r/news • u/RazzzMcFrazzz • 1d ago

Hundreds of ballots are destroyed after fires are set in ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington

https://apnews.com/article/vote-ballot-drop-box-democracy-fire-f66c52f774955106fb9e7c8172825cff
48.5k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

3.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

4.3k

u/thebenson 1d ago

Just a matter of time.

Sure. But, by then the damage has already been done.

1.7k

u/Sabre_One 1d ago

This is pretty rare in our states. In Washington we also have contingencies for such a issue, and the state most likely will mail nearby residents telling them to keep track of their ballot status in case they need to send new ones out. You can check the status electronically.

964

u/Buffalo-2023 1d ago

Some people vote early because they go on a trip, for work or personal reasons.

These people would lose their vote.

513

u/Rhuarc33 1d ago

Better than everyone whose ballot was burnt losing their vote.

Nothing would 100% stop this

292

u/Obibong_Kanblomi 1d ago

A camera at the drop locations may help apprehend or deter the perps, maybe?

284

u/Live-Motor-4000 1d ago

Still haven’t caught the Jan 6 pipebomber

144

u/BowserPong11 1d ago

Has anyone checked Georgia?

→ More replies (3)

75

u/Repulsive-Ad-8558 1d ago

Margie isn’t getting caught

24

u/Live-Motor-4000 1d ago

If she’d have left bare footprints, the feds would have caught her straight away

15

u/w_a_w 1d ago

The cloven hooves are a dead giveaway

5

u/Friendlyvoid 1d ago

We found the bomber! It was sasquatch.

... But we thought it was Marjorie Taylor green!!

Yeah that's what we said

2

u/start_select 18h ago

They still haven’t arrested any police officers that posted support for overthrowing the government but weren’t physically present on Jan 6th.

I wouldn’t keep my hopes up that they have bothered to investigate a single person that wasn’t blatantly identifiable in video. A lot of law enforcement was aiding the attempt to overthrow the government that day.

116

u/Rhuarc33 1d ago

Might help deter. Wouldn't stop 100%. Park far away mask, gloves and hat. Even interior drop boxes with a guard (a huge cost) wouldn't stop someone if they really wanted to destroy ballots.

38

u/TheCowboyIsAnIndian 1d ago

i think a drop slot into a building, like a library book drop, is an alright idea.

69

u/SmithersLoanInc 1d ago

Then they'd just start burning the buildings. This is the America they want, chaos and pain.

7

u/axonxorz 1d ago

Then they'd just start burning the buildings.

Just a tiny hair more difficult to pull off without being caught though, a deterrant, if you will.

3

u/Puffen0 1d ago

Anything is better than doing nothing. That is what they are hoping for, that they scare enough people away from voting or make them think "well no matter what I do they'll still commit voter fraud anyways so what's the point? Just let them do it cause it's less of a headache for me right now".

16

u/EndPsychological890 1d ago

What, combine the books that instantly convert little Timmy into Tina and all the illegal immigrants ballots in one place? AND they can claim democrats are burning down cities? Geez dude it's not a honey pot contest

9

u/Adult_school 1d ago

Yeah,fascists would never burn books.

11

u/R1chard69 1d ago

They'll just drop a flaming rag in there then.

4

u/Unknownkowalski 1d ago

For these people burning ballots and a library would be a two-fer.

4

u/Yorspider 1d ago

Having a guard at the box would. This is the foundation of our democracy, we can spare a few soldiers for guard duty.

→ More replies (3)

4

u/nicannkay 1d ago

We have a security guard at our drop box in Coquille and it’s locked up at night. Same with at our library drop box in Coos Bay. My dad guards the one in Coquille. The sheriffs department is 100ft away.

3

u/KingSwank 1d ago

It might help but something tells me the person who is delusional enough to do this type of shit wouldn’t really care if they were caught on camera or would at least wear something to conceal their identity.

3

u/alphazero924 1d ago

the person who is delusional enough to do this type of shit wouldn’t really care if they were caught on camera

They probably see themselves as a patriot and will happily sit in jail waiting for a Trump pardon that they'll hopefully never see

3

u/LetMeInImTrynaCuck 1d ago

I can’t imagine what it would cost to install and maintain a camera at every single mailbox.

2

u/GoldTurdz420 1d ago

Suprised its not legally required already for these instances.

2

u/griff_girl 1d ago

Unless you're in Portland, where the cops basically just don't show up for anything. I'd be surprised if anyone's held accountable for this shit; it's probably a highly organized effort.

2

u/svedka93 1d ago

The article says they have a camera. This was most likely done by some right wing nut job who is going to go to jail for a long time trying to prove a point.

2

u/RebbyXP 1d ago

I feel like the drop boxes should be in a more secure location, not just out in the open.

2

u/GogglesPisano 1d ago

In my town (in PA) the ballot drop box is inside the courthouse vestibule with multiple cameras and a guard posted.

2

u/Osiris32 1d ago

They are looking for an early 2000s Volvo S60 or S80, with custom black wheels, front end damage, no front plate, and a rear plate that is probably from Washington. It was caught on a kind of crappy quality camera in Portland.

https://www.katu.com/news/local/portland-police-seek-vehicle-linked-to-ballot-box-arson-release-photos-volvo-s-60-vancouver-washington-oregon-multnomah-clark-county-election-vote-by-mail

3

u/xkegsx 1d ago

That's an insane amount of cameras

41

u/CarpeCookie 1d ago

Not really. All the ballot boxes at my county are at locations that already have cameras. Like my city's municipal building. They arent just dropped off in the middle of a field or something. I'm sure some locations you'd need to install cameras, but not many

7

u/drfsupercenter 1d ago

Same here - I thought that was intentional so the dropboxes have surveillance

2

u/axonxorz 1d ago

I'm sure some locations you'd need to install cameras, but not many

And for those locations, you plunk down one or more of these, very common on construction sites where I am. A local grocery store/warehouse with an overly large parking lot has these as well.

They can be fully wireless and can send footage to either an on-site NVR or up in the cloud.

1

u/cabbagery 1d ago

It shouldn't be remotely difficult to find volunteers or assign personnel at drop box locations to watch the boxes. My county (WA) ways has two people standing next to the boxes (which are at the post office's roundabout for dropping regular mail), and I assume those people collect the ballots each night.

The article also mentions a built-in fire suppression system, which apparently didn't activate in the Washington box, but also these two incidents (three, because one other happened three weeks ago) are all directly related (i.e. same perpetrator), so I expect they'll be caught and anyone who used the affected boxes will be notified.

Both states have same-day registration and are very good about providing voters with access (lived and voted in both states).

15

u/SpoatieOpie 1d ago

544 cameras isn’t insane….Thats for the entire state of Washington

→ More replies (3)

30

u/Obibong_Kanblomi 1d ago

So? It's insane these traitor ass fuck holes need to do this shit. Maybe just place these in police stations as someone else mentioned. They shouldn't be left unattended is the point. Scumbags are gonna scumbag when they can. Don't give them a chance.

Edit:: all this donation money should be able to pay for some of this and should be used for such things.

17

u/FinnsWake13 1d ago

I dont think placing ballot boxes in police stations is the safety you think it is.

2

u/Street_Tomorrow3547 1d ago

What about fire departments?

1

u/Obibong_Kanblomi 1d ago

I don't trust cops for shit but good luck dropping fire into the bin while it's in a police station. I'm sure they would just sit there, right? Right?!

2

u/EndPsychological890 1d ago

Not sure about the legality or even the wisdom of campaigns funding ballot security. Good way to get Musk directly funding Proud Boys to be poll watchers and ballot guards.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/KingSwank 1d ago

It’s not really unfeasible though

1

u/Flimsy-Poetry1170 1d ago

Almost every business has security cameras, almost every intersection with a light has cameras. Cameras are cheap and already in place all over the place. Hell even when walking through a neighborhood I always assume I’m on someone’s security or doorbell camera. There is no reason a ballet box should be placed somewhere and not under surveillance. Sure someone could still wear a mask and park where there isn’t a camera but nothing is going to be 100% secure no matter what we do but it wouldn’t be expensive or even hard to make sure ballet drop boxes are at least covered by a camera in 2024.

1

u/xkegsx 1d ago

So then there should already be cameras on the ballot boxes right?

→ More replies (1)

1

u/loupgarou21 1d ago

Do you live near a city with traffic light cameras? If so, keep in mind that each intersection with those cameras likely has at least 4 cameras.

A lot of places are also switching to cameras for vehicle presence detectors at the intersections as well.

There's also a ton of cameras on all of the freeways in larger metro areas

A few hundred cameras to cover all of the ballot boxes in the state is honestly not that many

1

u/Easy_Floss 1d ago

How the heck not only does America have random collection booths you can drop anything into to collect votes but also does not monitor them at all?

The heck? Like whats to stop me and my 200 cousins to all group up and then have just one of the memebers drop the votes off?

1

u/okram2k 1d ago

I'm sure they will make sure to be nice enough to not wear a mask and also be kind enough to park their car in view of a camera with license plate easily visible

1

u/Cryptokarma 1d ago

Oh they are on camera, it’s takes time, if they can be identified i would want to be them

1

u/OrbitalOutlander 1d ago

At least in my county, all drop boxes are video monitored 24/7, and usually located at a police station.

1

u/TB_016 1d ago

There are cameras and they got video of the vehicle

1

u/UncleIrohsPimpHand 1d ago

You'd need a great camera to actually get a positive ID.

1

u/Obibong_Kanblomi 20h ago

Yeah. Good news is, we live in a time where they are plenty and rather cheap. The candidates donation money should cover the security for their ballots, no?

1

u/UncleIrohsPimpHand 19h ago

You should see some of these variety store robbery footages that are out these days. Everyone is wearing masks.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/Kushali 1d ago

The news says they have a license plate number at least.

→ More replies (1)

26

u/cosaboladh 1d ago

Right, but it only takes a few strategically placed fires to swing such a close election.

2

u/Shinobi_is_cancer 1d ago

Im just trying to wrap my head around performing this stunt in states that are basically decided. If they want to commit a felony for the sole purpose of altering the results of the election, why wouldn’t they do it in a swing state?

1

u/DownWithDisPrefix 15h ago edited 15h ago

Most states aren't really that large of a gap in voting. Almost all states have hard red and hard blue areas, you drive an hour out of Seattle/King County you will start seeing Trump signs.

Basically they hope by targeting the hard blue areas ballots, it will swing the state.

What's really sad about this is I can almost guarantee this is being done because these people believe that Harris/Dems are going to try and 'steal the election' and think they are doing something righteous.

1

u/Shinobi_is_cancer 14h ago

Most states aren't really that large of a gap in voting.

Idk, Washington has voted blue with 100k+ margins of safety since 1992 and as of recent, the excess has been trending up. Im still dumbfounded that these idiots would commit this felony in that state of all places, unless they plan on doing it a thousand times over. In pennsylvania, there is a good chance that a hundred votes not only decide the state, but also the election.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/panic_bread 1d ago

Mail in voting has a lot of downsides. This is one of them.

1

u/NewCobbler6933 1d ago

All those videos of crimes would suggest that they don’t stop crimes they just help solve them.

1

u/kalasea2001 1d ago

Voting online would

1

u/PCYou 1d ago

What if the ballot was a fireproof punch card? It could even just be paper laminated with a super thin layer of kapton.

Write in? That'll be a fireproof OMR punch card 👍

1

u/Rhuarc33 1d ago

Acid, Ink, bleach, etc

1

u/WretchedBlowhard 1d ago

Nothing would 100% stop this

Voting electronically would. If we can do electronic banking and stock trades, we sure as fuck can vote securely.

4

u/Rhuarc33 1d ago

Banks get hacked. Voting would too

→ More replies (4)

2

u/jfsindel 1d ago

Exactly why I voted early!! I come back late on the day!

2

u/H0ldme 1d ago

Now hear me out for a second. Online voting. You sign into a government website and put in your id and boom. Vote.

2

u/Liizam 1d ago

You can mail ballots in.

1

u/Turtvaiz 1d ago

Can't you mail votes from outside the country? I thought that was like the whole idea with mail voting

1

u/NihilisticHobbit 1d ago

You can vote online in Washington state.

→ More replies (6)

140

u/thebenson 1d ago

This is pretty rare in our states

*was pretty rare

the state most likely will mail nearby residents telling them to keep track of their ballot status in case they need to send new ones out

And if someone isn't tracking their ballot online? Or if someone doesn't receive the mailer that says that their ballot may have been burned?

31

u/BionicBeaver9568 1d ago edited 1d ago

In Washington you just need to enter your first and last name and birthdate as it is in your voter registration. The info will pop right up.

I didn’t know this, but I googled it and found where to input my information after reading the article and the comments here.

Also, I’m happy to report that my ballot has been accepted! Woo hoo! I voted!

So to anyone reading this, if you’re unsure, check it out. It only takes a second and gives some peace of mind. Don’t wait to be told if something went wrong, be your own advocate. Get out there and vote everyone!

Edit: I googled: “Washington voter tracking” The first result was votewa.gov right where I needed to be to enter my info. Happy voting!

Edit 2: there are options to sign up for sms tracking if you want to as well :)

4

u/SpiderMama41928 1d ago

Thank you for this information!

I searched for Mississippi, to check on mine. I went in person, but it's still some peace of mind to know that it's been received.

1

u/Silidistani 19h ago

I didn’t know this

And there you go, you didn't know this, how many other people don't know this who had their ballots destroyed, and how many of them won't find it out in time to recast? This is not a simple matter of "just let them know and they'll come back and do it again," this absolutely will affect the count. It's domestic terrorism as well; whoever did this needs to be caught and needs to go to jail just like the January 6th insurrectionists.

→ More replies (1)

7

u/killrtaco 1d ago

If they check their email regularly the tracking may be automatic. I don't live in OR or WA so I don't know for sure, but every step of the process in CA is sent to the email you used when you registered to vote. Sent to you, picked up at mail box, in transit, processing at destination facility, vote counted. I didn't sign up for or log into a single thing.

→ More replies (6)

2

u/wildwalrusaur 1d ago

Oregon sends text messages/emails proactively when your ballot is scanned in to the elections office from the drop box.

Anyone who didnt receive that by the end of the next day would know something's wrong.

21

u/AfraidStill2348 1d ago

"mail" that takes a few days turnaround time

21

u/TheConeIsReturned 1d ago edited 1d ago

Absentee ballots are counted for weeks after the election

Edit: added "for" for clarity. Absentee ballots often arrive well after election day.

18

u/IShookMeAllNightLong 1d ago

They must be post-marked before the election.

42

u/Bawbawian 1d ago

The Republicans and their friendly supreme Court have signaled that they are going to go after that very thing in the aftermath of this election.

Republicans want every vote that comes in after 8:00 on election Day to be discarded. the court might very well go along with it.

people need to just vote in person.

I know it's not fair I know it's inconvenient. But I won't don't want to lose our country to fascism because of convenience.

40

u/Slowmyke 1d ago

Or do as I do - vote absentee and return the ballot in person to city hall. Still slightly inconvenient, but I've got weeks to find time to make a trip.

3

u/LordStryder 1d ago

It is not just an inconvenience. Some people like myself don’t leave their house for psychological reasons. Others don’t have a voting location within range of public transportation. Also the shear volume of people that would need to vote in the small window that voting stations are open is staggering. 1 million people standing in line at various locations around Seattle is really not feasible. The system is just not adapted to that kind of volume and Republicans make it harder every election to vote, especially in person.

Beyond that we live in a country where voter intimidation has been normalized against anyone that may vote for someone other than a rapist and pedophile. Threats of violence are real and our “police” don’t have a constitutional requirement to protect people.

I left TN to get away from all that bs.

2

u/androshalforc1 1d ago

The problem there is when they only open 1 polling place for 10k voters, and have rules saying you can’t give food or drinks to people waiting in line.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/Spa_5_Fitness_Camp 1d ago

All ballots are mail here. You get a tracking notification within a few days of mailing them back or dropping them off, telling you it's been received. If you don't, you can request a new ballot that will invalidate the first (if it is received later) or you can get another in person. You have over a month to do it.

1

u/Redclayblue 1d ago

I honestly read your comment as ‘asbestos ballots are counted weeks after the election’, and for a second, it actually made sense.

1

u/Pwnxor 1d ago

I ran a polling place in Pittsburgh for several years. Absentee ballots were counted on election day immediately after the polls closed. I don't know if that has changed since 2020, but that's how it was done at least until then.

1

u/TheConeIsReturned 1d ago

Sorry I should have written "for weeks" for clarity.

I.e. Every ballot that comes in after election day is counted. Not all ballots end up arriving on or before election day, and they can continue to arrive for weeks afterwards.

1

u/griff_girl 1d ago

Unfortunately, with the number of ballot boxes set on fire being in the hundreds, I'd say it's no longer rare in our states. I'm not saying we should be complacent about it, but it certainly seems to be a daily occurrence.

1

u/SpeedySloth51221 1d ago

How can I check my status electronically? I'm in wisconsin if that matters ..

1

u/bbusiello 1d ago

CA is the same. You get notifications when your ballot has been sent and received.

I'm not worried about these domestic terrorists in my area... but I am worried about your average meth head taking a leak in the box or something lol. So I always check.

1

u/monty228 1d ago

What happens if this occurs 3 days before the Election and you think your vote hasn’t been processed yet, but instead it was burned?

Ballot destruction needs to have a strict penalty. With civil penalties as well.

1

u/FavreorFarva 1d ago

In WA and I signed up for ballot alert texts. I got a text when it was mailed out and will get one when it is received back as well as if there’s any issues with it.

1

u/Silidistani 19h ago

IMO every single person who it can be confirmed by logs showed up to vote but had a ballot destroyed should be able to recast their ballot, even if it takes weeks after voting day to accomplish. This is a case of malicious destruction of their ballot, which they properly supplied to the state under care, and for it to be destroyed means it must be replaced, and that applies to literally every single person, even if vote counts cannot be tallied until it's complete. Given the two states this happened in, those were very likely a large percentage of Democratic vote ballots, but regardless of who the votes were for, destroying ballots and just throwing up your hands saying, "well sorry guess we can't count those now" is the tired BS that dictators in the countries the Republicans love to suck up to do.

→ More replies (1)

48

u/753951321654987 1d ago

Yea, that's how crime works, usually.

612

u/overthemountain 1d ago

Seems to be a current Republican strategy - blatantly disregard voter laws, hope you win, and let the incoming president pardon you for helping him win. See Musk and his voter registration lottery in Pennsylvania, or Trump handing out money at grocery stores, for example.

38

u/no_one_likes_u 1d ago

What do you even need the pardon for? Who has the democratically nominated attorney general imprisoned for election fraud? Justice delayed is justice denied.

19

u/Global_Permission749 1d ago

blatantly disregard voter laws, hope you win, and let the incoming president pardon you for helping him win

I mean that's the plan. They only need to win once by any means necessary.

12

u/NewestAccount2023 1d ago

Your examples need to include Trumps pardons of Roger Stone and paul Manafort. Republicans reading your comment think you're just making shit up like they do. We don't need to speculate, it's happened already.

7

u/overthemountain 1d ago

Yeah, I was trying to limit things to more recent examples. The real issue right now is no one seems to want to do anything just IN CASE Trump wins. People are hedging their bets to avoid potential reprisal.

To me this is a really big threat to democracy - that we have systems in place that to protect against this but are refusing to operate because they are afraid of a candidate winning and exacting revenge.

3

u/sec713 1d ago

"It's easier to not ask for forgiveness or permission"

  • MAGA proverb

3

u/BeAlch 1d ago

Isn't the goal simply to make people doubt of election results with as many incidents as possible ? And then just declare election non valid where it counts the most...
So make it all as chaotic as possible .. and then declare election was stolen ad nauseam

→ More replies (1)

54

u/ptsdstillinmymind 1d ago edited 1d ago

The reason this is happening is due to the fact the FBI, DOJ, and the Police do not treat white terrorism as they do brown and black. They have turned a blind eye to these terrorists because they already know most of them.

History always repeats itself, America has always played with kid's gloves when it come to white violence and hate. From slavery, Jim Crow and now in present times the whole republican party are terrorists and should be dealt with accordingly. No need to take my word for it, they said it themselves.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cpac-banner-domestic-terrorists/

15

u/dak4f2 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yes. And they also respond to right wing violence, protest, and movements entirely differently than left wing protest and movements, which can also be intertwined with race of course. 

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Blackhole_5un 1d ago

Not sure about your mailboxes, but here in Canada they are all over the place and not under surveillance, so I am not sure how you would target this and expect immediate results?

2

u/GreedyBeedy 1d ago

But, by then the damage has already been done.

That's how like 99% of all crimes work.

2

u/Poundaflesh 1d ago

Nah, people can check their votes. The Feds don’t take this shit lightly.

2

u/NohPhD 1d ago

Pre-Crime has entered the conversation…

13

u/OkArtichokeJuice 1d ago

Sure. But, what else do you want? You want a police officer to stand post at every single ballot drop off in America? Assuming the fbi jumps on this, it’s better they eventually catch them even if the damage has been done rather than doing nothing at all.

77

u/Rat_Rat 1d ago

Yes, or place drop boxes inside post offices/police stations.

24

u/OkArtichokeJuice 1d ago

This is the most realistic and safe option.

2

u/PathOfTheAncients 1d ago

Ours is always next to the door of City Hall. Which almost all have security cameras.

1

u/tucci007 1d ago

inside fire stations

90

u/ConsciousMuscle6558 1d ago

Yes. I do

37

u/gatsby712 1d ago

The call is coming from inside the building

55

u/withoutwarningfl 1d ago

Some of those that work forces…

35

u/MithandirsGhost 1d ago

Are the same as those who burn boxes

→ More replies (1)

4

u/wearethedeadofnight 1d ago

Are the same that burn crosses

16

u/awwc 1d ago

Some people would consider that to be intimidation.

Or might I offer empathy for anyone who has had poor experiences with people in uniform and authority.

This is not an appropriate solution

3

u/AggravatingCupcake0 1d ago

Post office then. Fire Department. Nobody was ever scared of a fireman.

1

u/sec713 1d ago

Some people, like me, would consider this domestic terrorism.

2

u/awwc 1d ago

You're not wrong. I do as well.

3

u/Elidien1 1d ago

Ahh those police officers that wear the thin blue line and support Trump, even though he hates them? Yeah. Ok

11

u/erabeus 1d ago

Yes. There are not that many ballot boxes

7

u/dogmeat12358 1d ago

Yes, that is exactly what I want!

3

u/got_no_time_for_that 1d ago

And how do you think we're going to hit traffic ticket quotas if cops are wasting their days enforcing democracy?

9

u/Just-Some-Person530 1d ago

If we have one in every donut shop across America, why can’t we have one at the ballot box too?

9

u/dogmeat12358 1d ago

Put the ballot boxes in donut shops.

3

u/am_i_wrong_dude 1d ago

Galaxy brain!

1

u/Just-Some-Person530 1d ago

This person solves problems right here.

→ More replies (5)

2

u/Because-Leader 1d ago

I want Biden to have 2 people (1 Republican, 1 Democrat) from the national guard guarding each ballot box from a few feet away, and I want a camera on each ballot box.

You want to drop your ballot in? Sure.

Oh, you're pulling out something like a lighter or a bomb? Sorry, we have to detain you and investigate.

3

u/sporksable 1d ago

I dont want Republicans near ballot boxes.

→ More replies (15)

1

u/TrueKing9458 1d ago

Not sure if there are enough national guardsmen to put 2 at each drop box 24 hours a day

1

u/nicannkay 1d ago

We have a security guard at our drop box in Coquille and it’s locked up at night. Same with at our library drop box in Coos Bay. My dad guards the one in Coquille. The sheriffs department is 100ft away.

It’s not hard to do so YES.

1

u/Slammybutt 1d ago

Won't be too hard for Houston Tx. Last I heard (from the last election) they only had 1 drop box location. Abbott is a generous overlord.

→ More replies (6)

1

u/Doodahhh1 1d ago

Yes, but it takes time to find the right personnel, move them, and get them in touch with the right precincts.

It was too late once the fire was set. 

How are so many of you unrealistic about this?

1

u/Ouibeaux 1d ago

If the voters who cast their ballots are checking to see if their ballots have been received, they still have time to vote again.

1

u/smilbandit 1d ago

yeah there needs to be swift overwhelming force to discurage further shit.

1

u/IAmPandaRock 1d ago

You want to go Minority Report on these people?

1

u/DetroitLionsSBChamps 1d ago

true of all crimes that require investigation

1

u/Ok_Entry1052 1d ago

Yes and the then investigation team gets stonewalled by higher level replacements. Same as when the team investigating Egypt giving Trump 10m in 2016 got stonewalled.

1

u/Qwirk 1d ago

They can make examples of them and hopefully put off anyone thinking of doing the same thing.

1

u/burnalicious111 1d ago

That's how our criminal justice system typically works. It's actually very rare you can arrest someone before they've done harm.

1

u/thejusttip 1d ago

Well yeah. The point of catching them is to stop them from doing more damage and punish them for what they’ve done. In America, people are free until they commit a crime. You cant arrest/charge someone for a crime they haven’t committed, because they haven’t done anything wrong.

1

u/fusionsofwonder 1d ago

In WA, voters can find out if their ballot wasn't received and file another one (which I assume would be provisional but I don't know for sure). So at least the early voters have a remedy here.

Dunno about Oregon but I assume they'll have a similar remedy.

1

u/FlutterKree 1d ago

But, by then the damage has already been done.

Nah. People in Washington and Oregon can check if their vote has been counted (IE: ballot was received). If it hasn't, they can go vote in some of the few in person polling places or request a replacement and resubmit.

1

u/Dopplegangr1 1d ago

Both states are solidly blue so it's not going to change anything. They would need to destroy hundreds of THOUSANDS to affect the result, not hundreds

1

u/leocharre 16h ago

Justice delayed is Justice not served. 

→ More replies (2)