January 1, UPS, FedEx Warn They Cannot Carry Ballots Like U.S. Postal Service

This Day in History | 1969

The Woodstock music festival opens on a patch of farmland in White Lake, a hamlet in the upstate New York town of Bethel.

Good morning Middle Americans, 

Well, maybe we were wrong. We mentioned yesterday that FedEx and UPS might be better options than the United States Postal Service for delivering ballots to the voters and back to local elections offices. Today, UPS and FedEx have responded saying they can’t handle it. This once again reminds us of the importance of the Post Office in 2020. Besides FedEx, UPS, and the USPS – the other option we mentioned might be the best. Hand delivering your ballot to the supervisor yourself. Of course there’s alway the old fashion way. Voting in person. 

Also today, A former FBI lawyer plans to plead guilty to making a false statement in the first criminal case arising from the U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the probe of ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, his lawyer said Friday. A majority of Joe Biden supporters say they’re voting for the candidate simply because he’s not President Trump, a Pew Research Center poll finds. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday threw out California’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, saying the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s protection of the right to bear firearms.

Read all about it

-Fraser Dixon

UPS, FedEx Warn They Cannot Carry Ballots Like U.S. Postal Service

(Reuters) – United Parcel Service and FedEx on Friday shot down social media calls that they step in to deliver mail-in ballots from the U.S. Postal Service, which is warning states of potentially “significant” delays.

“State ballots must be postmarked to be considered valid and only the USPS has lawful postmarking status. Therefore UPS, FedEx and other private parties cannot technically be involved in shipping ballots,” UPS told Reuters in a statement.

“FedEx does accept individual ballots, and we advise that customers planning to return their ballots via FedEx should closely review their state’s guidelines on absentee voting and deadlines for ballots or related election documents,” FedEx said.

Republican President Donald Trump on Thursday said he opposed providing funds for the struggling Postal Service for mail voting, which is expected to surge to 50% as the coronavirus pandemic rages ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Read more here

Ex-FBI Lawyer to Plead Guilty in Trump-Russia Probe Review

(AP) – A former FBI lawyer plans to plead guilty to making a false statement in the first criminal case arising from U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the probe of ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, his lawyer said Friday.

Kevin Clinesmith is accused of altering a government email about a former Trump campaign adviser who was a target of secret FBI surveillance, according to documents filed in Washington’s federal court. His lawyer, Justin Shur, told The Associated Press that Clinesmith intends to plead guilty to the single false statement count and that he regrets his actions.

Get the latest here

Poll: 56% Of Biden Voters Say They’re Voting For Him Because He’s ‘Not Trump’

(Forbes) – A majority of Joe Biden supporters say they’re voting for the candidate simply because he’s not President Trump, a Pew Research Center poll finds, a sign that Biden’s appeal may be less about his platform and track record, and more about animosity towards Trump.

Biden’s core pitch to voters has been about nostalgia for a pre-Trump America, instead of a major policy idea like Medicare for All. He has consistently said he is running to “restore the soul of the nation” and unify a country that’s sick of division and infighting. Biden has held few press conferences and refrained from holding events, preferring to let “Trump run against Trump,” as Hilary Rosen, a consulting partner of Biden adviser Anita Dunn, told Politico, describing the campaign strategy. The Trump campaign, in turn, has criticized Biden for holding few events and hiding out in his basement. 

9th Circuit Ends California Ban on High-Capacity Magazines

(AP) – A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday threw out California’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, saying the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s protection of the right to bear firearms.

“Even well-intentioned laws must pass constitutional muster,” appellate Judge Kenneth Lee wrote for the panel’s majority. California’s ban on magazines holding more than 10 bullets “strikes at the core of the Second Amendment — the right to armed self-defense.”

He noted that California passed the law “in the wake of heart-wrenching and highly publicized mass shootings,” but said that isn’t enough to justify a ban whose scope “is so sweeping that half of all magazines in America are now unlawful to own in California.”

Find out more here