Trump campaign knew all the rules governing this election well before 11/3. They challenged some of those rules, others went unchallenged. Now they seek to change the rules only because they lost. /1
In GA, mail ballots went through extensive signature matching when they were received, advised by GA Bureau of Investigation. Ballots were then removed from envelopes to maintain secrecy. Trump knew all about this process and did not challenge it. /2
In WI, Trump knew about the process for requesting mail ballots and reviewing those ballots. Trump could challenge specific ballots as they were reviewed on 11/3. As in GA, that process was created by the R legislature. Trump knew how this worked and let it stand. /3
Only now that he’s lost decisively, by 6M+ votes nationwide, is he trying to change the rules. 18 days after the election, he’s failed to raise even one claim of voter fraud supported by evidence. Yet he’s still promising “the proof is coming” after losing dozens of cases. /4
He’s lost before judges he himself appointed, and all other judges. Courts require proof, and his lawyers know this. This is no longer a legal strategy - it is a disinformation campaign on US citizens, and specifically his own supporters. /5
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THREAD: Despite what some elected leaders, who've sworn an oath to the Constitution, may be saying about election processes in states other than their own, here are the facts about identity verification and signature matching in GA (and, for that matter, in most states):
Every single absentee ballot in GA was reviewed by bipartisan election off'ls and the signature was matched to the voter file upon receipt. The GA Bureau of Investigation was brought in by @GaSecofState to help train election off'ls on this process. /2
The Trump campaign, and in fact, EVERY campaign and the public, were aware about how the absentee process in GA worked well before the election, and did not raise any challenge to this process. /3
THREAD. In 2016, Jill Stein and anti-Trump activists alleged without evidence that voting machines were hacked, and that Trump couldn't possibly have won. In 2020, the president and his supporters are making the same baseless claims. Both are 100% false. /1
Regardless of the outcome, I and many others have consistently pointed out that the 2016 election was secure, and the 2020 election was even more secure. Many anti-Trump activists were critical of these statements, and now their baseless claims are being used by Trump himself. /2
We can be sure that Trump won the presidency in 2016, and even more sure that he lost it in 2020. There are some things that are the same in 2020 as in 2016, and even more things that are different, as we have significantly improved election security in the last four years. /3
THREAD. The president and his supporters have alleged, without any evidence, that massive voter fraud in urban centers led to his defeat, in states like PA, MI, and WI. But when you look at the data, Trump actually OVERPERFORMED in urban areas in 2020, compared to 2016. /1
In Philadelphia, so far, the president has won 125K votes in 2020, 18.3% of the vote. When he won Pennsylvania by only 44K votes in 2016, Trump won only 109K votes, or 15.3% of the vote. /2
In Wayne County, MI (Detroit), the president has won 264K votes, or 30.6% in 2020. In 2016, he won only 228K, or 29.5% of the vote in Detroit, when he won the state of Michigan, by less than 12K votes overall. /3
As the president's family is going to twitter, making arguments on social media that no competent lawyer would make in court, and spreading conspiracy theories, I think it's important to note some important facts: /1
Observers from the Trump campaign and Republicans have been in every urban vote counting center, and most of those centers are live-streaming their process, 24 hours a day. /2
While the president seeks to stop counting in PA and GA (where he's now losing), he's been actively seeking to have more MAIL ballots counted in NV and AZ. /3
Last week, @GovRonDeSantis and @FLSecofState announced that FL would be joining @ericstates_info, joining ~30 other states in ensuring their voter lists are as accurate and complete as possible, registering thousands of new voters, and protecting FL’s election integrity. /1
@GovRonDeSantis@FLSecofState@ericstates_info But earlier this week, @fineout reported that former Gov. Scott declined to join ERIC because Pew had funded the initial development of ERIC and “he did not believe it was right to share the personal information of every Florida voter with a liberal think tank.”