Voter suppression efforts do seem quite common in our country where staying in power matters more than democracy. I include gerrymandering in the list of dirty tricks although both sides, to be fair, practice it.
The right to vote should be the one issue that all citizens could come together and support. Yet it too has become a partisan divider. One reason why that happens is that Democrats who complain about voter suppression always start with the same issue--the necessity to present a valid ID before voting. However, most people think it sounds fairly reasonable to have to have an ID. We should lead our argument with things that most people can recognize as unfair. Not having enough polls in certain neighborhoods, restricting early voting, data bases that throw voters off the roles for spurious reasons, disenfranchising felons for the rest of their lives, requiring street addresses for people who either don't have numbers on their houses or don't have houses.
Conceding the ID issue would allow us to focus more on these real injustices. Besides, maybe voters really should be serious enough to get an ID. I know that's heresy, but let's try to find common ground.
2
Golly, I wonder if John Roberts has rethought his opinion that the Voting Rights Act is obsolete?
I mean, honestly, I wonder.
This is only the latest attempt to interfere with voting rights in the deep south, with Texas starting the current binge of suppression only hours after the court released its 2013 Shelby County, Roberts-authored, decision to gut the 1965 Act.
So, at any point in these five and a half years, has Mr. Roberts questioned himself about this? Does his decison echo in his own mind at all as an incompetent Georgia Secretary of State makes a deliberate attempt to disrupt votes for a black Democrat?
5
Too bad Kemp has to suppress votes to get elected. I guess his 'big truck to pick up illegals' isn't enough of a winning agenda.
5
Let's see. Brian Kemp, for presumably political reasons, wants an investigation of an allegation "without evidence."
First comment. Aren't investigations of allegations how one is supposed to find evidence?
Second comment. A politically convenient, unsubstantiated charge is given max publicity.
Either this article is an insult to my intelligence (comment 1), or Mr. Kemp is behaving like a Democratic Senator on the Judiciary Committee (comment 2). The latter is a very serious charge.
1
How is this instance of bald-faced lying and the contrary evidence that firmly rebuts it not among the top stories? This is a classic voter distortion and subterfuge by the Republicans, using a public office supposedly working for the benefit of all Georgians, but occupied in this instance by the very candidate whose election is at stake. This false accusation is greatly elevated above all too familiar campaign mud-slinging to abuse of office. The notification of the IT problems was made to a staffer in the public office, not the political campaign. That office is continuing to put out misleading statements. Has the Times become so inured to falsity that this isn't considered an important story? That too is shocking .
1
Brian Kemp should be investigated by the justice department for denying people their civil rights and abuse of office.
Add one more to the congressional investigation list.
4
Voting is part of our American heritage. So is voter disenfranchisement.
A pamphlet "What a Colored Man Should do to Vote" from the early 1900s outlines the restrictive voting regulations in 13 states for African Americans. It is still going on. It is our duty to vote. It is our duty to prevent voter suppression. https://wp.me/p2qifI-4nU
3
God help us if this lying cheater becomes our governor. As a GA voter, I have had think about the about the best way to make sure my straight D vote actually counts. Go with absentee, well they may have rejected your ballot if you signature isn't an exact match (hopefully this is not an issue thanks to the federal court order). Go in person, they could be screwing with the Diebold machines. Given these tactics and now these fake charges of Democrat hacking, it is even more critical that everyone comes out to vote blue to create a margin Kemp can't scam us out of.
3
The only "hack" in this story is Kemp.
3
If the facts prove to be as described in this article, Kemp and any aides active in this hoax, should be arrested and prosecuted, at least, for falsely reporting an incident.
2
If Kemp's claims are proven to be entirely fictional he should be impeached from the Sec. of State office. If he win the Governor's race he should be impeached from that office.
1
An old friend who now lives in Atlanta had to jump through hoops to meet the state “exact match” requirement as the third letter in his last name is a capital S, while his voter ID spelled it lower case.
Those 3rd generation Italian Americans are apparently wreaking havoc with Mr. Kemp’s vitally important rules for preventing voter fraud in the Peachtree State!
2
Efforts by many to parrot some equivalency are ill considered. This is a coordinated effort by the Republican Party to use illegal and unethical means to bend an election result. The Democrats have made many mistakes in the past and the national party apparatus in 2016 was, well deplorable. But, this year, in Georgia, according to the people I’m hearing from - it’s all on the GOP.
1
We have a similar situation here in Kansas with Kris Kobach running for governor as secretary of state. Kobach, too, has presided over an office full of suppressive tactics and just plain mistakes. That State of Kansas has dumped quantities of personal information on all of us in the state.
I wondered whether or not our vote was being zealously guarded when Kobach's opponent lost by a handful of votes. At this point, it is hard to put anything past the Republicans in general and Kobach in particular. There was talk some years ago that the makers of the voting machines are Republican and that the machines are hackable.
Even before the current batch of Republicans who have shown they have no compunction cheating to win, I was worried about the integrity of my vote. The solution I have landed upon is to request and complete a paper ballot. Voting stations here in Kansas and I would suppose elsewhere, allow paper ballots. Using paper removes one layer of issue in voting integrity.
When people at the polling places act like you're weird for requesting a paper ballot, do it anyway. It is the only way to really be sure that your vote will be counted. I want that piece of paper there to show my vote if there is a problem later.
And please, people of good will, vote. Your vote could the be the one that makes all the difference in a close election.
2
We're going to find out what direction our country's going in by 11PM this evening.
My hope is the map will add more blue. My grave fear is it'll add more red.
If the Dems can mobilize the vote - especially the millennials, who turn out in pathetically low numbers but moan about the woes befalling our nation - then we can proceed to steer the country away from the dictatorship the GOP's aiding/abetting in.
If not then fear will have won.
Brian Kemp is extremely frightened that he may not win the election .
Because he is scared, he in making a false claim about Democratic hacking to confuse voters..
Just look at Kemp's "stellar" record on voting rights and voter suppression.
10
Where is Molly Ivins when we need her?
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/opinion/02krugman.html
8
Quite a number of politicians are inclined to embrace the tenets of pecksniffian, and sometimes persnickety persuasions. Prevarication can be another path, a whole host of election fighters can resort to, and Brian Kemp is in the very thick of performing ''kabuki dances'' in his latest pursuit of Machiavellian methods to divert the attention of the voters.
Whether Brian is hell-bent on casting aspersions on his opponent's sincerity or not, remains to be seen, But many might perceive it a Hail Mary pass. With the poll numbers between those almost tied, the unprecedented voting numbers may narrate a different story. Or not.
Voter suppression for about 53,000 in GA, has been another ploy, employed, conceivably by Kemp, and, it can be another scoring point for the Dems. Whether all these will translate into votes in favor of the Dems, is anybody's guess. It will be known day after tomorrow, or tomorrow night, perchance, won't it?
3
@Vernon
pppppppoof! Well done, you.
Reporters need to demand a response from the Georgia Attorney General. Has he told Kemp to give him everything he has? Does he think there is any evidence of a possible crime? Has he launched an investigation? If not, why not?
9
Kemp belongs in prison.
16
I agree with some writers’ comparison of the US to a banana republic, but disagree with applying it to the entire country. My state of Washington seems to have only minor challenges compared to what is routine in states led by Republicans. It’s easy and secure to register, and voting is easy - by mail. Vote suppression is unheard of and we have no voter fraud problem.
In neighboring Oregon, if you are a citizen you are automatically registered when you get your driver’s license.
Blue states seem to get the concept of democracy.
In contrast, the banana republic characterization applies fully to the red states where GOP leaders, to stay in power, have to cheat.
12
Republicans will stop at nothing to win. The moral decay in the GOP has the stench of rotting flesh.
13
The never-ending Republican search for election fraud is like OJ's quest to find the real killer.
14
When things look very very bad, they are usually not that bad.
The same is true when things look very very good.
This is PERSPECTIVE (The capacity to view things in their true relations)
With Trump as president, most people are upset but they remain decent.They don't approve of the way he carries on as president. Most Americans feel this way about Trump.
Because of this, the Democrat party will do better than expected on Tuesday November 6th.
The psychology is the same as the financial markets. When things look very dark and the people are unsure, THAT is the time to Buy DEMOCRAT Inc. Stock symbol D (for decent).
Most Americans are D (decent) and they will prevail.
M.W. Endres
2
Gosh, if Kemp has already had two security breaches on the state's voting system while he has been in charge of it, it doesn't seem like he has done a very good job. If he can't perform his current responsibilities well, why would voters want to hand him more?
37
@Tom Q Great point with a simple explanation: the GOP preys on the weak-minded and ratchets up the fear to the max... 40% of the country is without the ability to parse reality from, well. Trump Reality.
The distortion field that surrounds the Sociopath-in-Chief has enveloped the GOP. Fear of retribution and their narrow focus on the 1% makes it simple to keep these cowards in line.
Voting them out and impeaching Moron is the only way we ever save our country. We are alot closer to becoming Nazi Germany than at any point in the past 150 years.
5
Wouldn’t every pitcher love to be their own umpire?
15
@rs
Of course; just ask [Chief Justice] John Roberts.
3
I just donated to Stacey Abrams' campaign. Thanks for the "inspiration," Kemp.
11
Another Republican liar running for office, taking a tip from Trump on how to win...The only thing we can do to rid ourselves of this type politician is to vote him out.
5
Speaking of "without evidence", how's Russiagate coming?
(I didn't vote for DJT)
3
@Charles
hmmm ... when recusals and restraint happen, they don't come from the Trumpian "side" of things (despite your disclaimer). Democrats on the Supreme Court recuse, Republicans don't.
Fact is, Mueller is honoring the tradition of not publicizing the mounting evidence of criminality from Trump and his buddies until after Tuesday. That's how he runs, because he respects honor. (Note: he's a staunch Republican, but that is becoming a rarity where "winning" is all, no matter how much cheating, disenfranchisement, is required. Consider the school to prison pipeline, where "uppity" kids get a record and money is made as a bonus.)
5
@Charles I'm pretty sure you'll get some answers after the midterms.
2
After this election, officials need to take a good hard look at how Brian Kemp has abused his office for political gain. This cannot be acceptable to the people of Georgia.
11
Please, Georgia voters, don't give this man the governorship!
9
This latest accusation by the Kemp campaign is just another example of why the guy running for office should not be the guy in charge of the election. Kemp has been extremely inventive in finding new ways to suppress the Democratic vote. Now, increasingly desperate, he is turning to false accusations of hacking to bolster his election chances.
We should remember that back in 2016, Brian Kemp was the only Secretary of State to refuse help from Homeland Security to revamp state voter systems to resist hacking, claiming Georgia could not be hacked. Now, he's accusing the Democrats of doing just what he said could not be done -- it doesn't sound credible to me.
Let's also remember that when a lawsuit was filed in July of 2017 to examine Georgia's election servers for possible tampering in the 2016 election, those servers were mysteriously wiped clean. This also happened, incidentally, just after Karen Handel, Kemp's predecessor as Secretary of State, defeated Jon Ossoff in a suspiciously close Congressional special election in June, 2017.
Something is rotten in the state of Georgia. It has one of the worst, and most hackable, voting systems in the country. Kemp's office has called for the FBI to be brought in -- and they should be -- but not to investigate Democratic hacking. The FBI should instead impound the entire voting system and investigate Kemp for trying to fix his own election.
10
Kemp is probably attempting to legitimize a lie by complaining to the F.B.I. who will take a long time to investigate but has accomplished Kemp's goal of legitimizing an illegitimate lie.
Kemp most likely learned this trick when F.B.I. Director Comey purportedly threw the 2016 election to Trump with his Clinton investigation press conference just three days before the election.
2
The question to ask is "was there really a vulnerability in the registration database at all?" If there was, this should be a scandal about the incumbent's inability to protect the data. But if there was NOT a vulnerability, the question to ask is "why would a Democrat write to a Democrat saying that there was one?". It could easily be a false flag operation by the Republicans. After two years to prepare for further attacks on voter registration databases, the existence of a simple way to sidestep security should be a tremendous black eye for the incumbent Republicans.
So Kemp removes hundreds of thousands from the lists in his capacity as corrupt Secretary of State, in order to throw the election to himself as candidate, and of course, what does he do?
He says it's all his opponents fault.
Typical Republican sleaze: the best defense is a good offense.
Sadly, too many on their side aren't interested in real news, only in having their prejudices confirmed.
Result is bad for everyone, including Kemp's supporters. The destruction of fair voting is a short-term benefit, but corrupt and autocracy are not the answer, and they do not lead to solutions to real problems.
4
Pres. Carter apparently foresaw such shenanigans when he asked Kemp to recuse himself from overseeing this, his own election.
9
Kemp is the hack. He is again abusing his office, the Secretary of State. An office he should have recused himself from running when he became a canidate for governor. His desperation is all too obvious.
9
The actions of Kemp and other Deep South Republicans are no more or less than modern Jim Crow.
Back in the day it was poll taxes and tests, now it's "exact match" laws, bogus claims of voter fraud, closing polling places in minority neighborhoods and extreme gerrymandering.
Republicans know that if Democrats, African-Americans especially, are allowed to vote fairly, the GOP can't win. The need to cheat tells you everything you need to know about that party.
19
Mr. Wright describes a vulnerability, the disclosure of which is standard operating procedure (and arguably the responsibility) for anyone who is aware of the existence of same. There is no hack. The only hack is Mr. Kemp.
8
This is most definitely a baseless attack to sully his Democratic opponent. We desperately need a way to hold the perpetrators accountable for these kinds of tactics. My hope is that honest and free thinking Republicans will see this for what it is and vote accordingly.
If anything about the Trump presidency could be remotely considered good; it's that it has spotlighted a glaring problem. It is expected that politicians will spin. But it seems like we have very few ways to combat the barrage of lies that come from this administration every day. And it has shown that a significant portion of our electorate would rather believe an outrageous lie than admit they were wrong.
This is why education and diversity are so important. The more people are exposed to those different from them, the more likely they will be seen as fellow human beings. And education that strengthens critical thinking skills will ensure that cult leaders like Trump will be less effective.
5
The Georgia Gubernatorial election is the political barometer of the USA. Two candidates on opposite sides of the political spectrum, diversity vs the status quo, rural vs urban, one candidate, openly nativist, totally corrupt and specializes in
fear mongering and race-baiting while the other offers hope, education and health care reform and accessibility (I'll let you guess who is who).
If Kemp wins, there is no hope.
8
US is not better than a banana republic, where a candidate for major office is allowed to conduct that election as he pleases. So much for the American exceptionalism!!!
9
The real winner in Georgia is Putin. This is exactly the kind of mistrust he is spreading. If we can't trust our elections, chaos will be the ultimate result.
2
A classic move from the Trump playbook- accuse your opponent of the exact thing that you are doing! In Kemp's case, massive voter suppression. The post-Reconstruction Jim Crow era has returned, via a revived Confederacy, and brought to you by Donald Trump.
6
Just look at the difference in tone in this article versus ones on Russian hacking. This article is entirely skeptical, written from the point of view that the claim is presumed to be false absent evidence provided in the public domain. The first 4 paragraphs illuminate nothing about the allegation; only Democrat talking points (like the loaded term "bogus"). And details a separate court ruling on voting records.
The headline was even changed from "no evidence" to "scant evidence".
What is even being alleged about hacking? It's buried.
And Democrats called the claim "bogus"--why? How?
This article turns what should have been a report about hacking to a general discussion of unrelated voter suppression allegations in GA.
Is that objective reporting?
1
@Mmmmm
There is nothing to illuminate. Pls re-read the article. An individual highlighted a software vulnerability. It is a vulnerability that has existed, and known publicly for years. He shared his observation of that vulnerability with a volunteer for the Democrat party. No one hacked anything.
1
We need to hit a reset button. How or why was Kemp ever allowed to legislate a single thing that affects an election in which HE is running? This is why so many of us (and so many foreign countries) look on in disbelief about what is happening to this country. The flagrant wrongdoing has reached insane heights (depths).
That this needs to be highlighted is the problem. Who sat down, looked at the two candidates, realized one of them had the power to fix his own election by putting up hurdle after hurdle and signed off on that?
The story of this election is not the election. It's the skulduggery, dirty tricks, and suppression of votes. I have another question, and cannot overstate how sincerely I mean it: Who can possibly feel good about "winning" if it involves stooping to lows like the ones Kemp deploys and fixing an election?
I get that we no longer have any accountability at any level in our government. That's been clear for two years,and for decades within the GOP. But is there seriously not an ounce of self-respect in these candidates? How can Kemp face himself?
The clear answer for the country is that we should not have to be saddled with yet another candidate who embraces an "anything goes if it goes my way" attitude. It's that brand of narcissism that's destroying us.
3
I won't pretend to have some inside knowledge of what did or did not happen, but even the way news organizations must talk about it presents the problem Kemp and conservatives don't want to acknowledge.
This morning, in an effort to be FAIR to Kemp, CNN had to take pains to say (paraphrasing), "it is important here that we distinguish the official statements of the AG with the comments about this matter being issued by the Kemp as a candidate."
Query: H-O-W? No sarcasm here, I'm really asking.
Even if someone were well and truly dedicated to absolute neutrality, how do we separate the same person into two distinct political entities with conflicting interests? "Candidate Kemp" has outright accused his political opponents of attempting to rig the election through hacking. With that message out there, are we to believe that "Attorney General Kemp" is reserving judgment or disinterested?
For crying out loud, Mueller is supposedly "conflicted" as to Trump over things like golf fee disputes and he's barely said anything to anyone about his views on the Trump's culpability for anything! There would be understandable mass protests if Mueller, while investigating Trump, also happened to be running for president against him.
People like Kemp and Trump are seduced by the idea of controlling the levers of law enforcement, but they need to learn to STEP BACK when they have a personal interest in the outcome of an investigation. How many times must this issue be raised?
5
"more than 50,000 voters were stuck in a “pending’’ status because their registration forms did not precisely match personal information on government databases — under a system that can flag voters simply because of a missing hyphen. Nearly 70 percent of the registrants were African-American, the news agency found"
Now, let's report the whole story. Of the 50K (reported in ATL as 53K), 90% were registered by New Georgia, a non-profit started by Stacy Abrams. 90%! It would seem the volunteers working for Stacy were a bit overzealous and filled in the forms incorrectly, name, addresses, or both. As far as the judge is concerned, yes she said that 'exact match' was burdensome. Not sure why that would be, but nothing changed anyway. This was a Dem stunt to take it to court and the outcome was the same - anyone can vote whether on the pending list or not, as long as they have an ID. That was the same as before the Dems wasted our tax dollars in a frivolous suit(s). I will still vote for some Dems, but this stunt and the national misinformed news outlets (well, they are not misinformed, they just misinform the readers), it unwelcome and divisive.
I'd call this NO evidence. Not scant evidence. Reference to an email without producing the actual email is not evidence. It's a statement. A declaration. Imagine the weight of that in a court of law! My guess is that the totality of the email -- if it exists at all -- suggests that Ms. Small was raising the alarm to Ms. Ghazal. As in, "oh, no, the voter registration files are hackable ... are you aware of this?" The NYT can do better.
2
With all hysterical cheating - if Kemp doesn't "win" he'll go down as the biggest loser of all time.
1
Scant evidence? There is no evidence. This headline should be changed.
4
Brian Kemp's office accusing Democrats of cheating on the elections? -- that's rich.
Especially when taking into consideration that Brian Kemp is the Secretary of State of Georgia whose office is in charge of processing voter registrations and it has recently, and repeatedly been accused of not doing so.
Brian Kemp is also the one who refused to heed calls to recuse himself from this office during his campaign because it's such an obvious conflict of interest.
He hasn't.
Fox in the hen-house, anyone?
38
All things aside Mr Kemp should certainly have recused himself from overseeing the election or the recount if needed just because of the optics. Mr Kemp’s ad on preexisting conditions was also not clear. Saying he was being being misunderstood by Democrats did not clear up the fact that Georgia is one of the states suing the Feds over Obama care in which if successful preexisting conditions would be out the door or subject to rate increases. Mr Kemp did not address either the suit or any new mechanism being proposed to guarantee Georgians coverage with no increases for pre existing conditions. His stance on Medicaid expansion was simply one of economics despite Federal contributions. He didn’t really explain his opposition and one is left with the idea he really has no ideas other than the status quo. Too bad, Republicans have been ill served.
7
If Dems get outflanked by Reps again tomorrow because they are outflanked over things like "the caravan," they will have only themselves to blame.
It's a simple counter-message: the Republicans are in charge, and they are responsible for failures on their watch.
1
@Dan88
The situation of the gubernatorial election in Georgia is anything but simple, or an example of the Abrams campaign being "outflanked over things like 'the caravan.'" What you write will reflect better on yourself if first you inform yourself beyond a simplistic and generalizing talking point.
Hopefully Kemp will be rewarded with defeat on election day for his brazenly anti-American attempts at voter suppression and intimidation.
3
Kemp is corrupt, no doubt about it! That he has control over voting rights in Georgia is outrageous and immoral and anti-democratic, in other words, against America and its Bill of Rights all the while he is a candidate for the state's highest office, which means much power over all Georgians!!! How people, who think they have integrity, can vote for such depravity is beyond human imagination.
12
Finally, ONE day left...
Then the 2020 election campaign can start in earnest. ('Earnest' not to be taken literally.)
Perpetual campaign mud-slinging, accompanied by perpetual war.
2
Voting should be as easy as paying your taxes. In fact, since "No taxation without representation" was a battle cry of our revolution, whatever is necessary id for me to pay taxes should be all that is required for me to vote.
6
@MJM Absolutely.
This is 2018 and the regression of voting rights in this country is a national disgrace, all generated by the Republican Party. The same individuals who claim to be Patriots, create an uproar over kneeling during the National Anthem are systematically shredding Democracy.
It is difficult to fathom anyone casting a vote for Kemp under any circumstances. The venom directed towards Tracey Abrams is exacerbated due to her race and sex.
In a sane world Kemp would not be sharing a stage with a President. Abrams and Obama together restored my faith in humanity.
5
Banana republic.
2
A time-tested Karl Rove technique. Rove even had a pet FBI agent who would handle the announcements of investigations just before Election Day. Of course, that was the last anyone heard of the "investigation."
8
Based on reporting by MSNBC Kemp was the only Secretary of State who refused to act to take steps to mitigate foreign hacking when warned by US intelligence services of the widespread and continuing Russian attempt to undermine the US election process. The fact that he NOW asserts on the eve of an election he is both running in and supervising partisan election hacking without a shred of proof just points to both his hypocrisy and venality.
15
Kemp's announcement is like the boy who cried "wolf". Only in Georgia it is the wolf who is in charge of the Secretary of State's office making wolf-like mischief. As an outsider I hope that Ms Abrams wins in a landslide and shows this Republican monkey that Georgia is no longer where it used to be and political hacks like Trump and Kemp are unwelcome there.
8
@RLW Good luck...I have a feeling your hope is in very tenuous territory, STILL.
1
Kemp is trying to keep people from voting and now he comes up with this bogus nonsense. The Republicans new motto should be "If you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin'."
14
Trump has not only brought racism out into the open he has brought corruption out in to the open on an unprecedented scale. Vote them out, every single one of them.
8
If Kemp wins this election while simultaneously supervising elections in GA, I look forward to NFL games where one team is allowed to make all the refereeing calls.
8
Since when is it wrong to accuse someone without evidence? Certainly not during the Kavanaugh hearings. His accusers lacked even the “scant” evidence you noted in your headline.
1
Except for a massive amount of circumstantial evidence and character reference given by people who knew him across his high school and university days that was entirely in keeping with the things he was accused of...
1
The Republicans appear to have a manual they distribute to candidates on how to go about "winning" an election when it appears that their usual efforts are going downhill. First you call the opposition incompetent despite his/her record. Then you hint at cheating despite there being no evidence. Finally, you can always allege a hack to the system since most voters don't understand how all of the technology works.
However, if your side should be lucky enough to win, then you dismiss any similar complaints leveled against you by the other side to be a "total witch hunt."
We've all seen this movie. The sequel isn't playing so well.
5
Thanks for getting to the headline in the last three short paragraphs. And that headline is “searching for troubling weakness in the system”...aka hacking.
Where are tenacious, combative journalists in this? Why aren't they dogging his every step with microphones, cameras, and aggressive questioning, and then bombarding viewers with the video? Why aren't they camped out at the doors of his home, office, and campaign headquarters? Kemp has been proudly suppressing the votes of people most likely to vote for Abrams, and doing it with impunity. If we had the aggressive, tenacious, combative journalism we need, he wouldn't have such an easy time getting away with it.
5
@Patty Quinn Many of our Atlanta journalists are bordering on complicit I’m sad to say. Certainly those with the AJC have shown a lack tenacity with all things regarding Kemp.
Kemp is a poster boy for all that is disgusting about the Republican party. Cheating, racism, lies, and abuse of power to steal this election are his tools. The voters of Georgia should realize that if a person with this pedigree is in charge of their State, they will suffer mightily. because his skulduggery will not end with this election. I hope they will come to their senses, and not elect this corrupt individual to their highest office.
9
There's at least as much chance of this as that Russia determined the outcome of the last election
2
Voter suppression: The cancer of America.
Kemp is a new low for the Republicans.
7
@rosa No I disagree...Kemp is among equals and Trump has emboldened them all....last time it was the outrageous lies of the Tea Party.
2
Well isn't that timely and convenient. Do republicans ever run on merit?
6
Lying and false narratives by Trump?
Perhaps the biggest lie of all is "Russian collusion" still being promulgated in spite lack of evidence...by the left.
Come on, Times headline writer...there is not “scant” evidence. There is NO evidence.
6
Just another of Kemp's tactics. Look at what he has done to date. Nothing but playing dirty.
2
This is staright out of Trump's playbook.
Cry foul against your opponent because you're losing and if you DO lose, you've got an automatic excuse and can possibly reverse, or at muddy, the results and cause a "recount" as in 2000 where they can further manipulate the results.
How is it even legal that he's running in this race while supervising this race? It boggles the mind.
We need major election reform and an increased focus on election security, along with an easier way to vote and many more polling places. Plus, declaring election days a holiday so it makes it that much easier to exercise your right as a citizen.
Sigh. Just add these to the already-lengthy list of things to be fixed around here to make sure our democracy is sound and true.
24
"... with scant evidence,... Democrats were under investigation for allegedly trying to hack the state’s voter registration files." And yet when we have proof the Russians actually hacked our democracy in favor of the Republicans, they run for cover and obstruct any investigation.
Given Kemp's insider position and access to the voting records, he's the one actively hacking away at Democratic voter registration files like the "exact match" and "pending" fraud he is trying to impose on those he intend to rule over.
Fact is the Republicans can't win an election fairly, without abuse of their one-party-rule, lying, cheating, stealing and colluding with foreigners like Putin, Netanyahu, MBS and Murdoch.
Indeed, all those Democratic candidates polling even or a few points ahead, the Republicans are likely to win because of Republican vote theft shenanigans. Polls don't factor in cheating, do they?
12
I would like to hear what the staffer actually did. Penetration testing, for example, isn’t equivalent to hacking with malicious intent. And properly configured servers would have logs to record activity. Although I would concede that if a partisan body is doing penetration testing of neutral government servers, it’s probably ill-advised for optical reasons.
4
BTW, President Trump is being investigated for colluding with Russia during 2016 Presidential Election.
The so called “Russia Investigation” about Russian meddling in 2016 election is a hoax conjured up by the Democrats. Can anyone answer my questions?
- How did the Russians tamper with voting machines?
- How did the Russians tamper with the Electoral College?
The investigation was ginned-up by the outgoing Obama Administration/Clinton Campaign! The real collusion story of the 2016 election was the way that the Obama administration put the law enforcement and intelligence arms of the administration in the service of the Clinton campaign.
1
@Sam Freeman - you apparently missed the news that Russia operatives were busy online running fake websites and fake information against Trump opponents, and 21 states, including your own State of California, were notified by the Dept. of Homeland Security of hacking attempts against their election system; there was an actual breach in Illinois ~ and yes, this was a breach! So don't assume this was "ginned up" by opponents because this was reported back in the fall of 2017, when Trump was already in office. What's fake is the amount of voter fraud in this country, a number so negligible as to accomplish nothing for no one.
2
@Sam Freeman
Your partisan views are overshadowing your possibly commitment to fair elections. My one close Trump supporting friend admits that it is important to understand any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, Russian money, Russian front organizations, including trolling and creating false identities on social media. He also readily agrees that any administration would have investigated and that Obama showed great restraint in not announcing more of the existing evidence of Trump campaigners inappropriately, and possibly illegally, conspiring with some Russians, and their online social media influence operation—which could be connected. Too bad you aren’t interested in protecting electoral democracy as much as whining about how those in power protect their own.
2
Last desperate move of a completely amoral politician. The Georgia electorate are much too sophisticated to believe this ploy.
9
The headline for this article should say:
Kemp Blantantly Lies - Again - in Last Minute Desperate Effort to Fool Georgians.
Stop using euphemisms.
21
Filing a false report with the FBI is a crime.
14
Of course Kemp is panicking, just compare campaign ads. Kemp's consist of platitudes from his family & 1 individual he is credited with helping get a kidney. Nothing on what he will do other than broad Trumpian swipes at immigrants - taxes & jobs. Abrams is positive messaging pertaining to policy & actions work to improve life for all Georgians. Who will do the best for the 99% - a guy with a BS in agriculture or a woman who put herself through college & Yale law. Go Vote - I have!!
24
Scant evidence? Kind of like the scant evidence against Kavanaugh? But there the liberals demanded a full FBI investigation, why not here?
3
@DJ, based on what? I don't suppose you see any conflict of interest on the part of Mr. Kemp, who is both overseeing the election and is a candidate as well? You're worried about a ragged band of poor migrants 700 miles away while you ignore the integrity of our political system right under your nose?
7
Oh how many times must we fight the Civil War all over again?
This is anot,her an example of the "old South" insisting people of color are some how "less than" and do not deserve the same rights as white folks.
Deep, deep deep runs the injustice and the reason the Civil War was fought. We must root out this inequality and work harder to bring our country into equity for all Americans.
14
@mouseone Lest we forget, in the "New South," people of color (especially women), young urbanites, and white, educated urban and suburban women (and a smaller number of white, educated men) of all ages, altogether comprise a coalition who have elected and will continue to elect leaders and representatives of color who represent our diverse populations.
Pernicious racism is a problem in our entire country, not simply in the South, where there are currently two black major party candidates whom - barring ceaseless Republican cheating attempts - we plan to be addressing as "Governor" day after tomorrow.
I'm with you: it is well past time to stop fighting the Civil War, whether via potshots in print from Maine, or by cheating via gerrymandering and other forms of voter suppression, or ballot box tampering, as in Georgia and many other states, Southern and not. Racial inequality must be rooted out in every state and every institution of our Union.
Most Georgians believe that electing a Governor Stacy Abrams is a major step towards addressing inequality in a diverse state rapidly becoming "majority minority." We are more what democracy looks like than the small crowds of fearful and angry, sub-employed, mostly white Americans who hang on every lying, rabble-rousing word of men like Kemp and Trump, who use their desperation to gin up fictions of old enemies and new foreign devils at the door.
1
Yeah...just like Pres.Trump was "crazy" when he said his campaign was surveilled by the Obama Swamp..."with no evidence"...we saw how that went, didn't we?
@Anthony
Yes, those of us who are not ignorant understand that the President's accusations we're simply lies.
4
"Scant evidence"? The headline should read
"no evidence whatsoever". The Kemp campaign has provided no evidence of an attempted hack. Words matter. False accusations should not be given credibility by inaccurate reporting.
17
Brian Kemp is a common criminal. The Good People of Georgia must file a massive civil suit against his abuse of power.
This must not stand in OUR United States of America.
Not now. Not ever.
23
It would help all of us if media, like the New York Times, would come out strongly against this kind of dishonest and divisive tactic. I listened to an expert on voting hacking last night who said that Georgia's irregularities stem from its own poor election security--not hacking by the Democrats. Republicans get away with lying because too many in the media let them--this outlet included. If Kemp manages to win because of this little game--pat yourselves on the back because you helped.
10
@Meg
Did you read the headline?
"Brian Kemp’s Office, Without Citing Evidence, Investigates Georgia Democrats Over Alleged ‘Hack’"
How is the NYT helping Kemp to win exactly?
It's up to the media to identify issues. It's up to US to fix the problem.
8
@Louis Smith
"It's up to the media" to accurately describe the situation. "Kemp Lies to Manipulate Election" is accurate, the current headline is not.
2
@Meg
"Republicans get away with lying because too many in the media let them--this outlet included."
I totally agree. There has been little effort by media to strongly denounce Mr. Kemp for his sleazy tactics. I don't remember seeing any Editorial page or a full-page discussion on this extraordinary abuse of power. It is as if the media has an incentive in keeping this kind of sleaze going on, so they can report on it and sell newspapers.
This is a good race to watch. It could give everyone an appreciation of the state of US democracy. If Mr. Kemp wins this election, by abusing his power as Secretary of State and making a series of false allegations, then we know the Republicans have succeeded in burying the US democracy deep in the Washington swamp.
And could someone please educate those of us who are bewildered why there are no conflict-of-interest laws in the state of Georgia to stop Mr. Kemp from abusing his position as the Secretary of State in this election.
18
@Eddie B. No, we won’t know that if he wins. The DRE machines are completely hackable and there are no paper receipts to audit the results. That is why so many in GA decided to vote via absentee ballots. Then we learned these ballots can be rejected under “exact match”. We’ve had to weigh the lesser of the evils. The first days of early voting on the DRE machines brought forth many reports of “slippage”, ie. a vote for Abrams recorded as Kemp. The explanation for that was the machines are old and not correctly calibrating. So, a Kemp win will not really tell us anything. That includes who won.
Thanks for the opinions everyone. Its troubling and telling how many of them are coming from folks who have never lived, much less actually voted in Georgia. I have voted in every election for the last 30 years. I voted last week in this one.
Despite what I read in The Times (and the publication's obvious stake in stirring people up and the outcome of the election) it was a hassle free, streamlined process. I showed my drivers license, signed a paper that said I was who I claimed to be and was given my card to go directly to the ballot box. My wife doesn't drive so she showed another government issued ID. The entire process took 15 minutes. Thanks to the volunteers, all people of color, who whisk us through.
2
@BrickHouse
That's nice, but what do you think about your State's well-documented attempts to disenfranchise your fellow citizens?
@BrickHouse by "us" do you mean white people?
@BrickHouse well I do live in GA and have voted in every election for 30 years. There are serious and significant issues. How fortunate for you that you haven’t experienced them first hand (that you know of).
After 2016, proof of hacking, meddling , and undermining our democracy is irrelevant.
P.S. Has anybody found those Florida missing votes from 2000 yet?
3
"“This was a 4th quarter Hail Mary pass that was intercepted in the end zone,” he said. “Thanks to the systems and protocols established by Secretary of State Brian Kemp, no personal information was breached. These power-hungry radicals should be held accountable for their criminal behavior.”"
This is hilarious.
9
@BettyK
Exactly. The only "power-hungry radicals" in this case are the anti-American members of the Georgia Republican Party who are trying to steal this election.
2
There should be a "Truth in Campaigning" law. Politicians have a duty to campaign on real substantive issues and explain why their views and methods are better. Voters must hold those who would lie and obfuscate accountable.
10
Given Mr. Kemp's repeated efforts to cheat I hope Mrs. Abrams wins the election clearly and decisively. No excuse for this guy's tactics and dog whistling.
17
Brian Kemp of Georgia is totally without ethics or honor. He is a disgrace to the office of Secretary of State. Whether or not he's elected Governor, the first order of business should be to initiate a Justice Department investigation of Kemp for election fraud in the 2018 midterm election.
Election fraud is conduct intended to corrupt:
* The process by which ballots are obtained, marked or tabulated,
* The process by which election results are canvassed and certified, or
* The process by which voters are registered. (Sound familiar?)
9
Kemp should have recused himself from the Secretary of State position since he's a candidate. There's clearly a conflict of interest.
In his desperation to win, he's attempted to disenfranchise minority voters, and when the court ordered him to cease he had to come up with another dastardly plot to stop them.
This is such an obvious abuse of power and Kemp is transparent in his corrupt intent. He's been reading the Trump playbook.
13
Bottom line is, if Mr. Kemp had any integrity, he would have recused himself from election supervision while running for Governor.
14
A little bit more context for: “His office has overseen legal purges of more than 2 million inactive voters from the rolls since 2012.”
Over the course of the last few years Kemp has sent out postcards to many people - the vast majority democrats - who didn’t vote in two consecutive elections. The postcard requires the receiver to contact the state verifying that they still lived there. Otherwise that voter would be taken off the voter rolls without additional notice. The postcards seem to be intentionally designed to look like junk mail.
Since that program began, roughly 550,000 people have been taken off the voter rolls. Of those, according to the reporter Greg Palast, who’s currently suing the state, about 370,000 of those are people who still live in their same house and should still be active voters. They just missed this one piece of junk mail. When they head to the polls, they’ll likely think they’re still registered, be given a provisional ballot and never know their vote didn’t count. Of all of the suppression happening in Georgia, the “legal purges” scare me the most.
11
If there was an attempted hack, there would be logs and other forensic evidence. Without that, there would be no case.
Is the person who noted the vulnerabilities a security researcher ? If they are, they should not be testing production systems.
The bottom line is "show me the evidence".
8
Kemp is a poisonous piece of work who is shamelessly trying to rig the election with every tool in his office, from voter suppression to false charges of Democratic "rigging." A man running the election should not be running in it. But he is simply taking his cue from Trump, the least qualified president in the history of our country who now claims that Stacy Abrams is "unqualified" to be the governor of Georgia. Since she graduated from Yale law school like Brett Kavanaugh, does that mean Kavanaugh is unqualified to sit on the Supreme Court?
24
Brian Kemp is now acting in contempt of a court order and should be criminally prosecuted for his cynical abuse of his office and for bringing false charges. Yes, have the FBI investigate, and throw Kemp in jail when he's convicted.
25
There's only one problem with the "allegations will sort themselves out" attitude. When they ARE, it's almost always AFTER the election. We've seen this form of voter suppression for least 20 years. People removed from voter lists for 'investigation' only to be put back on after the election is over. Those people should still be allowed to vote in the election in question despite it being technically 'over' (and don't give me that their rights were restored, and they can vote in the next election, because the same tactic can be repeated again), and if their voting overturns the previous election result - too bad; the party doing the purging shouldn't have tried cheating in the first place. There will be those who will suggest that provisional ballots are the answer; sure - except there's no legal requirement for provisional ballots to be counted at any time, not to mention that proving they weren't is effectively impossible. Any restoration of voting rights when they were temporarily removed should be retroactive, even if it upsets all the legislative work of the supposed previous winner.
10
Whenever I read these articles of “no evidence” and this newspapers apparent desire that all matters be supported by witnesses and data and certainty I am reminded of the deafening silence of the Times when Harry Reid stood day after day and concocted a story that Romney never paid income taxes.
Totally disgusting, and who knows if Kemp's behaviour is illegal.
Hopefully, the courts will decide, albeit it will be too late.
Oh wait, Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court.
8
Does Kemp really believe voters are THAT stupid?
I’m not talking ignorant, I’m talking moronic, room-temp IQ, complete fools.
I admit I don’t know Georgia election procedure. But the simple mechanics of running an election tell me the voter roll books were printed or the cards loaded into books weeks, if not months ago, secured break-24-hours ago and with counting/voting machines, and locked up at each voting location.
Unless the state’s leaders have been so foolish as to use some mythical live-on-Internet roll books, the only Election Day “hacking”, actually a desperation kluge allegedly used by the GOP in urban areas of Florida and a few other places where new inexperienced voters are located, is the robo-call “Your polling place has been moved” routine,, also usable on highly-localizable “social media” or straight e-mail if there’s enough money to secure e-addresses sorted by physical addresses to precinct level and in some ares, that means the north side of a street is in the 54th, the sourth in the 147th.
Thar means buying the most expensive lists available, and programming a robo-caller to inject a proper-looking spoofed number so it looks good, but nobody’s going to call it back and call the Elections Board with info track it.
But Kemp said, without presenting a bit of evidence, thar it was the rolls actively being attacked as he spoke - something anyone who’s voted before KNOWS is impossible.
7
Georgians have been telling Mr. Kemp all along that our voter information and even our voting records are at risk. What has he done to respond other than complain about it a few days prior to the election?
13
@Laurie Black what he’s done is scoff and ridicule and point fingers everywhere else. Now he wants his accusation investigated?! I think he’s really stepped in it this time. Who will wipe the servers for him this time?
Brian Kemp is as corrupt as they come, and a majority of Georgia voters appear to recognize this. It started with his conflict of interest when he did not resign as Secretary of State to run for Governor. There should be a law against such conflicts, but lacking that, an honorable candidate would have done the right thing. The same goes for Chris Kobach in Kansas
30
We are witnessing a complete disintegration of our ideals and values. Ironically, leading the charge is the party that continues to portray itself as the sole protector of our nation's legacy.
That so many elected officials so brazenly accept whatever means possible to achieve their ends is worrisome, regardless of which side of the aisle is responsible.
The Republican party, with Senator McConnell leading the way, later joined by President Trump, has done more to undermine, weaken and compromise our integrity and democratic systems than any foreign power.
The campaigns in Georgia and Kansas, with their ham-handed efforts to disenfranchise voters is but a speck in the arsenal of evil deeds propigated by the modern Republican Party.
28
I hope the first thing Stacy Abrams does after expanding Medicaid is to ensure that those running for office must hand over their duties to a non partisan manager through the election
Medicaid expansion should have been the democratic rallying cry since 2010. How people waiting in line for medical pop up clinics can despair about fake racist issues is beyond my comprehension.
33
Shameless and without scruples says it for me.
12
To paraphrase, "Mr. Kemp, have you no shame?"
13
Please change your headline for accuracy: After Democrats warn Georgia of voting machine irregularities, Kemp baselessly and falsely accuses Dems of causing the problem.
42
@Jan excellent point!!!
2
Right from the Trump playbook. If our modern day George Wallace Kemp loses, he’ll take another misdirection play from that book: “It was rigged!”
16
The only real "hack" is Brian Kemp who has taken illegal Jim Crow era voter suppression to a new low. A man who breaks the law cannot be trusted to make the law.
22
Along with gang members, middle eastern terrorists, assorted bad dudes, the carnival also has mixed in an expert group of hackers--probably from China---, who, as we vote, are stopping by the roadside and hacking into the Georgia election.
8
Will Republicans never run out of ways to suppress voting?
25
Sensing he is about to be defeated, a man of high character would say, “I did the best I could, but the voters chose my opponent.”
A man of high character would have the courage to accept defeat graciously.
A man of high character would not resort to what Steve Martin once called “lies and made-up facts.”
Mr. Kemp is clearly not a man of high character. The people of the great state of Georgia deserve better. And it looks as though they’re about to get it.
28
My God....
Kemp is beyond desperate.
He's tried to block 51,000 voters from the polls, using the questionable "gee, your ID and your voter registration are not 1000% identical (as in your middle name is in full on one, and your middle initial is used in the other).
Now he comes up with this pathetic, weak, and frankly childish claim?
Cowardice = Kemp.
32
Tis is right from Trump's play book - scream voter fraud and rigged election before the election. I agree with hi. He is the Fraud and he is the rigger. In Georgia, scream that Democrats hacked and investigate the hacking done by GOP operatives.
5
First the Times said there was NO evidence. Now the Times says there is SCANT evidence.
That means there IS evidence and so probable cause to investigate.
Besides, as progressives love to say, you have to act on risk of harm and not wait for final proof of harm.
@Frank
You read this incorrectly.
It is Kemp and the Republican party who "cited scant evidence"-- that does not MEAN that there is "scant evidence". It means that they cited very flimsy evidence, of which there is no evidence at all.
Citing evidence does not mean it exists.
5
@Frank
If there is evidence, then Kemp needs to show it. Since Kemp has a record of making false claims of computer hacking, it is incumbent on him tio show that this is not simply another "chicken little" accusation!
1
@EW The Times has already changed its headline on this piece at least 3 times.
BTW, since you brought up flimsy evidence or no evidence at all, how are those false gang rape allegations against Justice Kavanaugh working out for you all?
Sounds like the Republicans are projecting again. The GOP has done more to undermine voting rights in this country than the Democrats have by leaps and bounds. Specious attempts at false equivalency should be countered at every turn. Here we see the GOP inventing yet another fictional conspiracy theory accusing Democrats of doing exactly what they themselves are doing all across this country; undermining our democracy. The GOP is actively gerrymandering, engaging in systematic voter suppression, leaving voting systems vulnerable to attacks by bad actors, and deliberately undermining our Democracy with the sole purpose of establishing one-party rule in the United States of America. The GOP have proven themselves to be lawless charlatans who care only for their rich benefactors and have no regard for our Democracy whatsoever. Tomorrow is election day. Vote. Them. Out. Every. Single. One.
29
Stone cold corruption right out in the open and the "Law and Order" party cheers it on.
16
"Mr. Kemp is a staunch supporter of President Trump, and appeared with him at a rally Sunday in Macon, Ga. In brief remarks before and during the rally, Mr. Kemp made no reference to the investigation. Mr. Trump, who has made numerous baseless claims of voter fraud in the past, spoke at length about voting issues, but did not mention the probe" ... Hatched out of the Drumpf Playbook at the rally? "The announcement by the secretary of state’s office was a distinctly odd one"... Hmmmm. Ya think?
9
Kemp who as secretary of state should be over seeing that the elections are safe has failed to do his job.
Now to blame the problem on the Democrats is just the thing that Trump would do. Instead of looking at a group that would make it seem like the Democrats are doing it (the Russians) he makes unproven statements just to stir trouble.
The people of Georgia deserve better then Kemp.
14
American soldiers have given their lives to protect our right to vote. Instead of honoring their sacrifice the Republican party spit's on it by doing everything possible to prevent people from voting.
26
Poor Brien Kemp. With the help of his in-laws, he assumed that he had a free ride to the Governors office. They enabled him to become the appointed Secretary of State. Believing he was "exceptional" he rode along thinking it would be a piece of cake to take the Governor's Office. Then came the Whoops.
It seems the Democrats woke up. A year ago, a couple of special elections turned things up-side-down. Some young, savvy, energetic, smart and likable candidates won special elections. This has been followed with Democrats getting so excited that other candidates began showing up for several offices. Am sure that Kemp thought he would be challenged by some lack-luster old guy and that the newbies in the Legislature were just a fluke.
Sorry about that, Mr. Kemp. The Democrats have a long slate of excellent candidates who are willing to go to Atlanta and work hard. And, surprise, there are some winners hoping to head for Washington in January.
In a state of shock, Mr. Kemp panicked. It was then he began his sly attempts at underhandedness - pocketing registrations, making crazy accusations and now wild cries of Democratic hacking. I guess if your personality and credentials are lacking and you can't find any recordings with which to send your opponent packing, you have to resort to wild stories.
At least I think that might be what's happening.
Vote on Tuesday. We need to stop this train.
28
@Elizabeth, yes!! This is exactly what happened!! Voting for a Blue Wave in GA!!
3
As mentioned, this isn’t the first time Kemp’s office has dealt with a cyber breach. In 2017, the FBI investigated accusations that millions of Georgia voters may have had their personal information compromised. The allegations involved Kennesaw State University’s Center for Election Systems, which oversaw the state’s election operations and voting machines through an agreement with the Secretary of State’s Office. That arrangement has since been terminated.
HOWEVER, In that case, state elections officials did not publicly disclose the breach but provided details only after reporters began asking questions. The same was true in an earlier state breach by Kemp’s office in 2015. This raises questions for many about why THIS instance has been treated differently. The Secretary of State’s office does not keep a complete archive of its press releases online so it was not possible to learn Sunday whether there were even other times when the office announced investigations.
My point is that from what I can tell, this is the first time an alleged “cyber breach” has occured and has been announced prior to an investigation, and the timing of the announcement of the alleged “breach,” and alleged actor of the “breach” so close to the election, reeks of a political hit job by this Secretary of State who is the Republican Candidate for Governor.
26
He's the one doing the redistricting? Still not enough.
2
They must have the best IT Cyber forensics in the nation. I suppose they quickly ruled out Russia, China, people sitting in bed.
Who's supposed to check out this claim and legitimacy? Which office or body is accountable? Governor (how would that work), Federal Justice department?
This appears of course to be bogus but doesn't this violate a law somewhere if/when proven false. ??
9
Thank you for the proper headline, which calls out the obvious false accusation on Kemp's part. These baseless accusations should be a felony.
I hope the NYT continues to think carefully about their headlines going forward. Highlighting the falsehoods put out by the current Republican party in real time is critical to preventing these falsehoods from taking hold. Don't bury them in even the first paragraph.
13
This is disappointing but not surprising. Kemp is a Trump acolyte and this is his version of 2016's "Comey Memo" a few weeks before election day. Unfortunately I expect stunts like this to become business as usual for the GOP. I hope the voters don't fall for it (again).
23
Desperation and fear - a lot of fear - on Kemp's team.
14
Hold Kemp legally responsible if this accusation proves to be "false". Charge, convict and jail if he lied.
39
@Buzz D
Love the cut of your jib. For three years I've been asking why we've set the bar so artificially high for accountability that that mark is calculated, paradoxically, to make us go low.
The lies DJT tells on a daily basis have done more harm to the fabric of this nation than high crimes and misdemeanors. The dirty tricks Kemp and his cronies pull are worse than many crimes.
Our calculations are so wrong it's as if we deliberately set the button to "fail" and "deplorable." We won't get better politicians until we demand-- not ask, demand --more of them.
1
@AhBrightWings
Spot On!
1
Politics in the muck both parties are tainting the electoral process and the outcome of the elections. As an independent, I abhor the extremists who go to any length to win elections. There us too much money corrupting our democracy ana paying lip service to election reform as it does to immigration reform.
2
@Girish Kotwal how are the Democrats tainting the electoral process, please? Who is actively pursuing voter suppression, making up allegations of voter fraud that are non existent, reducing polling places in minority heavy districts and gerrymandering? I hope that as a proud Independent, you can answer these questions truthfully and draw the correct conclusions, instead of buying into false equivalencies.
6
He is just trying to fix the problem started in 1945 when the poll tax was eliminated. Bless his heart.
If it doesn't work out, come up to New England, we enjoy the Southern restaurants we have, but can always use some more.
We do have some less progressively minded, but luckily they tend to move south.
14
Any investigation should be done with Mr. Kemp recused from the process. It already has the appearance of being politically staged.
It seems Mr. Wright approached several groups but Kemp was the last to know that his system has serious weaknesses. My impression is he brought the accusation to save face when the mud is really on his face for having a system very vulnerable to hacking.
23
Kemp's egregious conflict of interest should be enough for voters to oppose him. That he did not take the moral high ground and recuse himself from the position pending the outcome of the election reveals his interest in power at all costs. There should not have to be a law or a court order making him do this. Sometimes it's just the right thing to do and yet we see how blind many politicians are to doing the "right" thing. This latest issue is the ultimate in abuse of power to win the governorship using the ruse of hacking by the opponent's party.
134
The conflict of interest is gobsmacking. How is Kemp allowed to control access to the polls in an election in which he is a candidate? It guarantees lack of public confidence in the legitimacy of the results if he wins.
53
It’s pretty clear that Kemp and wide swath of the Southern GOP just don’t believe that blacks and other minorities have the right to vote.
47
And after a year and a half there’s scant evidence of Trump-Russian collusion, but that hasn’t kept the liberal press from talking about it every day.
2
@DanielMarcMD-follow the story of Roger Stone. I expect after the post-election indictments that you will be offering a mea culpa.
25
Yes, other than the 32 indictments, including Trump’s campaign manager, attorney, deputy campaign manager, etc etc etc. Charges have included conspiracy against the United States. But you keep believing there’s nothing there. Stay tuned: this is going to be an interesting week.
33
@DanielMarcMD
It's an ongoing investigation. Are you that sort that gives away your game plan mid game?
7
Kemp was warned about the vulnerability of his State's voter registration system months ago and refused Homeland Security's offer to help security their systems. So now, a day or two before the election he's crying about hacking by Democrats without presenting evidence. His office is in charge of the election and he's a candidate but refused to recuse himself after purging tens of thousands of voter's from the voter registration files.
Where is the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice? Where is the Georgia Legislature and the State's Supreme Court?
This is what takes place when a minority party is in control of all branches of government. By their silence, Republicans have demonstrated their willing participation in corruption. They don't care about democracy, only keeping and abusing the power they have to move their pathetic agenda forward all at the expense of the majority of the people. Most of these guys should be in jail.
227
@Robert Westwind
Where is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to offer a friendly helpful hand to assist in American elections as a gift to his buddy Donald Trump?
3
@Blackmamba guess you haven’t heard about the Russian “guests” who are here in Fulton County overseeing elections.
2
Citing "scant evidence"?
Please.
The Republican Secretary of State, who is in charge of the election for Governor despite the fact that he's one of the candidates, has already been accused of multiple attempts to manipulate the election, with a judge recently calling one of his attempts at suppression corrupt and throwing it out.
He's also been told numerous times that the election systems are woefully vulnerable to hacking, and ignored it, refusing federal funds to fix it. Now when Democrats point out that the system is still vulnerable to hacking, he claims that's an attempt to hack it, the logic being apparently "Well how did they know that unless they hacked it themselves?" and opened an official inquiry.
This isn't "scant" evidence, this is transparently corrupt invention of a crime by twisting logic beyond recognition. The whole idea of "evidence" for something they made up, turning criticism into a crime, is ludicrous.
67
Kemp and other Republicans, for many years, have tried to suppress the votes of poor people and people of color with overly stringent voter registration and ID laws and with strategic placement of polling stations.
With this move, Kemp moves into Trump territory, using his office to target political opponents.
I feared that Trump's tactics would go mainstream. My fears have been realized.
101
“One side or the other, whoever loses, they’re going to squawk,” - the most succinct summation of modern day politics I've ever heard.
1
In this, as in pretty much everything he has done as a candidate, Mr. Kemp presupposed that Georgia voters aren't very bright. I guess we'll see on Tuesday.
25
Kemp’s abuse of power is just a foreshadowing of things to come if Republicans retain total control. Vote a straight Democratic ticket wherever you live to get true representation for we, the people, and to send a loud message to the party of Trump.
60
Somebody explain this. I got an absentee ballot this year and sent it in about a week after I got it. I got a text message saying. "We see you haven't returned your ballot yet. Vote Brian Kemp." I have another friend who said the same thing happened to her.
63
@JDW if you vote in person it supersedes your absentee ballot. They are trying to get likely Abrams voters to re-vote and invalidate their Abrams vote.
10
@JDW
When you sent in your ballot, what part of this required a providing a telephone number?
My next questions is HOW would Kemp's campaign (assuming that is who texted you, if not, then it was some other pro-Kemp organization, obviously) be able to know already who voted and who didn't? What I mean is how is this information NOW available to anyone?
9
@JDW ...Funny, I said to a friend yesterday the reason I don't vote early is they take the ballots and throw them in a dumpster uncounted. Could it be it really happens in Georgia?
7
There is a long history of crooked elections in Georgia. Jimmy Carter in his memoir, "A Full Life", talked about this as it related to his first race in 1962 for the state Senate. Back then, Democrats ran the state and party bosses essentially picked the winners. In one small county, Carter wrote, "117 voters had allegedly lined up in exact alphabetical order to cast their ballots(against Carter). Many were dead, in prison, or living in distant places.
23
For someone in a position like this to make false claims, is that grounds for criminal charges?
43
Mr Kemp has been warned enough times there is a flaw, and there has been voter suppression yet as the person responsible to his State to ensure any election is fair ie. untarnished by allegations of voter fraud he's done nothing including ignoring offers of help, calls that he resign given the clear conflict of interest here- he is in a position to alter an election in a supposedly free society and he is running in said election
If his oversight is slack, why would he allow it to be so?
Likely because if his site can be hacked, and he knows it, it stands to reason anybody can do so no matter their party affiliation.
Sadly it's just more of the same mind blowing blatant corruption that's been the tenor of politics.
To think that our country partipates in monitoring other corrupt nation's elections only adds to the circus
18
It is absolutely beyond comprehension that one of the candidates is running this election. Citing this claim, the vote should be stopped until a full and complete investigation is completed (and it is confirmed that this never happened).
35
@Here You mean when Trumps several times on live TV asked the Russians to hack the Democrats right?
15
Another day, another Republican attack on voting rights and democracy by their criminal syndicate.
Just move to Russia, Republicans and Republican voters; your corruption will fit right in over there.
96
Casting illegitimacy claims on the eve of your loss - a new republican low (which is saying something)
These kind of tactics truly scare me when it’s easy to see how this headline will get picked up on the radical right regardless of the outcome.
This will join the greatest hits along with “lock her up” and “build the wall”
44
After the 1960 Presidential election, there was credible evidence of serious vote fraud in Chicago. Challenging it could have thrown the election of John Kennedy into doubt, and aides wanted Richard Nixon to challenge the results. But Mr. Nixon refused: he felt that the country had spoken and rejected the chaos it would have caused, even though it was possible it could swing the results of the election.
It’s very sad when the Republican Party can’t clear a bar set by Richard Nixon.
32
Wow, Kemp is a monumental tool and disgrace to democracy. This isn't a conservative vs liberal thing. The disgraceful and blatant abuse of power and lies by an elected official should alarm anyone no matter what your party affiliation. How can allowing someone running for office also be the same person who decides whose vote "counts" be legal? Shouldn't some kind of automatic recusal be required? This is Donald J Trump 's America now. We can't expect ANYONE in the GOP to act honorable. It's just not who they are.
92
Georgia, please, if you're reading this, repudiate the election shenanigans Mr. Kemp has chosen to finish his race with and vote for someone with morals and good judgement.
That would be Stacey Abrams, by a country mile.
51
Kemp is going to manipulate the voting machines. His claims are a cover for that activity. His plan is to, indeed, hack the machines, change or delete Democrat votes then try to assign hacking attempts to Democrats without ever actually finishing the investigation. I hope the Times is on this. We need a team of international vote monitors.
31
@Brian Johnson. How said that we find ourselves in need of intl poll monitors to ensure fair elections. Where are you Jimmy Carter? Help us.
Kemp will stop at nothing to cheat, rig, and steal this election. He has a long history of it.
As examples show, the man responsible
for oversight of Georgia's election system hasn't a clue about how computers work.
The fact he refused to resign from his duties of " monitoring " the system says it all. in fact, in all my years of following voter suppression tactics, I can't remember any official as brazen as Kemp.
it must be maddening for Stacey Abrams to campaign as hard as she's been doing, running neck and neck with an old-school Republican hack--some might say, confederate--with such an arrogant view of his right to define voting requirements and make baseless accusations against his rivals at the very last minute.
I really feel bad Stacey. She's run such an uplifting campaign, but under terrible conditions when the fox guarding the polls is himself competing for the office.
39
I refuse to go along with this preposterous canard that Republicans have cooked up regarding voting fraud & the need of onerous safeguards to protect the integrity of the vote. I'm in my 60s, & my entire memory of voting in this country has featured bigots trotting out new schemes to suppress the vote, particularly those of minorities. First it was tests and poll fees, then it was outright threats to one's person or livelihood. Now they create a lie--that 4 million illegals voted--to construct more barriers.
I really don't understand the North Dakota law. One's address has nothing to do one's citizenship rights. How in the heck did that law stand?
Yet for all the Republican's moaning about voter integrity, there's a weird retreat from actually safeguarding the infrastructure & preventing foreign attacks. Voting has become a downright military experience with Republicans devising ways to keep their opponents from casting votes.
I suggest people record their voting experiences on Tuesday. Cell phones on record. Report and document any irregularities to your party's voting officials.
26
"These power-hungry radicals should be held accountable for their criminal behavior." I couldn't agree more! Kemp, it's quite PAST time to step down as Secretary of State.
20
Let's assume that the reporting on Brian Kemp is accurate. If so, it's not a stretch to see him as just another in a long line of "Good Ole Boys" running most of the South. Virginia seems to have definitively broken the mold. Can Georgia do the same? We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
12
Taken right from the James Comey playbook. I hope GA voters see through this nonsense.
9
Racism and bigotry continue to raise their ugly heads in a time of intentional chaos and confusion created by leaders who cry “fake news”.
Sadly, the road to equality, a half century after the civil rights era, remains pitted and twisted.
13
As an American I'd really like to see a win for Stacey Abrams tomorrow- and a BIG one! I am so totally revolted by what is happening in Georgia and across the country.
It seems that there is only "dirty politics" and Republicans are masters at it. Kemp is an expert player and as you cast your votes tomorrow take a good look at the face of America right now and how radical the change has been since Trump is president.
It is not only a clear and present danger to yourselves. The world is being infected through his strains of hatred and constant lies.
VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP THIS MADNESS NOW!!!!!!!!
21
While there is truth to the claim that both political parties use knowingly false accusations to make their case, it is not true that their transgressions are equivalent. The Republicans continually stretch the bounds of legitimacy even if it’s harmful to our democracy - such as in this case. Meanwhile the Democrats just seem to whine about irrelevant items. If the Republicans truly believe that these innocent email exchanges from a concerned voter about technical vulnerabilities in the system represent an attempt to manipulate, instead of protect, said system - on the day before an election, then their only reasonable recourse is to postpone the election until the investigation by the FBI concludes. Otherwise, it is clearly the Republicans, through these demonstrably phony allegations, who are openly tampering with the integrity of our voting system.
4
"under a system that can flag voters simply because of a missing hyphen." does not mean that is why these voters were flagged. Exactly how many voters (percentage) have hyphens in their name? The NY Times has reported only 1.3% of women use a hyphenated name. So if half the 50,000 "pending" voters are women and every one with a hyphenated name misspelled their name, that would total 375 voters. Just another red herring.
3
@Mark Mark's comment is wrong-headed in multiple ways:
1. 375 voters is not inconsequential if vote is very close.
2. Women using hyphenated names is not the full universe of such names. Men have hyphenated names, too, for various reasons.
3. What about hyphenated first names - not clear from article whether these were included in the vetting.
4. Most importantly, dropping voters for a missing hyphen is only one example of why voters were dropped - not the full 50000.
Not much basis for evoking red herring status.
8
They didn’t say that every instance was because of a hyphen. The point was that even a small thing, such as a hyphen could get your flagged. I suspect that the following could also get your flagged:
Street=St.
Mountain Drive = Mt. Dr. or Mt. Drive
Southborough = Southboro
Boulevard= Blvd
Parkway = Pkwy
8
@Mark There are reports of people getting scrubbed for not responding to mailers that didn't reach their houses, or for having similar or same names as voters living in other states- so under Kemp's exact match you could be purged for having a common name. A lot of Hispanic names were targeted this way. Add to that Kemp's dubious position as Secretary of State running for Gov and you have a recipe for abuse of power. He stinks.
14
How church-going Republicans can feel good about winning when they can only do so through fake voting districts, and covert and blatantly overt efforts to keep people from voting is beyond me.
But oh boy they can preach a good kind about the importance of the Constitution. They should read it. And the Bible.
14
Leave it to the Republicans - if they think they can't win on the merits of being an elected official who actually represents his constituents, they go for the power grab and change the rules: think gerrymandering, voter ID (no, my 93 year old mother will not be able to vote this year...), and Kemp's voter purge.
Things can't get much lower than this! (But don't hold me to this - I haven't seen Trump's latest assault on democracy and the media...)
14
Someone sounds like he's afraid he's going to lose the election. Such an obvious ploy.
11
This is a blatant abuse of power. It has been committed by a public officer, Brian Kemp, who has blatantly refused to recuse himself from overseeing an election in which he himself is a leading candidate.
His charges are patent nonsense, cynically calculated to give a false impression. The Democrats directed this very matter to Kemp's attention. By clever wording, he has tried to imply that the Democrats seek to hack the election.
Every time I think the Republicans can't possibly get worse, they exceed my expectations. I really have lost count of the outrages. This cannot end well for the country to have such a faction in control of all of our government.
17
What does it say about a party that needs to cheat to win? And cheats so much in so many ways?
12
Your partisan coverage of the situation doesn’t help matters much. If the party’s had been reversed, you would have called for an extensive investigation and halt to the voting. Scant evidence is still evidence, as the Kavanaugh circus showed us.
5
GOP election tactic #1: If you are suspected of doing something dodgy, accuse your opposition of it. Say it with conviction. Say it often. Get your backers on TV, radio, and in the pulpit to repeat it. Drill it into the electorates collective conscience until It is the topic of conversation at every water cooler. The truth doesn’t matter anymore.
21
Certainly there can be no one left who is surprised by this sort of behavior.
Having eradicated civility, diplomacy, fiscal solvency, science, due process, loyalty to allies and traditional American values like freedom of the press from GOP governance, Republicans shout and accuse to fan the flames of hatred in order to solidify their hold on power. They no longer need truth or evidence or fairness as they make the world safe for Autocracy.
For two years we have heard nothing from the Republicans but a litany of bald-faced lies, the frequency and deceitfulness of which has only been gaining momentum.
The separation of families, the butchering of journalists and the racism based slaughter of innocents, there is no consequence too unappealing for Republicans as they gloat in their newfound power. How much more satisfying it must be then to have bristled under the yoke of democracy.
Is this the type of country America wants to be? Is our national aspiration to become the global leader of Autocracies?
Every person who privately has even just a single thought of resistance needs to vote tomorrow. Every Republican from Govenor and Senator to dog catcher needs to be shown the door. Only then will America be able to begin to retake our former place as the leader of the free world. A beacon of hope and liberty for humans everywhere. The country we would want other countries to emulate.
If it's not too late already.
12
@joe It's too late to go back, and keep in mind that that was always a bit of an illusion. The America you see now has the same people that were there before -- the good, the bad, and the evil.
There is hope, as that place could be earned again. It's a long road, but it starts with being a strong enough whole to fight off the evil within. Hopefully that starts tomorrow. But if not tomorrow, then the day after.
5
Politicians like Kemp should be tried under the law for failing to uphold the US constitution, of which they take an oath to do before taking any government position.
12
Take the discussion of party affiliation out of the equation for a moment. Are the good citizens of Georgia going to stand-by and allow this blatant abuse of power to continue? If so, Georgia will replace Florida as a state who is most unable or unwilling to protect that arguably most basic and precious right.
14
Kemp is like the self-appointed genius POTUS. When things aren't going your way, put out fake information blaming others for the cause of the problem. This guy is a liar.
59
It is an unwritten rule among cyber security professionals to immediately make public the discovery of a software vulnerability. This public awareness is believed to be the best method to mitigate potential damage through the exploitation of a vulnerability. Mr. Wright’s actions are entirely consistent with that practice. Mr. Kemp and Mr. Mahoney should not be allowed anywhere near a computer if they fail to understand that very basic fact in assuring the integrity of information systems.
15
Voting procedures and laws must represent all voters and investigated as such. If there is even a hint of taint to voter records, than pause and investigate - that is the role of Secretary of State. If there is a tech issue in the data itself, formatting, then it should have been addressed previously. If the data is being hacked now, then that is a serious issue. Both parties have a responsibility to do the right thing for all qualified voters to access voting.
6
@Realist Sir, you purposely miss the point. All you say is correct but it assumes the honesty and integrity of he (she) making such a claim of malfeasance. There is no such honesty in Kemp's claim. He has a history of voter suppression and repression. He cites NO evidence, just makes a claim. And, as Thomas Wright says in the next comment, this is laying down a claim of fraud so as to negate the result of the election should he lose.
8
This is probably not about the supposed hack, but about Kemp giving himself an avenue to take if he loses. He will say that the election was bogus because of the hack, that he does not accept the results as long as "the investigation" is ongoing, declare himself winner, and be assured that the Georgia republican legislature will back him up.
Even if the courts intervene--not a sure thing--Kemp can declare himself a martyr and make a living on Fox, etc., selling the idea of the "deep state's persecution of conservatives."
Get used to this America. Things like it will be happening a lot.
192
@Thomas Wright
As you may recall, the "man" in the White House tried the same stunt. In a turn only Freud could applaud, in the weeks leading up to that election he began whining about the fact that if he lost, it meant the election was fixed, even while calling on Russia, openly and in a debate, to release Clinton's emails. "Rusher if you're listening..."
In order to suffer this man's daily abominations, the nation has had to adopt collective amnesia. The evidence of his dirty politicking was as evident then as Kemp's is now.
If this is a test of how alert and involved we are, of how much we care about ethics, morality and rule of law, the nation failed in 2016 and seems primed to do so again.
These races should not even be close. That they are speaks to something, at best, unseemly, but increasingly corrupt and often criminal in the American soul. Shame on every single person who condones dirty tricks like this. They are as much the problem as the men they keep backing for election, and, for the GOP, it's nearly always privileged, white, rich men who cannot countenance being gainsaid by anyone outside of their ken. That is what fuels them...the "Can you believe a black woman thinks she deserves my job?!!"
The nation that keeps falling for these dog whistles and baiting is one riddled with rot. the nation that votes them out Tuesday still has a fighting chance of recovering its reputation. Time to just say NO to the GOP and its exhausted and exhausting prejudices.
29
As much as I want Abrams to win, I don't know if it will happen in this still-red state. An informal survey of yard signs during a trip this Saturday doesn't bode well for her. Also, she recently visited the city near where I live; it is majority African-American. However, she didn't visit, to my knowledge, the mostly-white ring counties around it. I think this was a missed opportunity. I realize she's a sensible candidate, so maybe she knows the audience wouldn't be receptive. That said, you can't catch what you don't throw out bait for. Prove me wrong, Georgia!
28
@MerMer Stacey did come to visit our mostly white, rural county when she held an event in Dawson County earlier in the year and recently in Forsyth County. We're definitely not a majority, but there is strong support for her in the area. I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow.
5
The responsibility for the security of Geirgia's voter registration site has been Kemp's since 2010.
If a simple website flaw has been in place for years, that is on Kemp.
There is a very real possibility that Kemp is trying to flip his failure into a win.
If the flaw was there for as long as it appears to have been, there is little likelyhood his IT team is doing anything more than speculate as to "whodunnit."
Who better to blame than his rival's party without enough time to verify the claim before the election?
84
Where I live:
- It is required to have an ID, and getting it is very easy.
- Voting is mandatory, and there are fines if you don't show up.
- You are automatically enrolled to vote.
- There are many polling stations, including one close to where you live (mine is a 5 minutes walk away). There never is a queue, and voting takes less than 2 minutes.
- There is no discussion about voter suppression. The only minor debate about the voting process concerns those who deliver ballots that are considered invalid (too many crosses, no crosses, inscriptions on the ballot paper…).
- Every political party accepts the results.
- Seats are distributed proportionaly to the election results, there is no winner takes it all. As a result, coalition building is an important political skill. If, as a politician, you antagonize other parties, you end up in opposition, out of the coalition.
As a result, it is very difficult, though not impossible, for an extremist party to win an election: they cannot scare other people at home while their activist supporters vote en masse.
184
I want to live in your country!!
14
@SJP
Sir, with respect, that system is fine for *you*, but we chose a different path. It largely works for us, albeit with periods of turmoil that we now see.
But trade it in for what we fought a Revolution to break free from? No, thank you.
p.s. For what it's worth, your "system" does not produce tranquility. How many times has the government of Italy collapsed since WWII using your system?
3
@Paul P. Do a little research, Paul. Since 1776, many nations have attained a democratic system. How many have chosen to adopt the American winner take all setup? How many have chosen parliaments? There’s a common fantasy, that the Founders were transcendently wise, almost religious figures who met and devised the perfect system. Absurd myth. It was a debate and battle all the way, full of compromises and thoroughly reflective of its time. It was genius, absolutely, but political, not mystical. Other countries learned from its successes and failures. We should do the same. Our version of representation in the halls of power is extremely flawed. We can fix it.
7
Call this blatant abuse of power what it is, a blatant abuse of power by a guy who has repeatedly abused his power to try to win the governor's office. From illegal voter purges, to closing polling places, to refusal to accept voter registrations to refusal to step aside form supervision of his own election, Brian Kemp embodies all of the worst abuses of power from an unpopular party trying to enforce unpopular policies on and unwilling public.
247
Kemp is running scare. Voter suppression at its worse. In Culvert county Maryland public transportation is closed on Election Day.
17
@chouchou14
How can that be?!
3
Unfortunately, I expect more dirty tricks from the republicans.
One can only imagine: suspicious boxes and fake bomb alarms at polling stations in democratic leaning regions to reduce turn-out in hotly contested districts, police presence close to polling stations, out-of-order voting machines to create long queues and discourage voters, demonstrations of far-right members...
An then, once the election results are known, expect lots of contestations, claims of massive fraud, recounts…. These elections won't be finished in one week time.
80
@SJP While I agree with your assessment I hope none of the Republicans working the polling stations, etc. read it. It would give too many of them ideas.
1
What does it say about a political party that has to continually lie, defame its opposition, and resort to illegal actions to try and win an election? That's who the republicans have become.
326
@Judith H. It's a very dangerous game republicans are playing with our democracy. For over 200 hundred years we've enjoyed a relatively peaceful transfer of power. Now that republicans are gerrymandering to the point where they can never be voted out, illegally stripping voting rights from people and closing polling stations they are removing the peaceful methods of allowing Americans exercise our democratic rights. That will leave only violence as a means to take people out of power. I guess Kemp is fine with someone just blowing his head off some day rather than just being voted out.
28
@Blackcat66 That is the ultimate danger. What do Republicans expect to happen when they've stripped most of the population of it's political voice AND destroy the social safety net and retirement system and most worker protections. Turning most of the country against you while plunging them into poverty (and encouraging buying weapons) is a recipe for disaster.
26
@Judith H They'll continue to do that until it stops working and probably not even then.
15
I am always amazed at the American system of polling places. It seems to have so few that long slow moving queues are standard. Moving a polling place outside the town is so deliberately partisan that it should be made impossible.
In Britain at the age of 90 I could still walk to my nearest polling place in about 20 minutes and need 10 minutes to vote, but with a postal vote I don't need to.
157
@irdac
Same in Germany. We get our balllots by mail from the registry office and we have many voting polls all over the cities so everybody can walk to their voting poll. The system in the States doesn’t seem fair at all to many voters and can so easily be influenced. Needs to change.
78
@irdac. It depends what state and municipality your polling place is in. Here in Ocean County NJ. I've never had to wait in line very long. In and out in 15 minutes.We have a good many polling places that are open early in the morning. Now this is a republican controlled predominantly white county. I'm not sure if the same can be said for republican controlled minority areas though. It's crazy that we let each state dictate a different standard for polling.
25
Surely, all Georgia's citizens want fairness and a chance to cast their vote and have them accurately counted. Under Mr. Kemp's authority, 200 polling sites were reduced to 87, his office has canceled more than 1.4 million voter registrations since 2012, and purged legitimate voters from the rolls. He rejected the Department of Homeland Security's offer to help with election security, leaving the State's electronic voting machines ripe for hacking. And there's no paper record for voters to validate their vote.
Who Gets to Vote?
https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/who-gets-to-vote
"How to hack elections on Georgia’s electronic voting machines - Apr 17, 2018
https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/how-hack-elections-georgia-electronic-voting-machines/K4s5F935330BS6fGDm3CVI/
http://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/us/politics/georgia-voter-registration-kemp-abrams.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/state-fire-vulnerable-voting-machines-090056199.html
104
@Ann
So what's the problem?
This is likely just as Moscow ordered.
Kemp is clearly not the brightest bulb in the batch when it comes to ethics. His control of the voter rolls and voting in an election where he is candidate gives both the appearance and reality of a conflict of interest.
I am from Illinois and according to news reports our voter rolls got hacked by Russian intelligence in 2016. To what effect then and what effect now in 2018 is unknown.
11
When the Republicans try to keep voting within the state honest, the Democrats cry foul. Interesting how low the Democrats can go.
2
@George
Most likely you are just trolling, but I’ll post this for whoever else might see it and if you happen to get something from it, great.
If you assume that there truly is an issue that involves the democrats, and kemp is trying to expose it, he must stand down as secretary of state. He cannot be an impartial broker in the investigation of his own political opponent in a race he is actively running… for an election in 2 days. If he truly believes that he is protecting the political system, then he needs to step down and hand the investigation over to a third party so that it can have some legitimacy.
That said, Kemp is not acting in a vacuum. He has been accused on multiple fronts of violating the integrity of this election already, rarely is there smoke without a fire. Maybe he is innocent, but he does not get the benefit of the doubt just because he has an R next to his name. Again he needs to step down from the position of overseeing the investigation to remove his name from it, and in turn provide an oz. of legitimacy.
145
@George
You've got it backwards: the story is about the Republicans pointing fingers (aka "crying foul") at Democrats, who were in fact determining how secure Georgia's voting system is.
Look closely: Kemp's slight-of-hand would have you focused everywhere except on his mega voter purge efforts. How is THAT maintaining voter integrity within the state?!?
13
@George
Sorry, but this 'exact' name bit is a ploy. My name is hyphenated, but some computer systems reject the hyphen. Hence, I have places where I am listed as Anne-Marie and places where it is Anne Marie or Annemarie (some also disallow spaces). Add to that the refusal of some officials to spell Anne with an 'e.' Then, too, I had an Iowa license a few years back on which an official decided to solve the hyphen issue by typing "Hislop, Anne, Marie" - I'd be permanently disenfranchised with Georgia's rules instead of some common sense, e.g., producing a piece of mail or a photo ID or something else WHEN a name doesn't "exactly" match.
16
Kemp's behavior is despicable. I wonder if GA voters are smart enough to recognize it. I suppose we'll find out tomorrow. I'm skeptical, as this kind of approach seems to work with Trumpist MAGA voters, who are so gullible they'll believe anything a Republican tells them.
263
@Citizen
Despicable but typical Republican behavior. They have been blatantly stealing elections since Bush Gore in 2000. They entire lot of them belong in jail, not running a democracy they seek only to subvert and destroy.
34