And watch out for this little gem:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-border-patrol-conducts-crowd-control-training-exercise/story?id=58997450
The Trump team is shameless!
1
These rumors and hoaxes about as impactful as voter fraud.
1
Does anything happen to the people who come up with this stuff? They are attempting to tamper with an election and violate people's Constitutional right to vote. There should be legal consequences for those who are caught, tried, and found guilty.
4
We set such a great example of democracy to other countries, don't we?
Here is a really scary one. I went to vote today and was not asked for any form of identification. None. Anyone who knows my name and address could have walked in, said they were me, and voted. And could have then gone to another location, said they were someone else, and voted again.
I suspect that is a result of the democrats being opposed to limiting IDs. But the result is quite concerning...
@Hopeful Libertarian
Most states currently don't require ID, but you are required to be pre-registered and to sign next to your registration signature on the voting roll.
This is actually the way it's been done for the last 200+ years.
1
I wrote to the Federal Elections Commission today to ask what safeguards it has in place to keep deceptive commercials from hitting the airwaves.
The answer? We don't regulate that.
So what is it that the Federal Elections Committee does? Well, they make sure the supers at the bottom of the ad tells us who just lied to us. That's important, right?
We have much bigger problems than simply suppression at the polls. Our own government is allowing politicians to lie to us with impunity.
8
NC Board of Election’s official web site provides the wrong address for the only polling site in my area. They refuse to correct it. How typical. How Republican!
6
“due to overcrowding at polling locations, republicans will be voting on wednesday” is a faux hoax & personal favorite.... though the intended joke should be obvious to all but but the pathologically clueless.
3
The sad truth is misinformation characterizes almost all of our elections. It comes from both sides and now, quite glaringly, from outside. Part of the reason for its success is that as an electorate, we don't vote on issues. We vote instead on sound bites. (That helps us avoid actually thinking about the issues, which can be hard work.) If any company hired senior officials based on sound bites, it would be a great candidate for bankruptcy, yet we hire legislators and executives on just that basis.
One area in which we fail as an electorate is in distinguishing a goal from a plan. Goals involve where we want to end up, and they are easy to state. Plans involve how we are going to get from here to there, and coming up with actual plans is hard. Thinking about them evaluating them, is even harder.
Listen carefully to the rhetoric of candidates. Be very suspicious of candidates telling us of whom to be afraid. They are running based on our fears (realistic or not), but they have nothing positive to offer. They hope to arouse fear in potential supporters, largely because fear interferes with clear thinking. We should not trust candidates who seek to interfere with our ability to think clearly. If that's all they have to offer, they are already bankrupt.
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@WTig3ner
Excellent on your distinguishing goals from plans. I hear many goals, with no plans to achieve them.
6
Many things bother me about our country's political circumstances, but today it is the difficulty of voting in some states. Republicans have worried and rumored about illegal voting which in reality is not nor seems to have very rarely been a problem. This seems tho benefit Republicans, not the republic. Thus in the name of limiting options for the electorate to cast a ballot all sorts of rocks have been thrown in the road to the ability to vote. So for all of you who had all sorts of hoops to just through, it does not need to be this way. For instance, look at Colorado.
6
Beware of texts and e-mails that say,
"Due to bad weather, election day is extended into tomorrow at 8 pm."
Likely not true.
3
@RM
DEFINITELY not true (caps intended)
2
This information is certainly helpful. But what is needed now is an in-depth investigation of these fraudulent activities (who, what where, how, why) and details about what the government is doing (or not doing) to curtail them. Is propagating disinformation about polling times and places against the law? If not, why not and if so, what are these laws and are they being enforced? The public needs to know about the abuses in order to put a stop to them.
3
Opinions misrepresneted as 'facts' in political reporting is probably the one thing that misleads voters the most.
For example, polls that show one candidate winning in the poll but in reality ends up losing. Nate Silver, take a bow!
2
@JK The results of a poll are not presented as fact. It is (or should be) understood that a poll is only as valid as the sampling willing to take it, willing to give their actual opinion/intentions, etc., etc.
I read the headline:
"6 Types of Misinformation to Beware Of on Election Day. (And What to Do if You Spot Them.)"
And I immediately thought of World War II posters warning us to watch out for German spies.
How about just use your head, look it up yourself and not get your important life information from Twitter.
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The greatest intimidation to avoid is the so-called president and his toxicity.
Love of country neutralizes it.
Voting does away with it.
2
Lie, steal, cheat and deceive
It's such a small small game
Don't you know it is wrong?
Don't you know it is wrong?
Why do you try to cheat?
And trample people under your feet?
Don't you know it is wrong?
To cheat a trying man
So you better stop, it is the wrong 'em boyo!
(lyrics stolen, but they seem appropriate)
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Also, in Chrome, you can right click and reverse image search almost literally any picture. Never heard of TinEye, but it probably also works great.
1
Today is shaping up to be a major victory for the Republicans. As always, too many voters decided to stay home, watch TV and surf the internet. This election will change the world. No one will question Trumpism anymore. Today it will be affirmed and validated as one of the most successful political philosophies in American history. Other countries will now see it as a model to follow. We can look forward to more miniature Trumps popping up in every country in the world. More leaders who spend their time campaigning instead of governing. More elaborate fantasy worlds serving as the basis for the world's political systems. More fragmentation, the end of international ties and relationships, and the end of taxation as all governments begin to operate entirely on borrowed money.
Pathetic. Misinformation is from the mainstream media outlets and the Republican party, for the most part.
2
Vote by mail. Duh. No sweat no mess.
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@Draw Man
Another reason the GOP is trying to destroy the USPS.
1
@Draw Man
Except if you live on a reservation where the USPS doesn't assign street addresses and the registrar requires a street address.
3
The federal government needs to create a division of the FEC that is responsible only for stopping election misinformation.
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Here is some accurate and verifiable information: prediction markets give the Republicans a 30% of holding both Houses of Congress, and each of the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up sharply this morning. As they say - follow the money, because the money (esp the big money) always knows first. And what the big money knows, is that Republicans will retain control of both the House and Senate.
3
@Richard Strange reasoning. So there's a 70% chance that the Democrats will take control of at least one branch. Is that why the markets are up?
3
There is misinformation in this article about avoiding misinformation haha.
In North Carolina, there is a form of electronic submission of ballots that is legal. You may scan and email in your absentee ballot.
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Don’t take his word for it. See official government sources for accurate info.
@Levi
Just curious, did you scan and email your ballot. Because on the NC State Elections website, it only says that you can request an absentee ballot by scanning and emailing. I couldn't find where it send you could vote by email anywhere.
@Levi I looked on the NC.gov website, and it appears that you can *request* an Absentee Ballot by that method, but you can not submit it that way. https://www.ncvoter.org/absentee-ballots/
Here is another type of misinformation - the local know-it-all. I went to my polling station and found the line out the door. A fellow behind us started going on about how it was the worst line he had ever seen and it would take more than an hour. Several people behind him walked away - and will hopefully come back. But, the polling station was well run and organized - I was done in about 20 minutes. I don't think the local know-it-all meant to influence anybody, but he did. Go vote! Don't let rain (like we have here), chatter boxes or misinformation stop you.
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@Randy
The longer the line, the more people feel it the election is worth waiting in it. A long line means it's important to stay and not give up.
2
@Coyoty
That is the cool thing. Regardless of how it goes down, people are energized for a change.
1
Our doorman, who lives on Long Island, just proudly told us he and his wife voted online!
2
@LeftIsRight Whoops ... checking online the website I found says there is online voter registration but NOT online voting in New York.
By far, the best way to vote, is early and by mail where available. California mails us our ballot in early October and we voted and submitted it in mid October. Never had to leave our home to do our Civic duty.
1
@pkincy Not a good idea to vote too early. In my state, one candidate for governor dropped out last week, and 1 of only 2 candidates for DA in my county dropped out the week before that. If you had already voted for either one, there's nothing you can do about it.
It's important to remember that the Republicans, and Donald Trump in particular, do not want you to vote. They want to WIN the election, regardless of votes cast, as George Bush did in 2000. All they want is the sanctity of an election to confirm them in their tyranny. Don't let them claim it.
6
The side with the strongest "Get out the VOTE" presence is usually the side that has the fewest or worst ideas. The side that doesn't need to tell their voters to go vote, attracts them with ideas rather than slogans, like "GoVote." lol.
2
Oregon, Washington, Colorado conduct all there elections by mail, no standing in the rain or waiting in line and no election fraud no intimidation. I wonder why we can't do this in every state but I don't wonder very hard.
1
If you want to vote, and find there is something or someone discouraging you, then always force the issue by at least trying to cast a ballot. For example, if you are refused a ballot by a voting judge at a precinct, then take careful notes about who they were and what the issue was about.
1
This article basically outlines what EVERY SINGLE high schooler needs to know before graduating in the age of TMI. It should be required learning PRIOR to owning a smartphone. These phones are treacherous when used improperly.
1
It will be interesting to see if the New Black Panthers show up at polling places, obviously trying to scare away voters not accustomed to seeing black-clad black men carrying military-grade weapons posing like actual soldiers.
Unlike the other place(s) they have appeared, Georgia will indeed arrest such persons.
With the age of early voting having been accepted by Republicans, the old joke about this or that group voting on Wednesday instead of Tuesday has pretty much died out.
@L'osservatore Why will they be arrested? I'm not in favor of anyone openly carrying weapons anywhere, but I assume in some states what they're doing is legal.
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@L'osservatore
This is misinformation. The New Black Panthers are more cosplayers than actual participants. One or two people showed up in costume in past elections and the GOP painted them as a much bigger threat when they aren't a threat at all.
2
"What to do if you spot misinformation!!!" Too funny, I suppose we might instruct people to avert their eyes passing churches and car dealerships so as to avoid misinformation sensor overload.
A better instruction would be, "What to do if you spot any really good information ..." this would be for my Liberal side; any offering of plans to solve the national healthcare crisis without a giveaway to the Big Insurers, any plan by my side to lower the obscene Pentagon budget, any plan by Pelosi et al to corral Big Finanace so it pays it's share of taxes and is disallowed to tank the economy at will. Any plan to get out of pointless hyper expensive foreign wars would be good to hear about. Look under rocks, it's not going to come to you via CNN or MSNBC they are too busy using Trump Derangement to distract from real issues.
1
What does it matter if ICE is patrolling the polling stations? I thought you said that there was NO widespread voter fraud.
What citizen has to be afraid of ICE or voting while ICE is around? The only people I could think of that would be afraid of ICE at polling stations would be ILLEGAL ALIENS voting ILLEGALLY. So the fact that you thought this was important indicates to me, that you think illegal aliens should have the right to vote, and not be afraid of such fraud. Everyone should be afraid of fraud. Maybe we should have ICE at voting stations. Thanks for alerting me to how easy it would be for an illegal alien to vote.
Also, some of these hoaxes are funny. If someone gets confused by any of them, then they probably shouldn't be voting in the first place. If you get confused by these hoaxes, on what planet would you have the issues right?
@PJ ABC
I've read several articles claiming that legal residents have been swept up with undocumented immigrants and deported. Whether the claims are true or not, I could easily see how this would intimidate a legal resident to skip voting.
https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/06/new_worry_for_nj_immigrants_is_ice_targeting_legal.html
3
"Gwinnett County spokesman Joe Sorenson said the issue was not electrical and happens from time to time."
This isn't about misinformation, this is about stupid, and/or worse, voter suppression. A must win county for Stacey Abrams and one of the precincts voter verification computer systems is down. So all the check in is by looking names up in a paper register. The lines go from one end of the school to the other.
Now Mr Joe Sorensen says it happens from time to time. Well, we only vote every two years. Guess that qualifies for time to time!
Honest to heavens this Georgia continues to live in the 19th century.
2
This polling place thing is an anachronism and archaic. Here in WA state all voting is mail in and we receive our ballot 3-4 weeks ahead of time. Time to research, discuss with family/friends, in a relaxed atmosphere. No hassles, voter suppression/surprises at the polling place, or lines. Drop in your mailbox (pre-paid postage) or in conveniently located county drop-boxes.
5
@J Darby But voting too early can be problematic. In my state, one candidate for governor dropped out last week, and 1 of only 2 candidates for DA in my county dropped out the week before that. If you had already voted for either one, there's nothing you can do about it.
@J Darby
Correction: We receive the ballots a little under 3 weeks ahead of time.
Mail-in ballot is also available to everyone in the Sacramento county in California. Using mail-in ballot beats bad weather blues, long lines, conflict with office hours for working people, indigent, sick and old people's concern about how to get a ride to the polling place. One possible improvement could be that the mail-in ballots should be postage free. They are often heavy and people may balk at paying postage, especially those on the fixed income. Making mail-in ballot postage free will be a small expense added to the overall high costs of the general election. But it will be money well spent . People can still go the polling places and not use the mail-in ballot if they so decide. Besides, since your vote is on paper there is a record of vote (but not voter's identity) that may be less susceptible to electronic interference.
2
And last but not least....if any of these rumors and allegations are coming from a Republican affiliated source, assume it is yet another one of the thousands and thousands of lies they've told in recent months to snooker the American people once again.
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@Frank Roseavelt
Yes! Like Don Lemon's racist charge that all those white men were ... oh, wait a minute. Don's signed up with the progressives, isn't he? Yeah, Don gets a pass.
@L'osservatore
Whataboutism (also known as whataboutery) is a variant of the tu quoque logical fallacy that attempts to discredit an opponent's position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument, which in the United States is particularly associated with Soviet and Russian propaganda.
1
It’s funny that you want us to watch for misinformation, when all the campaigns adds approved by their candidates are mouth trashing one another. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. When you see their adds on TV, one can realize that NONE OF THEM are country over party.... so, NONE OF THEM are good and honest...
5
False equivalency.
4
@Thinkabouit That, and there will never be a candidate with the name "none of the above" on the ballot. While such an entity would receive a crushing number of votes as protest, positions of leadership must be filled, and there will always be someone seeking to fill them. Whether such folks are ethical and qualified is another question entirely, but that is what campaigns are for. If governors', mayors', representatives', and senators' chairs are all left vacant, you don't have government - you have CHAOS - as dozens of would-be leaders would fight for control screeching "I'm in charge here!"
Let me repeat for the perpetually disgusted: "none of the above" will never be on offer on any ballot.
Why is it that each of these hoaxes seems to have originated from the right? Oh yeah, that’s because when everyone who’s eligible votes, Republicans lose.
52
Who would be scared of ICE at a Voting place? Hmm...
I thought you said there was no widespread voter fraud?
8
@PJ ABC
Texas officials just arrested a lady named Leticia Sanchez for voter fraud there.
Allegedly, she was ‘harvesting’ numerous absentee ballots and filling them out.
But, there is no voter fraud. Democrats tell us that all the time.
2
@PJ ABC Um, how about a citizen with an undocumented spouse? Or American-born children with undocumented parents? The rumor of ICE at the polls isn't intended to curb voter fraud or illegal voting (both of which are practically unheard of), it IS intended to intimidate citizens with undocumented family members from voting.
4
@PJ ABC Legal immigrants can be legally detained and prevented from voting depending on the length of their detainment under "suspicion" and profiling. If they do not carry their papers on them 24/7 or ICE decides something is "fishy" about the papers, etc. This is not actually occurring, thankfully, but the fear tactic is, and there is no fault to perfectly legal Latinx voters who are concerned about confrontation with a potentially lethal and decidedly racist authority. See also: Black Americans aren't exactly fans of the police, even when they've done absolutely nothing wrong.
2
I don’t want anybody stupid enough to believe such nonsense to vote, regardless of their political orientation.
14
Six types of misinformation:
CNN
ABC
NBC
CBS
MSNBC
The newspaper organs of the Democrat Party
6
I noticed FOX isn't on your list. If it were on your list, you might have been able to make a fair point, assuming that you would have supported your statement with some facts.
Opinions aren't facts.
9
@EGD
You forgot the absolute sewer of misinformation, the White House, and their lackeys Fox News. If you’re not watching at least one of the major broadcast networks, you haven’t a clue as to what’s going on.
8
@EGD
Silly, so silly. And yet, I believe, you love the man who is caught in lies daily. I always ask a trump supporter, "why doesn't his lies bother you?". They never have an answer.
11
What frightens me most is that Donald “The Deporable” Trump would take pride in being the source of these rumors, hoaxes and false information - for which his supporters would give him a standing ovation.
Vote today for truth, justice and the American way!
30
The article states that False Voter Fraud Allegations are one of the types of misinformation to be aware of on voting day.
Well, just today Sessions and Trump are crying out about voter fraud (with no evidence/aka fake news) Seems they are the master of misinformation.
24
@Cruzio
Google ‘recent voter fraud arrests in Texas.’
Just because the Democrat Media Complex didn’t report it, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.
1
@EGD: An arrest doesn't prove it happened, either. Remember that whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing?
2
@EGD
So are you talking about the white lady that was sentenced to 2 years probation for attempting to vote for Trump twice? Or are you talking about the black lady sentenced to 5 years in prison because she didn't know that she couldn't vote after pleading guilty to a crime?
1
Always remember that you can always cast a provisional ballot. If anyone challenges your right to cast a ballot demand a provisional ballot: DEMAND A PROVISIONAL BALLOT.
33
Hunh. Appears that these are all perpetrated by Republicans. Why can't you state that? Perhaps in the headline?
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@Steve S.
No group, no matter how innocent, is safe from having bad apples that can ruin its reputation. They can't state it's all Republicans because they can't guarantee it to be absolutely true and not a generalization.
The headline should read "The Republicans don't want you to vote - don't fall for any of these scams". This is not a both sides issue.
45
How about news outlets "reporting" that bad weather keeps voting down! Come on, don't give us an excuse.
10
Speaking of misinformation, how about the Republicans promising healthcare to all Americans without regard to preexisting conditions? Or the immigrant caravan taking over the entire country? Or the middle class benefiting from the tax cuts? Or....
For the sake of simplicity, add all GOP candidates to your misinformation list.
29
This is America?
If the USA was not mentioned in this article, I would believe I was reading an article about some Russian, Asian, or South American country.
This is what the USA has become under the Republicans, and exasperated and increased also by Trump!
Sad and dangerous!
49
One must always consider the source. Donald Trump wouldn't know TRUTH if it him in the jaw.
37
A good way to start to find truth is to consider the OPPOSITE of what he says.
5