Elon Musk has taken over Twitter; the hand-count of mail-in ballots in a Nevada county is on hold; and legal challenges to the election have already begun.

Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter/Editor

Musk takes over Twitter; NV hand counting paused; election challenges

Oct 28, 2022

Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter/Editor

By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Reporter/Editor), Ben Burke (Digital Producer/Editor)

Elon Musk has taken over as the head of Twitter; the hand-count of mail-in ballots in a rural Nevada county is on hold; and legal challenges to the 2022 midterm elections have already begun. These stories highlight the Daily Rundown for Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.

Musk takes over Twitter – According to two people familiar with the deal for Elon Musk to buy Twitter, Musk has taken control of the company. Musk seemed to confirm as much late Thursday, tweeting “the bird is freed.”

With the Musk takeover came the firings of former CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and Chief Legal Counsel Vijaya Gadde. Their departures came just hours before a deadline set by a Delaware judge to finalize the deal on Friday.

Nevada hand counting paused – The Nevada Supreme Court put an unprecedented hand-count of mail-in ballots in Nye County on hold Thursday. The court issued a three-page opinion siding with objections raised by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

Nye County officials were accused of violating a Supreme Court order issued last week requiring the count to be conducted in a way that prevents public release of early results before polls close to in-person voting Nov. 8. The ACLU argued that reading candidates’ names aloud from ballots within hearing distance of public observers violates the court rule.

Election legal challenges under way – Despite being over a week out from the midterm elections, more than 100 election-related lawsuits have already been filed this year. The legal challenges target rules for mail-in voting, early voting, voter access, voting machines, voting registration, the counting of mismarked absentee ballots and access for partisan poll watchers.

“We’re now at the point where charges of fraud and suppression are baked into the turnout models for each party,” said Benjamin Ginsberg, co-chair of the Election Official Legal Defense Network. “Republicans charge fraud. Democrats charge suppression. Each side amplifies its position with massive and costly amounts of litigation and messaging.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tags: American Civil Liberties Union, Ballots, Elon Musk, Nevada, Social Media, Twitter

ELON MUSK OFFIALLY THE BOSS OF TWITTER AND ALREADY MAKING BOLD MOVES.
WE’RE 11 DAYS AWAY FROM THE MIDTERMS…
AND ONE NEVADA COUNTY COUNTING VOTES BY HAND IS TOLD TO STOP BY THE STATE’S SUPREME COURT.
AND THE LEGAL BATTLES BREW OVER ELECTION SECURITY AT HISTORIC LEVELS.
GOOD MORNING HAPPY FRIDAY I’M KARAH RUCKER. AND HERE’S YOUR DAILY RUNDOWN.
“THE BIRD IS FREED.”
THAT’S WHAT ELON MUSK TWEETED AFTER OFFICIALLY SIGNING THE DEAL
ENDING THE SIX MONTH SAGA OVER THE PURCHASE OF TWITTER.
MUSK OFFICIALLY BUYING THE PLATFORM AND IMMEDIATELY IS MAKING BIG BUSINESS MOVES…
FIRING TOP EXECUTIVES HIS FIRST DAY.
THAT INCLUDES TWITTER’S CEO, FINANCIAL ADVISOR, AND A TOP LAWYER.
IT’S SEEN AS A FORESHADOW OF MUCH MORE CHANGE TO COME.
A NEVADA COUNTY’S HAND-COUNTING OF EARLY MAIL-IN BALLOTS HAS BEEN PUT ON HOLD.
THE STATE’S SUPREME COURT HAS NOW DEEMED THE PROCESS ILLEGAL.
POLL WORKERS WERE ALLEGEDLY READING ALLOWED VOTES STOKING CONCERNS OVER ELECTION SECURITY…IRONICALLY OVER A METHOD TYPICALLY USED FOR ADDITIONAL SECURITY **AFTER AN ELECTION.
BUT IT’S UNPRECEDENTED TO HAND-COUNT EARLY VOTING BALLOTS BEFORE ELECTION DAY.
WE ARE 11 DAYS AWAY FROM ELECTION DAY.
AND THERE’S BEEN A RECORD AMOUNT OF EARLY VOTING IN SEVERAL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.
BUT ANOTHER RECORD BROKEN THIS ELECTION CYCLE…IS THE AMOUNT OF LEGAL CHALLENGES FACING LOCAL ELECTIONS OFFICES.
MORE THAN 100 LAWSUITS HAVE BEEN FILED…MOST TARGET RULES OVER MAIL-IN VOTING, VOTING MACHINES, THE COUNTING OF MIS-MARKED ABSENTEE BALLOTS, AND ACCESS FOR POLL WATCHERS.
IT’S THE MOST LITIGATION EVER BEFORE AN ELECTION AND POSSIBLY POINTS TO LEGAL CHALLENGES POST-ELECTION…AS A CLOUD OF SKEPTICISM LINGERS OVER THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF DEMOCRACY.