I still quote the federal constitution as the mainstay of how elections should be handled, senate, representative or president. There is a procedure to be followed to amend the "manner" in which elections are to be held. Would manner include allowing/disallowing mail-in votes, changing deadlines for receiving and the like?
In the case of Georgia (or any other state for that matteR), it does not say it is to be decided by Raffensperger and Abrams behind close doors in a mutually agreeable fashion and then have it ruled on by a judge or state or federal court system - even if it was your sister or associate. The constitution said there are 2 ways to change the "manner" of elections not 3. The new precedent throws that one out the window or stretches the meaning of "the legislature"!
1) You need to bring it before the legislature and have procedures and manners decided.
2) You can go federally and do it with congress
3) There are no other options, See rule 1 & 2!
Yes, it very "questionable" when you evoke special privilege due to COVID and use that to extend voter ballot deadlines, allow mail-in ballots and whatever other "manner" you decide you want to make. That sets a precedent and with no SCOTUS ruling, anyone can change rules as long as the judges in power okay it and 2 parties agree.
Did the Governor of Georgia create the position of the Secretary of State, which Raffensperger occupied? No. The position of the Secretary of State was created by the Georgia State Legislature. They created it so that there would be a person who would administer the elections. And Raffensperger was elected to his position by the people of Georgia. This position allows him tweak the rules for voting when unexpected issues come up. Like extending voter ballot deadlines due to unforeseen circumstances, like COVID-19. That is why the Georgia State Legislature created this position. So, these tweaks can be made, even within a few weeks of the election, if circumstances so dictate.
There is nothing in Georgia law that prohibits these tweaks to the election laws. Indeed, these tweaks are common in many elections.
In Florida in 2000, not the state legislature, but various county officials tweaked the election law. But allowing a type of ballot not used before. The butterfly ballot. These types of ballots had no be used before, or at least not recently. They came about because the Florida legislature expanded the number of Presidential candidates so that there were too many to easily fit on one page. These “tweaks” almost certainly cost Al Gore the election in Florida, which lost him the overall Election to George W. Bush.
Even though this tweak was not directly ordered by the Florida State legislature, tweaks like this are common. Circumstances are always causing elections to “evolve” from election to election. In no way does this mean that the vote in 2000 was fraudulent. Or that George W. Bush was not the true victor of both Florida and the national election.
Questions:
If changing the voter ballot deadlines in Georgia for 2020, done without explicit approval of the Georgia Legislature, invalidates the 2020 election in that state.
Then:
Why didn’t the use of butterfly ballots in Florida for 2000, done without explicit approval of the Florida Legislature, and never before or at least recently been used in Florida, invalidate the 2000 election in that state?
Why are not all state elections which have these tweaks, which are common, invalid?
