Texas admits ‘some’ of the 95,000 flagged voters might be citizens

Published time: 29 Jan, 2019 23:44

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Texas admits ‘some’ of the 95,000 flagged voters might be citizens

Voters cast their ballots for the midterm elections in San Antonio, Texas, U.S. November 6, 2018. © REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare

The Texas Secretary of State has reportedly told five counties that his assessment that 95,000 voters might have been non-eligible to vote – used by President Trump as a proof of “rampant” voter fraud – is an overestimation.

The office of Texas Secretary of State David Whitley, who is a Republican, has informed officials in Harris, Travis, Fort Bend, Collin and Williamson counties that some of the people initially flagged as potential non-citizens were mistakenly put on the lists, The Texas Tribune reported.

The initial assessment was made by Whitley on Friday, when he said the officials in Texas identified 95,000 registered voters who were non-citizens when they obtained their identification documents. Out of the 95,000 individuals targeted, some 58,000 voted at least once from 1996 to 2018.

Officials in the five counties did confirm to the Texas Tribune that they had received calls from the Secretary of State’s office to remove some of the suspected aliens from the status check list. It remains unclear how many of the 95,000 will be delisted. Douglas Ray, a special assistant county attorney in Harris County, said “a substantial number” of names would be removed while Travis County officials spoke of a “significant” decrease.

The Texas Secretary of State office downplayed the development, saying its notification was essentially a nothingburger and a part of a standard procedure “of ensuring no eligible voters were impacted by any list maintenance activity.”

After the initial claim, the office was bombarded with threats of legal action and accused of waging a “witch hunt” to suppress minority voting.

The League of United Latin American Citizens, the country’s oldest Latino civil rights group, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, calling the review “a plan carefully calibrated to intimidate legitimate registered voters from continuing to participate in the election process.” The League alleged that the measure was “meant to attack Latinos,” specifically.

https://www.rt.com/usa/450095-texas-voter-fraud-citizens/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Tech

Apple opens new chapter amid weakening iPhone demand

Today 06:05 am JST 0 Comment

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

SAN FRANCISCO

Apple hoped to offset slowing demand for iPhones by raising the prices of its most important product, but that strategy seems to have backfired after sales sagged during the holiday shopping season.

Results released Tuesday revealed the magnitude of the iPhone slump — a 15 percent drop in revenue from the previous year. That decline in Apple's most profitable product caused Apple's total earnings for the October-December quarter to dip slightly to $20 billion.

Now, CEO Tim Cook is grappling with his toughest challenge since replacing co-founder Steve Jobs 7 ½ years ago. Even as he tries to boost iPhone sales, Cook also must prove that Apple can still thrive even if demand doesn't rebound.

It figures to be an uphill battle, given Apple's stock has lost one-third of its value in less than four months, erasing about $370 billion in shareholder wealth.

Cook rattled Wall Street in early January by disclosing the company had missed its own revenue projections for the first time in 15 years. The last time that happened, the iPod was just beginning to transform Apple.

"This is the defining moment for Cook," said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives. "He has lost some credibility on Wall Street, so now he will have to do some handholding as the company enters this next chapter."

The results for the October-December period were slightly above the expectations analysts lowered after Cook's Jan. 2 warning. Besides the profit decline, Apple's revenue fell 5 percent from the prior year to $84 billion.

It marked the first time in more than two years that Apple's quarterly revenue has dropped from the past year. The erosion was caused by the decline of the iPhone, whose sales plunged to $52 billion, down by more than $9 billion from the previous year.

The past quarter's letdown intensified the focus on Apple's forecast for the opening three months of the year as investors try to get a better grasp on iPhone sales until the next models are released in autumn.

Apple predicted its revenue for the January-March period will range from $55 billion to $59 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been anticipating revenue of about $59 billion.