Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Swede

(38,618 posts)
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 08:40 AM 8 hrs ago

"I can no longer...satisfy the Citizens of Atlanta and the world that those balltots are secure."

Winning the midterms depends on the survival of our democratic institutions.

"now that the ballots had been seized, he said, the county 'can no longer satisfy … that those ballots are still secure.'"

-Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts (via ProPublica)

www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

The Incog Stew (@theincogstew.bsky.social) 2026-01-29T11:19:25.756Z
16 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
"I can no longer...satisfy the Citizens of Atlanta and the world that those balltots are secure." (Original Post) Swede 8 hrs ago OP
Hello, courts? orangecrush 7 hrs ago #1
I contacted my Congress members AGAIN Today to demand: IMPEACH Donald J. Trump. NOW. Joinfortmill 6 hrs ago #11
So what about voting machine access? bluestarone 7 hrs ago #2
Yes, it is AverageOldGuy 7 hrs ago #4
Some states never trusted those machines RainCaster 7 hrs ago #6
Scroll down from the link posted Botany 6 hrs ago #8
WOW! That pretty much is proof that we are bluestarone 6 hrs ago #9
Stalin Quote yankee87 34 min ago #16
I would say an emphatic YES. Joinfortmill 6 hrs ago #12
There is a republican woman popsdenver 3 hrs ago #14
Help me out here AverageOldGuy 7 hrs ago #3
Criminal case vs Trump for election interference was only dropped Nov 2025 wishstar 3 hrs ago #15
Weren't all the votes in Fulton County recounted by hand with a pro Trump observer watching the count? Botany 7 hrs ago #5
Correct. Pinback 5 hrs ago #13
Interesting MakeThemCry 6 hrs ago #7
This man has gone fucking mad with power. He needs to be fired now. Initech 6 hrs ago #10

Joinfortmill

(20,353 posts)
11. I contacted my Congress members AGAIN Today to demand: IMPEACH Donald J. Trump. NOW.
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 11:33 AM
6 hrs ago

And I'm gonna do it every goddamn week until they do it. I invite you to join me. Flood their sites with messages!

AverageOldGuy

(3,481 posts)
4. Yes, it is
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 10:18 AM
7 hrs ago

I served 12 years (2012 - 2024) on the Electoral Board in a rural VA county.

All voting machines I am familiar with have an internal hard drive that saves election results for the past some number of elections -- our machines kept last seven elections. Retrieving the data requires a court order plus software that is available only to the manufacturer.

I'm certain your concern is that Trump's people could get access to voting machines and fix them to somehow screw around with the next election. To do that, they must have access to the machines as well as the ability to mess with the machine's internal processes for handling and tallying ballots -- and I'm certain some of Musk's tech bros could do that, provided they have unfettered access to the machines.

Botany

(76,601 posts)
8. Scroll down from the link posted
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 10:55 AM
6 hrs ago
https://thiswillhold.substack.com/p/she-won-part-ii-seven-judges-direct

Georgia’s Gov. Kemp w/election deniers two of whom are wearing t-shirts with the machine code
language obtained by their illegal searching Georgia’s voting machines hardware and software.
It is all a big joke to them. They knowingly cheat.

bluestarone

(21,531 posts)
9. WOW! That pretty much is proof that we are
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 11:04 AM
6 hrs ago

Fucked in 2026, if i read this correct. What options are left for our democracy to survive?

yankee87

(2,771 posts)
16. Stalin Quote
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 05:05 PM
34 min ago

Doesn't matter who votes, it's who counts. I strongly believe there won't be an election.

popsdenver

(1,789 posts)
14. There is a republican woman
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 01:55 PM
3 hrs ago

sitting in Prison in Colorado, for covertly allowing Republican geek, Mafia Members access to our voting machines, and especially the hard drive software programming........I wonder how many attempts there were in other districts/States that succeeded, and didn't get caught????
Trump and the Republicans have been trying to get the woman pardoned, but since it was state courts that convicted her, The feds can't pardon her......
So now, the Republicans and Trump are trying to destroy Colorado in every way they can.......coming soon to every Blue State in the Country.......Just look at Minnesota.........

AverageOldGuy

(3,481 posts)
3. Help me out here
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 10:14 AM
7 hrs ago

Federal law requires that ballots in federal elections be retained for 22 months after which they can be destroyed, depending on local or state laws.

I served 12 years on the Electoral Board of a rural Virginia county. On the day after each election -- before noon -- we must have all ballots -- used and unused ballots -- packaged and sealed and delivered to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The Clerk keeps the ballots and other paperwork associated with the election in her vault for the required time -- 22 months for federal elections, 30 days for state and local. Then -- our clerk, and every other clerk I knew of, had the ballots shredded and incinerated.

WTF are they doing in Atlanta , holding onto ballots from an election that was over five years ago? 22 months after Nov 2020 is September 2022. Those ballots should have been disposed of a long time ago. Or maybe Georgia hangs on to ballots forever???

Can someone familiar with Georgia election procedures weigh in here?

Of course, if the actual ballots have been destroyed, then watch for Trump to lose his shit.

wishstar

(5,805 posts)
15. Criminal case vs Trump for election interference was only dropped Nov 2025
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 02:34 PM
3 hrs ago

so makes sense that with the ongoing indictment, the ballots were retained and then the Feds under Trump immediately started asking for voter info from Fulton County.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-prosecutor-drops-election-interference-case-trump/story?id=127898245

Botany

(76,601 posts)
5. Weren't all the votes in Fulton County recounted by hand with a pro Trump observer watching the count?
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 10:19 AM
7 hrs ago

Trump wants to be like Stalin, Hitler, and Korea’s Dear Leaders in rewriting history.

The real history: From wiki

During the phone call, Trump maintained falsely that he had won Georgia by "hundreds of thousands of votes", insisting that the certified election results were wrong.[48] He said that Raffensperger should "reevaluate" the election's results, citing a variety of different conspiracy theories regarding voting in the state. Raffensperger, in response, answered that the election results in that state were correct and legitimate, and that Trump "had got his data wrong". During his attempts to pressure Raffensperger into changing the election results, Trump said, "I just want to find 11,780 votes", the minimum number needed to overcome Biden's advantage in Georgia. Trump also tried to intimidate Raffensperger, hinting that Raffensperger and his attorney could face a possible criminal investigation. Trump said, "You know, that's a criminal offense. And you know, you can't let that happen. That's a big risk to you."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Raffensperger_phone_call

Pinback

(13,534 posts)
13. Correct.
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 12:06 PM
5 hrs ago

Sidney Powell, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Cheesebro, and the other idiots aiding and abetting this crackpot scheme were repeatedly defeated in court, but Trump and the Qanon types will never let it go.

ETA: I also see this as a way to remind Republican voters of how Brad Raffensperger, who’s hoping to become Georgia governor, participated in the “conspiracy to steal the 2020 election” from Trump.

Initech

(107,824 posts)
10. This man has gone fucking mad with power. He needs to be fired now.
Thu Jan 29, 2026, 11:07 AM
6 hrs ago

Enough is enough!

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»"I can no longer...satisf...