election results Archives - The Virginia Star

Election Results Likely to Be Delayed Nationwide by State Rules, Litigation, and Investigations

October 3, 2024 Just the News

Counting or certification of the November election results are likely to be delayed nationwide, as states are promulgating different rules on receiving mail ballots, ongoing and likely election litigation, and possible investigations over irregularities, warns an election integrity proponent.

As the 2020 election results were delayed until Joe Biden was announced the winner of the presidential race the Saturday after Election Day, there will likely also be a delay in announcing this year’s presidential contest. The delays this year could be the result of a variety of factors, especially with such a close election, according to Honest Elections Project Executive Director Jason Snead.

Court Papers Say Ex-Virginia Election Official on Trial ‘Altered Election Results’ in 2020 Election

November 29, 2023November 28, 2023 Just the News

The former general registrar of Prince William County, Va., allegedly “altered election results” during the 2020 election, according to court documents recently obtained by Just the News. However, the current general registrar says that his predecessor’s alleged conduct didn’t impact any election outcomes.

In a county where President Joe Biden received 54% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election to former President Donald Trump’s 44%, an election official at the time allegedly “altered election results” in the state’s reporting system, leading to three grand jury indictments last year.

Federal Indictment Alleging Iranian Hack Further Erodes Narrative of Perfect 2020 Election

November 21, 2021November 21, 2021 Admin

During the dizzying days after the November 2020 election, the Homeland Security cyber-security chief was fired by a frustrated President Donald Trump, then went on national TV to insist the election was fully secure.

“There was no indication or evidence that there was any sort of hacking or compromise of election systems on, before or after November 3,” ex-Cyber-Security and Infrastructure Agency Chief Chris Krebs declared on “60 Minutes.”

On Thursday, nearly a year later, federal prosecutors in New York unsealed a dramatic indictment that conflicts with that clean bill of health.

Corporations Silent on Why They Pulled Funding from Republicans Who Questioned an Election, but Not Democrats Who Did the Same

August 2, 2021August 1, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Corporations were silent on why they chose to suspend political contributions to Republicans, but not Democrats who have objected to election results.

More than 15 major U.S. companies that announced they would suspend giving money to members of Congress following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot didn’t respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation about their political contribution activity following the 2016 presidential election. The corporations were quick to condemn Republicans lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election earlier this year, but apparently didn’t criticize or punish Democrats who have similarly objected to election results in the past.

Texas State Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Audit 2020 Election Results in Major Counties

July 21, 2021July 20, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

ATexas state lawmaker on Monday unveiled legislation requiring a forensic audit of last November’s election results in his state’s most populous counties.

The House bill introduced by state Rep. Steve Toth, a Republican, would require forensic reviews of counties with more than 415,000 residents. The reviews would have to be carried out before Nov. 1, 2021, and completed before Feb. 1, 2022.

Toth’s legislation comes as the Texas legislature is in special session to consider new election integrity laws. The session has been interrupted by the departure of most state Democrat lawmakers in protest.

Republicans Launch Election Investigations in Multiple States as Arizona Audit Forges Ahead

May 31, 2021May 30, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Governor Tony Evers gives his first State of the State address in Madison, Wisconsin, at the State Capitol building on Jan. 22, 2019. He addressed a joint meeting of the Assembly and the Senate. Seen here, from left, are Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester and President of the Senate Roger Roth, R-Appleton.

Republicans in multiple U.S. states are mounting investigations into the circumstances surrounding the 2020 election, moves that come amid the contentious ongoing audit of election results in Maricopa County, Ariz.

The Arizona audit — which includes a hand recount of over two million ballots — has reflected bitter partisan divisions in the state, with Republicans and Democrats squaring off in a series of volleys over the conduct of the audit and the political fallout surrounding it. Establishment media outlets have joined in Democratic attacks against the audit, with CNN claiming that the process is “bogus” and FiveThirtyEight calling it a “partisan inquisition.”

Nevertheless, efforts are underway in several states to undertake investigations similar to Arizona’s, though none are anywhere near as large in scope as is that in Maricopa, the state’s largest county.

Commentary: Democrats and Their Fear of Election Audits

May 24, 2021May 23, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Man putting in mail-in vote in drop box with mask on

Democrats are positively terrified of election audits that aren’t completely controlled by the political establishment. If there’s a chance an audit might reveal meaningful information, you can bet Democrats (and certain weak Republicans) will stridently oppose it. The only audits Democrats and their allies support are the ones designed to rubber-stamp previous conclusions.

The increasingly desperate attacks on the ongoing audit in Maricopa County, Arizona—particularly those intended to undermine the credibility of the auditors—show just how much the Democratic Party establishment fears the whole process. Their entire argument is based on sarcasm, scorn, and scare quotes.

The auditors are inspecting the paper that ballots were printed on? They must believe in a far-fetched conspiracy theory!

Commentary: America Spends Millions Promoting Election Integrity Abroad While Ignoring It at Home

May 22, 2021May 21, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

In 1999, Tim Meisburger helped Indonesia run its first open election in almost half a century.

“The people were very distrustful of the process because in the past the party in power rigged elections to get the outcome they wanted,” Meisburger, former Director of Democracy and Governance at the U.S. Agency for International Development, explained. The United States helped fund more than 500,000 election observers across the country to prevent voter fraud and ballot tampering.

“Because of that scrutiny, the elections were fair and honest,” Meisburger added.

How Georgia’s Voting Law Compares to Seven Blue, Purple States’ Laws

April 12, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Democrats have repeatedly denounced the new Georgia election integrity law that requires IDs for absentee ballots, but seldom criticize blue states that have comparable laws on their books—or in some cases, laws making it more difficult to vote than in Georgia.

“Overall, the Georgia law is pretty much in the mainstream and is not regressive or restrictive,” Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, told The Daily Signal. “The availability of absentee ballots and early voting is a lot more progressive than what’s in blue states.”

Here’s a look at how the new Georgia election law stacks up to voting laws in Democrat-leaning blue states.

Zuckerberg-Funded Group Spent over $30 Million in Texas in the 2020 Election

April 4, 2021April 3, 2021 Admin

A report released Tuesday by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) revealed that the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL), a group funded by Facebook founded Mark Zuckerberg, spent over $36 million in 14 urban counties in the state of Texas in an effort to influence the outcome of the 2020 election, according to Breitbart.

The report states that “Texas counties were given money to help shift voting to the mail and away from traditional procedures in Texas law. The large blue-leaning counties received huge sums to transform their elections,” while “smaller red counties did not receive anything close.” Among the initiatives that were pursued by this funding were “drive-thru voting, mail voting sorting assets, polling place rental expenses, and…voter education/outreach/radio costs.”

The county that most benefited from these funds was Dallas County, which received just over $15 million, followed by Harris County (where Houston is located) at $9.6 million. The remaining 12 counties all received less than $3 million.

Commentary: The Left’s Hypocrisy on Election Results Denial

March 24, 2021March 23, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

Ever since November 2020, the political Left has been pounding on the political Right for failing to respect the outcomes of elections. This charge they add to a whole litany of criticisms of conservatives as breakers of the norms of democracy and nascent authoritarians.

Former President Donald Trump fed this narrative by, well, denying that he lost, and doing so with flourish and hamfistedness. His supporters did him no favors by feeding him thinly sourced tales about Venezuelan software, German servers, late-night ballot dumps, and mischievous postal workers.

But it is profoundly mistaken to call election results denialism solely a habit of the Right or the hobby horse of Trump. The Left has done it multiple times in the past 15 years.

Lawyer Linked to Steele Dossier is Working for House Dems to Overturn Results of Iowa Election

March 23, 2021March 22, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

House Democrats have hired Marc Elias, the elections lawyer linked to the infamous Steele dossier, to help in their bid to overturn the results of an Iowa House race won by a Republican incumbent.

According to Politico, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is paying Elias to represent the campaign of Rita Hart, a Democrat who lost by six votes to Rep. Mariannette Miller-Marks.

Hart has appealed to Congress to adjudicate the outcome of the election after state officials declared Miller-Marks the winner. Hart claims that Iowa officials failed to count 22 ballots that would have swayed the election in her favor.

Three Percent of Audited Arizona Ballots Found Altered, Could Be Enough to Change Election Results

December 4, 2020December 3, 2020 Laura Baigert

With three percent of a small sampling of 100 ballots audited in Maricopa County, Arizona found to be altered, similar results across the more than two million votes cast there would be enough to change the outcome of the presidential election in the state.
With 11 electoral college votes at stake, Arizona certified the results of the presidential election in favor of Biden on Monday with a margin of about 10,000 votes over President Trump.

Kemp Calls for Audit of Georgia’s Absentee Ballot Signatures

November 22, 2020November 21, 2020 The Center Square

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called on Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Friday to complete a sample audit of the signatures on the absentee ballots cast in the general election.

Kemp’s recommendation came two days after the state completed a full hand recount and audit of the election results in the presidential election.

Virginia Vote Counters: No Winners on Election Night

October 20, 2020October 19, 2020 Jacob Taylor

As November 3rd draws closer, general registrars and their staff in central Virginia are working extremely hard to get as many ballots counted as possible on election night, even though the results will not be official until Friday of that week.

On Monday, The Virginia Star spoke with registrars from Henrico, Hanover, New Kent and Goochland counties, and discussed the timing of ballot counts.