Thread by @DavidPepper

THREAD/VIDEO

Day 2: just over a year ago, I took footage of this absurd line voters had to wait in to drop their ballots at the one location per county where OH’s Sec of State would allow drop boxes.

Well, the story got even more complicated since

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amazon.com/gp/aw/d/166291…

You may recall that back then, when we first began advocating for more drop boxes due to delayed mail and the pandemic, the Sec of State (LaRose) assured people privately and publicly he wanted more drop boxes but was not legally allowed to add them:

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talkingpointsmemo.com/news/why-has-o…

There was absolutely no legal backing for his assertion on the law. He hadn’t even gotten an opinion.

So we sued, and every judge said we were right: that he had ample authority to add drop boxes.

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nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1…

And even though LaRose had originally said he wanted more drop boxes, he appealed those losses, urging judges that he didn’t have the authority to add more. Who does that!?

Well, he never convinced a single judge that he couldn’t add more.

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statenews.org/government-pol…

When the litigation ended, LaRose decreed that there was no time to add more drop box locations, leading to the traffic jams filmed above for the rest of the election

Basically, he’d been lying all the way through about both the law & his intentions

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google.com/amp/s/amp.cinc…

But that’s not where the story ends

First, LaRose later tried to fire a board of elections member in a large county, in part blaming him for long lines in October. The OH Supreme Court overturned the firing, saying the long lines were due to LaRose

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amp.beaconjournal.com/amp/4869549001

Second, after the election, with the original drop box ban expired, and now with ample time to add drop boxes as well as the clear legal authority to do so, LaRose issued another order in February of 2021….banning more drop boxes again.

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cleveland.com/open/2021/02/s…

Then, having seen the traffic jams and congestion, and clearly pleased by the site of difficult voting and long waits, the legislature put forward a bill that would lock in the LaRose drop box ban forever—tying the hands of all future secretaries of state

apnews.com/article/health…

That bill is still before the Ohio General Assembly, along with others.

But there’s one more thing that shows how deep this goes.

Nationally.

Public records found that Team LaRose did initially consult w one “expert” when the drop box issue first came up

Read on…

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Shortly after the drop box issue emerged last year, a deputy in LaRose’s office reached out to Hans von Spakovsky, a notorious supporter of voter suppression tactics, to seek his opinion

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propublica.org/article/before…

After that, LaRose began all of his shenanigans and lies to limit drop boxes.

Well, in recent months, we also have learned that von Spakovsky and his employer are advising many states around the country on how to suppress votes. Bragging about it!

propublica.org/article/before…

And wouldn’t you know it?

All of a sudden a bunch of other states (Georgia, Florida, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin)—are considering or adopting similar drop box bans and limitations.

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madison.com/news/local/gov…

It’s pretty clear that they all saw what happened with the absurd Ohio drop box limitation, and are working rapidly to replicate it—no doubt at the urging of Von Spakovsky, among others.

And to be clear, there were no issues w drop boxes in 2020….

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…except for the fact that they proved to be especially popular with voters of color who dramatically favored Biden over Trump.

So these limitations have zero legitimate justification. Among many laws, they are trying to change election outcomes.

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ajc.com/politics/drop-…

This is just one example I provide in my new book, Laboratories of Autocracy, about what’s happening—right now!—in states.

And why I call these states laboratories...

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amazon.com/Laboratories-A…

These states are constantly trying new techniques and tactics to undermine voters they don’t like.

They are learning from various states’ successes and failures.

Then they spread those lessons learned; and pass laws accordingly.

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amazon.com/Laboratories-A…

So even as Ohio considers permanently creating those traffic jams in that opening video (so bad that LaRose tried to justify firing someone due to them), other states were so impressed by that tactic that they’ve already moved forward to create them

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amazon.com/Laboratories-A…

It’s a textbook case study of these laboratories at work. But it’s far from an isolated one.

Bottom line: this is serious business. And if we don’t wake up to fight it, democracy will lose.

Take a look at the book if you can. Spread the word. Then get involved.

END