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This is a test of Wix that I am not happy with

blog testing

1) Looking for language to draft for an election bill in your state? The Election Integrity Network - EIN - Legislative National Working Group has created a repository or bills either passed or in committee to help you craft your legislation. Enjoy! Legislative repository https://whoscounting.us/legislative-resource-library/ 2) The Markup is a new insider legislative update from the Voting Rights Lab, powered by the State Voting Rights Tracker. Each week we’ll give you insight on the bills we’re watching. We’ll catch you up on important changes from the week before and let you know what to expect in the week to come. Enter your info below to subscribe now — and please spread the word. Voting Rights Lab is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that brings state policy and legislative expertise to the fight for voting rights. We work in partnership with organizations across the country to secure, protect, and defend the voting rights of all Americans. And we track voting laws and legislation in all 50 states at tracker.votingrightslab.org. https://votingrightslab.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=726a2570656bae04d06b099ef&id=8d7e6dc6e2

From Staci Metcalf, Buncombe County, NC to School Board. ATTACHED TO THIS EMAIL IS THE SB49 PARENTS BILL OF RIGHTS DOCUMENT for you to review. Below is the email I will be sending to BCS Board and also my example for you to look at and send your own email. Please personalize by changing, adding to or taking away from so that it will line up with your experiences, beliefs and desires for your children's education. The Board needs to see these emails hit their inbox within the next week to make a difference. I am also recommending: 1. You email again during the week leading up to the board meeting on December 7. 2. You copy and paste from this email and send it out to each of your liberty-minded friends who want to stand in the gap for our children in public schools. 3. Show up to the December 7 School Board meeting at 5pm to sign up and speak, even if it is just reading the email out loud that you have sent. But if you just can't make yourself speak publicly, at least show up and make your presence known by standing when asked to stand if you agree with what has been said publicly. We really need EVERYONE to show up that can. Please help us stand for our children. ONLY TWO OF US SHOWED UP AT THE NOVEMBER 2 BUNCOMBE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEETING. IF WE DON'T SHOW UP, WE HAVE NO VOICE. THE OTHER SIDE IS OVERWHELMINGLY OUTNUMBERING US AT THESE MEETINGS. THE OTHER SIDE IS SHOWING UP, THEY ARE SPEAKING, and THE BOARD IS LISTENING! EVEN THOUGH IT IS STATE LAW, THE BOARD IS LEANING TOWARDS NOT IMPLEMENTING THE PARENTS BILL OF RIGHTS. WE HAVE TO ACT NOW. WE MUST BOMBARD THEM WITH EMAILS IN FAVOR OF IMPLEMENTING THIS LAW AND SHOW UP AT THE NEXT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING ON DECEMBER 7 AT 5PM. Email to Buncombe County Board of Education at communications@bcsemail.org To: Our Buncombe County School Board First, let me say thank you for your sacrifice of time in fulfilling your position to watch over the education of our precious children. It is a very important position and extremely crucial in this season. I am emailing so that my voice is heard. It is difficult for me to get to the board meetings at the time they are scheduled due to my job/commitments/childcare. Public Comment signup ends before those of us who work can get out of the parking lot. I thank you for this opportunity to email my thoughts, needs and concerns. I, also, thank you for taking the time to hear and really think about the concerns I have. The Parents' Bill of Rights (SB49) is a bill, as you already know, that creates a transparency regarding school curriculum; affirms parents rights to object to curriculum and to be involved in schools; affirms parents rights to the medical records of their children; and prohibits teaching gender ideology in K-4th grade. Parents are and should be the primary educators of their children and want/need to know what they are learning. The Parents Bill of Rights was needed to protect parental rights, address their concerns and access to curricula, and prohibit instruction on sexual orientation. Public schools should be focused on basic education in reading, math, writing, science and social studies. It is best when moral teaching is left at home with parents, and therapy to the parent's choosing of outside therapists to help their children deal with social and emotional issues as it has been for decades. As I sit and listen, either in person or through the live video, to those speaking during public comment at school board meetings against this bill, I hear bashing of conservatives and Christians who just want their children taught the basics of education as school was created to do. They use descriptions such as, "a small group of people spreading fear" or "a small group of people making life difficult" or "a group demanding their way and not caring for their neighbors or others." These statements simply are not true. We do care for everyone but our first responsibility is to make sure our children's education doesn't cross the line, leading our children away from the education being taught at home in regards to their faith and beliefs. I am not trying to force any of my beliefs on those who do not agree with me. I simply just want my children and grandchildren taught the basics of education. I would be fine with removing the libraries from public schools so there is no "battle" over what is appropriate and what isn't since there seem to be so many differences in what we see appropriate and inappropriate. All families (traditional, traditional blended, non-traditional, non-traditional blended, single parent homes, etc) could simply take their children to a public library and check out books of their preferred choices or access digitally with parent's knowing what their children were accessing. Then children could be exposed to the books that line up with their families faith and beliefs instead of exposing children to books that do not. Again, if we were simply teaching the basics of education, none of this would be an issue. Let's just get back to the basics, but until we do, we need to follow the law of SB49, which, as stated above, creates a transparency regarding school curriculum; affirms parents rights to object to curriculum and to be involved in schools; affirms parents rights to the medical records of their children; and prohibits teaching gender ideology in K-4th grade. Thank you for hearing me and thank you for following the law that has been passed to help parents maintain their crucial role as the leaders of their family and children. Respectfully,

[PLEASE PERSONALIZE THIS LETTER AND DO NOT USE VERBATIM. Just to give idea of what to write.] Date: RE: Please implement SB49 – The Parents’ Bill of Rights Dear Buncombe County School Board: My name is __________________. I am writing in support of SB49, the Parents’ Bill of Rights, and I am asking you to implement all parts of the state law according to the timeline provided by the state. Children are not wards of the state. They are gifts from God to their parents. The Parents’ Bill of Rights protects the rights of parents to direct the care and education of their children. It also protects their rights to direct their children’s upbringing and moral/religious training. Schools may partner with parents, but schools are not ultimately in charge of them. Parents are. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world, where some adults in the children’s sphere have harmed them. Within the law are strong protections for children in cases of abuse. I have become increasingly alarmed at the opposition to this bill, specifically the outcry of the LGBTQ community and its activists. I am extremely concerned that you are listening to their loud voices (which I contend do not represent the county as a whole) and will not implement the state law as written. At the November 2 board meeting, activists from the Campaign for Southern Equality spoke. Only one of these representatives stated she was from Buncombe County. These activists are pushing a human secular agenda. In this agenda, you are either for them or against (a Marxist trick), and you are hostile and possess a “narrowed love of neighbor” if you do not agree with them. Please do not succumb to their threats. Let them bring on lawsuits. Implement the law. The law states that gender identity should not be taught in grades K-4th grade. Gender ideology is controversial. I contend most Buncombe County parents do not agree with it. As far as I’m concerned, gender identity is a moral issue and should not be broached in schools at any age, because schools do not have the authority to be the directors of a child’s moral beliefs or religion. Regardless, gender identity falls under the realm of reproductive health/sex education and should not be addressed at this very young age. If a parent wants to address this issue at home, he/she can. This controversial topic should not be addressed in grades K-4th grade. The Parents’ Bill of Rights protects our children in this regard. The law also states that schools should not keep information from parents unless in situations of abuse or potential harm. To help their children, parents need the knowledge of what their child is experiencing at school, so they can help them or seek help in other places. If a child is experiencing gender dysphoria, parents, who direct their children’s upbringing and moral beliefs, need to know so they can help their child. The LGBTQ activists seemed concerned about teacher’s “outing” students to parents. Keeping secrets from parents, who have authority over that child, is extremely alarming and morally wrong. Human secularism is a thought belief in which all morality is relative. Human secularism is a religion, a religion of self. Note: The Unitarian Church falls under this purview. Human secularism is the most intolerant of all religions. If you do not agree with the tenets of human secularism, then you are hostile, hateful and evil. It appears in this fight for parental rights and the protection of our children that the religion of human secularism is taking precedence over all other thought beliefs including Judaism, Islam and Christianity. I am extremely concerned that without the Parents’ Bill of Rights children will become indoctrinated by the religion of human secularism against the wishes of their parents. That is morally wrong. I am also concerned that by promoting the human secular agenda that you will be creating a hostile educational environment for all students and school staff who do not agree with its tenets which include the affirmation and acceptance of LGBTQ lifestyles. These students and staff who disagree with human secularism have the right to their own beliefs. They can be kind and compassionate to all students without affirming a lifestyle choice that they feel is immoral and hurtful to a student’s well-being. If you do not implement all parts of the state law according to the timeline given to you by the state, I am concerned about what LGBTQ activists will be pushing on our children and school staff next. Craig Wilson, a representative of the Campaign for Southern Equality who spoke at the November 2 board meeting, noted present concerns of “staff outing students, staff not respecting correct pronouns and names, and staff censoring curriculum beyond requirements.” Will you then begin forcing staff to go against their religious and moral beliefs to keep secrets from parents, to use names and pronouns which do not go along with a student’s biological sex, and to include materials and curriculum in their teaching which they find offensive and harmful? It is not the job of seven board members to go against the wishes of the voters of North Carolina and not implement state law. It is your duty to implement SB49 as written and according to the timeline provided by the state. Please implement SB49. Sincerely, Name

https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/Senate/PDF/S49v5.pdf This is part of the bill. Hold your Board of Education accountable. Pornagraphy/sexual orientation endoctrination is clearly against the law. You have the right to review classroom materials! § 114A-10. Parents' bill of rights. A parent has the right to the following: (1) To direct the education and care of his or her child. (2) To direct the upbringing and moral or religious training of his or her child. (3) To enroll his or her child in a public or nonpublic school and in any school choice options available to the parent for which the child is otherwise eligible by law in order to comply with compulsory attendance laws, as provided in Part 1 of Article 26 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes. (4) To access and review all education records, as authorized by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, relating to his or her child. (5) To make health care decisions for his or her child, unless otherwise provided by law, including Article 1A of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes. (6) To access and review all medical records of his or her child, as authorized by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), P.L. 104-191, as amended, except as follows: a. If an authorized investigator requests that information not be released to a parent because the parent is the subject of an investigation of either of the following: 1. A crime committed against the child under Chapter 14 of the General Statutes. *S49-v-5* Page 2 Session Law 2023-106 Senate Bill 49 2. An abuse and neglect complaint under Chapter 7B of the General Statutes. b. When otherwise prohibited by law. (7) To prohibit the creation, sharing, or storage of a biometric scan of his or her child without the parent's prior written consent, except as authorized pursuant to a court order or otherwise required by law, including G.S. 7B-2102 and G.S. 7B-2201. (8) To prohibit the creation, sharing, or storage of his or her child's blood or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) without the parent's prior written consent, except as authorized pursuant to a court order or otherwise required by law, including G.S. 7B-2201. (9) To prohibit the creation by the State of a video or voice recording of his or her child without the parent's prior written consent, except a recording made in the following circumstances: a. During or as part of a court proceeding. b. As part of an investigation under Chapter 7B or Chapter 14 of the General Statutes. c. When the recording will be used solely for any of the following purposes: 1. A safety demonstration, including one related to security and discipline on educational property. 2. An academic or extracurricular activity. 3. Classroom instruction. 4. Photo identification cards. 5. Security or surveillance of buildings, grounds, or school transportation. (10) To be promptly notified if an employee of the State suspects that a criminal offense has been committed against his or her child, unless the incident has first been reported to law enforcement or the county child welfare agency, and notification of the parent would impede the investigation.

The textbook could make it more difficult for practitioners who disagree with the 'gender-affirming care' model, critics say. https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/new-trans-textbook-for-psychiatrists-could-harm-millions-of-kids-critics-say-5533713?utm_source=Morningbrief&src_src=Morningbrief&utm_campaign=mb-2023-12-01&src_cmp=mb-2023-12-01&utm_medium=email&est=30uPAZ3QMFfRyqoslIm%2BHVYhzSkJz2I9C3jZCN%2B%2BYL0T9tp8qtrStuh0JehWrRnTDPc%3D By Darlene McCormick Sanchez | Nov 30, 2023 Updated:Nov 30, 2023 A new "cutting-edge" textbook on transgenderism written with the help of activists will be used to train psychiatrists and could harm millions of children in the future, some experts have warned. "Gender-Affirming Psychiatric Care," just released on Amazon at $58, is a textbook printed by American Psychiatric Association (APA) Publishing. The textbook signals early on that it's more subjective than objective, quoting a feminist studies professor saying, "Scientific neutrality is a fallacy." More Articles The Sinister Theory Behind the Q in LGBTQ Parents' Personality Disorders Driving Surge in Trans Kids: Psychiatrists The content has prompted some critics to question the textbook's reliance on a mix of transgender-identifying professionals writing about their experiences, limited scientific studies, and neo-Marxist critical theories. "This is a huge issue; millions more kids will be harmed," said Lauren Schwartz, a psychiatrist in Oklahoma speaking out against the rush to "transition" children. The textbook's introduction says the book is based on an "evidence-informed approach" instead of an evidence-based approach, which is more scientific, she told The Epoch Times. The 26 chapters are written by 56 authors, 50 of whom are in the transgender community, according to the textbook's foreword. Chapters include affirming "two-spirit people," a term used to refer to someone who believes he or she is both sexes, and one about "double queer" people—or people who identify as transgender and have a mental disability. California State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond reads from the book "Red: A Crayon's Story" to 2nd grade students at Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond, Calif., on May 17, 2022. Thurmond celebrated the donation of thousands of LGBT books from Gender Nation to 234 elementary schools in nine California districts. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The book's editors are listed as an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and investigator at the National LGBT Health Education Center; and a transgender-identifying psychological resident at the University of Pennsylvania, whose work is influenced by her background as a "non-binary/trans, queer, neurodivergent, chronically ill, Jewish person." Ms. Schwartz noted that the authors were chosen by "prioritizing lived experience, diversity of perspectives, and community impact of prior work over academic titles."'Disturbing Gibberish' The problem is the textbook will be perceived as authoritative because it was printed by the APA's publishing arm, she said. "Anyone wanting to practice gender-affirming care, any attorney wanting to defend it, and any legislator who wants to protect it, now they have a new peer-reviewed textbook, not just 'evidence' in a journal or a study," she said. Alan Hopewell, a prescribing neuropsychologist in Texas who saw transgender-identifying patients decades ago, called the textbook "disturbing." "This is nonsensical gibberish which has no foundation whatsoever in science," he told The Epoch Times. Hospitals could demand doctors go by the textbook because the APA put it out, or it could even be used to remove the license of doctors who don't go along with it, he said. Abigail Martinez (R), the mother of a transgender teen who committed suicide, sheds tears as Erin Friday comforts her and transgender activists block TV cameras from capturing her story in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 8, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) "This reminds me of brain-damaged hippies free-associating at a commune," Mr. Hopewell said. The book foreword says that most of the contributing authors recognize they are "obscenely privileged" as English-speaking doctors with access to elite schools. It asserts that the psychiatric field was built on "the work [and assumptions] of European, white, cisgender men, including their colonial, Anglo-centric, cis-heteropatriarchal worldview and pathologization of experiences that did not fit their own 'norm.'" "For millennia, outside of European colonial influences, gender diversity has flourished to varying degrees among hundreds of indigenous communities around the world," the foreword reads. The idea that Western countries were colonizing land stolen from indigenous people is part of critical race theory (CRT), which critics say is rooted in neo-Marxism.Straight White Bias CRT and gender theories see white people and heterosexuals in Western civilization as "oppressors" of minority identity groups, who are viewed as victims. Activists are encouraged to dismantle oppressive societies in order to right discrimination of the past, according to ideology architects such as Ibram X. Kendi, who wrote "How to Be an Antiracist." Detransition advocates meet outside of the annual Pediatric Endocrine Society conference held in San Diego, Calif., on May 6, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Proponents of CRT and gender theories contend that discrimination against identity groups such as white people and heterosexuals is needed to right the wrongs against racial and sexual minorities. "The entire document is predicated on an uncritical acceptance of queer theory, which is more accurately queer Marxism," conservative author James Lindsay told The Epoch Times. Queer theory is a gender ideology advocating the destruction of traditional sexual norms; some queer theorists support sexual acts such as pedophilia and bestiality that aren't accepted by society. The textbook describes heterosexuals as cisgender people who are part of a "cultural and systemic marginalization" of LGBT people who don't align with societal norms. To prove the point, the authors object to the idea that only women can have babies. "For example, naming an obstetrics and gynecology practice a women's health center is cis-normative because it assumes the practice will only serve patients with one gender," the foreword reads. Mr. Lindsay, author of "The Marxification of Education," said the idea of "treating" gender dysphoria with hormones or surgery is akin to performing lobotomies on the mentally ill decades ago. History teaches that communist theories applied to the real world have deadly results, he said. Mr. Lindsay pointed to the forced application of Trofim Lysenko's Soviet agriculture program based on pseudo-science as an example of a communist idea gone bad. The program caused millions of innocent people in the former Soviet Union to starve by forcing them to plant seeds close together in the belief that plants from the same class never compete with each other. The theory contributed to widespread famine. Trofim Lysenko speaks at the Kremlin in 1935. Behind him are (L–R) Stanislav Kosior, Anastas Mikoyan, Andrei Andreev, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Dallas attorney Ron Miller agreed that a textbook affirming gender transitioning could lead to the harming of millions of children through sterilization and side effects from hormones and surgery. He started a boutique law firm to represent de-transitioners, who no longer identify as the opposite of their birth sex. His clients are suing doctors who prescribed hormones and surgery for gender dysphoria. Like Ms. Schwartz, he told The Epoch Times that he sees danger ahead if the textbook is universally adopted. Mr. Miller pointed to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which came out with guidance on "gender-affirming care" for children in 2018. "We're already in a world where thousands of kids are at risk of this ideology or this practice," he said. According to the group's website, the organization supports the affirmation model. The guidance "aims to help pediatricians and parents navigate health concerns of gender-diverse youth while advocating for ways to eliminate discrimination and stigma." Likewise, a textbook put out by a professional psychiatric organization such as the APA is seen as credible, Mr. Miller said. However, studies referenced in the textbook have come under fire for being flawed, such as the Dutch Protocol studies that are the basis of the affirmation model used today. Attendees look over petitions against X-rated children's books in libraries, and against gender hormone blockers for underage children, at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention in Greensboro, N.C., on June 10, 2023. (Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images) "The studies that they're referencing in this textbook are all low-quality studies," he said. The APA is one of the largest nonprofit publishers of "psychological science" in the world, giving the new book an air of legitimacy in professional circles. The professional psychological organization says it's made up of 146,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students of psychiatry in the United States. These "standards" end up trickling down, even into elementary schools, where school counselors could affirm millions of children, Mr. Miller said. The APA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.'Double Queer' The textbook discussed "double queer" children, who are confused about their gender and suffer from other mental disorders. It addresses the effects of hormones administered to these transgender-identifying children with coexisting cognitive ailments. Queer is used in this term to mean outside of what is considered normal. One chapter gives a scenario of a boy called Rosie with a history of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) whose endocrinologist recommends starting him on puberty blockers because he is worried about the changes puberty will bring. The parents are concerned about the interaction of hormone blockers and ADHD medicine in the scenario. The annual New York City Pride March in New York City on June 25, 2023. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) The chapter goes on to assert that puberty blockers "have been used safely in children of all genders" to pause early-onset puberty and to treat prostate cancer in adults. It also claims that "pubertal suppression is fully reversible." The idea that there are no consequences for puberty blockers "is the opposite of everything coming out of Europe," Ms. Schwartz said. "That's the lie that they're promoting all across the country," Mr. Hopewell said. He contended that puberty blockers can affect bone growth and brain development in adolescents, noting that the brain controls hormones. Hormone drugs such as Lupron, which suppress testosterone production, also must be managed carefully, Mr. Hopewell said. Testoserone medication, regularly injected into fatty tissue, is prescribed to some females who want to become male. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) But the textbook said "gender-affirming" hormones appear to be "overwhelmingly safe and linked with positive outcomes." Proponents of transitioning children to their preferred sex say it makes them less likely to commit suicide and improves their mental health. The textbook noted that evidence on cardiovascular risk associated with cross-sex hormones is mixed. However, a new Danish study reinforces medical evidence that transgender-identifying people taking cross-sex hormones dramatically increases their chances of developing heart disease. Published in the European Journal of Endocrinology in August, the study included 2,671 transgender-identifying people in their early to mid-20s who took cross-sex hormones in Denmark. Children read a book in the library at a school in New York City on Feb. 2, 2022. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) The study showed that the risk of developing heart disease for males and females taking cross-sex hormones was "significantly higher" than those in the control group. Besides ADHD, the textbook talks about the presence of other conditions frequently associated with gender dysphoria, such as autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The chapter states that an autism diagnosis could "interfere" with transgender health care by "causing clinicians to be more cautious than they otherwise would be." Mr. Hopewell said the book seems to blame "evil doctors" who want to treat autism as causing problems for autistic children who want to transition. He said that caution should be used when dealing with society's most vulnerable children, instead of pushing them into "treatment." "You're taking an autistic kid and convincing them of this nonsense," he said.529 Friends Read Free Copy

https://allinchallenge.org/participating-campuses/

You can thank your NCEIT TEAM for the election law changes in NC!! We're not finished! Join us to restore our nation! https://www.nceit.org/ Of course, the Left is apoplectic :) This is from Salon. Of course, slanted but it makes the point. We are making headway and NC and GA at the top of the list. Article is complete with the false narrative that poll workers leave over PO intimidation which there is not a shred of evidence! " No swing state has erected more voting restrictions since 2020 than North Carolina. Whether voters cast their ballots in person or by mail in 2024, they will experience significant new barriers." And we're far from finished! Made my day! https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/a-quiet-swing-state-crackdown-could-new-voting-laws-shift-the-outcome-in-2024/ar-AA1kEL2L?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=d497f972e4484e038d293dc6042a747b&ei=17 While voters in states like Michigan and Nevada will experience more voting options than ever, new restrictions in states like North Carolina and Georgia will create significant barriers in 2024 – barriers that didn't exist just four years ago. The University of Virginia Center for Politics projects that the outcome of the elections in just eight states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – could determine our next president in 2024. According to new research from my team at Voting Rights Lab, voters in half of these states will encounter significant new restrictions on their ability to cast a ballot. Their ability to overcome those restrictions could decide the outcome of next year's election. Four key swing states restrict voter access No swing state has erected more voting restrictions since 2020 than North Carolina. Whether voters cast their ballots in person or by mail in 2024, they will experience significant new barriers. Just last month, North Carolina lawmakers overrode a veto from Governor Roy Cooper to restrict mail voting – an option used by more than one million of the state's voters in 2020. The new law will toss all mail ballots received after 7:30 p.m. on Election Day – no matter when the ballot was dropped in the mail and without any protection against postal delays like those we saw in 2020. If that rule was in place back in 2020, more than 11,000 votes would have been tossed. North Carolinians will also face the strictest mail voter ID requirement in the country – thanks to a recent decision from the newly reconfigured state supreme court that reinstated a 2018 law that the previous configuration of the court had declared racially discriminatory and unconstitutional just last year. That 2018 law also creates a new photo ID requirement for in-person voters. Unlike most voter ID laws, it does not allow voters without ID to verify their identity using other means. View on Wat Just to the south, voters in Georgia will also face new restrictions on mail voting, including new requirements for requesting and casting mail ballots, and more limited options for returning them. Meanwhile, local election officials now face the burden of an alarming new system that allows extremists to file frivolous mass challenges to voter registrations. In Wisconsin, a total ban on drop boxes and extreme new rules to block anyone other than the voter – not their spouse, caregiver, nor neighbor – from returning a mail ballot in most circumstances threatens one of the most popular voting options in the state. And in New Hampshire, the lapse of pandemic-era expansions to mail and in-person early voting make it one of just three states where the only options for most voters will be to cast their ballot in person on Election Day. And new voters who register to vote on Election Day face new rules that make it far more likely their ballot will be rejected. Savings Rates - Maximize Your Savings Ad The Points Guy Swing state election officials face serious challenges Local election administrators will once again be entrusted to be fair, accurate, and accountable – especially in the states that capture the national spotlight. But as was the case four years ago, that spotlight has yielded an environment where those officials – civil servants often without any party affiliation – face serious threats for simply doing their jobs. For many, recent years of unprecedented harassment and intimidation have proven too much to bear for election officials in several swing states. More than 50 top election officials in Pennsylvania have left their positions since the 2020 election. Top administrators in 13 of Arizona's 15 counties have done the same. Similar stories out of Nevada and North Carolina mean election offices throughout the country will face drains on experience, staffing, and resources – all while working hard to implement a deluge of new election laws for the first time in a presidential election. Lawmakers seek personal control over elections in swing states It's no secret that some extreme politicians are working to exert influence over our elections. Mega-donors have spent millions to spread disinformation and sow distrust in American democracy. Fringe groups have recruited thousands of poll observers to harass voters and disrupt polling places. Armed vigilantes have harassed and intimidated voters using drop boxes. But there is perhaps no greater threat to voters than state lawmakers determined to exert personal control over our elections – to undermine the very fabric of American democracy by changing the rules for their own benefit. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. Yet another new law in North Carolina – also enacted over the governor's veto – grants state lawmakers the authority to take over state and county election boards. This power grab opens the door for conspiracy theorists to gain influence over local elections, creates a scenario where deadlocked county boards could close dozens of early voting sites, and means new state and local election officials will step into office just days before early voting begins for next year's primaries. Meanwhile, Wisconsin lawmakers have worked for months to remove the state's nonpartisan election administrator. And in Arizona, the state legislature has relentlessly advanced bills granting themselves more and more power over elections – including one that would allow lawmakers to officially reject the results of a fair and free election – only to be blocked by vetoes from Governor Katie Hobbs. Partisans have worked hard to put their thumb on the scale in fully half of the nation’s projected 2024 swing states. Those who stand on the side of a vibrant, inclusive democracy – from election officials to voter education groups to the voters themselves – will have to work harder to overcome. To make sure these barriers don't affect the outcome in 2024, we have to start now.

Thanks! Reminder: ATP sponsors Wreaths Across America each year to honor the fallen who have served. There is an option a wreath at a variety of cemeteries including the cemetery here in Black Mountain. Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery (NCWCBM) Please see the link below for more info. Deadline is Tuesday, 11/28/23 at 11:59PM Group ID: NC0565 Group Page: www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/NC0565 Group Plan: 3 for 2 SUPPORTING Location ID(s): NC0565 Location Name(s): Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery (NCWCBM)

Leave it to Maxine to come up with a solution for our economic mess. I bought a bird feeder. I hung it On my back porch and filled it With seed. What a beauty of A bird feeder it was, as I filled it Lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds Taking advantage of the Continuous flow of free and Easily accessible food. But then the birds started Building nests in the boards Of the patio, above the table, And next to the barbecue. Then came the shit. It was Everywhere: on the patio tile, The chairs, the table... Everywhere! Then some of the birds Turned mean. They would Dive bomb me and try to Peck me even though I had Fed them out of my own Pocket. And others birds were Boisterous and loud. They Sat on the feeder and Squawked and screamed at All hours of the day and night And demanded that I fill it When it got low on food. After a while, I couldn't even Sit on my own back porch Anymore. So I took down the Bird feeder and in three days The birds were gone. I cleaned Up their mess and took down The many nests they had built All over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like It used to be ..... Quiet, serene.... And no one demanding their Rights to a free meal. Now let's see...... Our government gives out Free food, subsidized housing, Free medical care and free Education, and allows anyone Born here to be an automatic Citizen. Then the illegal’s came by the Tens of thousands. Suddenly Our taxes went up to pay for Free services; small apartments Are housing 5 families; you Have to wait 6 hours to be seen By an emergency room doctor; Your child's second grade class is Behind other schools because Over half the class doesn't speak English. Corn Flakes now come in a Bilingual box; I have to 'press one ' to hear my bank Talk to me in English, and People waving flags other Than ”ours” are Squawking and screaming In the streets, demanding More rights and free liberties. Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government To take down the bird feeder. If you agree, pass it on; if not, Just continue cleaning up the shit!

From Joann Empie Hello Jane, I do not agree with this in the first section. (3) The name appearing on the photo identification is the same as or substantially equivalent to the name contained in the voter's voter registration record..... (D) Use of a former name, including maiden names (such as, for illustrative purposes only, Emily Jones versus Emily Gibson), This was submitted as a comment previously and was rejected. Since no additional info can be submitted at stated below in the code, how can the photo ID be matched with the name. (b) The election official examining photo identification provided by a person presenting to vote shall not require the voter to provide any additional evidence outside the four corners of the photo identification. I plan to read the next section later by tomorrow. Joanne Joanne EmpieSat, Nov 18, 8:25 PM (22 hours ago) to Jim, me Hello Jane, My comments are below. I don't know if Jim agrees with them. He is CC'd. 1. I do not agree with this in the In Person Voting section of the code. (3) The name appearing on the photo identification is the same as or substantially equivalent to the name contained in the voter's voter registration record..... (D) Use of a former name, including maiden names (such as, for illustrative purposes only, Emily Jones versus Emily Gibson), This was submitted as a comment previously and was rejected. Since no additional info can be submitted as stated below in the code, how can the photo ID be matched with the name. (b) The election official examining photo identification provided by a person presenting to vote shall not require the voter to provide any additional evidence outside the four corners of the photo identification. 2. I do not agree with this section of the code in the Absentee voting section. The social security number can not be compared to the voter's registration record if the social security number is not in the record. The social security number is not a required field on the front of the Voter Registration form. The only way to do the match is to require the SS # on the voter registration form, if the SBE does not have access to the Social Security Commission information. I do not know if the SBE has access to SS#s directly from the Social Security Commission or if the SBE has access to SS #s from the DMV which has access to Social Security Commission information according to HAVA. There is no requirement in HAVA for the state election official to have access to the Social Security Commission. Note sections of the applicable code and legislation below. 08 NCAC 17 .0109 (b) The number required to be provided by G.S. 163-230.1(g)(2 is deficient only if it does not match the corresponding number listed in the voter’s voter registration record. G.S. 163-230.1(g)(2) ....If a reasonable impediment under this subdivision states inability to attach a physical copy of the voter's identification with the written request, the reasonable impediment shall include one of the following: For a reasonable impediment the following are required a. The number of the voter's North Carolina drivers license issued under Article 2 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes, including a learner's permit or a provisional license. b. The number of the voter's special identification card for nonoperators issued under G.S. 20-37.7. c. The last four digits of the voter's social security number. Joanne