November 7 - “Citizen Sheriffs” Hired as “Court Security Officers” ; Tens of Thousands of Ballots Contested in Ohio

Summary: Citing Governor Tony Evers’ decision not to deploy the Wisconsin National Guard, rather than asking President Trump to federalizing that force, Attorney General Bill Barr issued an “emergency waiver” of vetting and training requirements in order to contract former Sheriff David Clark’s “Citizen Sheriffs” as “Court Security Officers” for the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse.  Lawyers for the “Trump the Vote” Super PAC field suit in Columbus, Ohio on behalf of elections monitors who say heavily Democratic Franklin County counted absentee ballots without a dated postmark, against Ohio elections laws.  If the suit is successful, a large portion of the county’s 60,000+ absentee ballots could be thrown out; an estimated 65% of which were for Biden.  End Summary

 

“Citizen Sheriffs” Contracted as Court Security Officers, Waiving 

 

A senior administration official confirmed that “up to 500” of former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark’s “Citizen Sheriffs” at a daily rate of $500 per person “which is in line with industry standards.  Members of the controversial group will be hired as “Court Security Officers” (CSOs) under an existing contract with the U.S. Marshals service after Attorney General William Barr authorized an emergency waiver of the requirement that CSOs be a graduate of a law enforcement academy and have at least three years of experience.  The same anonymous senior administration official said the waiver “was justified by the imminent threat on the Federal Court, and the need to field an aggressive defense of democracy.”  Democratic Governor Tony Evers said he would oppose deploying the Wisconsin National Guard against peaceful protestors.  Rather than federalize the force, former Sheriff Clark offered his paramilitary force, but invited “patriotic” members of the National Guard to join them.

 

Akal Security, which holds the CSO contract for the 7th Circuit, released a statement saying that they were approached to hire the Citizen Sheriffs, but declined to do so because of concerns the Citizen Sheriffs would be unable to meet their vetting requirements and how the CSOs might be deployed.  Akal Security released a statement saying “From what we have seen of the Citizen Sheriff’s conduct, if only with respect to basic principles such as muzzle discipline and keeping composed under pressure, these individuals would not meet our standards in normal circumstances, and the extraordinary situation the country faces right now needs calm and collected professionals.  These people will only add fuel to the fire; we do not want to be engaged in partisan warfare.” An Akal Security spokesman said the company was told if they did not contract the Citizen Sheriffs, their current contract would be unlikely to be renewed, and the DOJ would find someone else to hire the Citizen Sheriffs anyway.

 

Protestors continue to occupy several bridges in Downtown Milwaukee and surround both the County Courthouse (where ballots continue to be counted and contested) and the Federal Courthouse (where several court cases challenging the count proceed).  Although no clear leader has emerged, protestors say that they will remain in place for the foreseeable future.  According to one protestor, a state employee and combat veteran who asked to remain anonymous for fear of political retaliation, protests will continue “at least until the election is called; based on exit polls, it should be a large win for Biden.  If these thugs try to steal it [the election], we will be here until they haul us away like the fascists they want to be.”

 

Tens of Thousands of Ballots in Columbus Potentially Invalidated by Technicality 

 

Lawyers for “Trump the Vote” a Super PAC unaffiliated with the Trump Campaign filed suit in Columbus, Ohio asking that tens of thousands of absentee ballots which arrived without a postmark with a date be excluded from vote totals, even if they had been received and counted before Election Day.   A local online outlet “Columbus Underground” is reporting that Republican “voting observers” noticed a high percentage of absentee ballots were arriving without postmarks, and challenged them individually on the basis that this is a statutory requirement.  The Trump the Vote suit is filed on behalf of these operatives, who say that elections judges “failed to consistently enforce the law, instead acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner.”

 

An anonymous USPS employee told Columbus Underground that ballots delivered directly to the Columbus Processing & Distribution Center from post office box locations across the city did not receive a postmark indicating the day they were processed, whereas ballots collected in rural areas were more likely to receive a postmark with a date.  Based on currently available data, if the suit is successful it would potentially invalidate a large portion of Franklin County’s 60,000+ absentee ballots, 65% of whom voted for Joe Biden.