President Donald J. Trump campaign sued for attempting to disenfranchise Black voters

 

Trump campaign sued for attempting to disenfranchise Black voters

Story by Yahoo News 

Written by Crystal Hill

·Yahoo NewsReporter

Wed, November 25, 2020, 5:00 AM EST

The Trump campaign has repeatedly attempted to use the judicial system to overturn the president’s defeat to President-elect Joe Biden, filing more than two dozen unsuccessful lawsuits since Election Day.

But the president’s campaign now finds itself on the other side of a legal case in a newly filed federal lawsuit alleging that it violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 when it sought to “disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters,” particularly African Americans in metropolitan areas of Michigan.

“It’s not even about the success of President Trump and the Trump campaign’s attempts to overturn the election,” Monique Lin-Luse, assistant counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which filed the lawsuit, told Yahoo News. “The very attempt ... to overturn it by disenfranchising and de-legitimizing Black voters is what we believe is unlawful, and it's also dangerous and corrosive to our democracy.”

President Trump at the White House on Tuesday. (Susan Walsh/AP)

The lawsuit, filed Friday in a Washington, D.C., federal court, was brought on behalf of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and three Detroit residents over Trump’s apparent efforts to sway local officials in Wayne County, Mich., and state legislators to hold off on certifying votes or interfere in the electoral process.

President Trump met with Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey at the White House on Friday in what was viewed as an attempt by Trump to convince the GOP legislators to cooperate with a plan to override the will of voters in Michigan.

The lawmakers said after the meeting that they intend to “follow the law” regarding the selection of Michigan’s electors. Shirkey told the Associated Press that Trump talked about Michigan election results with them, but added that the meeting was harmless, the AP reported Tuesday.

In Wayne County, Trump reportedly tried to pressure the two Republican members — Monica Palmer and William Hartmann — of the county’s four-person Board of Canvassers not to certify the results of the election there.

Palmer and Hartmann initially voted against certification, sparking outrage on social media, then backtracked and voted to certify the results. The AP reported that the president then personally called the two officials, after which they filed affidavits seeking to rescind their certification, which can’t be done, court records show.

“During the meeting, one of the Republican Canvassers said she would be open to certifying the rest of Wayne County (which is predominately white) but not Detroit (which is predominately Black),” the complaint said.

The lawsuit also cites a press conference last Thursday in Washington, during which Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s lawyers, claimed without evidence that the campaign had identified 300,000 illegitimate ballots.

“These ballots were all cast in Detroit,” Giuliani said, according to the complaint. “It changes the result of the election in Michigan, if you take out Wayne County.”

The case points to several tweets from Trump alleging fraud in Detroit. “Voter Fraud in Detroit is rampant, and has been for many years,” Trump tweeted on Nov. 19.

Yahoo News sent an email to the Trump campaign seeking comment, and court records don’t yet list an attorney in this particular case. NPR reported Tuesday that the campaign denied going after Black voters. Senior legal adviser Jenna Ellis told the station that their only goal is “to ensure safe, secure and fair elections.”

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted Monday to certify the state’s election results, after days of speculation over whether outside influence from Trump’s campaign or false allegations of voter fraud would complicate a fairly routine process. Black people account for roughly 39 percent of the population in Wayne County, the largest county in the state, which includes Detroit, according to the most recent census data. Biden won there by more than a 2-1 margin, and won the state by more than 150,000 votes.

The civil case goes beyond Michigan, alleging a strategy from the Trump campaign to disenfranchise voters in cities with large swaths of Black voters.

A drive-by rally to certify the presidential election results in Lansing, Mich., on Nov. 14. (Paul Sancya/AP)

“President Trump and his campaign have repeatedly — and falsely — raised the specter of widespread fraud in Detroit and other cities with large Black populations, including Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Atlanta, in an effort to suggest votes from those cities should not be counted,” the complaint says.

Court records show that the case was assigned Tuesday to Judge Emmet Sullivan, the same judge who presided over the criminal case against former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and who in early November ordered the U.S. Postal Service to sweep facilities in states including Georgia and Michigan to ensure that mail-in ballots were delivered.

The new lawsuit asks the court to declare that Trump’s campaign engaged in conduct that violated the Voting Rights Act and seeks to prohibit the campaign, and anyone acting in concert or on its behalf, from “continuing to exert pressure on state or local officials to disenfranchise Plaintiffs or other Black voters by not certifying the results of the November 2020 election, or by appointing an unlawful slate of electors that disenfranchises Plaintiffs or other Black voters.”

Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, told Yahoo News that voter suppression is “alive and well” in the country. “What’s different about this,” she said, “is that this may mark the first time in recent history when we've seen a voter suppression effort orchestrated by a sitting president, that aimed to cancel out the votes of black voters on a massive and unprecedented scale.”

The lawsuit also raises the question of what, if any, consequences the Trump campaign and its allies could face in court for the state and federal civil cases they’ve filed that have yet to produce credible claims or evidence of widespread voter fraud.

“I think that a court could discourage frivolous litigation,” Justin Levitt, an elections expert and professor at Loyola Marymount University, told Yahoo News via email. “But it’s extremely unlikely that a court not presently hearing the litigation will be the court to engage.”

In other words, any sanctions against the Trump campaign in court would most likely come from a judge in one of the campaign’s election cases. Generally, sanctions are pursued by one of the parties, who files a motion detailing as much and a judge eventually rules on whether to grant it. Sanctions can include requiring the plaintiff to pay legal fees for the defendant.

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani speaking at the Republican National Committee headquarters last week. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Last week, lawyers for the city of Detroit sought sanctions against the Trump campaign’s counsel in federal court in the form of striking from the record the two affidavits submitted by Hartmann and Palmer in Wayne County in a federal lawsuit and a voluntary motion to dismiss from the campaign that falsely said the county declined to certify the results of the election, court records show.

“The affidavits and the text in the notice were submitted for an improper purpose: to make a gratuitous, public statement about their purported reason for voluntary dismissal, before the court could reject their baseless claims of election fraud,” the Nov. 19 legal filing said.

Clarke said that in one of the now-dismissed cases involving Maricopa County, Ariz., the judge essentially invited the county to seek to recoup legal fees from the campaign. An example, she said, of a court finding the campaign’s conduct to be “irresponsible and inappropriate.”

“Some [courts] have been making quite clear that they find the claims meritless, and if the meritless litigation continues, defendants may well seek sanctions in the cases where they are sued,” Levitt said.

Legal and elections experts have for weeks stressed to Yahoo News and other news outlets that the Trump campaign’s unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and voter irregularities will only serve to undermine voters’ confidence in the electoral process.

“They’re frivolous in the sense that the legal claims are baseless,” Clarke said. “They’re not frivolous to the extent that we have a sitting president who's placed a target on the backs of Black voters. It’s hard to ignore the grim racial reality driving this effort.”

Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney Issues Statement on GSA Head Finally Allowing Transition Process to Proceed

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Nov. 23, 2020 CONTACT:  Aryele Bradford, (202) 226-5181  Chairwoman Issues Statement on GSA Head Finally Allowing Transition Process to Proceed

Washington, D.C. (Nov. 23, 2020)—Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, issued the following statement after the General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy granted the Biden-Harris Transition Team access to critical services and facilities specified in the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and millions of dollars in funding that Congress appropriated on October 1, 2020, for transition activities under the Act: “I am heartened that President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will now finally be allowed to fully engage in preparing for some of the biggest crises our nation has faced in decades.  But make no mistake—it is no cause for celebration that members of the Trump Administration refused to follow the law for weeks while coronavirus cases spiked to catastrophic levels.  While I am thankful for tonight’s news, I lament the damage that was done to our democracy and to the health and safety of the American people.” ###

Congress' Oversight and Reform Committee demands GSA Administrator Emily Murphy brief Congress on refusal to grant Biden-Harris access to transitional information

UNITED STATES CONGRESS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 19, 2020 Contact: Aryele Bradford (Oversight and Reform):  (202) 226-5181 Evan Hollander (Appropriations):  (202) 740-6844 Committee Chairs Summon GSA Head On Refusal to Grant Biden-Harris Team Access to Transition Resources  Chairs Also Planning Potential Public Hearing with Administrator, Deputy, Chief of Staff, and General Counsel

Washington, D.C. (Nov. 19, 2020)—This evening, Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rep. Nita M. Lowey, Oversight and Reform Committee’s Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, and Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike Quigley sent a letter demanding that General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy personally brief the Chairs and their Ranking Members by November 23, 2020, regarding her ongoing refusal to grant the Biden-Harris Transition Team access to critical services and facilities specified in the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 and millions of dollars in funding that Congress appropriated on October 1, 2020, for transition activities under the Act.   “Your actions in blocking transition activities required under the law are having grave effects, including undermining the orderly transfer of power, impairing the incoming Administration’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, hampering its ability to address our nation’s dire economic crisis, and endangering our national security,” the Chairs wrote. “We have been extremely patient, but we can wait no longer,” the Chairs added.  “As GSA Administrator, it is your responsibility to follow the law and assure the safety and well-being of the United States and its people—not to submit to political pressure to violate the law and risk the consequences.” Click here to read the full letter.   ###

President-Elect Joe Biden has 290 Electoral Votes while Donald Trump has yet to concede - Georgia remains undeclared with a re-count in session

 Presidential results

From The Associated Press declares victory for Joe Biden

The Associated Press has called this race · Learn more

Joe Biden

290

270 to win

Donald Trump

232

The process

In the 2020 U.S. general election, The Associated Press will declare winners in more than 7,000 races – starting with the White House and reaching down the ballot to every seat in every state legislature. This hallmark of AP’s Election Day news report is produced by a dedicated team of election analysts, researchers and race callers who make up our Decision Desk.

AP does not make projections or name apparent or likely winners. If our race callers cannot definitively say a candidate has won, we do not engage in speculation. AP did not call the closely contested race in 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore – we stood behind our assessment that the margin in Florida made it too close to call.

Only when AP is fully confident a race has been won – defined most simply as the moment a trailing candidate no longer has a path to victory – will we make a call. In the race for president in 2016, that moment came at 2:29 a.m. ET the day after Election Day. Our APNewsAlert put it simply: “WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump elected president of the United States.”

AP’s race callers and Decision Desk are driven entirely by the facts. Race calls made by other organizations have no bearing on when AP declares a candidate the winner. Our decision team does not engage in debate with any campaign or candidate. Should a candidate declare victory – or offer a concession – before AP calls a race, we will cover newsworthy developments in our reporting.  In doing so, we will make clear that AP has not yet declared a winner and explain the reason why we believe the race is too early or too close to call.

AP will declare winners in 7,000 races in 2020

Races are called when a winner is clear

The process

In the 2020 U.S. general election, The Associated Press will declare winners in more than 7,000 races – starting with the White House and reaching down the ballot to every seat in every state legislature. This hallmark of AP’s Election Day news report is produced by a dedicated team of election analysts, researchers and race callers who make up our Decision Desk.

AP does not make projections or name apparent or likely winners. If our race callers cannot definitively say a candidate has won, we do not engage in speculation. AP did not call the closely contested race in 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore – we stood behind our assessment that the margin in Florida made it too close to call.

Only when AP is fully confident a race has been won – defined most simply as the moment a trailing candidate no longer has a path to victory – will we make a call. In the race for president in 2016, that moment came at 2:29 a.m. ET the day after Election Day. Our APNewsAlert put it simply: “WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump elected president of the United States.”

AP’s race callers and Decision Desk are driven entirely by the facts. Race calls made by other organizations have no bearing on when AP declares a candidate the winner. Our decision team does not engage in debate with any campaign or candidate. Should a candidate declare victory – or offer a concession – before AP calls a race, we will cover newsworthy developments in our reporting.  In doing so, we will make clear that AP has not yet declared a winner and explain the reason why we believe the race is too early or too close to call.

AP will declare winners in 7,000 races in 2020

Races are called when a winner is clear

Q: Who calls races at AP?

A: AP’s race callers are staff who are deeply familiar with the states where they declare winners. Most have called races in a state for many years. Their work begins months before Election Day, as they study election rules and recount requirements and track changes and updates to election law. They work with AP’s political and government reporters to sharpen their understanding of campaigns and track coverage of races from AP member news organizations and customers.

They also review and rely on information from AP’s election research group. They know before polls close how each county and congressional district in their state has voted in past elections, the state’s past results for voting by mail and early in-person voting, and the state’s history of counting votes after Election Day.

Every election year, race callers also complete extensive training sessions designed to review and refresh the analytical skills required to make accurate decisions on election night.

Q: When does AP call a race?

A: AP race callers have a wide range of tools at their disposal to analyze the state of a race. They include AP’s vote count, which it has conducted in every U.S. presidential election since 1848. The Decision Desk also has access to data from AP VoteCast, our wide-ranging survey of the American electorate.

Race callers collaborate with analysts who focus on statewide races, such as those for U.S. Senate and governor, and elections for the U.S. House of Representatives. The editors at AP’s Decision Desk sign off on every race call for president, U.S. Senate and governor.

Together, they are looking at far more than just the overall vote totals. They study the incoming vote county by county. In states where the information is available, they look at the vote by type of ballot: cast in person on Election Day, or in advance by mail or in person. They are also in constant contact with AP’s vote count team, in search of the latest information about what’s been counted so far and how many ballots may still be left to count.

Much attention this year has focused on when ballots will be counted by election officials – before Election Day, on Election Day or on the days after. This is something AP’s Decision Desk has long factored into making a race call. In 2018, for example, Republican Martha McSally led in the race for U.S. Senate in Arizona on election night. AP waited to declare a winner because we expected Democrat Kyrsten Sinema would fare much better than McSally in late-arriving mail ballots that would be counted after Election Day. She did, and AP called Sinema the winner the following Monday.

All of this reporting and analysis is aimed at determining the answer to a single question: Can the trailing candidates catch the leader? Only when the answer is an unquestionable “no” is the race is ready to be called

Q: Will AP use exit polls to call races?

A: For many years, AP was part of the National Election Pool that conducted exit polls in general elections and during presidential primaries. AP left the NEP after the 2016 election, in part because we no longer believe interviewing voters at polling places on Election Day is the best methodology to survey an electorate that increasingly votes in advance.

In 2018, we debuted AP VoteCast. Working with NORC at the University of Chicago, AP developed a new approach to survey research designed specifically to account for the steady rise in votes cast before Election Day. In 2018, roughly 43% of voters cast their ballots before polls opened on Election Day. Due to the pandemic, it appears certain that more than half of voters will do so in 2020.

While we did not anticipate the pandemic when developing AP VoteCast, its methodology is well suited for this moment. Research from AP VoteCast will tell us how many people voted early, among other things, helping us understand the shape of the race. You can read more about its methodology and how we plan use results from the survey here.

Q: How can AP call a race as soon as polls close?

A: Not all races are closely contested. In some states, a party or candidate’s past history of consistent and convincing wins – by a wide margin – make a race eligible to be declared as soon as polls close. In these states, we use results from AP VoteCast to confirm a candidate has won.

To be sure, AP will not call the winner of a race before all the polls close in a jurisdiction. And we remain committed to using results from AP VoteCast with great care and caution, applying the same standard of absolute assurance to a race call made at poll close as we do all others.

Q: When is a race "too close to call"?

A: Beginning in 2019, AP’s Decision Desk started the practice of formally declaring some elections as “too close to call.” The vote tabulation in such a race has reached its primary conclusion – all outstanding ballots save provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots have been counted – without a clear winner.

AP may decide not to call a race if the margin between the top two candidates is less than 0.5 percentage points. On election night, AP may not call winners in races for U.S. House if the margin is less than 1,000 votes and winners in races for state legislature if the margin is less than 2 percentage points or 100 votes.

If an election has significant news value, such as one that would determine party control of a state legislature, AP will closely review the race to determine whether an exception to these standards may be made.

In races where tabulation remains active and ongoing, AP will not declare a race “too close to call” unless it is clear it will proceed to or be subject to a recount. That includes races where completing the vote count may take several days. In such cases, AP will describe a race in its news report as “too early to call” – an informal designation that indicates we do not have enough data to make a race call.

Q: How does AP handle recounts?

A: AP does not declare a winner of an election that will be — or is likely to become — subject to a mandatory recount.

In several states, recounts are mandated if the margin between the top two candidates falls inside a set range established by law. AP will not call a race if the margin is within such a mandatory recount range — or if it could fall into that range as final votes are counted.

In some states, recounts may be requested if the margin falls inside of a set range. In others, candidates can request a recount regardless of the margin between the top two candidates. In these states, AP will not call a race if the margin between the top two candidates is 0.5 percentage points or less, or if the margin could fall inside that range once all ballots cast are counted.

AP may call the race if the trailing candidate confirms they will not seek a recount or if the candidate publicly concedes the election.

Q: Who calls races at AP?

A: AP’s race callers are staff who are deeply familiar with the states where they declare winners. Most have called races in a state for many years. Their work begins months before Election Day, as they study election rules and recount requirements and track changes and updates to election law. They work with AP’s political and government reporters to sharpen their understanding of campaigns and track coverage of races from AP member news organizations and customers.

They also review and rely on information from AP’s election research group. They know before polls close how each county and congressional district in their state has voted in past elections, the state’s past results for voting by mail and early in-person voting, and the state’s history of counting votes after Election Day.

Every election year, race callers also complete extensive training sessions designed to review and refresh the analytical skills required to make accurate decisions on election night.

Q: When does AP call a race?

A: AP race callers have a wide range of tools at their disposal to analyze the state of a race. They include AP’s vote count, which it has conducted in every U.S. presidential election since 1848. The Decision Desk also has access to data from AP VoteCast, our wide-ranging survey of the American electorate.

Race callers collaborate with analysts who focus on statewide races, such as those for U.S. Senate and governor, and elections for the U.S. House of Representatives. The editors at AP’s Decision Desk sign off on every race call for president, U.S. Senate and governor.

Together, they are looking at far more than just the overall vote totals. They study the incoming vote county by county. In states where the information is available, they look at the vote by type of ballot: cast in person on Election Day, or in advance by mail or in person. They are also in constant contact with AP’s vote count team, in search of the latest information about what’s been counted so far and how many ballots may still be left to count.

Much attention this year has focused on when ballots will be counted by election officials – before Election Day, on Election Day or on the days after. This is something AP’s Decision Desk has long factored into making a race call. In 2018, for example, Republican Martha McSally led in the race for U.S. Senate in Arizona on election night. AP waited to declare a winner because we expected Democrat Kyrsten Sinema would fare much better than McSally in late-arriving mail ballots that would be counted after Election Day. She did, and AP called Sinema the winner the following Monday.

All of this reporting and analysis is aimed at determining the answer to a single question: Can the trailing candidates catch the leader? Only when the answer is an unquestionable “no” is the race is ready to be called

Q: Will AP use exit polls to call races?

A: For many years, AP was part of the National Election Pool that conducted exit polls in general elections and during presidential primaries. AP left the NEP after the 2016 election, in part because we no longer believe interviewing voters at polling places on Election Day is the best methodology to survey an electorate that increasingly votes in advance.

In 2018, we debuted AP VoteCast. Working with NORC at the University of Chicago, AP developed a new approach to survey research designed specifically to account for the steady rise in votes cast before Election Day. In 2018, roughly 43% of voters cast their ballots before polls opened on Election Day. Due to the pandemic, it appears certain that more than half of voters will do so in 2020.

While we did not anticipate the pandemic when developing AP VoteCast, its methodology is well suited for this moment. Research from AP VoteCast will tell us how many people voted early, among other things, helping us understand the shape of the race. You can read more about its methodology and how we plan use results from the survey here.

Q: How can AP call a race as soon as polls close?

A: Not all races are closely contested. In some states, a party or candidate’s past history of consistent and convincing wins – by a wide margin – make a race eligible to be declared as soon as polls close. In these states, we use results from AP VoteCast to confirm a candidate has won.

To be sure, AP will not call the winner of a race before all the polls close in a jurisdiction. And we remain committed to using results from AP VoteCast with great care and caution, applying the same standard of absolute assurance to a race call made at poll close as we do all others.

Q: When is a race "too close to call"?

A: Beginning in 2019, AP’s Decision Desk started the practice of formally declaring some elections as “too close to call.” The vote tabulation in such a race has reached its primary conclusion – all outstanding ballots save provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots have been counted – without a clear winner.

AP may decide not to call a race if the margin between the top two candidates is less than 0.5 percentage points. On election night, AP may not call winners in races for U.S. House if the margin is less than 1,000 votes and winners in races for state legislature if the margin is less than 2 percentage points or 100 votes.

If an election has significant news value, such as one that would determine party control of a state legislature, AP will closely review the race to determine whether an exception to these standards may be made.

In races where tabulation remains active and ongoing, AP will not declare a race “too close to call” unless it is clear it will proceed to or be subject to a recount. That includes races where completing the vote count may take several days. In such cases, AP will describe a race in its news report as “too early to call” – an informal designation that indicates we do not have enough data to make a race call.

Q: How does AP handle recounts?

A: AP does not declare a winner of an election that will be — or is likely to become — subject to a mandatory recount.

In several states, recounts are mandated if the margin between the top two candidates falls inside a set range established by law. AP will not call a race if the margin is within such a mandatory recount range — or if it could fall into that range as final votes are counted.

In some states, recounts may be requested if the margin falls inside of a set range. In others, candidates can request a recount regardless of the margin between the top two candidates. In these states, AP will not call a race if the margin between the top two candidates is 0.5 percentage points or less, or if the margin could fall inside that range once all ballots cast are counted.

AP may call the race if the trailing candidate confirms they will not seek a recount or if the candidate publicly concedes the election.

Bodycam video released in Walter Wallace Jr. shooting in Philadelphia

Story by EURWEB

*The City of Philadelphia has identified the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., the 27-year-old Black man who killed last month during a confrontation with law enforcement. 

During a press conference Wednesday, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw named Sean Matarazzo, 25, and Thomas Munz, 26, as the officers involved in the deadly incident, ABC News reports. Officials also released audio and bodycam footage of the officers’ interaction with Wallace in the moments leading up to his death. 

We previously reported… the shooting occurred on Oct. 26 before 4 p.m. as officers responded to a report of a person with a weapon in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood. Officers ordered Wallace to drop a knife he was holding, but a police spokeswoman said Wallace instead “advanced towards” them. Both officers then fired “several times.”

Winner of the United States 2020 Presidential Election is Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden

Pennsylvania and Nevada go to Biden!! 

Democratic Nominee Joe Biden Wins the United States Presidency 

Biden 279   Trump 214 

• Electoral Votes at 10am EST November 10, 2020: Biden 279   Trump 214 

270 Electoral Votes needed to clinch the US Presidency

Wisconsin Results: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-elections/wisconsin-president-results?icid=election_usmap

CNN Map and Link: https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/president?iid=politics_election_national_map

NBC Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-elections/president-results

ABC Link: https://abcnews.go.com/Elections

Yahoo News: https://www.yahoo.com/elections

• President
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Biden Projected to be President-Elect

Last Updated: November 10, 9:53:04AM ET

Exit Polls »

Joe Biden

279

270 to win

Donald Trump

214

76,177,542 votes

71,541,909 votes