On Day 1: A profile of a long-time GOP, Ohio suburban county: Butler
1) The number of requests by registered Democrats has already tripled from those requested in all of 2016, thus erasing what had been an over 3:1 Republican advantage in 2012 and 2016. Dems slightly lead.
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2) The number of requests from registered Democrats with a month to go is over 2,000 higher than the Democratic requests in 2008 and less than 500 requests fewer than the registered Republican requests in all of the 2016 general election.
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3) In terms of the share of the early vote, the Democratic requests are nearly double the share of the vote they were in 2016 and substantially closer to the turnout in 2008 than 2012 or 2016.
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4) The Democratic edge existed even though the number of requests by Republicans is only 1,000 ballots down from the number requested by Republican in all of 2016 with a month to go.
THREAD -- RIDDING OHIO OF Jim Jordan AND THE NATION'S WORST GERRYMANDERING
All of those who want to get rid of Jim Jordan, and his antics, please read this thread
Jordan is an Ohio embarrassment. A national embarrassment. But he's also a symptom of a much bigger problem...
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Gerrymandering.
Ohio's gerrymandering--as bad as any in the nation--is not only destroying any semblance of a functional political system in Ohio govt--but it's sending the likes of Jordan to Congress with no accountability.
So he gets away with his antics again and again.
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Here is a map of Jim Jordan's district. Yes, it looks like a duck, twisting and turning from Lorain down to Urbana (!)
But the deeper problem is that it's rigged. It's designed in a way that allows Jordan to act like he does, every day, with no accountability back in Ohio.
BREAKING: for months, Ohio's SOS Larose has claimed that he wanted to expand drop boxes in Ohio counties, but that Ohio law prevented him from doing so.
Just now, all three judges in our drop box appeal agreed with us that nothing in Ohio law prevents him from adding more.
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"We agree with the trial court that the Secretary's interpretation of R.C. 3509.05 is not reasonable and that the statute neither prescribes nor prohibits ballot drop boxes at locations other than the boards of elections....
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"...If, as appellees argue, the Secretary wants to permit additional drop boxes, he has the authority to do so and nothing in this decision prohibits him from rescinding Directive 2020-16 and issuing a new directive accordingly."
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Re-watch them if you can. Pressed again and again, he not only refused to say he'd accept the results of the election...he actually made clear that there are millions of votes he has no intention of counting if he has his way.
Here he said it again: "he even agrees with several of the changes proposed. But, despite advocates’ insistence to the contrary, LaRose does not feel he has the authority to take these actions unilaterally..."
Important voting rights update in Ohio: for two years, Ohio's SOS has claimed he could not allow online or electronic applications for absentee ballots. Ohio law didn't permit it, he said, insisting he needed legislative approval.
We went to court to show he was wrong...
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Several weeks ago, a common pleas court agreed with us, but he (of course) appealed immediately.
This afternoon, we got our ruling on that appeal.
The disappointing news is that we did not get the relief/injunction we were seeking immediately.
The good news? ...
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Like the court below, the appeals court agreed that nothing in OH law prevents the acceptance of electronic applications of absentee ballots: "Having reviewed R.C. 3509.03, we find the plain language of the Gen'l Assembly does not prohibit qualified electors from making.."
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