https://apnews.com/article/ct-state-wire-denise-merrill-election-2020-voter-registration-government-and-politics-ecff05cf97e5a25d017436b9d10e529c

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced Wednesday she will not seek reelection in 2022, noting it’s time for a “new generation” to “step up” with new ideas on how to further modernize voting and protect voters’ rights.

The three-term Democrat and former president of the National Association of Secretaries of State made the announcement outside the state Capitol, where she previously served 17 years as a state representative from Mansfield.

Merrill, 72, said she’s proud of the efforts under her watch to modernize the office and voting, including setting up online voter registration, Election Day registration and automatic voter registration through the Department of Motor Vehicles and now other state agencies. Her office also worked to bolster cybersecurity protections, come up with safety protocols for an election held during the pandemic and make it easier to access business filings online.

>>13964752

get the Trump Won banners ready

Don't worry the FBI has this under control, whack-a-mole

https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/23/clop-ransomware-gang-doxes-two-new-victims-days-after-police-raids/

The notorious Clop ransomware operation appears to be back in business, just days after Ukrainian police arrested six alleged members of the gang.

Last week, a law enforcement operation conducted by the National Police of Ukraine along with officials from South Korea and the U.S. saw the arrest of multiple suspects believed to be linked to the Clop ransomware gang. It’s believed to be the first time a national law enforcement group carried out mass arrests involving a ransomware group.

The Ukrainian police also claimed at the time to have successfully shut down the server infrastructure used by the gang. But it doesn’t seem the operation was completely successful.

If true — and neither of the alleged victims responded to TechCrunch’s request for comment — this would suggest that the ransomware gang remains active, despite last week’s first-of-its-kind law enforcement sting. This is likely because the suspects cuffed included only those who played a lesser role in the Clop operation. Cybersecurity firm Intel 471 said it believes that last week’s arrests targeted the money laundering portion of the operation, with core members of the gang not apprehended.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/88nm4x/india-walton-buffalo-mayor-socialist

Buffalo is poised to become the largest American city with a socialist mayor in a generation, as a 38-year-old former nurse and SEIU union representative appeared to defeat the city’s longtime incumbent in a massive Democratic primary upset Tuesday night.

India Walton led four-term Mayor Byron Brown Tuesday by seven points, or a little more than 1,500 votes, according to the unofficial results. Though Brown told supporters Tuesday that the race was “too tight to call now” and vowed to continue until all absentee ballots are counted, the Associated Press called the race on Wednesday morning.

Walton had been backed by the Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America, and ran on a platform of implementing rent control and “fully fund[ing] our community,” including mental health services, as opposed to defunding the police. She came into the race as a heavy underdog against Brown, who is not only the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history but also a top ally of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a former state Senator, and former chairman of the New York State Democratic Party. He was also once considered for an appointment to the U.S. Senate.

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/3-injured-after-pedestrian-bridge-collapses-in-northeast-dc-authorities/2513955/

A pedestrian bridge collapsed onto DC-295 in Northeast Washington, D.C., Wednesday, trapping a truck that started leaking diesel fuel and leaving at least six people injured, officials say.

Chopper4 footage shows the bridge on top of three lanes of the roadway. Fencing hangs over three lanes of traffic in the opposite direction.

Four people taken to a hospital with injuries and two others were assessed, D.C. Fire and EMS said. Earlier, they reported three people with minor injuries.

https://www.thejournal.ie/spanish-court-approves-extradition-of-mcafee-5475491-Jun2021/

SPAIN’S NATIONAL COURT has approved the extradition of detained antivirus software entrepreneur John McAfee to the United States, where he is wanted on tax-related criminal charges.

The decision can be appealed and the final extradition will need to be approved by the Spanish Cabinet.

In a hearing held via video-link earlier this month, McAfee argued that the charges against him were politically motivated and said he would spend the rest of his life in prison if he was returned to the US.

Jeff Ellington, CEO of Runbeck Election Services

https://www.salon.com/2021/06/23/bamboo-ballots-dont-exist-manufacturer-says-as-arizona-auditors-search-for-watermarks/

On Tuesday night, CNN reporter Kyung Lah interviewed the chief executive behind the company tasked with producing the ballots for Maricopa County, Arizona, who debunked a series of baseless conspiracy theories, including claims that ballots had been imported from China and have bamboo fibers embedded in them.

Jeff Ellington, CEO of Runbeck Election Services, the company that manufactured the Maricopa County ballots, told CNN he has no idea what Republican officials are looking for in his firm's ballots, adding that he believes their snipe hunt makes no sense.

Ellington said he tried to understand what GOP-led audit officials were hinting at. "Well, maybe there is something?" he asked rhetorically. "So we went in a room like this, and we got our flashlight, and we were shining it on the paper trying to figure out what they could possibly be looking for. We couldn't find anything on the ballot that reflected or was a watermark or anything."

Ellington continued, "It's not being disclosed what they're looking for, what those processes are, and that's frustrating. You're left to speculate on what they're doing. You're watching the live feed on the video; you're left to speculate as to what they're actually trying to accomplish."

>>13965103

Someday I'd just like to see one decent dead man's switch before I die.

Wheeler admits he can't provide full police services

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-23/portland-police-will-no-longer-pursue-minor-traffic-stops-citing-racial-disparity

PORTLAND, Ore. — Police in Oregon’s largest city are being advised to no longer pursue low-level traffic infractions — including expired plates and broken headlights — unless related to an immediate safety threat, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Tuesday.

In addition, if police do stop a driver, they must receive recorded consent before searching the vehicle and clearly inform the person they have the right to refuse.

Wheeler said both changes are an attempt to refocus on immediate threats and are also occurring in response to data showing a disproportionate impact on Black drivers for traffic stops and vehicle searches. While 6% of Portlanders are Black, he said they account for 18% of traffic stops in the city.

“The goal of these two changes is to make our safety safer and more equitable,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler noted these changes are also being done in part because of the police bureau’s limited staffing and resources.

“Our staffing on the streets is inadequate,” Wheeler said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-senate-no-election-fraud-2020/

A Republican-controlled Michigan state Senate committee published a report Wednesday affirming that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election and further, it's calling on the state attorney general to consider investigating some people who have pushed false claims about the election "to raise money or publicity for their own ends."

The report, released Wednesday morning, came after the Michigan Senate Oversight Committee had spent months reviewing the 2020 presidential election in Michigan. It was based on 28 hours of testimony from almost 90 people and an examination of thousands of pages of documents.

While the report took note of "glaring issues" that need to be addressed in Michigan's elections, the committee found no proof of either "significant acts of fraud or that an organized, wide-scale effort to commit fraudulent activity was perpetrated in order to subvert the will of Michigan voters."

The committee also recommended that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel "consider investigating those who have been utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends."

"We will review the report in its entirety in order to determine if a criminal investigation is appropriate," Lynsey Mukomel, a spokeswoman for Nessel, said in a statement.

The Senate Oversight Committee's Republican chairman Ed McBroom said for now there's no need for a similar process in Arizona.

"Another audit, a so-called forensic audit, is not justifiable. Michigan's already completed post-election audit and risk-limiting audit are also far more substantive than Arizona's standard audit," McBroom wrote.

https://committees.senate.michigan.gov/testimony/2021-2022/Senate%20Committee%20on%20Oversight%20Report%20on%20the%20November%202020%20Election%20in%20Michigan,%20adopted.pdf