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| Cartoon by Andrew Cox |
In the elections of 2014, while the Terrible Three were denying an Early Voting site for the campus of ASU, they were insisting that the town of Blowing Rock must have an Early Voting site, and Blowing Rock did indeed get their Early Voting polling site.
Now it's 2015, and the Terrible Three are claiming that Early Voting in Blowing Rock would jeopardize the integrity of the election process.
Why? All four municipalities in the county were asked -- at the suggestion of Kim Strach, executive director of the state Board of Elections -- if they would like to have Early Voting set up in their towns, understanding up front that they would be paying the freight for that service. Seven Devils and Beech Mountain both replied "no thanks," but Blowing Rock and the Town of Boone replied, "Yes, please!"
The Terrible Three were in a quandary. How could they give Early Voting in the municipal elections to Blowing Rock and deny it to Boone? You can almost hear the little wheels in their brains grinding: No, better not give it to either, as the unequal treatment might attract unwelcome attention.
So they denied the requested Early Voting sites to both towns, mainly to keep from having one on the campus of ASU. Got it?
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| Aceto and Eggers |
The last time Mr. Howard et al. made that decision for Watauga -- 2014, --a law suit was filed and was ultimately successful against the State Board of Elections for siding with EggersEggers&Aceto. A Superior Court judge in Wake County ordered the State Board to place an Early Voting site on the ASU campus. The SBOE complied with that order the day before Early Voting was to begin. (Mere minutes after that SBOE decision, the state's Supreme Court weighed in -- without actually stopping the SBOE's decision. The State Supremes ordered the SBOE back into the NC Court of Appeals, which had already declined to stay the superior court judge's order. Nothing would be adjudicated until after the 2014 election was over.)
So ASU got its Early Voting site in the general elections of 2014, and as a matter of fact, more voters voted early at that site per hour than at any other Watauga County Early Voting site.
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| "Four" Eggers, master mind |
In its subsequent appeal to the NC Court of Appeals (heard this very morning, as a matter of fact, in Raleigh), the SBOE only wanted one issue adjudicated. Even though the "harm" in Anderson et al. v. SBOE is now moot (meaning that since that election is over, the injury to voters once at stake is now of only academic interest), the SBOE nevertheless wants the Court of Appeals to rule that the plaintiffs in Anderson et al. v. SBOE (students unfairly discriminated against in the matter of ballot access) didn't go to the right court and that they should have to file a different type of law suit that would cost a lot more money and take a lot more work in a very constrained time-frame. The SBOE also argued that it was not acting in a quasi-judicial role when it refused an ASU Early Voting site, because it never issued findings nor considered evidence, even though it was supposed to. Therefore, the SBOE argued, the SBOE cannot be held accountable. Anderson et al. argued that the case is indeed moot, that the students won, and that the SBOE (not to forget EggersEggers&Aceto) are full of shit (okay, I paraphrased that last part).
It may take the Court of Appeals up to 90 days to decide what they can do with this case. In the meantime, the exact same issues are now guaranteed to land with a thud on the collective desks of the SBOE. Are they ready for round two, or will someone of the Republican persuasion on the SBOE decide that it might be better not to rubber-stamp once again the partisan stupidity of EggersEggers&Aceto?
18 comments:
Your last sentence asks, perhaps rhetorically, if some Republicans will recognize the stupidity of other Republicans. Unlikley, IMHO. Stupidity of Republicans is so widespread that they rarely recognize it among their own kind.
Well, you have to admit it's much easier to recognize stupidity in a Democrat. Teh playing field is not level.
Yeah Anon, I agree. You have one group who are Americans in every sense of the word and are trying to make the playing field level. You have another group trying to destroy the American dream by creating an oligarchy. Guess which group is almost solely funded by billionaires? Remember the Nazis and Stalinists-any lie, great or small, repeated enough times becomes the truth. Just ask the shrinking middle class how level the playing field is.
Very true! If we don't allow incumbant political candidates to pick the polling locations most favorable to them as incumbents, what kind of world will this turn into? Brantz wants to be mayor. Why would we not allow him to pick his employer as a polling location?
Dear Jus'- Boone would be a Dollywood wanna be without ASU. The university employees and students and their parents spend a lot more more than tourists and seasonals to keep this county reasonably prosperous. Let's encourage and give our true base the opportunity to vote in a manner which reflects their community contribution.
Your attempt, Jus' sayin', to implicate Rennie Brantz in some sort of nefarious scheme might carry some weight if it weren't for the fact that Rennie's opponent is an ASU student. The Republicans are always projecting on others what underhandedness they themselves can and do invent.
Yes Jeff, God forbid the poor students and employees of ASU would have to walk 3 or 4 blocks in order to vote!
Hey, I'm agreeing with you! I think it's great that a council member like Brantz should be able to decide where the polling place should be. I just hope that this doesn't apply to the county commissioners in 2016. I mean, we wouldn't want them to move all the polling places out of town to the rural areas where there support lies.
Just curious Jus, if Brantz were a Republican instead of a Dem, and ASU was say a more conservative christian university a la bob jones perhaps. And it was 2 democrats motivated by Pam Williamson behind the scenes (since as we know she controls all of Boone...)
Would you be spouting this nonsense (conspiracy level: tinfoil hat) about how liberals want to rig elections still?
Just in a different direction of course. Cause you're not a hypocrite at all right?
And the oh they have to walk 3 blocks argument? Let me call you out on that smell as well as the stench of Eggers inane "fairness and integrity" argument. As Stewart said we should. Cause that's the smell of someone who knows it's not about the distance, it's about the fairness of ensuring everyone has a chance to vote. and isn't crammed into a single polling location with the GOP slashing early voting hours.
Sort of like ohhh...
Trying to have all of Boone crammed into one voting district.
Or Boone voters being moved from the national guard to OUTSIDE town to the DMV
Or whatever other stunts four and his sock puppets feel like trying to pull.
We know stink when we see it, and this reeks of just another blatant attempt to disenfranchise ASU voters once again.
Maybe instead of trying to keep them from voting the GOP should try giving them something to vote for.
Jus Saying! =p
Mrs Steele, you apparently misunderstood my post. I am in favor of an ASU voting site. I think that Democrat incumbents SHOULD be allowed to decide where to put the polls. I am only concerned that the Republican county commission might try to do the same thing.
I'm sorry if I wasn't cleaer but that's the best I can do. Maybe you could get someone to explain it to you.
Dear Jus-why not just cease with the BS. You're just not that smart or clever.
HAHAHAHA Too true Jeff. Tooo True. On all fronts.
Cause seriously Jus, one need only look at your highly sarcastic comment on the article above this one to clearly see the aura of smelly disingenuous hypocrisy that surrounds your comments.
And that's before we even get to the key point, you didn't answer my question. So I will ask it again, and I'll even drop the snark and explain it "clearly" for you.
If it was two democrats on a board of elections trying to suppress the votes of a majority republican university would you still be making these sarcastic comments about "oh the poor dears walking 3 blocks!" Or would you be, "SEE! another liberal plot to rig elections!"
and if you can come down from BS mountain long enough to give me even a simple yes or no to that question I'll call it a win. If you actually attempt to explain your reasoning behind that yes or no by applying critical thinking skills I'll consider that a bonus.
And if you can't answer at all, well again you're not worth wasting any further time on past laughs at your expense.
Because that is the core issue here, not the stinky straw man argument you're parroting from the sock puppets (wow we're getting meta here) An argument so farcical it's not worth wasting one second on.
This isn't about integrity and who picks what, including your pathetic and oh so easy to see through job at Rennie.
It is about the continued effort by the BOE though the VERY well documented efforts by Four behind the scenes (again facts suck don't they?) to disenfranchise the student body of ASU. Because as we also see in the above article the GOP thinks it's just easier to keep them from voting rather then putting out a platform that may convince them.
And one more question for you, having already lost once on that front while making complete fools of themselves in the process. Why do you think they are really so stupid as to try again?
As another famous stinky saying goes. "A polished turd is still a turd."
Oh and it's Mr. Steele, but it's ok if you get that wrong too. After all I do know how hard the relationship between facts and Republicans can be at times.
Mr Steele.. I apologize if I got your gender wrong. I will try to remember that you are a "mister". Also, if and when I start responding to troll questions, I will be sure to let you know and maybe even respond to yours, In the meantime,let's just make sure those Damned Republicans don't decide to open more precincts in the Republican strongholds.
Oh, btw Mr Steele, I appreciate your commitment not to waste any further time with me. I am grateful you decided to go back to an area where you claim to have some knowledge....polishing turds.
So, back to the point! Let's all write to our legislators and request that the election laws be changed and that, rather than have an appointed commission decide on polling places, let's just get the Democrat incumbents to pick the location of all the polls for each election which they may be running in. It's only fair.
Thanks for your support!
And if you can't answer at all, well again you're not worth wasting any further time on past laughs at your expense.
I am grateful you decided to go back to an area where you claim to have some knowledge....polishing turds.
As promised.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Seriously Jus, what did you think such an insightful and oh so talented comment was going to bring to the discussion? Past of course making my point for me about how people like you, when called on your BS, are just reduced to such infantile insults because you and I both know you can't provide an answer to my "troll" (lol x2) question without being caught in your own hypocrisy.
But thanks for giving me that laugh, and letting me add another GOP'er to the list of those I've reduced to pathetic insults. I give you a 7/10 for being creative at least. But I don't think anything still compares the clowns from the right side telling me, "Shut up and get off the air!"
Before recess ends though, and we need to pull you off the playground.
"In the meantime,let's just make sure those Damned Republicans don't decide to open more precincts in the Republican strongholds."
You mean like the last election? With the L . . Four eggers approved voting plan, well that plan plus voting allowed at ASU thanks to the courts?
http://www.hcpress.com/news/saturday-is-the-last-day-to-early-vote-so-far-6300-early-voters-in-watauga-total-is-39th-in-state-so-far.html
Here’s the voter breakdown per early voting place:
Plemmons Student Union at ASU – 2,155
Watauga County Administration Building in downtown Boone – 2,932
Blowing Rock Town Hall – 402
Meat Camp VFD – 235
Deep Gap VFD – 242
Western Watauga Community Center – 364
And again, facts really are a pain aren't they?
Golly gee Jus, I agree, let's have those polling places open again, since so many people used them last time... Let's have more even! If ONLY there was some person on the board who asked other town managers (not candidates) in places besides Liberal Boone if they think they should have early vote locations?
What was her name again...Rhymes with manderson?
Seriously, please, just stop digging. Funny as this is I don't think my sides can take it.
Sorry but I didn't bother to read your post, MISTER Steele. I figure since you said your responses would be a waste of time, I wouldn't waste mine. I'm sure though, that it was a very nicely polished turd.
"I didn't bother to read"
“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”
― Benjamin Franklin
LOL Jesse, you are TOO easy! I knew when you said you wouldn't waste more time on this thread, that all I had to do was bait you and you would be back.
You're such a pushover!
I can't wait to see you "wasting your time" on more ignorant turd polishing!
Tell me, did all the other kids pick on you in school?
Dear Jus-can you say PRICK? Kinda like being pricked with a needle..........
I don't think he's a "prick", Jeff. Just a sycophant and a but if a fool.
Now you, on the other hand.......
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