A Democratic House Candidate got 30,000 Write-In Votes in Michigan

How Bad are Things for the GOP? A Democratic House Candidate got 30,000 Write-In Votes in Michigan
Still no 2018 Elections forum...

In any case, the story in this article should really show you how energized the Democratic base is to win this coming November. For the Michigan governor's (ETA: my bad it's Congressional House race) race, officials attempted to kick Democrat Matt Morgan off the ballot on a REALLY stupid technicality (they wanted him to have a real address when he had a PO box). Matt Morgan's campaign appealed and lost in a 2-1 decision. So instead of fighting this any further they turned to the public (and Michael Moore). They got out to the public and told them about the "write-in" option. Morgan needed 5% of the total vote cast to make it onto the ballot. This came out to about 3700 votes. He ended up getting that in just ONE district (from again, I remind you write-in votes). Marquette County totaled him at 4388 (the incumbent Republican Bergman got 4522 votes for that district).

In April, Michigan officials who oversee elections kicked Democrat Matt Morgan off the congressional ballot, leaving the Republican incumbent, Rep. Jack Bergman, to run unopposed in the general election.

That was the plan, at least, until primary day on Tuesday, when more than 30,000 Democratic voters cast write-in ballots in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District. That’s nearly eight times as many votes as Morgan needed to be resurrected and placed on the November ballot.

Morgan, a progressive Marine veteran, pulled off the successful turnaround without help from the national party or progressive organizations set up to support vets. Instead, he had filmmaker Michael Moore and a team of hundreds of volunteers who made sure voters knew that, even though there was nobody on the ballot, they could still vote for Morgan

In Marquette County, in fact, Morgan got nearly as many votes as Bergman did. The county credited him with 4,388 votes to Bergman’s 4,522, even after disqualifying a chunk of votes.

So to recap. Michigan officials under incumbent Republican Bergman attempted some voter suppression using a technicality to kick the Democrat off the ballot and run unopposed. The Democratic candidate, a Marine Veteran, challenged him with write-in votes that force them to put him on the ballot in November AND even came close to over taking his vote counts in some districts with those write-ins.

Say #walkaway all you want, but people are voting D and it is looking BAD for Reps. I'm ready to vote this November 6th. I hope you know I won't be voting for anyone with an R next to their name. The GOP has shown itself to be party over country and they need to go. Every one of them.

“It appears that Republican voter suppression in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District has failed in an historic way!” Moore wrote on Twitter. “Republicans on the election commission kicked the lone Democratic candidate off the ballot, so thousands of us mobilized.”

This story is the kind of thing that makes it into a Hollywood movie. Villain uses some insidious scheme using a technicality to get one over on the good guys and rig the system against them, but the good guys just roll with the punches and beats the villain at his own game ANYWAYS. Score one for democracy!

Sounds legit.. I wonder how many are going to wind up being dead people. a reply to: Krazysh0t

a reply to: TexasTruth

Lol. So a Republican lead state government rigged votes in an election to put write-in votes for a Democrat they successfully kicked off the ballot on a technicality? Yep. That makes a LOT of sense... /s

a reply to: Krazysh0t
Just to let you know, the ambiguity of "they" in your first paragraph is very confusing.
"They appealed" and "they turned to the public" seems to refer to the officials, as it does in "they wanted him to have a real address". I gather from the rest of the story that the later batch of "they" refers to Morgan's supporters.

'They' require a physical address to ensure the candidate actually lives in the district.

democrats are great sheeple. 'write in this name'. 'yes masters'.

a reply to: DISRAELI

I reworded it. Is that better?

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
How Bad are Things for the GOP? A Democratic House Candidate got 30,000 Write-In Votes in Michigan
Still no 2018 Elections forum...

In any case, the story in this article should really show you how energized the Democratic base is to win this coming November. For the Michigan governor's race, officials attempted to kick Democrat Matt Morgan off the ballot on a REALLY stupid technicality (they wanted him to have a real address when he had a PO box). Matt Morgan's campaign appealed and lost in a 2-1 decision. So instead of fighting this any further they turned to the public (and Michael Moore). They got out to the public and told them about the "write-in" option. Morgan needed 5% of the total vote cast to make it onto the ballot. This came out to about 3700 votes. He ended up getting that in just ONE district (from again, I remind you write-in votes). Marquette County totaled him at 4388 (the incumbent Republican Bergman got 4522 votes for that district).

In April, Michigan officials who oversee elections kicked Democrat Matt Morgan off the congressional ballot, leaving the Republican incumbent, Rep. Jack Bergman, to run unopposed in the general election.

Bolding mine to add emphasis in above quote.

This technicality of needing to have an actual physical residency in the area or district you are wanting to represent is there for a reason. Why this was dismissed by the court of appeals? I don't see corruption at play here...simply a democrat who doesn't believe the set rules and laws should apply to him. Hmmm. Not someone I would want to represent me for sure.

edit on 8 10 2018 by CynConcepts because: Tried to correct quote box...

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Stop lying.

Morgan screwed up blame Morgan.

Po box instead of physical address.

They were TOLD to fix it.

They did not.

“We wouldn’t have ever chosen to do business this way, but when we look back on it, it has been a great opportunity,” Morgan told The Intercept

The campaign took the decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals and lost in a 2-1 judgment. I

That's a lie too.

Because of what they said AFTER it.

“It kicked our field program off, it incensed voters, it really turned people out.”

Sounds intentional.

a reply to: CynConcepts

The court of appeals ruled in favor of the state and kicked him off the ballot. The VOTERS wrote him in because they didn't care about your reasoning and that rule. At the end of the day, isn't it the voters who are in charge here, not some silly ballot listing rule?

a reply to: neo96

No. It sounds like they made an opportunity out of a bad situation.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Bull crap.

Another Democrat thinks the rules don't apply to them.

Just what this countries needs more of.

a reply to: neo96

What's more important neo. The voter's will or the state's rules?

But I don't know what your problem is anyways. The write-in rules were followed and he got WAY more than 5% of the vote. Why you ignoring that detail?

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Voters will sure didn't matter during the DNC convention.

Now suddenly it does.

Hypocrites.

a reply to: neo96

Deflection. Answer the question. This was a grassroots campaign and had nothing to do with the national DNC.

Migh is one of the states the Dems lost 2 years ago. Looks like they are changing their swing again.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Deflection?

Where's voter will at?

observer.com...

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: CynConcepts

The court of appeals ruled in favor of the state and kicked him off the ballot. The VOTERS wrote him in because they didn't care about your reasoning and that rule. At the end of the day, isn't it the voters who are in charge here, not some silly ballot listing rule?

So the Democrat voters that voted for him did not care that their candidate of choice did not think he should follow the set rules? That only goes to show the ignorance of his voters. The reasonable rule is set to ensure the candidate will be dedicated to representing to their best ability since they actually reside there too. What actions they do and create will apply and effect them too. It is not some silly outdated rule.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
How Bad are Things for the GOP? A Democratic House Candidate got 30,000 Write-In Votes in Michigan
Still no 2018 Elections forum...

In any case, the story in this article should really show you how energized the Democratic base is to win this coming November. For the Michigan governor's race, officials attempted to kick Democrat Matt Morgan off the ballot on a REALLY stupid technicality (they wanted him to have a real address when he had a PO box). Matt Morgan's campaign appealed and lost in a 2-1 decision. So instead of fighting this any further they turned to the public (and Michael Moore). They got out to the public and told them about the "write-in" option. Morgan needed 5% of the total vote cast to make it onto the ballot. This came out to about 3700 votes. He ended up getting that in just ONE district (from again, I remind you write-in votes). Marquette County totaled him at 4388 (the incumbent Republican Bergman got 4522 votes for that district).

In April, Michigan officials who oversee elections kicked Democrat Matt Morgan off the congressional ballot, leaving the Republican incumbent, Rep. Jack Bergman, to run unopposed in the general election.

That was the plan, at least, until primary day on Tuesday, when more than 30,000 Democratic voters cast write-in ballots in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District. That’s nearly eight times as many votes as Morgan needed to be resurrected and placed on the November ballot.

Morgan, a progressive Marine veteran, pulled off the successful turnaround without help from the national party or progressive organizations set up to support vets. Instead, he had filmmaker Michael Moore and a team of hundreds of volunteers who made sure voters knew that, even though there was nobody on the ballot, they could still vote for Morgan

In Marquette County, in fact, Morgan got nearly as many votes as Bergman did. The county credited him with 4,388 votes to Bergman’s 4,522, even after disqualifying a chunk of votes.

The candidate was booted from the ballot based on a technicality: His petitions listed a Post Office box rather than a physical address. His campaign turned the petitions in on March 6. An official got back to the campaign on April 29, explaining the address snafu, and saying that they had until the end of the day to withdraw or they were likely to be disqualified, said Joe Vanderbosch, Morgan’s spokesperson.

They refused to withdraw, so the Michigan Board of State Canvassers booted Morgan. The campaign took the decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals and lost in a 2-1 judgment. Instead of appealing further, the campaign turned to the write-in option instead. “We wouldn’t have ever chosen to do business this way, but when we look back on it, it has been a great opportunity,” Morgan told The Intercept. “It kicked our field program off, it incensed voters, it really turned people out.”

In order to make it onto the ballot, Morgan needed to win 5 percent of the total votes cast in the district for governor on the Democratic side, a figure that came to roughly 3,700 votes. His Marquette County total alone should qualify him for the ballot.

So to recap. Michigan officials under incumbent Republican Bergman attempted some voter suppression using a technicality to kick the Democrat off the ballot and run unopposed. The Democratic candidate, a Marine Veteran, challenged him with write-in votes that force them to put him on the ballot in November AND even came close to over taking his vote counts in some districts with those write-ins.

Say #walkaway all you want, but people are voting D and it is looking BAD for Reps. I'm ready to vote this November 6th. I hope you know I won't be voting for anyone with an R next to their name. The GOP has shown itself to be party over country and they need to go. Every one of them.

“It appears that Republican voter suppression in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District has failed in an historic way!” Moore wrote on Twitter. “Republicans on the election commission kicked the lone Democratic candidate off the ballot, so thousands of us mobilized.”

This story is the kind of thing that makes it into a Hollywood movie. Villain uses some insidious scheme using a technicality to get one over on the good guys and rig the system against them, but the good guys just roll with the punches and beats the villain at his own game ANYWAYS. Score one for democracy!

Of course they are voting D. It is a state primary. They are voting R too.