| 'He thinks he's running against somebody else': Trump, Biden spar over health care at presidential debate Posted: 22 Oct 2020 07:57 PM PDT  President Trump attempted to paint Joe Biden's health care plan as the same as that of the more progressive rivals Biden defeated in the primary race.
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| Treasure hunter dug through Yellowstone cemetery looking for famous bounty, feds say Posted: 22 Oct 2020 05:03 PM PDT  He was allegedly seeking the coveted Forrest Fenn treasure, officials said.
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| America's 1.3 million Jehovah's Witnesses will be sitting out this election Posted: 22 Oct 2020 12:56 PM PDT  Jehovah's Witnesses do not vote, run for public office, serve in the military, or take "any action to change governments."
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| Croatia accused of brutality, sexual abuse against migrants Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:14 AM PDT  SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Danish aid workers stationed in the Balkans say dozens of migrants have alleged they were brutalized by Croatian law-enforcement officers when they tried to cross into the European Union nation, before being summarily expelled back to Bosnia. Nicola Bay, the head of the Danish Refugee Council in Bosnia, told The Associated Press Friday that 149 migrants of varying nationalities, independently interviewed by his staff in the country over the past 10 days, reported being exposed to "extremely abusive" treatment by Croatian police. The testimonies include allegations of brutal and prolonged beatings, of people being stripped naked and being forced to lie like logs stacked on top of each other, Bay said, adding: "In two cases, we have reports of severe sexual abuse."
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| Ghislaine Maxwell could not contain frustration as she 'pounded' desk during bad tempered deposition Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:05 AM PDT  Ghislaine Maxwell could not hide her frustration during an increasingly heated and bad tempered legal deposition that was unsealed in New York. Several times during the seven-hour exchange, which took place over two days, her anger boiled over as she was forced to answer repeated questions about allegations made by a woman she insisted was a serial liar. At one point, unable to contain her emotions, Miss Maxwell "very inappropriately and very harshly" pounded the desk, forcing them to take a break. She was being quizzed about Virginia Roberts Giuffre's claim that she was just 15 when she was first introduced to Jeffrey Epstein at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, which she furiously insisted had been fabricated to make the story "more exciting." "Can we agree she was not the age she said… that is obviously, manifestly, absolutely, totally a lie," Miss Maxwell said. Sigfrid McCawley, for Ms Roberts Giuffre, interjected, stating for the record that Miss Maxwell had banged the desk "in an inappropriate manner." "I ask she take a deep breath and calm down," she said. "I know this is a difficult position but physical assault or threats is not appropriate so no pounding, no stomping, no."
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| Fauci says as coronavirus infections swell, federal task force is meeting just weekly Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:59 AM PDT  The infectious diseases doctor who has become a central figure in the pandemic told MSNBC the frequency of meetings has "diminished" over time.
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| How to watch the final presidential debate live on Yahoo Posted: 22 Oct 2020 05:00 AM PDT  President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will face off in their last presidential debate Thursday at 9 p.m. ET at Belmont University in Nashville.
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| 'Nothing was unethical': Biden responds to questions about his son Hunter Posted: 22 Oct 2020 07:14 PM PDT 
During the final presidential debate on Thursday, Joe responded to questions about his son Hunter Biden.
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| Two largest wildfires in Colorado history are burning at the same time, 10 miles apart Posted: 23 Oct 2020 10:34 AM PDT  About 700 square miles of wildfires are actively burning in Colorado. Wildfires have scorched more than 1,000 square miles since July 31.
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| China threatens retaliation over US-Taiwan arms sale Posted: 22 Oct 2020 01:55 PM PDT  China on Thursday threatened to make a "legitimate and necessary" retaliation over the US sale of $1 billion worth of missiles to Taiwan as Beijing becomes increasingly strident over its claims to the self-ruled island.
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| In two political battlegrounds, thousands of mail-in ballots are on the verge of being rejected Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:25 AM PDT  Tens of millions of Americans have already cast their ballots for the 2020 election by mail, building on a historic shift in voting methods that started with primary elections held during the COVID-19 pandemic.Mail-in ballots, however, aren't automatically accepted as in-person ballots are. Rather, they can be rejected if they have signature defects on their return envelopes. Unless cured by voters – which means that voters fix the signature errors on them – these submitted ballots will be rejected. Thanks to ongoing reporting of voter turnout in two battleground states, Florida and North Carolina, we can identify the number of mail-in ballots at risk of being rejected. So far, we can tell that there are thousands of ballots flagged for rejection in these two states. In addition, racial minorities and Democrats are disproportionately more likely to have cast mail ballots this election that face rejection. The signature issue with mail ballotsAbove, we use the word "risk" when describing ballots in Florida and North Carolina that have been flagged for rejection. While these ballots have signature defects, they have not yet been formally rejected.Not all states have the same requirements for mail-in voting, but ballots usually face rejection if they're missing a voter's signature. Another source of defects is an ostensibly mismatched signature. This happens when an elections official concludes that a voter's signature on a return envelope doesn't match the voter's signature on file. Some states, like North Carolina, require witness signatures on ballot return envelopes, with the lack of such a signature considered a defect. Enough ballots face rejection to sway an electionOur counts of mail ballots facing rejection in Florida and North Carolina are conservative. When calculating them using official data, we assume that any inconsistencies we find in the data are resolved in favor of ballot acceptance.That said, here is what we know as of Oct. 22. In Florida, 3,210,873 voters have cast mail ballots, and of these, 15,003 ballots face rejection, corresponding to a potential ballot rejection rate of 0.47%. This rate is not an estimate. It is based on counts drawn from official statewide data.These thousands of mail ballots currently in limbo can make a difference. Consider the 2018 midterm election. In his successful United States Senate bid in this contest, Republican Rick Scott beat incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson by only 10,033 votes. Over 2 million Floridians have yet to return the mail ballots sent to them by county election officials, so the number of mail ballots subject to rejection in Florida could grow well beyond 15,000.In North Carolina, an even greater percentage of mail ballots face rejection. In that state, 8,228 of 701,425 mail ballots fall into this category, yielding a potential rejection rate of 1.2%.As in Florida, North Carolina's elections can be extremely close. In the state's 2016 gubernatorial race, a mere 10,277 votes out of roughly 4.6 million cast separated the winner, Democrat Roy Cooper, from incumbent Republican Pat McCrory. The number of ballots at risk in North Carolina – 8,228 – remains smaller than this margin but could grow as more ballots are returned. Partisan and race-based ballot rejection ratesThe risks of mail ballot rejection are not spread uniformly across voters, and rejected mail ballots are not politically neutral. We can see from our Florida and North Carolina election data that registered Democrats have greater rejection rates than Republicans. The partisan differences in potential ballot rejection rates – Democratic rate minus Republican rate – are approximately 0.07% and 0.16% in Florida and in North Carolina, respectively.In addition, Democrats have expressed a greater willingness to vote by mail than Republicans – though this might be changing. This will compound any biases caused by differing ballot rejection rates across Democratic and Republican voters.Official election data in Florida and North Carolina also reveal a clear racial pattern among mail ballots facing rejection: Black and Hispanic voters are much more likely to have their ballots flagged for missing signatures or other discrepancies than are white voters.In Florida, ballots cast by Hispanic voters face a rejection risk 2.6 times that of white voters. In North Carolina, where the two most common racial groups are Black and white, the risk of ballot rejection for Black voters is three times that of white voters. White voters thus have lower ballot rejection rates than minority voters, who tend to support Democratic candidates over Republican ones. Ballots can still be 'cured'In both Florida and North Carolina, voters who have submitted mail ballots with signature defects can still cure them. Florida voters have the opportunity to fix their mail ballots through Thursday, Nov. 5. This can be done via affidavit. Details about ballot curing in North Carolina were until recently tied up in court. But voters in the state can now, in some cases, fix ballots with defects. However, ballots in North Carolina missing witness signatures cannot be cured, and voters in the state who cast these types of ballots must request new ballots if they want their votes to count.Curing a ballot with a signature defect requires knowing that it is facing rejection. But not all states send out notices informing voters of ballot defects.In some states, voters who cast mail-in ballots can check on the status of their ballots with local officials or using web resources provided by the secretary of state, which voters can do in New Mexico and Ohio.However, other states, such as Maine and New Hampshire, don't have laws mandating that voters get the opportunity to cure mail ballots of deficiencies. For this election, though, officials in these two New England states have developed procedures to allow voters to fix ballots with defects.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.]Given the surge of mail-in ballots in this election cycle, there's likely to be confusion over rejected ballots and cures. In the future, it'll be important for states to provide voters with transparent processes for fixing defective ballots so they can ensure they'll be able to exercise the right to vote.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Michael Herron, Dartmouth College and Daniel A. Smith, University of Florida.Read more: * Mail delays, the election and the future of the US Postal Service: 5 questions answered * Mail-in voting is safe and reliable – 5 essential readsMichael Herron submitted an expert report on behalf of plaintiffs in the matter of North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans et al. v. North Carolina State Board of Elections et al. Daniel A. Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| US embassy in Turkey issues a warning about 'potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings' of Americans and foreigners in Istanbul Posted: 23 Oct 2020 07:23 AM PDT  In response to the threat, the embassy suspended its services and urged American citizens to be careful, avoid crowds, and keep a low profile.
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| Man gets 20 years for buying guns used in 2015 terror attack Posted: 23 Oct 2020 08:22 AM PDT  The man who bought two rifles that husband-and-wife assailants used to kill 14 people in a Southern California terror attack nearly five years ago was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison. Enrique Marquez Jr. supplied the weapons that Syed Rizwan Farook and Farook's wife, Tashfeen Malik, used on Dec. 2, 2015, to open fire on a meeting and holiday gathering of San Bernardino County employees who worked with Farook. Minutes later, a post on a Facebook page associated with Malik pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State terror group.
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| Turkish burgers off the menu in Saudi Arabia as trade boycott bites fast food industry Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:38 AM PDT  With its spicy sauce and Ottoman-themed packaging, the "Turkish burger" is one of the more exotic choices on the menu at Saudi Arabian restaurant Herfy. Or, at least, it was. This week, the Turkish patty has vanished from the menu and been replaced with an identical "Greek burger," the latest casualty of Saudi Arabia's unofficial boycott of Turkish products. "It's the same thing," one Herfy worker, Mahmood Bassyoni, told customers as he offered them a taste of the burger, according to Bloomberg news agency. "Just the name changed." The boycott reportedly began after Recep Tayyip Erdogan outraged Riyadh, one of its main rivals in the Middle East, by claiming that "Arab countries in the Gulf will not exist for long but Turkey will always remain powerful." Tensions have also simmered over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate and differing attitudes towards Islamist groups in the region. Mr Erdogan has accused Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, of ordering the murder personally, something that he vehemently denies. The Telegraph approached Herfy for comment on whether the rebranding was related to the boycott but had not received a response at the time of publication. According to Arab News, a Saudi news website, the boycott has been gaining steam in recent weeks, with major supermarket Al Sadhan Group expressing support for the campaign. This was followed by dairy firm Tamimi Markets adding its voice to the backlash against Turkish goods, along with a number of online fashion retailers.
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| Trump defends family separation in debate, says immigrant kids whose parents can't be found are 'so well taken care of' Posted: 22 Oct 2020 09:04 PM PDT  During a rare presidential debate exchange about immigration, President Trump defended his administration's family separation policy for undocumented immigrants, which has left hundreds of children without their parents for years, saying the kids are "so well taken care of" in federal facilities.
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| Fukushima: Contaminated water could damage human DNA, Greenpeace says Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:41 AM PDT  The group says the water has a radioactive substance amid reports it could be released into the sea.
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| The family of the rescued Zion National Park hiker spoke out after a sheriff's sergeant questioned her survival story — but it's still confusing Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:41 AM PDT  Holly Courtier was found 12 days after disappearing on a hike. Her sister spoke to reporters after a sheriff's sergeant questioned the survival story.
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| Over 52 million Americans have already voted. How does it break down by party? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:56 PM PDT  "We can be certain this will be a high-turnout election."
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| China's President Xi Jinping issues a warning to potential ‘invaders’ Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:33 AM PDT  President Xi Jinping has issued a sharp warning to potential "invaders" on the 70th anniversary of the Chinese entry into the Korean War.
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| Scott Peterson, who killed pregnant wife, faces death penalty at resentencing Posted: 23 Oct 2020 12:22 PM PDT  "At this point in time, we are on track to retry" the death penalty case, a prosecutor told a judge in California on Friday.
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| Venezuelans 'dying slowly' in rat- and roach-infested homes Posted: 22 Oct 2020 06:15 PM PDT  Sunlight cannot penetrate, the air is fetid and fellow residents include rats and cockroaches -- but that's how 14 families are "dying slowly" in government accommodation in Venezuela's capital Caracas.
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| How has China avoided a coronavirus second wave? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 04:31 AM PDT  Europe is the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic once again, with the number of daily infections doubling in the past 10 days as a second wave hits. But China has avoided a second wave. The question is why? The answer is that its authorities, after being overwhelmed in Wuhan, have fine-tuned an emergency response for surprise cluster outbreaks. Many subsequent waves of infection have emerged in China, a country of 1.4 billion people and nearly 40 times the size of the UK. Cases have cropped up across the country, as far apart as in the south along the border to Vietnam, and in the north near Russia.
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| Scoop: Rudy Giuliani declined offer of compromising Hunter Biden emails and images in May 2019 Posted: 22 Oct 2020 08:59 PM PDT  Giuliani turned the offer down out of credibility concerns, a source familiar with the meeting tells Salon
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| North Carolina man plotted to assassinate Biden, FBI claims Posted: 22 Oct 2020 02:28 PM PDT  A North Carolina man had plans to assassinate Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden before he was ultimately arrested by the FBI, according to federal court documents. Federal officials detailed the shocking plot in court filings in a case against Alexander Hillel Treisman, who was arrested in May on child pornography charges. The FBI requested that Treisman remain behind bars until his trial, using the alleged assassination plot as justification.
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| AOC's snub of a tribute to an assassinated Nobel Peace Prize winner sure makes it seem like all Israeli leaders are too problematic for the progressive left Posted: 22 Oct 2020 07:44 AM PDT  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bailed on a left-wing peace advocacy group's memorial for former Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin after online backlash.
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| Trump quietly closed the U.S.'s vaccine safety office last year. Researchers are scrambling to replace it. Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:33 PM PDT  Developers will start rolling out their COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months, leaving U.S. health officials to test their long-term safety. But that won't be easy, especially given that the Trump administration quietly shut down the office responsible for ensuring the safety of vaccines last year, The New York Times reports.Before the late 1980s, vaccine safety relied on parents, doctors, vaccine makers, and hospitals to step forward and report symptoms they feared were connected to a vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then worked out a new system that sought out clusters of symptoms among people who receive a vaccine, and expanded that oversight during the H1N1 epidemic of 2009. This system helped the U.S. figure out which symptoms actually popped up long after a vaccine was injected, and which were just coincidental.But in 2019, the National Vaccine Program Office was shut down in an effort to cut costs and "eliminate program redundancies," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar wrote at the time. The shortsightedness of that shutdown has come into clear view amid the coronavirus pandemic, said Dr. Nicole Lurie, who who was assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS during the 2009 pandemic. FDA and CDC staffers have reportedly been meeting up on their own time to cobble some safety projects together. "There's no sort of active coordination to bring all the information together," Lurie told the Times.Other vaccine experts and political scientists have their own concerns: foreign disinformation campaigns, a lack of transparency, proper communications to clear up health issues unrelated to vaccines, to name a few. A coordinated vaccine office would be tasked with handling all of that. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America
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| Senate Democrats will boycott Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing vote as GOP vows to move forward Posted: 22 Oct 2020 03:59 AM PDT  Senate Democrats say they will boycott a committee hearing Thursday where Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court nomination is set to move forward.
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| GOP Arkansas candidate dismissed from school over KKK outfit Posted: 23 Oct 2020 05:10 PM PDT |
| Suspect with ‘high-powered rifle’ opens fire in McDonald’s drive-thru, Mississippi cops say Posted: 22 Oct 2020 06:43 AM PDT  One person died and three were injured, police say.
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| Letters to the Editor: Protesters showed up at David Lacey's home. He had a gun. Can you blame him? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Readers say David Lacey's action against the predawn Black Lives Matter protest at his home on March 2 was understandable, if regrettable.
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| Colorado wildfire jumps U.S. Continental Divide, threatens mountain towns Posted: 22 Oct 2020 10:27 AM PDT  An explosive Colorado wildfire that has already forced the evacuation of several mountain communities and the closure of Rocky Mountain National Park blackened another 45,000 acres (18,200 hectares) on Thursday as it jumped the U.S. Continental Divide. The East Troublesome Fire, which broke out on Oct. 14, has now burned 170,000 acres (68,800 hectares) and was only about 5% contained as of Thursday afternoon, incident commander Noel Livingston said at a news briefing. The flames have spread into Rocky Mountain National Park, prompted the National Park Service to close the entire 415 square-mile (668-square-km) expanse and the blaze has become the second-largest on record in Colorado.
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| Trump’s rape defamation hearing abruptly ends after DOJ lawyer is denied entry into courthouse Posted: 21 Oct 2020 06:38 PM PDT  Attorney falls foul of New York's coronavirus regulations
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| Text Messages Appear to Show Meeting between Joe Biden and Son’s Business Partner Posted: 22 Oct 2020 02:27 PM PDT  Joe Biden appears to have met his son Hunter Biden's business partner in 2017, according to text messages obtained by Fox News.If it took place, the meeting may contradict the former vice president's claim that he "never" spoke with "my son about his overseas business dealings." The text messages came from Tony Bobulinski, the former CEO of SinoHawk Holdings, a joint venture between members of the Biden family and now-defunct Chinese oil company CEFC."Mrng plse let me knw if we will do early dinner w your Uncle & dad and where, also for document translation do you want it simple Chinese or traditional?" Bobulinski wrote in a text to Hunter Biden on May 2, 2017."Not sure on dinner yet and whatever is the most common for a Chinese legal DOC," Hunter replied."Chinese legal docs can be both, i'll make it traditional," Bobulinski answered. Later on, Hunter replied, "Dad not in now until 11- let's me I and Jim meet at 10 at Beverly Hilton where he's staying." "Jim" is James Biden, Hunter's uncle and the former vice president's brother.On the same day, Bobulinski sent a text to James Biden."Great to meet u and spend some time together, please thank Joe for his time, was great to talk thx Tony b," the message states.The Beverly Hilton referred to by Hunter appears to be the Los Angeles branch of the hotel chain. On May 3, one day after the text conversations, Joe Biden participated in a conversation at the Milken Institute's "Global Conference," held in the Beverly Hilton in L.A.Bobulinski has turned over the texts and other documents to various Senate committees for further investigation. Bobulinski also confirmed the authenticity of an email purporting to show that Joe Biden was offered a 10 percent stake in the CEFC-Biden family partnership.Hunter Biden had cultivated a relationship with CEFC and its chairman, Ye Jianming. In November 2017 the Justice Department charged Ye's lieutenant Patrick Ho with corruption and bribery, and Hunter Biden initially agreed to represent Ho in the lawsuit.Ho was eventually sentenced to prison in the U.S. for attempting to bribe the governments of Chad and Uganda. Ye Jianming disappeared in 2018, and is thought to be held by the Chinese government.
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| North Korea told citizens to stay inside, claiming (with no scientific basis) that a storm of yellow dust coming from China was carrying COVID-19 Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:21 AM PDT  On Wednesday, North Korea's state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper warned people of the "danger of invading malicious viruses" inside an approaching storm.
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| Trump: The only undocumented immigrants who appear for their court dates have the 'lowest IQ' Posted: 22 Oct 2020 07:54 PM PDT 
Following a debate question on immigration, President Trump said that the only undocumented immigrants who appear for their court dates are those with the "lowest IQ."
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| Can Sen. Thom Tillis come from behind and beat Cal Cunningham in crucial NC Senate race? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 04:09 PM PDT  Democrats stick behind Cal Cunningham, focusing on issues instead of infidelity, as they try to seize the majority in the US Senate.
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| Judge moves criminal case against Texas attorney general Posted: 23 Oct 2020 01:56 PM PDT  A judge on Friday ordered the long-running criminal case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton returned to his home county in a legal victory for the Republican. Judge Jason Luong ruled that the securities fraud case should continue in Collin County, north of Dallas, siding with Paxton's defense attorneys who argued the case should be returned there after it was moved to Houston. Paxton pleaded not guilty in 2015 and the case has been stalled for years over legal challenges.
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| California ordered to halve San Quentin population after showing 'deliberate indifference,' court says Posted: 22 Oct 2020 10:37 AM PDT  The ruling sends a clear message that officials overseeing San Quentin have not done enough to protect inmates from the coronavirus after a summer outbreak.
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| Wild hogs running amok in California city. Can bow hunters help get rid of them? Posted: 23 Oct 2020 03:22 PM PDT  Wild pigs are destroying land due a population boom.
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| Houston officer killed two weeks before retirement Posted: 23 Oct 2020 09:03 AM PDT  Sgt. Harold Preston, who led 'from the front,' died at an area hospital with his family by his side. A longtime Texas police officer just two weeks away from his retirement was shot and killed Tuesday while responding to a domestic violence call. Houston Police Sgt. Harold Preston, 65, suffered multiple head wounds after the 41-year force veteran responded to a call at a local apartment complex.
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| Fact check: Biden owns 2 of the 4 homes pictured in a viral meme Posted: 22 Oct 2020 06:39 PM PDT  A viral meme purports to show four $3 million-$7.5 million homes Biden owns. He only owns two of them, neither of which cost more than $3 million.
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| Stunning photos show Special Forces snipers taking tough high-angle shots way up in the mountains Posted: 23 Oct 2020 02:15 PM PDT  These shots require a little extra math before the sniper pulls the trigger. Snipers also have to get a little creative with their shooting positions.
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| China and Germany heading for superpower status as U.S. influence wanes, says Putin Posted: 22 Oct 2020 08:27 AM PDT  The era when the United States and Russia decided the world's most important questions is in the past, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, saying China and Germany were now heading for superpower status. Addressing a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, Putin suggested that the role of the United States had waned, along with that of Britain and France, while Beijing and Berlin - in terms of political and economic weight -- were heading for superpower status. If Washington was not prepared to discuss global problems with Moscow, Russia stood ready to have that discussion with other nations, said Putin, who was speaking via video link.
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| How Texas could be the linchpin in finally dismantling the Electoral College Posted: 23 Oct 2020 06:46 AM PDT  A little over a week from Election Day "and everyone with bated breath," columnist Peggy Noonan writes in Friday's Wall Street Journal. Whoever wins, "the changes in how we vote, from early voting to voting by mail, all hastened by the pandemic, will have been established after this election, and won't go away. This will make things appear more democratic and may leave them more Democratic. Progressive preoccupation with the Electoral College is about to diminish, sharply."No, Republicans should become preoccupied, too, Jesse Wegman argued on Thursday's The Daily podcast. The framers of the Constitution set up the Electoral College because they had to invent a way to "pick the leader of a self-governing republic" and were worried "most people wouldn't know national political candidates," he explained. But they never even discussed today's winner-takes-all system, "and when they saw it start to be adopted in the states in the early 1800s, they were horrified. James Madison, the man we think of as the father of the Constitution, tried to pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of winner-take-all rule because he saw how corrosive it was to erase up to half of voters in the state."Madison failed, but Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) almost got a constitutional amendment enacted in 1969 — President Richard Nixon was on board, it had broad national support, the House approved the amendment, and nearly three-quarters of states were set to approve it, Wegman said. Sadly, "three Southern segregationist senators" filibustered it to death in 1970, killing "the best effort we've ever had in American history to abolish the Electoral College."This only became a partisan issue after George W. Bush then Donald Trump won the Electoral College while losing the popular vote, but it's a double-edged sword, Wegman said. "Right now what we're seeing is some really big and important Republican-majority states are shifting demographically." Texas, with its 38 electoral votes, "is going to turn blue" as soon as 2024, he predicted, and "if Republicans can't win Texas, I think their paths to an Electoral College victory are basically eliminated."In the next eight years, "when both parties have suffered enough in a short enough time period that they realize that it doesn't help anybody," Wegman said, "I think we have the opening to switch to a system in which everybody counts equally, and everybody's vote matters." Listen to Wegman's entire argument at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Trump loses on the merits Who won the final 2020 debate? Call it a draw. Get ready for Trump TV, America
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