Republicans have long been a party bereft of any new ideas…. except when it comes to cheating and subverting democracy. If there’s a way to screw Democrats and voters, you can believe that Republicans have already thought of it and are trying it out somewhere.
The lame-duck anti-democratic scams being run by the GOP in Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina have been well-documented, while the ongoing election fraud scandal in NC-09 continues to unfold and get worse. And wouldn’t you know it, there are yet more bad-faith schemes from the party of sore losers, racists, and tax cheats, even if they’re not getting the same national spotlight.
In Pennsylvania, Republicans are refusing to let State Senate-elect Lindsey Williams take the seat to which she was rightfully elected because they continue to push tired claims that she was ineligible to run for office. They say that she did not live in Pennsylvania four years to the day of November’s election, as required by the PA constitution — instead, they say, she moved a few weeks after that.
Their claim was already dismissed once by a judge, because they idiotically missed court deadlines. They’re still pursuing the matter, which has led Williams, who flipped the open 37th State Senate district, to submit a whopping 97 pages of documents proving that she moved in PA right in time to qualify for the residency requirement. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Ms. Williams disclosed for the first time that she moved to Pennsylvania from Maryland on Nov. 6, 2014 -- four years to the day of this year’s election. She said she temporarily moved in with friends in Pittsburgh who agreed to let her stay with them until she could find a permanent residence. The friends provided sworn affidavits that Ms. Williams stayed with them. …
Ms. Williams has said she received a job offer in Allegheny County in October 2014, accepted it Nov. 2, 2014, and drove to Pennsylvania in late October 2014 to begin the moving process.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Republicans refuse to seat Democrat Jim Glenn, who won House District 13 by just one vote. They’ve already re-canvassed the votes and the Election Board has certified the election, but that’s not stopping GOPers in Frankfort from being royal pains in the asses.
Glenn today filed to have the Republican complaints dismissed and finally get his victory recognized, so he can begin the transition and be available for his constituents. Republicans want to count 17 votes thrown out by a bipartisan board, while having six votes (for Glenn) thrown out because, they say, uh, voter fraud?
Jim Glenn defeated Republican state Rep. DJ Johnson by one vote in state House District 13. Johnson is challenging the results, asking the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for a recount. He says six voters are ineligible because they did not sign the precinct voter roster. He argues local officials incorrectly rejected 17 absentee ballots.
Glenn's attorneys filed documents saying the 17 absentee ballots were correctly rejected by a bipartisan election board. They argue it's impossible to invalidate three of the other six voters because their identities are unknown. The other three were known to poll workers, they said, so there is no risk of fraud.
We’ll see what happens with these races; no matter what, the trend of Republicans spitting in the eye of democracy is just getting more pervasive and troubling.
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