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MBS

(9,688 posts)
Sun Aug 18, 2019, 11:05 AM Aug 2019

Judicial watch now after Montgomery County (MD) voter rolls

. . .but Common Cause,the Maryland AG, and Maryland state board of elections will hopefully resist. (At least they're raising "concerns," and, believe me, I'm concerned.)

https://wamu.org/story/19/08/15/judge-grants-conservative-watchdog-access-to-montgomery-countys-voter-list/

A Maryland judge has ordered the state board of elections to turn over Montgomery County voter lists to a conservative watchdog organization. Last week, District Court Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander partially granted the nonprofit Judicial Watch’s request for the county’s voter list. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and the state board of elections have until next week to respond to the request, or appeal. In 2017, the organization discovered that there were more registered voters than residents above the age of 18 in the county, and sued the state board of elections for the voter rolls.. . . According to court documents, Hollander granted the organization access to voters’ names, home addresses, most recent voter activity, and active or inactive status. But Hollander did not allow the group access to the birth dates.

Joanne Antoine, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, an Annapolis-based watchdog organization, called the judge’s decision concerning. “While voter registration information is made public during the electoral process, we now have a security concern by handing over information to an organization that is focused on purging the voter roll,” she said. Frosh also says he has concerns about voter privacy and data being made available to an organization. The attorney general’s office has until next week to turn over the items ordered by the judge or appeal to stall the judge’s decision.
. . .
Antoine is encouraging county residents to double check their registration and to reach out the Maryland Board of Elections with any questions and concerns.


The amount of energy that the far right has devoted to voter suppression is just jaw-dropping, and both their actions, and the clear rationale behind those actions (judicial watch's claims of "non partisan" motivation are preposterous, at best), are symptomatic of pretty much everything that's pathological about the Republican party these days.
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Judicial watch now after Montgomery County (MD) voter rolls (Original Post) MBS Aug 2019 OP
Judicial jerkoffs.... Historic NY Aug 2019 #1
Agreed! n/t MBS Aug 2019 #5
It's authoritarian, not pathological... #wordsmatter zaj Aug 2019 #2
Sure, but IMO, it's precisely the authoritarianism that's pathological. MBS Aug 2019 #8
It's not mental illness (which is an excuse)... zaj Aug 2019 #9
I agree that it's a deliberate strategy. n/t MBS Aug 2019 #10
CUTE! I'm registered there, live there 'officially,' elleng Aug 2019 #3
That's the kind of stuff they will find and this will quietly go away Fullduplexxx Aug 2019 #6
I expect you're right, elleng Aug 2019 #7
Kick and recommend for visibility. bronxiteforever Aug 2019 #4

MBS

(9,688 posts)
8. Sure, but IMO, it's precisely the authoritarianism that's pathological.
Sun Aug 18, 2019, 12:17 PM
Aug 2019

. . especially when they shamelessly mischaracterize their authoritarian (that is, anti-constitutional, fundamentally anti-American) actions and priorities as "fair," "democratic," and "patriotic." Orwellian distortion of the founding principles of our country.
As you said, words matter.

 

zaj

(3,433 posts)
9. It's not mental illness (which is an excuse)...
Sun Aug 18, 2019, 12:24 PM
Aug 2019

It's a strategic plan to seize the levers of power in the face of losing a cultural battle for the first time in 2000+ years to a democraphic wave and a technical transformation.

elleng

(136,387 posts)
3. CUTE! I'm registered there, live there 'officially,'
Sun Aug 18, 2019, 11:15 AM
Aug 2019

but only actually reside there occasionally, as I rent a house on a river in southern MD! Let them come after me!!!

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