Drop boxes and redistricting face challenges

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Voting is the first step to restoring our national honor. What comes after that? While everyone is looking forward to putting the election behind us, we then face the long process of rebuilding and reforming our institutions. They've proven mostly resilient through the onslaught of attacks they've received in the past four years, but much work is left to be done to strengthen them and to once again unite the American people around shared values. Fortunately, whether we know it or not, most of us already share tremendous common ground on our founding principles. In August, a cross-partisan coalition of hundreds of delegates from across the U.S. drafted and ratified a declaration of these principles ([link removed]) . Putting our principles ahead of politics will help us heal as a nation and set us on track toward effective governance. —Evan McMullin

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** No extension on Census count
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In a win for the Trump Administration, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the U.S. Census Bureau can conclude its 2020 count on Oct. 31, to allow enough time to crunch the data before the congressionally-mandated deadline of Dec. 31, 2020. Counting was suspended for a period of time earlier in the year due to pandemic restrictions. ([link removed])
* — "Meeting the deadline at the expense of the accuracy of the Census is not a cost worth paying," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her lone dissent. "Especially when the Government has failed to show why it could not bear the lesser cost of expending more resources to meet the deadline or continuing its prior efforts to seek an extension from Congress. This Court normally does not grant extraordinary relief on such a painfully disproportionate balance of harms." —CBS News ([link removed])
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* — Why is the accuracy of the count so critical? Data from the decennial Census is used by state legislatures in the process of redrawing congressional, state, and local electoral district boundaries. Each district is supposed to contain roughly equal numbers of people to ensure each person's voting power is roughly equivalent. ([link removed])
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* — Redistricting is a big issue this year. Since the Supreme Court refused to rule against gerrymandering, or manipulating district boundaries for party advantage, last year, states have embarked on various measures to keep the process fair. In Virginia, for example, voters are deciding whether to alter their state constitution to take away the task of redistricting from the legislature and turn it over to a bipartisan panel. —Associated Press ([link removed])

MORE: Daley: Courts are taking away one of Americans' best options for fixing voting —The Atlantic ([link removed])


** California gets its election controversy
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The California Republican Party has installed dozens of unauthorized ballot drop boxes in at least four Southern California counties, injecting a new disruption into the unprecedented 2020 election process. The coronavirus pandemic has led to historic interest in mail-in voting, but President Trump and the GOP have spent months attacking the integrity of vote-by-mail and fighting against drop boxes in court. ([link removed])
* — Republicans admitted to placing the makeshift drop boxes. They claim they merely wanted to use them to collect people's ballots and return them to election officials. The drop boxes were spotted at churches and gun shops in more conservative-leaning areas, suggesting they were part of an effort to boost turnout among GOP voters where there are competitive House races. ([link removed])
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* — Did they break the law? Yes, according to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who is overseeing the election. His office sent a memo to counties explaining the relevant state laws regulating ballot drop boxes and ballot collection efforts by third parties. Only election officials—not political parties—may establish drop boxes for voters to return their ballots. ([link removed])
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* — As usual, the president gets it wrong. "You mean only Democrats are allowed to do this?" he tweeted. "Fight hard Republicans!" Trump is confusing ballot drop boxes with ballot collection. California state laws allow any party to collect ballots, but it must be done in-person, not via drop box. Trump went on to encourage New York and Illinois Republicans to try a similar scheme. Ugh. —CNN ([link removed])

MORE: Appeals court allows Texas governor to close multiple ballot drop-off sites —USA Today ([link removed])


** Boot: What are 42% of Americans thinking?
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"It's bad enough that the president lies so much; what's worse is that so many think he is telling the truth. Unfortunately, even if Trump is defeated, a large portion of the country will continue to believe a lot of things that simply are not so—and a small but significant number could be led into violence by their lunatic beliefs. The disturbing plot by members of a right-wing militia to kidnap the governor of Michigan may be a taste of what is to come. As Francisco Goya warned, 'the sleep of reason produces monsters.'" — ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Max Boot is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

MORE: NYPD tells officers to prepare for deployment in expectation of election unrest —CNN ([link removed])


** DOJ probe: Nothing to see here
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The federal prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Bill Barr to review whether Obama-era officials improperly requested the identities of individuals whose names were redacted in intelligence documents has completed his work without finding any substantive wrongdoing. Republicans have tried to paint the "unmasking" of names—a common practice in government to help understand classified documents—as a political conspiracy. ([link removed])
* — U.S. Attorney John Bash, who left the Justice Department last week, conducted the review. He referred no criminal charges and issued no public report. The department has so far declined to release the results of Bash’s work. ([link removed])
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* — The findings will likely disappoint President Trump, who has pressed federal law enforcement to move against his political adversaries and has complained that another prosecutor assigned by Barr to investigate the FBI's 2016 investigation won't be issuing any public findings before the election. ([link removed])
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* — The DOJ has repeatedly turned to U.S. attorneys across the country to investigate matters of Republican concern during the Trump Administration. Current and former Justice officials have expressed concern that department leaders are repeatedly caving to pressure from the president to benefit his allies and target those he perceives as political enemies. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: Wallance: Only William Barr stands between Trump and the end of democracy in America —The Hill ([link removed])
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** Finn: Should we expect more Michigans?
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"The FBI and Michigan law enforcement shut down the Wolverine Watchmen before an egregious crime and a terrible human tragedy unfolded. But as I concluded just last year in my book, 'there is little reason to think the militia movement will subside soon.' Unfortunately, I did not account for the possibility that President Trump would encourage militias 'to stand back and stand by,' which seems likely to encourage and embolden groups that already clearly represent a threat." —The Conversation ([link removed])

Ed. Note: John E. Finn is professor emeritus of government at Wesleyan University and the author of "Fracturing the Founding: How the Alt-Right Corrupts the Constitution."


** Global nuclear threat is growing
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North Korea's new road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile, which can reach the U.S. and was paraded through the streets of Pyongyang this past weekend, has underscored a worrying reality: The global threat from nuclear weapons and powerful missiles has grown since President Trump entered office, despite his administration's fitful efforts to control them. ([link removed])
* — The unveiling of the North Korean weapon came less than a week after Russia test-launched an anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile on President Vladimir Putin's birthday and a month and a half after China test-fired its "carrier killer" and "Guam killer" ballistic missiles into the disputed South China Sea. ([link removed])
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* — In the Middle East, Iran has ramped up production of enriched uranium since the U.S. pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has been working with the Chinese to build production capacity for nuclear fuel and has moved to expand its missile capabilities. ([link removed])
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* — Experts say the escalatory cycle threatens decades of progress controlling the world's most dangerous weapons. A Center for Strategic and International Studies report warns that the decline of U.S. global influence and the rise of regional security tensions, coupled with the staying power of authoritarian leaders, will incentivize more nations to pursue nuclear weapons and limit the U.S.'s ability to respond. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: Russia shuts down Trump Admin's last-minute push to strike nuclear arms deal before election —The Hill ([link removed])


** Gephardt & Ridge: Our democracy depends on free, fair elections
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"Even during the Civil War, the 1918 flu pandemic, and World Wars I and II, the country was able to have valid, successful presidential elections. A failure of logistics or a brutal act of politics is no excuse for America to have its first broken election in our 240-year history. Americans must do whatever we can to preserve American democracy. We both have been to Normandy. We visited the cemetery that honors young Americans who hit the beach knowing their chances of survival were slim. History is asking comparably little of us today to preserve freedom. Surely we will respond to the call." — ([link removed]) The Boston Globe ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Dick Gephardt is a former Democratic House majority leader. Tom Ridge is a former Republican governor of Pennsylvania who served as the first secretary of Homeland Security. Both are members of the National Council on Election Integrity.


** Turning a foul ball fair
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With nobody else to scavenge for baseballs during this strange season devoid of fans, Janie McCauley had a clear advantage as a sportswriter covering Bay Area baseball and one of the few people allowed inside the stadium. So when lifelong baseball fan Kimberlee MacVicar told her in July that in her 52 years, she had never corralled a foul ball, McCauley got to work. ([link removed])
* — The next day, McCauley collected a ball hit foul by slugger Mark Canha, as the Oakland Athletics defeated the Los Angeles Angels, and presented it to MacVicar, an A's fan, who was delighted. ([link removed])
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* — That gave McCauley an idea. Why not share the souvenirs, spreading some joy to those who can't go to the ballpark? A's management signed off on the project, and the Coliseum grounds crew took to tipping her off as to where to find the prizes. The San Francisco Giants' clubhouse staff also was encouraging, allowing her to retrieve a ball or two mid-game at Oracle Park. ([link removed])
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* — All in all, McCauley has gifted some 100 baseballs to fans around the U.S. and the world—healthcare workers, teachers, construction crews, maintenance workers, delivery drivers, firefighters, bakers, grocery store clerks—from the Bay Area to as far away as Ireland and Germany. Play ball! —Associated Press ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Would you like to suggest "An American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!

I just voted the same way we have been voting in Colorado for many years now: mail-in ballots. Stand up, American Republic, and be counted! —David M., Colorado

I was particularly moved by 'McKew: Discord Is Not a Foregone Conclusion.' Mr. Trump's presidency has been a real trial for me and for my family. We are all Evangelicals, but I cannot support that man, nor my family who supports him. I do not hate anyone, but I have so much disdain in my heart for what that man has done to our country; our relationships with our allies; his disregard and lack of respect for the Constitution; and his utter failure of the way he's continuing to handle COVID-19.

I had it and spent 15 days in the ICU. I was hospitalized Feb. 1. My disease declined rapidly. My doctors had no idea what was wrong. Trump did. I ended up having a lung biopsy, became septic, and almost died. My doctors were at a loss. Trump knew what it was. Maybe I could have been spared irreparable lung damage and the terrible illness that required a chest tube and an unnecessary lung biopsy if he'd said something sooner. I'll never know.

However, I can't do what he does...I can't carry on with the complaining and sniping. It's killing me. And as a Christian, I fight every day with my feelings toward him. I certainly don't have to like him; but I don't have to participate in the discord and divisiveness any longer either. —Sharon C., Michigan
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

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