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ZorbaTHut  2yr ago (text post)   31617 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 17, 2022

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That doesn't change the point at all - if that happens at all (and it does), then arrest people who are knowingly breaking the law, instead of people who were told they could vote!

Do you at least see the issue that arises when you arrest people who have cast illegal votes AFTER the elections in question have already been called?

Why you'd really, really prefer to have these votes not cast in the first place?

And how, in your mind, should one go about preventing potential fraudulent voters from casting votes?

What might, lets say, deter them from doing so?

Why? I was always told that ignorance of the law is not an excuse, and there isn't even evidence he was told he can vote.

Right, exactly. "I called the IRS and they told me to do this" does not get you out of being penalized for violating tax law, for example.

First, "ignorance of the law is no excuse" is a reference to what the law requires. OP is talking about prosecutorial discretion.

Second, the law requires that the defendant act willfully and "[a]s a general matter, when used in the criminal context, a 'willful' act is one undertaken with a 'bad purpose.' In other words, in order to establish a 'willful' violation of a statute, 'the Government must prove that the defendant acted with knowledge that his conduct was unlawful.'" Bryan v. United States, 524 US 184, 191-192 (1998). It says "as a general matter," so perhaps the voting law is an exception.

And, of course, advice of counsel is a defense to some crimes, which is another example of an exception to the ignorance of the law rule.

Edit. Btw the law applies only to those who vote knowing they are not qualified

Depends on the wording of the law. From what @ymeshkout was saying above I surmise that this law specifies that it's only "fraud" if you know you're not eligible and vote anyway.

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