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Speaker 1: What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to

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this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon

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to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you

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want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream,

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my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron,

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go to dpetecleanershow dot com. Make sure you hit the

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subscribe button. Get every episode for free, write to your

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smartphone or tablet, and again, thank you so much for

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your support. Before I get to my next topic, just

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a couple of messages here about the previous hours topic

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about the woman who had her car stolen. Her dog

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was in the car. Dog's name is Julio. Police found

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the car, arrested the juveniles that stole it, but she

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still doesn't ever dog back, and the juveniles are being

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protected by the quote justice system. They were immediately released,

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and they've been taunting her on text messaging and such,

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trying to extort her for the return of her dog.

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And I don't understand why this isn't probable cause to

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go hit their house and get the dog back. Like

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to me, that's probable cause they had the car, they

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stole the car. You caught them with the car. You've

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charged them with that, and now they've got messages that

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they've got the dog. So anyway, so some of the

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messaging on this, Dennis said, I wish the lady with

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the stolen dog would find a way to make public

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the judge's name that refuses to prosecute the kids and

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or their parents to return her dog and cease with

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the harassment. I for one, would like to know the

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jerk's name that wears the black robe. Yeah. Same, Yeah,

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maybe your cell phone number was on the dog's collar.

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Jay says, that's how they're taunting her. But yeah, I

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don't know. They probably got her number off of the

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police report, right, because she, as an adult, is the victim,

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and as an adult, her information is public record, and

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they fill in all that stuff, her address, her phone number,

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all of it. It's on the police report, and their information

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is all blacked out. It's all redacted because they're juveniles.

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And so now they have free reign to torment her,

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to further victimize her. Got a message from Russ I

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have some ideas on how to address this situation with

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the woman's dog. Unfortunately, they aren't very due processing. John

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Wick did nothing wrong. We've missed the balance between rights

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and empathy and justice and correcting unwonted behavior. An officer

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friend told me he encounters the same juveniles all the time.

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One he personally arrested five times in one week. Another

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twelve year old was breaking into cars at an apartment complex,

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talked trash the whole way to the police station, calling

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him a weak bleep. Nothing you can do to me.

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You're wasting both our time taking me in, et cetera,

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et cetera. I have no doubt they know the system.

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They know the system better than a lot of people

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that work in the system, and they know where all

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the pressure points are. They know where the loopholes are.

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It is not a coincidence that the massive spike in

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juvenile crime has occurred in the wake of quote reforms

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that made it virtually impossible to incarcerate or to punish juveniles.

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If you want to live like a criminal, then society

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needs to treat you like a criminal. But Pete, they're

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just children. They are criminals. If there is no risk

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to doing the behavior, they will continue doing the behavior,

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and you will lose the city, you will lose the society.

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We will not live in a society where we are

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prey to these predators. Let me shift gears down. The

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Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit

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against the State of North Carolina and the North Carolina

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State Board of Elections. So the federal DOJ suing us

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for failure to maintain an accurate voter list in violation

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of the Help America Vote Act. Finally, finally, turns out

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we just needed a new president, right. We didn't need

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new laws. We needed somebody to enforce the laws. You

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can pass all the laws in the world, and it's

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not going to matter if you do not enforce them.

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There's no reason. This classic example of this was Charlotte's

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ordinance on the bathroom access for transgenders that prompted HB two,

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And I was working up in Ashville at the time,

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but I was covering the story up there, and I

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read through the reports and the minutes from the council

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meetings and such, and we literally had the city attorney,

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Bob Hageman, advising council that, yes, this city ordinance does

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call for daily fines against businesses that do not provide

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this kind of bathroom access, but we wouldn't enforce it,

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and that is not the way law works, and shame

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on Bob for making that kind of a statement. You

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do not pass laws with the intent of not enforcing them.

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There's no reason to have the law. Then, the lawsuit

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alleges that the state of North Carolina, in violation of

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the Help America Vote Acts mandate and clear Congressional intent,

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used a state voter registration form that did not require

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a voter to provide identifying information like a driver's license

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or the last four digits of a social Security number.

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This is from the Department of Justice press release. So

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when you sign up, you get the voter registration form

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and it does not require the driver's license number or

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the last four of your social Voters were then added

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to the state's voter registration role without that required information,

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and many of these voters remain on the roles without it.

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If any of this issue sounds familiar, it's because prior

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to the twenty twenty four election, there were complaints filed

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against North Carolina for this very thing, and after the

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Supreme Court race that got all tied up because it

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was so close, when we had the recounts and everything

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between Alison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin. This was one of

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the things they cited. On March twenty fifth, President Donald J.

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Trump signed Executive Order two four eight. It's entitled Preserving

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and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections to ensure that

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elections are being held in compliance with federal laws that

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guard against illegal voting, unlawful discrimination, and other forms of fraud, error,

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or suspicion. The election integrity issues raised in this action

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are a core component of the federal election laws that

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Congress has statutorily charged the Attorney General to enforce through

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the Civil Rights Division. That's from the DOJ press release.

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Associated Press has a story on it, and doctor Andy

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Jackson over at the John Locke Foundation has a rundown

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of how to fix the problems that the Jefferson Griffin race,

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Griffin Rigs race, and the lawsuits all around that, the

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problems that that lawsuit exposed. Again, these are choices, right.

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It's one thing when you don't know about something and

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it presents itself and you're like, oh my gosh, I

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had no idea that you know, chickens couldn't fly whatever,

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like or turkeys. I think it was, yeah, turkeys, but

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turkeys can kind of fly and chickens can too, just

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not really long distances, especially if you're like dropping him

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out of a helicopter or something for a radio stunt.

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It's not advisable. But once you are aware that the

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loophole exists, the oversight exists, Oh, we made a mistake

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in that legislation. Whatever. Once you know the problem exists,

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then it's a choice. It's a choice whether to continue

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along the path you are on and allow this problem

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to exist and fester and get worse, or you can

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try to address it. You can roll back whatever stupid

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thing you did. You can plug the loophole with a fix,

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with some tighter language or something. And in this case,

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the North Carolina State Board of Elections made choices at

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every step along the way to not clean up the

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voter registration rules to make it comply. They were told

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about this, and they didn't fix it. And now the

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DOJ is coming in and saying, yeah, you're going to

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fix it. And now that the Board of Elections is

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run by a Republican majority, it's going to get fixed.

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Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to

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Cabins of Asheville has the ideal spot for you where

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you can reconnect with your loved ones and the things

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acres of the Pisga National Forest, their cabins offer a

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serene escape in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

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Centrally located between Asheville and the entrance of the Great

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Smoky Mountain National Park. It's the perfect balance of seclusion

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and proximity to all the local attractions with hot tubs, fireplaces,

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air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi Fi, grills, outdoor tables and

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your own private covered porch. Choose from thirteen cabins, six cottages,

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two villas and a great lodge with eleven king sized bedrooms.

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Cabins of Ashville has the ideal spot for you for

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any occasion, and they have pet friendly accommodations. Call or

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of Aashville dot com and make memories that will last

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a lifetime. The Department of Justice alleges that North Carolina

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and the North Carolina Board of Elections are not complying

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with the two thousand and two Help America Vote Act

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or have a after board officials provided a statewide voter

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registration form that did not make it clear that an

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applicant has to provide must provide a driver's license number

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or the last four digits of a Social Security number,

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and if an applicant lacks either of those numbers, then

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the state has to assign the person another unique voter number.

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Republicans are now in control as of like two weeks

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ago of the State Board of Elections. You'll recall because

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the legislature moved the Board of Election appointment power from

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the governor to the state Auditor. The state auditor is

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Dave Bullock. He is a Republican and the problems that

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have been going on at the Board of Elections the

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State Board of Elections have persisted for years four years.

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So the previous board, where Democrats held the majority, acknowledged

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the problem in late twenty twenty three. According to the

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Associated Press report by Gary Robertson, they acknowledged the problem

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only after a voter complained. The board then updated the form,

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but they declined or refused to contact people who had

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registered to vote since two thousand and four, So for

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twenty years people have been voting without an assigned to them.

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They did not want to contact these people before the

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twenty twenty four elections so they could fill in the

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missing numbers. Why why would you not do that? According

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to the lawsuit, the board indicated that such information would

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be accumulated on an ad hoc basis as voters appeared

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at polling places. See, we're gonna save money, how about this,

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and administrative time and resources. So we're just going to

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ask people when they show up at the poll, and

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we'll say, oh, they don't have their numbers, so then

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we'll ask them for one right then and there. It's

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unclear exactly how many voters records still lack identifying numbers, though,

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because apparently that wasn't really happening. Lawyers from the department's

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Civil Rights Division say that the board must act more aggressively.

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They want a judge to give the state thirty days

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to develop a plan to contact the voters with records

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that do not comply with federal law. You do not

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comply with federal law. If you don't care about the

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law and compliance is voluntary, then there's no reason for

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the law. But it is the law, so follow the

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freaking law. Board of Elections well prior Board of Elections.

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The litigation follows similar efforts by the Republican Party and

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a state GOP candidate to address the registration records for

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the twenty twenty four election. Again, I point this out,

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as I did weeks ago or maybe months ago at

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this point, that this issue was raised prior to the

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twenty twenty four election and the state Board of Elections

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did not fix it. This month, the board's composition changed,

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as I mentioned, to reflect the appointment power being shifted

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away from the governor and over to the auditor. The

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new iteration of the board sounds open to embrace the

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DOJ's wishes. The executive director, Sam Hayes, who is also

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newly appointed replacing Karen Brinson Bell awful. Sam Hayes said

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that the lawsuit was being reviewed quote, but the failure

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to collect the information required by HAVA has been well documented.

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Rest assured I am committed to bringing North Carolina into

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compliance with federal law. Local elections, by the way start

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in September. The state and National GOP last year sued

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over the lack of identifying numbers, which they estimated could

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have effected about a quarter of a million registrants, but

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federal judges declined to make changes because it was too

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close to the general election. I mean, we can blow

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up the rules during COVID voting, right, we can do that,

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so you know, people can harvest votes and do all

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sorts of crazy stuff during that twenty twenty cycle because COVID,

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you know, obviously, But if there's an election around the corner,

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we can't possibly ask people to give us the driver's

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license which they have to present when they vote. The

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issue was also litigated after election day as part of

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formal protests filed by the Republican candidate for the State

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Supreme Court, Jefferson Griffin. He challenged about sixty thousand ballots

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that he said were cast by registrants whose records failed

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to contain one of the two identifying numbers. So we

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know of at least sixty thousand ballots then, right, that

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didn't have the numbers that weren't corrected by the county

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workers at the polling places as they were supposed to

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have been. But apparently we're not, the election board said

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earlier this year. At least half of those voters actually

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did provide an identifying number, probably on a driver's license.

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Why isn't it in the database? The list maintenance matters people.

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State appeals courts criticized the board's handling of the registration records,

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but ruled that the challenged ballots had to remain in

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the final election tally because those people came and voted,

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and you can't throw their votes out because of the

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administrative mistake. Oh isn't that convenient? All right? So spring

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is here a time of renewal and celebrations. You've got graduations, weddings,

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00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:37,119
anniversaries and the special days for mom and dad. Your

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family's making memories that are going to last a lifetime.

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But let me ask you, are all of those treasured

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moments from days gone by? Are they hidden away on

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00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:50,200
old VCR tapes, eight millimeter films, photos slides? Are they preserved?

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00:17:50,559 --> 00:17:54,000
Because over time, these precious memories can fade and deteriorate

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00:17:54,319 --> 00:17:57,839
losing the magic of yesterday. At Creative Video, they help

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them in time so they can be enjoyed for generations

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00:18:08,319 --> 00:18:11,279
to come. I urge you do not wait until it's

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too late. This spring, celebrate your past. Visit Creative Video

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today and let them preserve your legacy with the love

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and care that it deserves. Creative Video Preserving Family Memories

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since nineteen ninety seven, located in mint Hill, just off

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four eighty five, mail orders are accepted to get all

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00:18:28,559 --> 00:18:33,200
the details that create a video dot com. Andy Jackson

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works over at the John Locke Foundation. He had to

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write up a couple of weeks ago actually about the

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election problems, the list management issues that the State Board

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of Elections has had for years and that were at

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least part of the lawsuits that were filed in the

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wake of the Supreme Court seat race between Alison Riggs,

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who eventually was named the winner, and Jefferson Griffin, who

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lost by like seven hundred and thirty five votes. So

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the new board, Jackson says, is well positioned to correct

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these problems. Number one, fix the problems of registrations missing

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the have A numbers. The Help America Vote Act of

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two thousand and two social security last four of your

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social security or driver's license number. The have A law

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prioritizes driver's license numbers to help election officials comply with

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another part of the law that requires them to match

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voter records with DMV records. And by the way, they

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have a Help America Vote Act of two thousand and

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two for people who weren't alive, weren't paying attention. You

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know where that came from, right, It came from the

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two thousand election Bush v. Gore where Al gore the

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results out of Florida, and they have kept recounting and

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recounting and recounting, and the paper ballots were disintegrating, and

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the little you know, chads, the little pieces of paper

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that you punch out when you mark a ballot, and

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you would punch out a hole in the ballot, and

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sometimes it would be hanging. It didn't detach all the way.

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So now you got these guys that are looking at

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the chads and oh, it's still hanging. It's a hanging chad.

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And what is the voter's intent and all of this stupidity,

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and it was. It was such a farce. The election

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system in Florida, now, Florida runs one of the best

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election systems in the country. They get their returns in,

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they're done before like almost every other state, and they've

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got multiple time zones. So in cases where applicants do

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not have a driver's license, elections officials can use their

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last four of the social or a state issued ID number.

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North Carolina state law has the same requirement for collecting

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a driver's license number or a social Security number. Following

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a series of citizen complaints which revealed that hundreds of

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thousands of voter registration records lacked these have A numbers,

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the state Board of Elections agreed to change voter registration

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forms to indicate that HAVEN numbers are actually required, because

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if you don't tell people that you have to put

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your driver's license number on the form, they won't that

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people do not offer that information up unless it's absolutely required.

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But they also the board also declined to ask county

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boards of Elections to make any effort, much less a

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diligent one, to complete the registration records with missing HAVEN numbers,

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and that's where you would seek to correct the problem. Right,

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somebody shows up at the polling station, they don't have

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the number. Hey, can you correct this? Or even better yet,

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before the election, reach out to all of these people

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on your roles that don't have numbers to make matters worse.

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The State Board of Elections lawyer Paul Cox reported that quote.

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Some spot checking of registration records found that county election

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officials had some of the have A numbers, So they

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did have some, but they were not put into the

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statewide computerized database. The new spe leadership should instruct county

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boards to add the have of numbers that they have,

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put them into the system as quickly as possible, and

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then to contact those people that don't have the numbers

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and put them in the records. This is a choice,

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you can do this. Another option would be for the

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General Assembly to make provisional the ballots from voters whose

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records don't have the have of numbers, and then you'll

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have you'll get them to sign an attestation. You say,

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I attest I don't have either number. That should be

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an easy fix in most cases. Since North Carolina requires

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voter ID, the most common form of voter ID is

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the driver's license, and then you can collect that information

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as people come vote. So that's a fixable solution. Number two,

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require IDs for military and overseas ballots. The former executive

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director of the State Board of Elections, Karen Brinson Bell.

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She claimed in August of twenty twenty four that when

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a military or overseas citizen voter submits their ballot, neither

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federal nor state law requires them to provide ID when

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returning their ballot. But the state Supreme Court affirmed the

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voter ID requirement for military and overseas ballots in a

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ruling back in April. So the new board must require

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voter ID for all absentee ballots, including military and overseas,

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and they have to develop a means a way to

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attach voter IDs to electronically submitted military and overseas ballots.

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That's doable. Number three produce ballots that are only for

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the presidential race and that can only be used for

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the quote never residents. The never residents. These are people

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that have never lived in North Carolina but are registered

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to vote here. Usually it's because they grew up in

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a foreign country because their parents are stationed there. Or

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they work there or whatever, and so they just register

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to vote at their parents' North Carolina address, but they've

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never lived here. Like that's one example. Somebody who has

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never set foot in North Carolina has not satisfied the

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residency requirement of a thirty day requirement that North Carolina has.

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You have to have lived here for thirty days, and

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the federal courts have upheld that. So you have to

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figure something out here. The state Supreme Court ruled that

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allowing never residents to vote in state elections violated the

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plain language of Article six, Section two, Dash one of

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the North Carolina Constitution. So State Board of Elections should

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quickly issue guidance to county boards of Elections to comply

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with that ruling as well. See so these are fixes

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offered up by Andy Jackson. Very helpful. We're all about

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solutions here, all right. If you're listening to this show,

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you know I try to keep up with all sorts

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00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:35,759
of current events, and I know you do too, And

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00:25:35,839 --> 00:25:39,279
you've probably heard me say get your news from multiple sources.

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00:25:39,759 --> 00:25:43,039
Why Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which

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00:25:43,039 --> 00:25:45,960
is why I've been so impressed with ground News. It's

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00:25:46,079 --> 00:25:49,440
an app and it's a website and it combines news

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00:25:49,519 --> 00:25:51,440
from around the world in one place, so you can

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00:25:51,519 --> 00:25:54,880
compare coverage and verify information. You could check it out

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00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:59,480
at check dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put

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00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,799
the link in podcast description too. I started using ground

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00:26:02,799 --> 00:26:05,519
News a few months ago and more recently chose to

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00:26:05,559 --> 00:26:07,480
work with them as an affiliate because it lets me

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00:26:07,519 --> 00:26:11,359
see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The

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00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,440
blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by

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00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:18,279
the left and the right. See for yourself check dot ground,

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00:26:18,519 --> 00:26:22,160
dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll

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get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage

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plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription

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then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports

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00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,960
ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent.

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Real quick, a couple of things to be on your

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radar as we roll into June. The Supreme Court is

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wrapping up its session and there's a couple of cases

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that are going to be coming down the pike. The pike,

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the pipe, I mean, I guess it could be the

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pike as in the turnpike, which is a weird word

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00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,359
on the pipe. Well, anyway. Supreme Court watchers are most

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00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,640
eagerly awaiting the Justice's decision on whether a state can

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ban medical treatment for transgender uths. They say it is

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the top case of the current term, but other key cases.

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According to Alex Swawyer at the Washington Times, other key

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cases include a dispute over books featuring LGBTQ themes in

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public schools for young students, and a question over age

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verification requirements for accessing adult websites porn Okay, Most legal

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00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,440
experts have their eyes fixed on the one case US

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versus Scremetti, a case on transgender medical treatments for youths,

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as the High Court prepares to release its rulings for

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the current term, which is set to end next month.

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The Scremetti case involves a Tennessee law that was passed

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and enacted in twenty three and that bans puberty blockers

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hormone therapy gender transition for procedures for miners looking to

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change their birth gender. Scremetti refers to Tennessee Attorney General

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Jonathan Scrimetti. He's the ag there, or was. I don't

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00:28:22,079 --> 00:28:24,480
know if he still is. The Biden administration and the

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ACLU argued that the ban amounted to sex discrimination. See

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because if I'm a male and I want testosterone, I

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get it. But if I'm a female and I want testosterone,

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You're not letting me have it. So that's sex discrimination.

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That's their argument. Officials representing the state of Tennessee said

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the law is aimed not at sex but at the

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use of drugs. They argue that states should be able

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to regulate the drugs. A federal appellate court rejected the

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sex discrimination claims and allowed the Tennessee law to take effect,

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and that prompted the appeal to the US Supreme Court.

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That's the Scremetti decision. You've got the birthright citizenship. We've

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00:29:05,519 --> 00:29:08,720
covered that in depth as well. The justices are weighing

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the issue. Also as part of that case, the issue

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of lower courts nationwide injunctions that block the executive order

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from taking effect, and whether you know that's appropriate. Kurt Levy,

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00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,759
president of the Committee for Justice, said that the transgender

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00:29:27,839 --> 00:29:33,359
case and the birthright citizen issue, over the nationwide injunctions,

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these are major disputes. They're producing headlines, sure, but he

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pointed to two other courts cases rather one involves Montgomery County,

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00:29:44,039 --> 00:29:48,240
Maryland Public School System, which has required pre K through

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elementary school students to attend story time involving LGBTQ themed books. Parents,

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parents of various faiths, and the ACLU have challenged the

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school system's receive of the opt out policies for books.

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In twenty twenty two, the Board of ed in Montgomery

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County allowed the curriculum to include storybooks that celebrate pronouns,

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00:30:12,839 --> 00:30:18,240
pride parades, and gender transitioning. This is pre K through

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elementary school. Parents were notified about the new curriculum and

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00:30:23,799 --> 00:30:27,960
told that they could totally opt out your kiddies. The

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00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:31,160
school board removed the notice and the opt out policy

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the following year, so now you must attend. Parents then

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sued in federal court over First Amendment concerns and have

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asked the court to at least require the option. They

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lost in a lower court, but the Supreme Court now

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00:30:48,519 --> 00:30:54,720
took up their appeal. That case is tamer Machmood versus

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00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:58,880
Thomas W. Taylor. Thomas Taylor is the superintendent of the

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schools and the fourth case a dispute out of Texes

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over access to porn sites. A twenty twenty three Texas

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00:31:08,759 --> 00:31:12,640
law requires online adult content providers to implement age verification

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for accessing their sites. North Carolina did the same thing.

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When the state enacted the measure, Texas was trying to

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deter the flow of adult images and materials to anybody

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00:31:23,079 --> 00:31:26,119
under the age of eighteen. A violation of the law

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could cost a company more than ten grand. Challengers to

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the law say the age verification requirements such as entering

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00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:38,000
personal information that violates the First Amendment. That case is

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00:31:38,079 --> 00:31:43,720
called the Free Speech Coalition versus Paxton, who was the governor?

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00:31:44,079 --> 00:31:48,599
Free Speech Coalition versus Paxton. And so they are wrapping

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00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:51,359
up their session. It's a twenty twenty four through twenty

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00:31:51,359 --> 00:31:56,279
twenty five session and the justices are expected to announce

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00:31:56,319 --> 00:32:02,359
their decisions by the end of June. All right, that'll

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do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening.

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00:32:05,119 --> 00:32:07,240
I could not do the show without your support and

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00:32:07,319 --> 00:32:10,000
the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast,

467
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,440
So if you'd like, please support them too and tell

468
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:14,200
them you heard it here. You can also become a

469
00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:18,880
patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecleanershow dot com. Again,

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00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:21,680
thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything

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while I'm gone,