Hasta La Gadget!

If you look at Donald Trump’s website you’ll find an application form for election monitors “to help stop crooked Hillary from rigging this election.” It is Trump’s purpose to undermine the fair electoral process as a face-saving alibi for his impending electoral defeat.

Trump has said that he expects fraud in “certain areas of states”. Given all of his campaign rhetoric it is not unreasonable to expect that Mr. Trump’s vigilante “monitors” would harass and intimidate voters specifically in black, Asian and Hispanic communities where he has little support. The resulting images of chaos, and the possibility of violence, that would likely ensue would undermine the very sanctity and legitimacy of American democracy.

Given the hostility between Trump and the Republican National Committee, it is highly unlikely that these so- called monitors would receive appropriate instruction or education, but rather would simply be turned loose on these “certain areas of states”, Trump’s euphemism for minority districts. As a long-time poll watcher in the United States, South Asia and South America, I have seen how electoral processes can be disrupted by frivolous challenges, malicious signature and ID checking, and other forms of voter intimidation.

Such harassment would likely lead to huge back-ups, multi-hour-long voting lines and even potential violence. It would ultimately undermine the confidence of the American people in the election outcome.

And this is exactly what Mr. Trump wants – a preemptive alibi for his anticipated electoral catastrophe.

Electoral violence is rare in the United States but not uncommon in the developing world. Violence abroad is most often incited by incumbent governments who believe that they will lose a fairly contested election, or by opposition parties that know they are about to lose and thus attempt to preemptively delegitimize the outcome.

International Federation of Election Services (IFES) officials William Sweeney, Chad Vickery and Katherine Ellena have recently noted that they have “witnessed the emergence of a campaign strategy whereby candidates…cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process and the institutions that manage it during the pre-election period…to derail or establish lasting doubts about the legitimacy of the outcome.”

Let’s look at Pennsylvania as one case in point. Although Donald Trump has said the only way he can lose Pennsylvania is by election rigging, the Pennsylvania voter ID law, enacted by a Republican legislature and governor, was overturned by the court when not a single case of voter fraud could be produced as evidence to support the restrictive law. So when Trump claims that he can only lose Pennsylvania to Clinton as a result of rigging – despite polls consistently showing him ten points behind her – we should assume his comments are deliberate attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the Pennsylvania election.

And Pennsylvania is only one of many possible examples. Seventeen Republican-controlled states have enacted restrictive voter ID laws ostensibly to prevent fraud. But given the absence of any credible evidence of fraud, we must assume that voter suppression is the agenda. In case after case challenging these restrictive state laws, courts have found them to be unconstitutional, most recently in North Carolina.

There are approximately 185,000 precincts where Americans will vote in this year’s Presidential election. In the more closely contested states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia there are over 45,000 precincts. Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio allow citizens to carry concealed weapons anywhere.

Let us assume that 20% of the precincts in contested states are in areas where a majority of the voters are black, Hispanic or Asian. That would leave 9,000 precincts as ripe targets for harassment and intimidation. If goon squads provoked violence even in only 5% of these precincts, America and the world would see a spectacle of political chaos in 450 U.S. voting precincts.

The danger of violence is real. Mr. Trump shouts at his rallies for his supporters to “beat the crap out of them [demonstrators]” and “take them out on stretchers” significantly contribute to this danger. A coalition of 76 civil rights organizations has thus recently urged both the Republican and Democratic Parties to denounce attempts to have untrained citizen monitors positioned at or near polling centers on election day.

Is the possibility of harassment, intimidation and violence far-fetched? Anyone who has observed Trump rallies where Trump’s hyperbolic rhetoric has turned crowds into mobs, cannot but be concerned that the rabidity of his most ardent supporters could morph into such a result on election day. A Pew survey recently found that only 11% of Trump supporters believe that the presidential vote will be accurately reported all across the country. Thus close to 90% of Trump supporters already accept Mr. Trump’s declaration that the election will be rigged against him. These are the people that Donald Trump wants to fan out across America in black, Hispanic and Asian neighborhoods on November 8th. And thousands of them could be armed. In the biggest contested electoral prize – Florida – over one million citizens are licensed to carry concealed weapons.

What can be done to prevent this threat to American democracy? Local and state officials must immediately rise to the unfolding challenge. Clearly, Democratic and Republican state parties should carefully train and educate monitors for election day, and certify only legitimate poll watchers. Any group of de facto Trump election monitors, not trained and certified by responsible party committees, should not be permitted on or near polling sites. Police should be assigned to polling places in minority areas to make sure that voters who are waiting in line to vote are not harassed or have their identities frivolously challenged.

In addition, if it appears that significant harassment and possible violence are likely at polling places, state governors should preemptively mobilize their National Guards. And if governors refuse to act, the President should be prepared to federalize the National Guard.

The press should be positioned at black, Hispanic and Asian neighborhoods to record incidents of harassment and incitement to violence.

The League of Women Voters, the Urban League, the NAACP, La Rasa, CAIR, various Hispanic and good government groups all across the nation should prepare to have their own monitors at potential flash points in minority precincts.

Mr. Trump’s rhetoric, policy and personality have already fundamentally undermined the Republican Party of the United States. But we should not allow him to unleash goon squads to undermine the American political process itself.

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HANGZHOU, China Sept 3 (Reuters) – A Chinese official confronted U.S. President Barack Obama’s national security adviser on the tarmac on Saturday prompting the Secret Service to intervene, an unusual altercation as China implements strict controls ahead of a big summit.

The stakes are high for China to pull off a trouble-free G20 summit of the world’s top economies, its highest profile event of the year, as it looks to cement its global standing and avoid acrimony over a long list of tensions with Washington.

Shortly after Obama’s plane landed in the eastern city of Hangzhou, a Chinese official attempted to prevent his national security adviser Susan Rice from walking to the motorcade as she crossed a media rope line, speaking angrily to her before a Secret Service agent stepped between the two.

Rice responded but her comments were inaudible to reporters standing underneath the wing of Air Force One. It was unclear if the official, whose name was not immediately clear, knew that Rice was a senior official and not a reporter.

The same official shouted at a White House press aide who was instructing foreign reporters on where to stand as they recorded Obama disembarking from the plane.

“This is our country. This is our airport,” the official said in English, pointing and speaking angrily with the aide.

The U.S. aide insisted that the journalists be allowed to stand behind a rope line, and they were able to record the interaction and Obama’s arrival uninterrupted, typical practice for U.S. press traveling with the president.

A White House spokesman and China’s Foreign Ministry both did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

The altercation occurred out of sight of Obama, who greeted ambassadors and other officials before the presidential motorcade pulled away with Rice.

The incident is an illustration of the image-conscious ruling Communist Party’s efforts to control the media as its seeks to orchestrate what it hopes will be a flawless event.

China has taken extensive security measures in preparation for the G20 summit opening on Sunday.

On Saturday, many roads and shops in Hangzhou were deserted and shuttered in the usually bustling city with a population of 9 million.

The Chinese government has broad control over domestic media and prevents many foreign media outlets from publishing in the country, including by blocking their websites.

Obama has raised issues of freedom of the press on previous visits to China, which insists that media must follow the party line and promote “positive propaganda.”

Foreign reporters are often physically prevented from covering sensitive stories, but altercations involving foreign government officials are rare.

Rice met Chinese dissidents before her last trip to China in late July, when she held talks with President Xi Jinping and other senior officials.

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The White Ocean camp at Burning Man says that it’s made up of “dreamers that blur the lines between reality and the impossible.” Unfortunately for White Ocean, however, “reality” recently meant getting its shit fucked up by a bunch of vandals.

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A police officer and a wanted suspect are both dead after a chase led to gunfire in New Mexico on Friday.

Authorities identified the slain officer as 33-year-old Clint Corvinus, a four-and-a-half year veteran of the Alamogordo Police Department, according to his memorial page. He is survived by his 8-year-old daughter and his parents.

Corvinus and a rookie officer he was training encountered the suspect, Joseph Moreno, early Friday morning during a traffic stop in Alamogordo, The Associated Press reported.

The 38-year-old Moreno, who had three active arrest warrants, fled on foot. A shootout ensued, leaving both the officer and suspect dead.

Moreno had a lengthy criminal history, racking up charges for drugs, burglary and firearms, according to reports.

The incident marks the second shooting death of a police officer in the state in the past month. On August 12, Hatch officer Jose Chavez was gunned down during a traffic stop.

“I am again so very saddened to see that yet another courageous law enforcement officer has been killed in the line of duty,” New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said in a statement. “I ask all New Mexicans to keep this brave officer’s family and friends in their thoughts and prayers.” 

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NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Another win, another milestone for Serena Williams who rolled into the U.S. Open last 16 on Saturday by crushing Sweden’s Johanna Larsson 6-2 6-1 to collect grand slam victory number 307 – the most by a woman in the Open era.

As in the majority of her victories at the majors, Williams operated with ruthless efficiency but displayed little fire as she coolly dispatched the 47th-ranked Swede in exactly one hour.

The victory moved the 34-year-old American past Martina Navratilova and level with Roger Federer for most grand slam victories by a man or woman.

Williams will go for number 308 and a step closer to what would be a record seventh U.S. Open title when she meets Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova, a 6-2 7-5 winner over China’s Zhang Shuai, in round four.

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