More than 550,000 mail ballots rejected so far: Here’s how to make sure your vote gets counted

Election officials are working to make sure voters are not disenfranchised in November after an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots have been rejected in primary elections so far this year.

A Washington Post analysis found that more than 534,000 mail ballots were rejected in primaries in 23 states this year and a separate NPR analysis found more than 558,000 ballots rejected in 30 states. By comparison, less than 318,000 ballots were rejected in the 2016 general election, raising concerns that ballot issues could tip the election. After all, the 2016 presidential race was decided by about 77,000 combined votes, spread across in three states.

"We've been worried about this problem," said Ellen Kurz, a veteran of several presidential campaigns who co-founded iVoteFacts, a nonprofit that seeks to educate voters about new voting options amid the pandemic. "New York's [21%] rate was crazy and New Jersey was 10%. And one of the big problems is the fact that voting by mail is going to be new in a lot of these states."

"You can't have 10% of voters disqualified because of a technicality," she told Salon in an interview. "That's nuts."

Twenty states have expanded mail voting amid the pandemic this year, resulting in many voters casting mail ballots for the very first time. A recent study found that first-time mail voters in Florida were twice as likely to have their ballots rejected than voters who had previously voted by mail. The issue is particularly concerning in key battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the three states that tipped the race to President Trump in 2016. Election officials in those states alone "tossed out more than 60,480 ballots" during the primaries, according to the Washington Post. More than 60,000 more votes were rejected in swing states such as Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Nevada and Maine.

https://news.yahoo.com/more-550-000-mail-ballots-110001994.html

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Sept. 7, 2020

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Sept. 7, 2020, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting dis-aggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.

Total U.S. Navy Battle Force:

295

Deployed Ships Underway: 65

Non-deployed Ships Underway: 29

Total Ships Underway: 94

Ships Deployed by Fleet

Fleet Forces: 0

3rd Fleet: 3

4th Fleet: 4

5th Fleet: 20

6th Fleet: 16

7th Fleet: 57

Total: 100

Wildfire ravages tiny Malden, Washington, destroying post office, city hall, fire station, most homes

Hurricane-force winds and high temperatures kicked up wildfires across parts of the Pacific Northwest over the Labor Day weekend, burning hundreds of thousands of acres and mostly destroying the small town of Malden in eastern Washington.

Flames destroyed about 80 percent of the homes in Malden, Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers told CBS Spokane affiliate KREM-TV. The fire station, post office, city hall and other buildings were also consumed, he reported.

"The scale of this disaster really can't be expressed in words. The fire will be extinguished, but a community has been changed for a lifetime. I just hope we don't find the fire took more than homes and buildings. I pray everyone got out in time," Myers said in a statement.

Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz tweeted on Monday evening that, "Today alone, almost 300,000 acres in Washington have burned.''

"Thousands of homes are without power. Many families have had to evacuate their homes and many homes have been lost, Franz wrote. "We're still seeing new fire starts in every corner of the state.

High winds also kicked up dust that closed a portion of Interstate 90 and other highways in the state on Monday.

In Oregon, the Lionshead Fire grew to 25 square miles by Monday and the Beachie Creek Fire reached 500 acres as fire officials prepared for high winds and dangerous conditions across both wildfires Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Statesman Journal.

The fires are in the path of winds that could reach up to 75 mph into Tuesday, officials said. That's like a hurricane hitting a wildfire.

"The fire weather forecasted is extremely rare and occurs only a few times a century," said Eric Johnson, Deputy Fire Staff for Northwest Oregon Fire Management.

The entire Mount Jefferson Wilderness, the Olallie Lake area and the Opal Creek area were closed to recreation.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/northwest-wildfire-ravages-malden-washington-destroying-post-office-city-hall-fire-station-most-homes/

Update on USNS Mercy

American Ninja Warrior Drew Drechsel Edited Out of Show After Sex Abuse Charges

American Ninja Warrior Drew Drechsel was edited out of the show because he’s facing federal sex abuse charges.

According to NZHerald, he was edited out of the September 7 episode and competed on Ninja Warrior Australia v The World. Some viewers reported seeing a graphic that read, “Due to current legal proceedings in the US, the following program has been edited.”

That’s made a lot of people wonder what exactly Drechsel is accused of doing. “Due to legal proceedings currently involving one of the members of team USA, Channel Nine has made the decision not to show his run in tonight’s episode of Ninja Warrior Australia v The World,” a spokesperson told Australian media, according to NZHerald.

Drechsel Was Hit With federal Sex Abuse Charges Relating to a Minor.

The news of the charges broke in mid August. That’s when the prominent U.S. newspaper, USA Today, reported on them. According to that newspaper Drechsel was arrested on federal sex abuse accusations.

The press release says that Andrew Drechsel, 31, of Saint Cloud, Florida, was charged by complaint “with manufacture of child pornography, enticement of a minor to travel for illicit sexual conduct, travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and use of interstate commerce to entice a minor.”

https://heavy.com/news/2020/09/american-ninja-warrior/

Bomb and arson team investigating after 2 fires in 12 hours at south St. Louis County house

LEMAY, Mo. — Fire investigators are looking into what caused a fire at a south St. Louis County house. It was the second fire in the same home within a 12-hour span.

Firefighters responded at about 6 a.m. to the 9800 block of Perrin Avenue.

The view from 5 On Your Side’s chopper showed flames going through the roof of the two-story house and heavy smoke in the area.

Firefighters positioned a ladder truck next to the house. They were seen raising it to begin attacking the flames from above. By 6:45 a.m., firefighters had the flames under control. Heavy damage was seen to the second floor of the home and part of the roof burned and collapsed during the fire.

Lemay Fire Protection District Lt. Larry Lewellen confirmed with 5 On Your Side there was another fire in the same house Monday night. That fire started at about 8:30 p.m. in a second story bedroom. No one was injured in either fire.

St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson Unit responded to the scene to help with the investigation.

5 On Your Side's chopper crew noticed a "For Sale" sign in front of the house. A listing on Realtor.com shows it has been on the market for several days

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/house-fire-lemay-south-st-louis-county/63-32a41a5f-1029-4388-832f-ee7bb2c35b4b

‘Pedophile who blindfolded girl, 4, then tricked her into sex abuse’ moans after being freed by judge

A suspected pedophile who allegedly blindfolded a child before tricking her into sex abuse has moaned that the terms of his bail are ‘oppressive.’ Cody Atwood, 28, hit out at a judge even though he is out of jail while awaiting trial on extremely serious charges.

The suspected child molester, from Jefferson County, Oklahoma, says his bail amount of $10,000 for each of the 10 sex charges he faces is too high. It previously stood at $50,000 per charge, with Atwood making bail in June, a year after his May 2019 arrest.

That amount was lowered in July after a previous complaint from Atwood. Atwood, who has been allowed to stay with his parents, drive to work, and wear a GPS ankle monitor, wants to be given a single bail amount for one of the charges he faces, and for the amounts attached to the other charges to be thrown out.

A judge has yet to rule on whether or not to grant his request to have his bail amount lowered, KJTL reported. He complained despite facing aggravated child sex charges over claims he molested his alleged victim for four years, beginning when the girl was aged four. During an interview recorded last March, the child said Atwood made her play ‘the food game,’ where he would blindfold her with pajamas, and tie her hands behind her back with a belt or rope. The youngster, whose relationship to her alleged abuser was not disclosed, said Atwood used the game as a ploy to trick her into performing sex acts on him. She said the blindfold fell off once, and that she saw Atwood standing in front of her naked.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/08/pedophile-who-blindfolded-girl-4-then-tricked-her-into-sex-abuse-moans-after-being-freed-by-judge-13240408/