Contrary to the narrative that Democrats have been peddling this election cycle, Westmoreland County, PA is finding out firsthand just how unreliable mail-in voting can be.
According to WPXI, 58,000 ballots that were supposed to be mailed out to residents on Tuesday have yet to be sent out as of Thursday.
In a statement, Westmoreland County Election Bureau blamed the contractor it hired to send out the ballots:
“The first batch of processed and approved applications was submitted to the County’s mail house, Mid-West Direct on October 3rd. It has been brought to our attention today that Mid-West did not send out the ballots on Tuesday as indicated.”
Breaking: nearly 60,000 mail in ballots for voters in Westmoreland county were supposed to be mailed out on Tuesday but election officials discovered today they were never sent. Contractor responsible for mailing them says they will go out tomorrow. Details tonight at 11 #wpxi
— Rick Earle (@WPXIRickEarle) October 9, 2020
WPXI reports the following statement was released after it reached out to the Attorney General’s office and the Secretary of the Commonwealth: “The County has been assured that the ballots will be sent out starting tomorrow morning. Once Mid-West is able to catch up on the backlog over the weekend, the County expects the process to run smoothly.”
Facebook Paying Social Media Users to Suspend Accounts Ahead of November Elections
Need a little stimulus money to get you through the pandemic and sick of political nonsense on social media? You’re in luck! Facebook is offering money to those who are willing to stop using Facebook and Instagram in the weeks before the November presidential election. “To assess the impact of social media on voting, the company will pay selected members up to $120 to deactivate their accounts beginning at the end of September” according to the New York Post.
The announcement came from yet another social media outlet, when Facebook spokesperson Liz Bourgeois tweeted last week, “anyone who chooses to opt-in whether it’s completing surveys or deactivating FB or IG for a period of time – will be compensated. This is fairly standard for this type of academic research.”
Facebook expects 200,000 to 400,000 people to take part in the research study. “Representative, scientific samples of people in the US will be selected and invited to participate in the study. Some potential participants will see a notice in Facebook or Instagram inviting them to take part in the study” said Facebook.
Samples of the population will “mirror the diversity of the US adult population, as well as users of Facebook and Instagram” claims the social media giant. Last week the company CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced he was banning all new political ads from the Facebook platform to help thwart “misinformation.”
The results of the study would be expected to be released sometime in 2021 and the goal is “to continue to amplify all that is good for democracy on social media and mitigate against that which is not, we need more objective, dispassionate, empirically grounded research” proclaimed Facebook.
Florida AG requests FBI probe into ex-con donations
Michael Bloomberg donated millions of dollars to help convicted felons in Florida register to vote.
But will he get away with it? Maybe, but maybe not.
Florida’s attorney general is requesting that the FBI and state law enforcement look into the billionaire for donating millions of dollars to pay the outstanding fines of 32,000 convicted felons in Florida, all to help them regain their right to vote in the upcoming election.
In a letter to the FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement, state Attorney General Ashley Moody wrote that she had looked into Bloomberg’s fundraising and personal donation to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, saying“it appears that further investigation is warranted,” according to the New York Post. “Accordingly, I request that your agencies further investigate this matter and take appropriate steps as merited.”
The former presidential candidate raised over $16 million and donated $5 million to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a move that would benefit ex-cons as part of a 2018 state constitutional amendment allowing felons who have served their time to regain their right to vote. But, in order for them to regain that right, they need to pay any outstanding fines, fees or restitution.
In comes Bloomberg to save the day, with only 40 days left until the election.
Convenient.
News of concern over Bloomberg’s extremely generous donation first emerged on Tuesday when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla) said that a criminal probe may already be in the works during an appearance on Fox News, according to the New York Post.
“[Under Florida law] it’s a third-degree felony for someone to either directly or indirectly provide something of value to impact whether or not someone votes. So the question is whether or not paying off someone’s fines and legal obligations counts as something of value, and it clearly does. If Michael Bloomberg was offering to pay off people’s credit card debts, you would obviously see the value in that.”
After dropping out of the presidential race in March, Bloomberg endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and is doing all he can to garner votes for the former vice president in Florida.
Not only did he donate millions to help felons register to vote, Bloomberg also announced a $100 million push for the presidential candidate in Florida earlier this month.
“Voting starts on Sept. 24 in Florida so the need to inject real capital in that state quickly is an urgent need. Mike believes that by investing in Florida it will allow campaign resources and other Democratic resources to be used in other states, in particular the state of Pennsylvania, said Bloomberg adviser Kevin Sheekey, according to the New York Post.
With the election right around the corner, an FBI into Bloomberg’s big pocket donations could give Republicans the ammunition they need to secure the White House for four more years.
