Virginia

Youngkin’s election chief pulls Va. from group targeted by election deniers

Published

2 years ago

May 12, 2023

Youngkin’s election chief pulls Va. from group targeted by election deniers

RICHMOND — Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s elections chief has pulled Virginia from a data-sharing group that red and blue states alike relied on for the past decade to keep voter rolls updated before election deniers made it the focus of attacks.

Youngkin (R) — a potential 2024 presidential candidate who flirted with former president Donald Trump’s false stolen-election claims early in his 2021 gubernatorial bid and stumped for prominent election deniers in last year’s midterms — is following the lead of several red states that have recently quit the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).

This latest withdrawal is especially notable because Virginia is a purple state and was a founding member of the group when it was established in 2012 — under another Republican governor, Robert F. McDonnell.

The move is especially surprising given that a leader of the Election Integrity Unit established by Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) defended the group within the past year for its ability to help the state clean up its voter rolls and crack down on people who might try to vote in multiple states.

Election deniers take aim at group that helps states maintain voter rolls

Elections Commissioner Susan J. Beals cited the recent exodus of seven states as part of the justification for pulling Virginia out, saying that could lead to higher costs for remaining member states.

“In short, ERIC’s mandate has expanded beyond that of its initial intent — to improve the accuracy of voter rolls,” she wrote in a letter Thursday notifying ERIC that Virginia was “terminating its relationship” with the group. “We will pursue other information arrangements with our neighboring states and look to other opportunities to partner with states in an apolitical fashion.”

Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in an email to The Washington Post that another reason for the withdrawal was that “Virginians’ data was shared with an ERIC affiliated research organization and despite its efforts, Virginia was unable to reform ERIC.”

Porter was referring to a research project conducted in 2020 in which Virginia election officials volunteered to share data compiled by ERIC with the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR). The center was bound by a nondisclosure agreement for the project, said David Becker, CEIR’s executive director.

“CEIR never shared that data with anybody and deleted the data as soon as the research was over,” said Becker, who helped found ERIC when he led the elections program at the Pew Charitable Trusts and until recently was a nonvoting board member for ERIC.

Youngkin’s move drew fierce pushback from Virginia Democrats, including Del. Schuyler T. VanValkenburg (D-Henrico), a high school civics teacher who called ERIC “a bipartisan success” and predicted that the withdrawal would make the state’s elections “less secure.”

“This is playing footsie w/ MAGA conspiracies,” he tweeted. “It’s bad governance and dangerous politics.”

But the exit also drew cheers from one of the state’s most prominent Trump supporters, state Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield), who repeated claims that ERIC was funded by liberal donor George Soros.

ERIC has never received direct funding from Soros but was founded with help from the Pew Charitable Trusts, which has, The Post has previously reported. Since its founding, ERIC has operated on taxpayer-funded dues from member states.

“Virginia leaving Soros funded ERIC is a huge win and victory for Virginia and I applaud the Governor for his action,” Chase said in a text to The Post. “ERIC is a national system that Deep State officials say is an important tool to keep voting rolls clean. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it would be used for insidious and nefarious purposes to include an abuse of power in controlling our elections.”

Miyares spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita said in a written statement that Miyares “has expressed concerns about ERIC and supports the Governor’s decision.”

Miyares formed the Election Integrity Unit last year with up to 20 staffers despite a lack of widespread issues with voter fraud or other irregularities in the state. Josh Lief, who helps oversee the unit, defended ERIC in an email to a critic within the past year, the Virginia Mercury first reported. The Virginia NAACP obtained the email under the Freedom of Information Act last year.

“Virginia was a charter member and it has grown to 33 states including many conservative states like Texas and Florida,” Lief wrote to someone who had raised concerns about the group. “Again, we joined when Bob McDonnell was Governor and Ken Cuccinelli was Attorney General. ERIC is used to clean up voter rolls and check for people that vote more than once in multiple states.”

LaCivita said the “more recent, concerning issues” laid out in Beals’s letter, which alleged that voter data had been shared with outside groups, had arisen since Lief wrote the email.

ERIC was designed to help states work together to keep their voter rolls up to date. Member states share data from their voter-registration rolls and motor vehicle records, which ERIC compiles into reports to help officials remove voters who have died or moved away. The system can also be used to help identify and prosecute anyone who has voted in two states at once.

The member states are also required to send a postcard to every newly eligible, unregistered voter before every federal election. Some Republicans have objected to the part of the mission that encourages voter registration.

The CEIR research project that Virginia took part in was intended to track response rates to the postcards, Becker said. It involved about eight or 10 states.

Porter said Virginia will set up its own system to check records with neighboring states.

“We should have something to replace it with before we withdraw from it — if we withdraw from it at all,” said state Sen. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria), a member of the Senate’s Privileges and Elections Committee.

Other jurisdictions in the Washington area remain in the consortium, including Maryland and D.C., which have Democratic leaders. Maryland’s deputy elections administrator said participating provides a secure way for the state to keep the voter rolls current.

“We hope to work with Virginia election officials to find alternate ways to share data about voters moving between Maryland and Virginia,” Nikki Baines Charlson said in an email.

Nick Jacobs, a spokesman for the D.C. Board of Elections, said the District remains a member of ERIC and “we plan to continue to be members.”

n a shift, GOP nominee for Va. governor admits Biden ‘legitimately’ elected

As he sought the GOP nomination for governor in 2021, Youngkin initially refused to say whether Democrat Joe Biden had legitimately won the 2020 election. At the same time, he played into Trump’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud by making “election integrity” the centerpiece of his campaign.

Youngkin acknowledged Biden’s win after securing the nod but kept election deniers whipped up with his “election integrity” push and by deploying Chase, the self-described “Trump in heels,” as a key surrogate in rural parts of the state.

Youngkin and his national ambitions straddle the ‘big lie’ divide

Last year, Youngkin stood with some of his party’s most vocal election deniers, including Kari Lake of Arizona, as he traveled across the country campaigning for Republican gubernatorial contenders and boosting his own profile ahead of a potential White House bid.

Erin Cox and Meagan Flynn contributed to this report.

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Virginia

Spread & Over/Under Predictions for West Virginia vs. Arizona

Published

6 hours ago

November 29, 2024

Press Room

Spread & Over/Under Predictions for West Virginia vs. Arizona

It’s the final day of the Battle 4 Atlantis and the West Virginia Mountaineers are hoping to leave the Bahamas with a third-place finish in the event. Winning the whole thing would have been extremely impressive considering the field, but Darian DeVries’ squad has already notched a key resume-building win over Gonzaga and can do so again today against No. 24 Arizona.

Here are my picks for today’s game. Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

1 Star – Not very confident
2 Star – A little confident
3 Star – Fairly confident
4 Star – Very confident
5 Star – Should be a lock to happen

3-star play on Arizona (-6.5): This is a really tough matchup for the Mountaineers playing its third game in three days. When these two meet later in the year, I believe WVU will put together a much stronger showing and potentially even win the game. Not there, though.

The Wildcats have a nine-man rotation, which occasionally will be a ten-man. WVU’s key players have logged a ton of minutes over the last two days, with both games going to overtime. As evidenced in yesterday’s game, if the Mountaineers face serious foul trouble, it impacts them more than most teams due to a lack of depth. Amani Hansberry should be able to produce a third straight big game, but if he starts picking up fouls left and right, WVU will be in trouble. Arizona’s guard-heavy lineup will attack and finish around the rim with ease.

I’ve got the Wildcats pulling away with a strong second half.

1-star play on the under: Arizona is a high-scoring team that likes to push the tempo. They’ve averaged 67 field goal attempts in this tournament, whereas WVU has attempted 59 and 63 in games that went to overtime. For West Virginia to win, they’re going to have to slow things down when they have the ball, much like they did in the opening-round game against Gonzaga.

I mentioned fatigue setting in as a possibility in the WVU-Louisville game yesterday, and although Darian DeVries isn’t using that as an excuse, you can tell it played a factor for both teams, especially in the first half. Both squads looked sloppy, slow, and disjointed. I seriously doubt WVU and Arizona will have an extra bounce in their step today, playing for the third time in three days and in a game deciding who takes home third place.

ATS: 3-3 (50%)
O/U: 4-2 (66%)
Overall: 7-5 (58%)

Odds Disclaimer

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Virginia

Virginia woman charged in alleged murder-for-hire plot

Published

14 hours ago

November 29, 2024

Press Room

Virginia woman charged in alleged murder-for-hire plot

A Virginia woman has been arrested and charged in connection with a murder-for-hire plot, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s office.

Gennevieve McGhee, 44, was allegedly captured via audio and video evidence in the meticulous planning of a murder for hire, the sheriff’s office said.

McGhee is accused of meeting with a confidential source at her residence in Ridgeway, Virginia. The source was acting under law enforcement direction and utilizing a recording device to capture evidence.

TEXAS INFLUENCER SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT

Henry County Sheriff’s Office charged Gennevieve McGhee, 44, with criminal solicitation of murder following an investigation that revealed her alleged involvement in planning a murder for hire. (Henry County Sheriff’s Office)

She allegedly discussed detailed instructions on payment arrangements and instructions for carrying out a robbery and murder.

McGhee is charged with criminal solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony.

INDIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL CHARGED IN MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT ON SIKH SEPARATIST LEADER IN NEW YORK CITY

Gennevieve McGhee, 44, is charged with criminal solicitation of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony. (iStock)

McGhee was taken into custody by deputies from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday and is being held at the Henry County Adult Detention Center with no bond.

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The case remains under review by the Henry County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

Additional information on the case is not available at this time, officials said.

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Virginia

How to Watch & Listen to West Virginia vs. No. 24 Arizona

Published

22 hours ago

November 29, 2024

Press Room

How to Watch & Listen to West Virginia vs. No. 24 Arizona

The West Virginia Mountaineers (4-2) will meet the No. 24 Arizona Wildcats in the third place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis midseason tournament for the sixth meeting between the two programs.

West Virginia vs. Arizona Series History

Arizona leads 2-3

Last Meeting: March 28, 2008 (NCAA Tournament) WVU 75-65

When: Friday, November 29

Location: Paradise Island, Bahamas, Imperial Arena (3,900)

Tip-off: 3:00 p.m. EST

Stream: ESPN2

Announcers: Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli

Radio: Tony Caridi (PBP), Brad Howe (analyst) Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College(Radio affiliates)

WVU Game Notes

– West Virginia was scheduled to play in the 2020 Battle 4 Atlantis. The tournament was moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., due to COVID, and the Mountaineers won the renamed Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic.

– WVU is 45-16 in in-season tournaments since 2007.

– With a win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU defeated a Top 5 AP team for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Mountaineers downed No. 3 Kansas in Morgantown, 91-85.

– Prior to the overtime win over No. 3 Gonzaga, WVU had lost six straight overtime games.

– This is WVU’s fourth trip outside the United States and Puerto Rico to play a regular season game. WVU played in Cancun in 2013 and 2019 and opened the season in Germany in the 2017 Armed Forces Classic.

– West Virginia is the only team in the country that has two players on the same team who averaged more than 20 points per game from last season — Tucker DeVries (21.6 ppg) and Jayden Stone (20.8 ppg)

– West Virginia is 201-55 against nonconference teams in regular season games in the last 21 seasons.

– The Mountaineers have posted a winning nonconference record in 31 of the last 32 seasons.

– WVU is 265-99 in its last 362 games against unranked teams, including winners of 148 of its last 180 at the WVU Coliseum.

– This is the 116th season and 122nd year overall for WVU basketball, which began in 1903.

– Darian DeVries, who led Drake to six consecutive 20-win seasons and has a career .731 winning percentage as a head coach, was named the 23rd head men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University on March 24, 2024.

– DeVries has a record of 154-57 (.731) in seven seasons as a head coach, including a 59-16 (.787) mark in the last two-plus seasons.

– This past August, the men’s basketball team went to Italy for a 10-day tour and won all three of its games against international competition.

– West Virginia returns just 2.8 percent of its scoring from last season’s team (Ofri Naveh).

– The Mountaineers are led by a pair of transfers in Tucker DeVries (Drake) and Javon Small (Oklahoma State). Last season, DeVries was named an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention selection, while Small earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.

– In addition, Eduardo Andre (Fresno State), Joseph Yesufu (Washington State), Sencire Harris (Illinois), Amani Hansberry (Illinois) and Jayden Stone (Detroit Mercy) will all see considerable action this season.

– Tucker DeVries was named to the 20-member Julius Erving Preseason Watch List, giving annually to the nation’s top small forward.

– Tucker DeVries was named to the preseason Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Watch List.

– Tucker DeVries was named to the John R. Wooden Award Top 50 Preseason Watch List.

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