasn't available.
(IMO) .. a motivated non-affiliated voter had no problem ..
NON-motivated, casual voter .. ? Not sure if I care.

[bluedye33139]

52. Voters who didn't request a primary ballot for the Democratic party did not get one.

[OnDoutside]

55. How could the Sanders campaign be so incompetent not to see this was an issue for them, when

postcards were sent out a YEAR AGO ?

Nice conspiracy theory though .....

[SidDithers]

56. If they have NPP, why should they get to vote in Dem primary?..

By definition, they’re not Democrats?

If they want to vote in the Dem primary, shouldn’t they be registered Democrats?

Sid

[Celerity]

58. because we have a semi-closed (for POTUS only) primary, which is the most common form in the US.

It is the type that I favour overall, as long as their are bright lines that make it hard for actual registered Rethugs to cross over.

Independent voters are a massive force in US politics, and removing them from having any skin in the game in primary selections puts us in peril in the general IMHO.

I am not a proponent of outright closed primaries at all, and I am also absolutely against open or semi-open ones.

[hlthe2b]

59. Well, that is going to be a shitstorm. I'd hate to be a precinct worker today in CA

[FM123]

73. I was thinking the same thing. Those poor folks.....

[NYMinute]

60. Them are the rules set by the party. Bernie agreed with that structure.

No room to complain but that doesn't stop some people.

Democrats don't want non-Democrats to mess up their choice for leading the party. It is THAT simple.

[Celerity]

64. This is all very true, but Bernie and his base will not see it that way, they have been on the

warpath for weeks.

I am only showing what is percolating in the background, and will soon, I am afraid, explode out into the open.

[SoCalNative]

62. It has been all over the news for a least the past month

if not longer that if you are registered as NPP you MUST request a Democratic ballot if you wish to vote in the Presidential primary.

If people can't take the time to get the proper information, then maybe they don't deserve to vote. Especially since the process was exactly the same in the 2016 elections.

[redqueen]

63. Awesome

Spectacular

[Pisces]

70. Become a democrat and there is no problem

[still_one]

76. +++

[vlyons]

77. If the NPPs wanted to vote for Sanders,

maybe they should have changed to a Dem party preference. How is NPP any different than not allowing declared Reps vote in a Dem primary?

[stopdiggin]

82. many on this string taking the same stance

but the thing is .. the Democratic party will allow non-affiliateds to vote in their primary .. all you have to do is ask!

[Mike Nelson]

83. I vote in California...

... I had no trouble understanding how to vote... I was informed. ...by the way, Bernie supporters were not complaining because they expected to win big. They will still do well, first or second place... Clayburn, Amy, Beto and Pete changed the mood... but that was late. We like Bernie, here, and Biden also... I would say most people here just want to win the Presidency, at this point. Again, they make it easy to vote in California. There are ways to improve, of course, and it's a big state, but I think people are not "rigging" anything and want voters heard...