State Rep asks for bizarre and belated election audit, gets rightfully slapped down by Election Board Secretary

Sometimes, I just don't understand why people do things. Over the past several years, and the last year in particular, there are many individuals who were otherwise solid who (at least temporarily) have lost most of the good sense that they previously possessed in a bizarre urge to pander to a certain crowd that will never be satisfied. They know full well what they're doing, and that their pandering will accomplish absolutely nothing other than inflame their intended audience and supposedly transfer some good will in their favor.

I don't blog to make people happy. I speak the truth where I see it. This obsession with indulging the Trump delusion that the election was stolen (and not the result of a botched campaign with a totally undisciplined candidate who undermined his own success at every turn, with the assistance of a willing and hate-filled media) will be the death of conservatism. 

Just stop it already and have some character. Quit selling your integrity to the Trump personality cult, the most views, and the latest outrage clickbait.

The latest in this sad saga is the following press release from State Rep. Sean Roberts. Possessing a voting record that is generally among the most conservative in the legislature, Rep. Roberts was a key player in the Platform Caucus, a core group of staunch conservatives who fought against major tax increases in 2017 and 2018. Now in his final term of office, it seems that Rep. Roberts might have lost some of that principle in a pursuit of cheap support and applause from the lowest common denominator in current GOP fads. Another elected official, further down this shameful track, would be State Sen. Nathan Dahm, but that's for another day. I'll offend enough people with this post for now.

Anyway, first up is the ridiculous Roberts press release, followed by a reasonable and well-stated response by the inimitable Oklahoma State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax.

Survey shows sharp divide among OKGOP delegates over electronic convention voting

The 2021 Oklahoma Republican Party State Convention will be held on Saturday, April 10th, and a new system of voting seems to be stirring up some controversy among the delegates.

For decades, voting at the State Convention has been done in person and with paper ballots. Last year changed all of that, due to the coronavirus turmoil. I have not attended a state convention in several years, so my knowledge of the particulars is based on conversations with individuals who did attend. The 2020 state convention was held virtually via Zoom, which resulted in significantly reduced participation and some technical struggles that often plague events of this size when thrown together without adequate preparation or training.

This year, the convention will be held in person -- but voting will be done through an online program. Delegates are expected to bring their own electronic device in order to participate.

Needless to say, this is a significant development in the OKGOP, and one that is going to be contested. In conversations with a fellow church member recently, I was told that several older delegates from their county won't be attending this year as they do not own smartphones or laptops, which would be required to vote with. This "technology divide" will likely hit hardest among senior citizen and rural delegates (in other words, a significant position of the usual delegate makeup).

I was forwarded the results of an email survey that was recently conducted, sent out to all registered delegates, regarding the convention's online voting system. Nearly 20% of the around 1,800 delegates responded to the survey, giving us a good sample size to consider.

Lankford: We deserve confidence in the election results

 

Oklahomans and the Nation Deserve Confidence in the Election Results

By U.S. Senator James Lankford

(Jan. 6th, 2021) If you randomly catch any 10 Oklahomans on the street today and ask them if there was at least some voter fraud in the November election, my suspicion is a majority of them would say yes. In the last two months, my office has received thousands of calls and questions from Oklahomans in every corner of the state about the 2020 presidential election. I’ve also had conversations with people at the grocery store, gas station, through text messages, and on personal phone calls. Some Oklahomans say Biden obviously won, like it or not, accept it. Some say, clearly Trump won, and the election was stolen. But a majority of the people who have contacted me just want to know what happened and how we fix this for the future. I would hope that everyone agrees we should ask, “How does this not happen again?”

I am disappointed when some people say to me, “We always have dead people who vote or double voting, no big deal.” If we know there is a problem, let’s fix it. Some states have ignored problems in their voting systems for too long, and now we are reaping the consequences. President Trump spoke often about voting problems in 2016 and 2020, especially with mail-in voting. Some states took action to strengthen their voting verification, but some actually loosened their voting requirements without increasing security. There is no question that there were some problems across the country with signature verifications, people receiving multiple ballots in the mail, different rules in some states for mail-in ballots than in-person ballots, double voting, last-minute election rule changes, ballot harvesting, delayed receipt of ballots, inconsistent curing of ballots, and a lack of meaningful access to the polls or counting processes for partisan poll watchers. Even after many of these questions have been reviewed by state leaders and courts, questions still persist. 

We need to rebuild trust in our elections.  

On Saturday, I joined 10 of my colleagues to demand the establishment of an electoral commission of five Senators, five Representatives, and five Justices of the US Supreme Court to study the election and make recommendations. This is loosely modeled after the electoral commission of 1877 when electors from four states were in dispute because of possible voter fraud. The commission would begin immediately and would have 10 days to investigate the claims of voting irregularities and potential fraud and provide their findings to the states before the constitutionally required inauguration on January 20. The commission would not choose the president that is against the Constitution.

In our system, states choose the President through electors, so states would receive the findings of the commission and make their own decision. It’s a tight timetable, and it’s not a perfect solution. But we cannot ignore the millions of people who want the facts to come out and want resolution for this election. 

24 GOP State Reps ask Oklahoma delegation to challenge Electoral College votes in Congress

This may come as a surprise to some of my readers, and I'm sure I'll lose or upset some of you, but the following press release is nothing more than a fantasy and pandering to individuals who refuse to accept the possibility that President Donald Trump could have in fact lost the election.

The real story is that the Trump campaign itself does not believe the post-election spin that it has fed Trump supporters. If they did, then they would have put forward a legitimate legal effort led by competent individuals. They didn't, and no elected conservatives will dare say that 'the Emperor has no clothes' for fear of the political ramifications. 

There's a lot more to unpack on that story, but until I get some time to write my take down, here's what a quarter of the Oklahoma State House members are asking our congressional delegation to do next week:

Group of House Republicans Urges OK Congressional Delegation to Challenge Electoral College Votes

OKLAHOMA CITY (December 22nd) – A group of Oklahoma House Republicans today sent a letter to the members of the Oklahoma congressional delegation urging them to challenge the certification of the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021.

The 24 lawmakers contend that election law changes and violations in swing states disenfranchised the votes cast by Oklahomans.

“Every state in our Union is dependent on the others to hold free, fair and constitutional elections,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “When any state willfully violates our mutual contract – the U.S. Constitution – and/or their own state election laws (in order to skew the outcome of their election), the process and subsequent results shall not be dismissed or ignored. We must commit ourselves as a state to ensure our constituents’ votes are not disenfranchised, and we must hold accountable those who intend to harm us through election tampering.”

The following lawmakers signed on to this statement:

State House passes bill to protect election integrity

Election Integrity Measure Passes House

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 6th) – State Rep. Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, today secured passage of Senate Bill 210 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Kannady authored an amendment to the bill, which will protect election integrity through the absentee ballot process including during the period of pandemic. The measure passed 74-26.

“Oklahomans have said they want elections secure and free from fraud,” Kannady said. “This legislation provides election integrity and protects public safety and public health during this time when people are still concerned about the spread of COVID-19.”

OKGOP warns of "imminent voter fraud", calls for action to reverse Supreme Court ruling regarding absentee ballots

From OKGOP Chairman David McLain:

Call to Action

Yesterday, May 4, 2020, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled to remove the requirement of providing a copy of an Oklahoma photo ID OR Notary Stamp to verify a voter's authenticity when voting by Absentee Ballot. The ruling states all that is necessary now is just a signature on the ballot, with NO proof that it is your ballot and your vote!

If we think the potential for voter fraud was bad before, this type of ruling guarantees a California style of voting and voter fraud like we have NEVER seen in this state! Imagine all the Absentee Ballots that will be sent in by deceased voters! Imagine the vulnerability of our Oklahomans by any group "helping" our seniors fill out ballots at nursing and convalescent homes.

Read SB1779 by clicking on here.

T Minus Five Days: Voting Problems

With just five days left until E-Day, reports are surfacing of problems with early voting across the nation.

New Bern, North Carolina:

Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said. Then he asked for and received help from election staff.

“They pushed it twice and the same thing happened,” Laughinghouse said. “That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted.”

Clark County, Nevada:

Clark County election officials insisted on Tuesday that electronic voting machines were not malfunctioning at polling locations are some voters complained that Sen. Harry Reid's name had been pre-selected.

Controversy arose after Boulder City resident Joyce Ferrara complained to FOX5 that when she went to vote for GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle, Reid's name was already checked.

Bucks County, Pennsylvania:

A trio of Bucks County residents backed by the county Republican committee say they have evidence linking Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy's campaign to a scheme to flood the county voter registration office with fraudulent applications for absentee ballots.

Illinois:

An Illinois county election official says that thousands, and potentially hundreds of thousands, of voters who are expecting a ballot sent to them by mail may be disenfranchised.

With all of the issues nationwide with electronic voting machines, perhaps it's time that states looked to Oklahoma for an example of a ballot that is very easy to understand, and works very well. It just doesn't get much simpler than "connect-the-arrows" (as shown in the 2006 Oklahoma sample ballot below).

2006 Oklahoma sample ballot

The Conservative View: Elections and Nuts

Last week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Elections and Nuts

The right to vote is one of the best insurances that we have to keep our government responsive and accountable to the citizens of this country. I feel that we need to remind ourselves that with the right to vote comes a huge responsibility. For a free society to maintain its integrity the voter must be willing to do the research and know the issues of the day, we cannot and must not allow ourselves to be manipulated into casting our vote for bad issues and poor candidates. I support the right of any group or candidate to put forth their ideas to the voter, but after the campaigning the voter should be left alone to decide for himself and take the appropriate action. It is a sad fact that some politicians will do anything to win an election, when this happens it degrades our election process. Our government must insure that our election process remains open and honest. There is a bill that will come before the Oklahoma state legislature that, in my opinion, will help insure an honest system in our state.

Senate Bill 1921, by House Speaker Chris Benge, increases the maximum punishment for felony and misdemeanor violations of the election code. The legislation increases the felony punishments from a fine of $5,000 to $50,000 and from two years to five years imprisonment and increases misdemeanor punishments from a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. The measure adds the following actions as felony acts in the election code:

• Knowingly voting with and submitting an absentee ballot issued to another person;
• Unauthorized people knowingly removing from or bringing a ballot to a polling location;
• Knowingly making false application for an absentee ballot;
• Knowingly causing the cancellation of a qualified voter’s registration;
• Knowingly causing the collection or submission of voter registration forms containing false information; and
• Knowingly conspiring to commit election fraud.

Last year, several ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) employees were accused of submitting false voter registration forms. Additionally, employees in ACORN's Baltimore office were secretly taped offering questionable tax advice to conservative activists posing as a pimp and a prostitute. Following that incident, Congress voted to end federal funding to the organization. Our current laws need to be strengthened to protect our election system from ACORN and other nuts. The bill passed the House Public Safety Committee with a vote of 6-1 and will next be considered by the full House.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.

Voter Fraud is Inevitable

Read this:

Judge rules Ohio homeless voters may list park benches as addresses

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that counties must allow homeless voters to list park benches and other locations that aren't buildings as their addresses.

Rest of article.

I have one word for this: Ridiculous.

Also, this post from Red Stater: Shocking News: Democrats Behind Smear Campaign On Joe The Plumber