I’ve got to be quick about this today, as polls are now closing on the nightmarish hellscape that is Election Day 2020. But, on today’s BradCast, we cover some of the reported problems voters had around the country on Tuesday, thanks to failed voting systems in battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas. [Audio link to show follows below.]
Happily — perhaps due to so many voters having already voted during Early Voting or by-mail — there were far fewer problem reports today than in recent Presidential elections. At least as of air time. Frequently, problems don’t reveal themselves until later. But, for now, we focus on a few places where voting systems went down entirely, preventing voters from voting in those states.
In almost every case it was related to the failure of electronic pollbooks made by a company named KNOWiNK, which produce the devices called “Poll Pads”. Those systems seem to be behind the countywide shutdown of voting for the first several hours of Election Day in Spalding County, GA and in Morgan County, GA. Despite months of warnings from voting systems experts — and a federal court order — and the systems failing during the state’s June primaries — Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger did not make sure that backup paper pollbooks were in place. That meant that voters in Spalding could not vote at all for hours on Election Day. In Morgan, election officials were a bit more prepared, it seems. They were able to keep the process going, even if lines were a bit longer than hoped.
Similarly, when the Poll Pads failed in Ohio’s Franklin County (Columbus), officials had backup paper pollbooks on hand, as ordered by Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose.
Early reports, overall, were that voting went largely smoothly in Philadelphia, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump consider to be critical for their respective hopes of a victory.
But down in Texas, which is now also a battleground state, problems with the e-pollbooks in Upshur County prevented precincts from opening for several hours on Tuesday morning. That could not only affect the Presidential race, but the contest against loony incumbent Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert by Democrat Hank Gilbert in the state’s 1st Congressional District. He spent hours in court today, helping to extend polling hours to try and make up for the early morning vote system failure.
Also in Texas, overnight, the far-right 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower far-right lower court judge’s ruling that dismissed a challenge to Harris County (Houston)’s ingenious drive-thru polling places, meant to help voters stay safe during the pandemic. The Republican plaintiffs in that case are hoping to reject more than 127,000 legal votes cast from cars in the state’s largest county, a Democratic stronghold in the previously very “red” state.
MANY more details on ALL of the above and more on today’s show, which closes with Desi Doyen and our latest Green News Report on the record-setting Hurricane Eta, now smashing into Nicaragua and possibly headed our way, and the stakes for humanity and the planet itself in today’s Presidential Election….as the world anxiously watches and waits along with us…
It was a strategic mistake for the Democrats to tolerate “faith based” voting machines. Looks like Trump’s second term will be a giant medical experiment for herd immunity. Likely to speed up the decline of the American empire. Painful lessons ahead.
After this election, are we still going to ignore the Tyrannosaurus in the room?
BLACK. BOX. VOTING.
Let’s get the conversation going with, among others:
Grag Palast, Jonathan Simon, Harvey Wasserman, Bob Fitrakis, Bev Harris, Beth Clarkson, Mark Crispin Miller, Dr. David Jefferson, Stephen Heller, and others.
C’mon, Brad.
Perhaps after a couple more days (of counting votes) or so, how about calling up Jonathan Simon and asking for HIS opinion about the 2020 election?
You can give your own side as contrast.
It would make for a great show, IMO.
Re: Jonathan Simon . . .
Pretty please????????
https://www.fleursdujour.ph/wp-...quet-14500.jpg
PS
It doesn’t have to be Mr. Simon.
Anybody on that list would be stellar.
🙂
DonL –
We don’t just talk about “BLACK. BOX. VOTING.” We investigate and present evidence where we can find it. I should say “I”, not “we” perhaps. I have never charged “FRAUD!” without independently verifiable evidence to support it. Doing so does not help the cause of Election Integrity.
That said, I’m in close touch with your friend Jonathon Simon (got off the phone with him a few mins ago, as a matter of fact), and am more than happy to cover legitimate concerns as they arise and have evidence in support.
OK.
Thanks.
DL
JMO, but
if the GOP loses Georgia, that will be circumstantial evidence AGAINST Black Box fraud.
If they had control, the GOP would NEVER let themselves lose Georgia.
A Pennsylvania Biden win would also suggest honest results.
There’s a couple senate races I wonder about, but oh well. what can ya’ do?
… DonL said…
Not so much.
E-voting hacks aren’t usually set to “full power” because those extreme results should raise all kinds of alarms. Should…
Usually the hacks are set to alter only enough votes for a win that’s beyond automatic recount range.
But that requires estimates of vote counts and if a massive wave of paper ballots is added to the mix… then that can overrun the hack’s pre-set conditions.
So I suspect that it is very possible that the polls weren’t all that off… the machines were.
And the massive turnout was beyond any such hack’s “expectations” and saved the day.
zapkitty,
I think you probably nailed it.