2020 Election: Predictions, Results and Reactions

[Frelga]

I gotta say, I do hate how this board has never managed to keep people with more right-leaning thoughts posting around here. Another one bites the dust. Ah well.

If not using antisemitic language is the dealbreaker for a member, then I don't see what can be done to retain them.

[Dave_LF]

I hear ya yov, but right-leaning posters have had this uncanny tendency to be rude and belligerent, even when they're not literally going Nazi. Not sure what's to be done about that.

[River]

I hear ya yov, but right-leaning posters have had this uncanny tendency to be rude and belligerent, even when they're not literally going Nazi. Not sure what's to be done about that.

Those on the right who have remained in the pro-Trump camp, or have decided to defend Trump even as they deplore him because they think something's in it for them, have bought into a position that cannot be defended with reason so they do it with other methods, be it conspiracy theories or screaming. Those on the right who either always were or turned anti-Trump tend to get blended in with the left where Trump is concerned because there's almost no point in arguing over the normal stuff when there's an anti-democrat/anti-republican (I'm using the small letters very intentionally, guys) in charge.

[Frelga]

This Election Result Won’t Be Overturned

WSJ Opinion by Karl Rove. Yes, that Karl Rove.

[N.E. Brigand]

Is it a crime to pay someone to run as a third-party candidate in order to split the vote of the opposition? Asking for a friend.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Is it a crime to pay someone to run as a third-party candidate in order to split the vote of the opposition? Asking for a friend.

Under the circumstances described in that article? It certainly seems fraudulent, but I simply am not knowledgeable enough to say for sure.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm not going to remove you from the membership. You are, of course, welcome to stay away, but I would prefer that you continue to post, if you can do so respectfully.

There was nothing disrespectful about my post.

Please honor my request to be removed from membership. It was my choice to join, it should be my choice to un-join.

For the second, and final, time, no. You are a big part of the history of this messageboard and I have no intention of erasing that.

[N.E. Brigand]

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a statement calling last week's election secure and specifically saying:

"There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised."

Also today, the President of the United States issued a baseless conspiracy theory claiming that the system used by Pennsylvania changed hundreds of thousands of Trump votes to Biden votes.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a statement calling last week's election secure and specifically saying:

"There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised."

Trump Administration’s Own Election Security Officials Reject President’s Fraud Claims

Also today, the President of the United States issued a baseless conspiracy theory claiming that the system used by Pennsylvania changed hundreds of thousands of Trump votes to Biden votes.

Trump’s Latest False Fraud Claim Came from an Anonymous Internet Poster

[River]

My husband started talking about some baseless theory involving software glitches a few days ago. He himself was the one who called it baseless. There were some machines at some locations that didn't boot up properly. This was the result of operator error. The budding conspiracy theory caused a flap in Serbia though because the software was developed in Belgrade and the support center is still there. Why Belgrade? Because Serbia is a place software development has been getting out-sourced to for some years now. There're a bunch of agencies that help outsource software development and Serbia is one of the places they like to find programmers. Other companies hire Serbian software OEMs outright on a contractual basis. One of my in-laws works through an agency and we joke about the Rent-a-Serb programming service. He gave us some gift cards that were sent to him but can only be used in the States.

In any event, the conspiracy theory is, like so many others, pure fantasy. But the Balkan connection was, in my household at least, entertaining.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

And in related news:

Two top Homeland Security officials forced to resign by White House

[Cerin]

For the second, and final, time, no. You are a big part of the history of this messageboard and I have no intention of erasing that.

To be clear, I did not understand that my request would mean altering the history of the board (which I would not want, either).

[Frelga]

Bella ciao

Off-topic, I remember this song as Mama ciao for some reason.

[River]

Bella ciao

Off-topic, I remember this song as Mama ciao for some reason.

It took me a disturbingly long time to figure out what the name and origin of the song was. My husband has a number of recordings of Bregovic's work and that was in the mix, along with stuff he wrote for Kosturica movies. We'd listen on road trips when we were students. Eventually, I learned the name and the history.

[N.E. Brigand]

CNN, NBC, ABC, and CBS have called Arizona for Biden (following Decision Desk HQ yesterday).

So FOX and the AP can breathe a sigh of relief after (probably) jumping the gun.

I wonder if FOX's early call made things better or worse, as far as getting Republicans to accept the obvious.

[River]

I bet they aren't sighing with relief. I bet they're getting snarky at their comrades, actually.

[Dave_LF]

Biden's lead in AZ is actually smaller than what he's made it up to in GA. Wonder why they called one but not the other. And Trump's NC lead is substantially larger than either.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Because of the recount shenanigans. (And the lead is smaller in AZ in term of number of votes, but not in terms of percentage of the vote.)

[River]

Biden's lead in AZ is actually smaller than what he's made it up to in GA. Wonder why they called one but not the other. And Trump's NC lead is substantially larger than either.

I have no idea why NC hasn't been called. Cunningham conceded his Senate race yesterday and I thought the Presidential would be right behind but so far crickets.

AZ was called by Fox and AP last week because the statisticians determined that there weren't going to be enough votes for Trump in the outstanding ballots to overtake Biden. Given how much that gap narrowed in the days that followed, it was a bold call, but ultimately the statisticians at the other news outlets agreed. I'm not sure they'd make the same decision regarding GA even if the GA SoS hadn't ordered an audit-recount thing. The GA race is tight. Not Florida 2000 tight, but tight.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

AZ was called by Fox and AP last week because the statisticians determined that there weren't going to be enough votes for Trump in the outstanding ballots to overtake Biden. Given how much that gap narrowed in the days that followed, it was a bold call, but ultimately the statisticians at the other news outlets agreed.

Considering that the number of ballots left to count is now less than Biden's lead, that shouldn't have been a difficult call to make.