Pennsylvania GOPers Now Seek Personal Information From Voters In Sham ‘Audit’ | Talking Points Memo

In MO you could also use this to describe what happens when we the voters vote for a ballot initiative or amendment to the state constitution. It irks me to no end that the folks that did the work of gathering the requisite number of signature on a petition, advertise and info the voters what the ballot initiative is about, then only to have the Republican legislature say “Nope, not going to do this because we just know that the voters didn’t know what they were voting for”.

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Just to emphasize your point make sure you smack them with a wooden spoon while delivering your lines. Plus you could also ask to see two forms of a photo ID before answering any questions.

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PA a “Stand your Ground” State?

If so, both barrels at 6 feet should do the trick.

Ironically, despite many fissures and obvious vulnerabilities, the Republican Party is the more powerful of the two major political parties, as of this moment, objectively. Their power is more concentrated and more strategically spaced, and their institutionalized advantages more deeply ingrained. And, of course, they have the entirety of the U.S. Supreme Court— not that Justice Breyer would have yet noticed.

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“Apparently, only when it’s subpoenas for their own treasonous phone records are Republicans concerned about the sanctity of private information and data.”

It’s a damn shame Rethuglicans are incapable of appreciating irony…

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So, the party of small government, that freaks out at the concept of registering gun owners or sharing information about them, that complains all the time about government overreach, is getting the personal information of every PA voter so they can harass them about their vote for Biden. The party that believes people should live free from government interference is doing this…the same party that demands control over women’s uterus but freedom not to wear masks in a shop.

Somehow, I don’t think any of this is logically coherent, it’s like they just want things their way on every topic and don’t have principles behind any of their stances.

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I’ve always thought childhood name torment played a role in turning right-wing for some people. There are Democrats with weird names, sure. But Grover Norquist? Newt Gingrich? Seb Gorka? Reince Priebus? Have to think it was either supervillain or right-winger in search of generalized vengeance. (I know, the gap between them is closing.)

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It ain’t illegal when the government does it.

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Just a minor side issue. While the pols play their games the Earth, an actual intelligent being, is considering the idea of recycling the atoms of the failed human race.

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Not enough leafy green veggies.

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I thought lists of registered voters and whether they voted in each election was public information. Ditto driver’s licenses (and names and addresses) Partial SSN is a big no no, but most of what they’ve subpoenaed is available in most states to anyone who can stump a couple hundred bucks in copying fees.

Can any PA voters clarify what is the usual availability of the data they’re subpoenaing?

Some of this information may already be available, as you say, but there may be data they want that is not public. Additionally they want records of any communications between the state and the counties. It’s difficult to imagine what they think they will find. And what distinguishes the most recent election from any other? What justifies the investigation, other than a bald assertion that there must have been improper conduct for Trump to have lost? Can we hope there will be suits initiated by voters to curtail the legislature’s fishing expedition?

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Who in turn plan to hand it over to ?? some version of Cyber Ninjas. (Who came up with “Cyber Ninjas”? It sounds like a group of 12 year olds.)

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yea we Quaker Staters need to be active and not passive on this crap. I value my personal information. The R’s are abridging my rights!

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registered voters’ names, addresses, driver’s licenses and partial social security numbers from last November.

Senate officials indicated that the personal information from voters would be turned over to an unnamed private company that would proceed with the review.

the yet-to-be-identified private company would receive compensation from taxpayer dollars

UnFUCKING believable. This from the members of the party that proclaimed that ‘GOVERNMENT IS the PROBLEM’. At the time I thought them to be idiots, but who knew how prescient they would be.

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Sadly, if we still have a Democratic governor, they will let the onus to pay any judgements fall on the state; it just makes it easier to force said Democratic governor into raising taxes.

They could at least get blood and urine samples…
and semen, where applicable.

Sue them.

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Some of the information is already public: names, addresses, district/precinct information, maybe even telephone numbers. Whether or not a ballot was cast in previous elections is there, too (although the actual votes cast are not, of course).

The (partial) SSN and D/L numbers are not public. People should get together and file a class action suit against the state Senate as a body and against the Republican individual members in their capacity as elected officials. The public information is public–they can give that to anyone who requests it, even an asshat group like Cyberninja.

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