Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Montana GOP chair argues against mail ballots for House special

.. heh, i went for the Montana GOP chairman who wants to - boost the election budget to cut the number of
voters who vote - in the upcoming election for governor, Rachel introduced him one back .. and got a bunch ..

By Elena Schneider

02/23/17 10:00 AM EST

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BOOTING UP — "Democrats try to recharge attorney general campaigns with Trump," by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "President Donald Trump’s young administration has already put the spotlight on Democratic attorneys general battling his policies in court. Now, the Democratic strategists focused on electing more AGs hope resisting Trump will bolster their uneven and perennially outgunned political group. The Democratic Attorneys General Association is planning a reboot in 2017 — hiring full-time staff, establishing offices in Washington and San Francisco, and making a fundraising push to rival the high-flying Republican Attorneys General Association, a moneyed political powerhouse that has helped the GOP gain control of AG offices in 27 states. The effort comes ahead of more than three dozen attorney general races around the country in 2017 and 2018, including a number of blue-state seats currently occupied by Republicans." Full story .. https://www.politicopro.com/campaigns/story/2017/02/democrats-try-to-recharge-attorney-general-campaigns-with-trump-149391 .

[ .. this one relates to Rachel's video .. ]

SPECIAL ELECTION SEASON — Montana Republican chairman urges Republicans to not support mail-in ballot legislation: In an email sent Tuesday, GOP chairman Jeff Essmann urged Montana Republicans to oppose a mail-in ballot bill — which would allow counties to use mail-in balloting instead of or in addition to traditional polling centers in order to save money during the special election — on the grounds that it would help Democrats. “I'm here to advocate and point out the strategic disadvantages long term if we start walking down this road,” Essmann said. “Until there are safeguards in place to make sure no one is between the voter and the ballot box, my position will have to be the same.” Essmann pointed to reports .. http://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/delivering-ballots-for-others-isn-t-illegal-but-offers-to/article_182f8ab5-e7f0-53a9-9c2e-dcd745fbb609.html .. last fall, when some voters complained that canvassers retrieved their ballots and inquired as to how they voted.

— Democrats called Essmann’s email “deeply troubling,” ... “Republicans are brazenly acknowledging that the way to win is that registered voters don’t vote, and they want to spend more money to make sure fewer people vote,” said Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. “Any time you’re acknowledging you might win by fewer people voting, it’s bad for our representative democracy.” Essmann, joined by Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, argued against the bill .. http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/mtleg/republicans-divided-over-letting-counties-use-all-mail-ballots-in/article_26defd9f-cda3-5e42-adaf-66bb2ed139e1.html .. before the Republican caucus Wednesday morning, but it passed a state Senate committee that afternoon. “Voting is a fundamental right and I don't think doing something in the cheapest possible way is the best test,” Essmann said.

HACKING 2016 — “Manafort faced blackmail attempt, hacks suggest,” by POLITICO’s Kenneth P. Vogel, David Stern and Josh Meyer: “A purported cyber hack of the daughter of political consultant Paul Manafort suggests that he was the victim of a blackmail attempt while he was serving as Donald Trump’s presidential campaign chairman last summer. The undated communications, which are allegedly from the iPhone of Manafort’s daughter, include a text that appears to come from a Ukrainian parliamentarian named Serhiy Leshchenko, seeking to reach her father, in which he claims to have politically damaging information about both Manafort and Trump. Attached to the text is a note to Paul Manafort .. http://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000015a-66f4-d2c6-a7db-7efd5e020001 .. referring to “bulletproof” evidence related to Manafort’s financial arrangement with Ukraine’s former president, the pro-Russian strongman Viktor Yanukovych, as well as an alleged 2012 meeting between Trump and a close Yanukovych associate named Serhiy Tulub.” Full story .. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/paul-manafort-blackmail-russia-trump-235275 .

THAT’S NOT A ‘NO’ — Collins ‘not ruling out’ run for Maine governor: Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday she was considering a run for governor of Maine in 2018, a move that would greatly increase Republican chances of holding on to Gov. Paul LePage's seat. ‘I am not ruling it in, I am not ruling it out,’ Collins, a moderate senator with high approval ratings, said during an interview on Maine Public Radio.” Full story .. https://www.politicopro.com/campaigns/whiteboard/2017/02/collins-not-ruling-out-run-for-maine-governor-084029 .

Days until the 2017 election: 257.

Days until the 2018 election: 621.

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http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-score/2017/02/montana-gop-chair-argues-against-mail-ballots-for-house-special-218878