Analysis, Commentary, Opinion
07.25.2020
Vote
II
The talk continues about how Donald Trump will refuse
to concede the presidency when he loses the election on November 3rd.
People are talking about the unconstitutional
deployment of federal agents in American cities, like Portland and Seattle,
Kansas City and Chicago, and the threat coming from the orange menace that he
will send tens of thousands of heavily armed, agents into other cities without
insignia, without unique identifiers without a lawful mandate to police those
cities as a preemptive move in support of his anticipated refusal to relinquish
power.
This cannot stand.
The courts must intervene, and though a federal
court in Oregon has dismissed the lawsuit filed their on the erroneous basis
that the city attorney and the State’s Attorney General did not have standing,
action in the courts must continue, and those federal agents must be arrested.
More importantly, everyone must vote!
Do not forget to vote. Do not forget to register.
Do not forget to vote.
Double check your registration status and vote.
Do more, prepare yourself with knowledge; we need a
massive public education campaign, we need a crash course in civics. There is an
electoral process that must play out, it is different from state to state, but
every citizen should take the time to become familiar with the rules, the laws
that govern your voting rights in each and every local.
Let’s not be confused, Donald Trump will lose the
popular vote, and he will lose in the electoral college. Nevertheless, between
now and then there will be a massive disinformation campaign trying to scare
you into not voting, trying to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter, or
that your vote is illegitimate. The orange tyrant and his republican cronies will
attempt to invalidate your vote; we cannot let them
Wherever republicans have the authority they will
purge voter roles, close polling stations, make it more difficult to vote; our
duty is to be undeterred, to insist on our rights, to cast our votes, and to
have our votes counted.
Familiarize yourself with the laws that govern
voting where you cast your vote.
Last week we discussed the voting rights act of
1965, which was designed to enforce the rights guaranteed in the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and the laws that
govern elections at the federal level.
This week lets discuss the statutes that govern
voting in my home state of Minnesota.
In the weeks leading up to the election we will
look at the statutes that govern voting in key battleground States.
Knowledge is power, arm yourself with it.
In Minnesota you can find information on voting,
the voting process and your voter rights at the Secretary of State website: https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/
The
Secretary of State in Minnesota is Steve Simon. At the web address above you
can register to vote online, request an absentee ballot online, you can find
out where you go to vote if you plan to vote in person based on your address, and
what the hours of your polling station will be.
You
can view a sample ballot, view candidate filings, and volunteer to get
involved, participate in non-partisan voter education and even become an
election judge. IN addition you can stay up to date on how COVID-19 is
impacting the voting process.
Participate,
protect both your right to vote and the rights of your neighbors.
On
this Minnesota Secretary of State website you can learn all you need to know
about how elections are managed in Minnesota: https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/how-elections-work/
In
Minnesota, the laws governing presidential elections are clear, nevertheless it
may be up to the citizenry to keep the election process in good order. It is
being reported the Republican National Committee is prepared to spend tens of
millions of dollars to challenge election results across the country. Their
planned obfuscation may result in your vote being invalidated, or your
neighbors.
We
cannot let this happen.
Below
is the process as articulated on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website for
electing a president. Memorize the applicable statutes, know the process,
ensure that it is adhered to.
The state canvassing board meets on the third
Tuesday after the state general election. (Minnesota Statutes 204C.33) At that
meeting the board will open and canvass the returns made to the secretary of
state for presidential electors and alternates, prepare a statement of the
number of votes cast for the persons receiving votes for these offices, and
declare the person or persons receiving the highest number of votes for each
office duly elected. (Minnesota Statutes 208.05)
"The governor shall transmit to each person
declared elected a Certificate of Election, signed by the governor, sealed with
the state seal and countersigned by the secretary of state.” (Minnesota
Statutes 208.05)
On the day before the day fixed by congress for the
electors to vote for president and vice president the electors shall notify the
governor that they are at the state capitol and ready to fulfill their duties
as electors at the proper time. The
governor shall deliver a certificate of the names of all the electors to the
electors present. (Minnesota Statutes 208.06) On the day fixed by congress to
vote for President and Vice President the electors shall meet at 12:00 PM in
the executive chamber of the state capitol and shall perform all the duties
imposed upon them as electors by the constitution and laws of the United States
and the state of Minnesota. As a condition of having been chosen under the name
of the party of a presidential and vice presidential candidate the electors are
obligated to vote for those candidates. (Minnesota Statutes 208.46) The day
fixed by congress for the electors to vote is the first Monday after the second
Wednesday in December. (3 U.S.C. 1)
This process must be fulfilled, republican interference
notwithstanding.
Hold your government accountable!
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