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In any 2020 electoral map, the color scheme is clear: Red is for Republicans, blue is for Democrats. But where did this universal agreement on color-coding come from?

It's relatively new. Though red and blue have often been used to stand in for opposing sides in U.S. political history, it's only since the 2000 election that red and blue have been assigned to the political parties consistently.

That year, The New York Times and USA Today published full-color electoral maps for the first time, and according to The Verge, they assigned the colors fairly arbitrarily.

"[R]ed begins with r, Republican begins with r," senior graphics editor Archie Tse told The Verge. "It was a more natural association."

Related: Why did the Democratic and Republican parties switch platforms?

The political parties have now embraced their assigned colors, with Democrats urging citizens to "Vote Blue!" and supporters of Donald Trump donning red "Make America Great Again" hats. But it could have easily gone the other way. According to The History Channel, the first colorful electoral maps on television were broadcast in 1976, but there was no consistency between networks as to what colors were used for which party. Red often stood in for Democrats, and blue for Republicans.

Going back further in time, red and blue were common options for differentiating political parties or two sides of an issue. For example, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, bosses of political parties in South Texas color-coded ballots red and blue for Republican and Democrat in order to "assist" illiterate or non-English-speaking voters at the polls (this assistance often involved outright election fraud, according to the Texas State Historical Association). Republicans were often red in this system, though the colors varied from county to county. According to Geography Realm, maps showing party affiliation by red and blue date back to at least 1883, though red often stood in for Democrats and blue for Republicans.

The long, arduous election between George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000 cemented the red and blue designations for Republicans and Democrats. According to The History Channel, the major news networks "banded together" to keep the colors consistent, which made reporting contested electoral college numbers and the Florida recount a less confusing task. It took weeks to call the election, and by that time the color associations were set.

Using blue for a left-leaning party and red for a right-leaning party makes the United States odd among other nations, which often associate red with political parties on the left and blue with conservative parties. For example, the Conservative party in the United Kingdom uses blue, while the Labour party is symbolized by a red flag.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Why is red for Republicans and blue for Democrats? - Livescience.com

The Nevada Republican Party announced Thursday evening that it has sent a criminal referral to U.S. Attorney General William BarrBill BarrEmails show Park Police reliance on pepper balls, outside police forces during Lafayette protests Nevada Republican Party sends criminal referral to DOJ alleging thousands of cases of voter fraud DOJ tells prosecutors armed federal agents are allowed in ballot counting centers: report MORE with allegations that the state had 3,602 cases of voter fraud.

The criminal complaint comes as news outlets have yet to announce a projected winner in the race between President TrumpDonald John TrumpBiden claims a 'mandate' to govern, calls for end to 'partisan warfare' Mark Meadows tests positive for coronavirus Georgia Senate race between Perdue, Ossoff heads to runoff MORE and Democratic nominee Joe BidenJoe BidenBiden claims a 'mandate' to govern, calls for end to 'partisan warfare' Mark Meadows tests positive for coronavirus Trump supporters scream at Telemundo reporter during live broadcast from Maricopa ballot center MORE, with the Trump campaign and the GOP having already filed multiple unsuccessful legal challenges in the Southwestern state.

Our lawyers just sent a criminal referral to AG Barr regarding at least 3,062 instances of voter fraud, the Nevada Republican Party wrote in a tweet. We expect that number to grow substantially. Thousands of individuals have been identified who appear to have violated the law by casting ballots after they moved from NV.

Our lawyers just sent a criminal referral to AG Barr regarding at least 3,062 instances of voter fraud. We expect that number to grow substantially. Thousands of individuals have been identified who appear to have violated the law by casting ballots after they moved from NV.

The Washington Post reported that the partys lawyers sent Barr a list of voters identified by cross-checking voter registration names and addresses with the National Change of Address database.

Nevada law allows residents to cast ballots after moving out of state if they are serving in the military, a spouse of someone in the military or attending school.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nevada pointed out in a tweet Thursday following the criminal referral announcement that voters in the state do not lose their eligibility to vote when they leave the state temporarily.

The ACLU of Nevada is watching to be sure this election remains fair and we are prepared to fight if any serious cases are filed, Nikki Levy, a Nevada ACLU staff attorney, wrote in the tweeted statement.

Since there's been misinformation from campaigns, let's set the record straight. #LetNevadansVote #Nevada #2020 pic.twitter.com/WR79oFcRSf

Earlier Thursday, Joe Gloria, Clark Countys registrar of voters, told the Post while responding to questions about potential voter fraud that he would investigate any incident reported to him.

Were firm in our commitment to making sure that were processing ballots with high integrity, he said.

Gloria also said Thursday that the bulk of ballots in Clark County would likely be counted by the weekend, adding that the processing of ballots will not be complete until Nov. 12.

A Justice Department official, who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity to discuss a move that could lead to an investigation, confirmed that the department had received the referral and that officials were looking into it.

The Trump campaign has filed several lawsuits in Nevada as the state continues to process an influx of mail-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit alleging that Nevada votes have been cast by deceased people and nonresidents. The campaign also threatened to file a federal lawsuit to stop the counting of improper votes.

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Nevada Republican Party sends criminal referral to DOJ alleging thousands of cases of voter fraud | TheHill - The Hill

The Supreme Courts conservative majority has greenlit the Republicans anti-democratic power grabs. In 2013, by a 5-to-4 vote, the court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act, giving free rein to states with long histories of racial discrimination in voting. Last year, the court, again by a 5-to-4 vote, refused to block even the most brazenly partisan gerrymanders, no matter how much they disenfranchised voters.

This year, in the face of the unprecedented hurdles to voting introduced by the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans are battling from coast to coast to ensure that casting a ballot is as hard as it can be. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott mandated a single ballot drop-box per county including the increasingly Democratic Harris County, population 4.7 million. Republican lawmakers there are also suing to throw out more than 100,000 ballots cast by Harris County voters from their cars, at drive-through sites.

In Nevada, the Trump campaign and the state Republican Party have sued to stop counting mail-in ballots until observers can more closely monitor the signature-matching process. In Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin, Republicans have fought to prevent the counting of all mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, even if they are postmarked on or before Nov. 3.

This all amounts to a concerted national Republican effort across the country in every one of the states that has had a legal battle to make it harder for citizens to vote, said Trevor Potter, a Republican lawyer who formerly led the Federal Election Commission and worked on both of John McCains presidential campaigns.

The effort has been turbocharged by President Trump, who has spent the past year falsely attacking the integrity of mail-in ballots. Mr. Trumps lies have been echoed by the attorney general, William Barr, who has claimed that mail balloting is associated with substantial fraud. Not remotely true. Mr. Trumps own handpicked F.B.I. director, Christopher Wray, has said there is no evidence of any coordinated voter-fraud effort. Scholars, researchers and judges have said for years that voting fraud of any kind is vanishingly rare in this country. That hasnt stopped Republicans from alleging that it happens all the time. They know that accusations of fraud can be enough by themselves to confuse voters and drive down turnout.

When that tactic fails, Republicans turn to another tried-and-true one: voter intimidation. Frightening people, particularly Black people, away from the ballot box has a long history in the United States. Modern Republicans have done it so consistently that in 1982 a federal court barred the national party from engaging in any so-called anti-voter-fraud operations. The ban was renewed again and again over the decades, because Republicans kept violating it. In 2018, however, it expired, meaning that 2020 is the first election in which Republicans can intimidate with abandon.

All the while, Mr. Trump happily plays the part of intimidator in chief. He has urged his supporters to enlist in an Army for Trump, monitoring polls. A lot of strange things happening in Philadelphia, Mr. Trump said during a recent campaign stop in Pennsylvania. Were watching you, Philadelphia. Were watching at the highest level.

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Opinion | Why Are Republicans So Afraid of Voters? - The New York Times

So much for Republicans Obama-era nattering about executive overreach.

Despite fetishizing law and order, Republicans have shrugged as Mr. Trump has maligned and politicized federal law enforcement, occasionally lending a hand. Impeachment offered the most searing example. Parroting the White House line that the entire process was illegitimate, the presidents enablers made clear they had his back no matter what. As Pete Wehner, who served as a speechwriter to the three previous Republican presidents, observed in The Atlantic: Republicans, from beginning to end, sought not to ensure that justice be done or truth be revealed. Instead, they sought to ensure that Trump not be removed from office under any circumstances, defending him at all costs.

The debasement goes beyond passive indulgence. Congressional bootlickers, channeling Mr. Trumps rantings about the Deep State, have used their power to target those who dared to investigate him. Committee chairmen like Representative Devin Nunes and Senator Ron Johnson have conducted hearings aimed at smearing Mr. Trumps political opponents and delegitimizing the special counsels Russia inquiry.

As head of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Mr. Johnson pushed a corruption investigation of Mr. Bidens son Hunter that he bragged would expose the former vice presidents unfitness for office. Instead, he wasted taxpayer money producing an 87-page rehash of unsubstantiated claims reeking of a Russian disinformation campaign. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, another Republican on the committee, criticized the inquiry as a political exercise, noting, Its not the legitimate role of government or Congress, or for taxpayer expense to be used in an effort to damage political opponents.

Undeterred, last Sunday Mr. Johnson popped up on Fox News, engaging with the host over baseless rumors that the F.B.I. was investigating child pornography on a computer that allegedly had belonged to Hunter Biden. These vile claims are being peddled online by right-wing conspiracymongers, including QAnon.

Not that congressional toadies are the only offenders. A parade of administration officials some of whom were well respected before their Trumpian tour have stood by, or pitched in, as the president has denigrated the F.B.I., federal prosecutors, intelligence agencies and the courts. They have failed to prioritize election security because the topic makes Mr. Trump insecure about his win in 2016. They have pushed the limits of the law and human decency to advance Mr. Trumps draconian immigration agenda.

Most horrifically, Republican leaders have stood by as the president has lied to the public about a pandemic that has already killed more than 220,000 Americans. They have watched him politicize masks, testing, the distribution of emergency equipment and pretty much everything else. Some echo his incendiary talk, fueling violence in their own communities. In the campaigns closing weeks, as case numbers and hospitalizations climb and health officials warn of a rough winter, Mr. Trump is stepping up the attacks on his scientific advisers, deriding them as idiots and declaring Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments top expert in infectious diseases, a disaster. Only a smattering of Republican officials has managed even a tepid defense of Dr. Fauci. Whether out of fear, fealty or willful ignorance, these so-called leaders are complicit in this national tragedy.

As Republican lawmakers grow increasingly panicked that Mr. Trump will lose re-election possibly damaging their fortunes as well some are scrambling to salvage their reputations by pretending they havent spent the past four years letting him run amok. In an Oct. 14 call with constituents, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska gave a blistering assessment of the presidents failures and deficient values, from his misogyny to his calamitous handling of the pandemic to the way he kisses dictators butts. Mr. Sasse was less clear about why, the occasional targeted criticism notwithstanding, he has enabled these deficiencies for so long.

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The Republican Party After Trump - The New York Times

Wisconsin Republicanlawmakers and top GOP aideshave been facing a coronavirus outbreak in recent weeks followinga series of in-person events, including aretirement party for a longtime Capitol staffer, a dozen sources told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

But Republican leaderswould not disclose how many or which lawmakers have contracted COVID-19, nor would they answer questions about contact tracing efforts including whether anyone worked at the state Capitol after they were exposed to the virus.

Those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak include JennyToftness, chief of staff for Speaker Robin Vos, who got sick after attending theretirement party in September.

"Jenny was exposed at the gathering," Vos spokeswoman Kit Beyer said. "As soon as she found out she was exposed, she went into quarantine and is now fully recovered."

Beyer said Vos had not recently been in close contact with Toftness.

"Robin has not been exposed," Beyer said. "He does not have COVID."

She said Vos, a Republican from Rochester,has been working in his district as he seeks reelection andhas rarely been in the Capitol in recent weeks.

Sources told the Journal Sentinel that Toftness was one of at least six people who got sick after attendingthe retirement party and otherrecent events. Others included GOP lawmakers, staffers and at least two lobbyists, the sources said.

Vos declined to be interviewed.

It's unclear whetherthose who were infectednotified anyCapitol authorities, who could alert others who work in the statehouse.

"We are not aware of anyreportsfrom either legislators or legislative staff," Britt Cudaback, spokeswoman for Gov. Tony Evers, said in an email in response to questions about COVID-19 policies of the Department of Administration, which oversees the Capitol.

Scott Kelly, an aide to GOP Sen. Van Wanggaard, said on Twitter there is "no evidence anyone got COVID in the building. Or that they are currently working in the building."

Track COVID-19 in Wisconsin: See the latest numbers and trends

Amanda Jorgenson, director of the Legislature's human resources department, did not respond to questions about whether the office received reports of infections or potential exposures among people who work in the Capitol, or whether the Legislature has a policy on notifying others in the statehouse about potential exposures to the virus.

Rep. David Bowen, D-Milwaukee, tested positive for COVID-19 in March and issued a news release about his infection.

Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, also told reporters about his recent infection.

Bowen said releasing the information was necessary because of his publicposition.

"I felt it was necessary as a public lawmaker to share, not to just hide in my house for several weeks hoping that Id be OKbut essentially just to be transparent with the public that this thing is real," Bowen said. "It's really important. Instead of feeding our sense of embarrassment or being so protective of yourself that you're not protecting the public."

Evers has said that any state workerwith suspected, confirmedor direct exposure to COVID-19 should notify their supervisor, who would then notify human resources, which would thennotify otherswho were inclose contact with thereportingemployee.

Employees arethen asked to quarantine for a minimum of 14 days, andthe worksite is cleaned and disinfected.

Policies on such issues for lawmakers and legislative staffers would be set by legislative leaders, not Evers.

Vos and Senate Majority Leader ScottFitzgerald have both been vocal critics of Evers' mask mandate and other efforts aimed at combating the spread of COVID-19.

Fitzgerald has alsoinsisted that state Senate employees don't need to wear masks while working at the Capitol.

"I won'tbe pushed around by Dane County or the Evers Administration we control the Senate wing,"Fitzgerald told the Associated Press in July. "Senators should be able to decide what they do in their own offices."

It's unclear whether those infected with the virus contracted itat the retirement partyoranother event. Sources have cited the partyas well as a fundraiser held last month by the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee aspotential sources of the outbreak.

The Committee to Elect a Republican Senateheld another fundraiser shortly before the Assembly event.

Republicans have continued to havein-person events, fundraisers and rallies, and have not required attendees to wear masks.

On Thursday, at least five Assembly Republican lawmakers attended an indoor event hosted by Pro-Life Wisconsin and were not wearing masks in photos posted to Twitter by Rep. Ken Skowronski, R-Franklin. The post was later deleted.

Democrats have instead largely shifted to virtual fundraisers, socially distanced, outdoor campaign stops and drive-in rallies.

Gail Scott,health officer for theJefferson County Health Department, said her office did not have any information about theSept. 17 fundraiser held at Milford Hills in Johnson Creek for the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee.

A Milford Hills manager declined to comment when asked about any COVID-19 cases linked to the fundraiser, other than telling a Journal Sentinel reporter that it was "an outdoor event."

Republicans who control the Legislature have faced criticism recently for not putting forward strategies to combat the coronavirus, especially as Wisconsin faces one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the country.

The Wisconsin Legislature has been the least active full-time state legislative body in the country since states began taking measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a WisPolitics.com review published earlier this month.

Vos on Friday wrote on Facebook that criticism of the Legislature's inactivity is unfair.

"(Gov. Tony)Evers hasn't given us any concrete ideas as to what we could pass beyond the comprehensive bill we already supported," Vos wrote in response to criticism from his opponent. "He wants to shut down the state, I oppose that. Beyond that, ask yourself what else could be done to fight the virus beyond following the CDC guidelines. This is fear-mongering and really disappointing behavior from Gov Evers."

Legislative leaders are in court now trying to throw out Evers' statewide mask mandate. CDC guidelines includewearing a mask when around other people.

The mandate is supported by a vast majority of Wisconsin voters, according to recent Marquette University Law School polling.

The GOP lawmakers already have the power to end the mask mandate by voting to end the governor's health emergency. But instead, legislative leaders are opting to spend taxpayer dollars to hire private attorneys to accomplish the same goal.

Daniel Bice and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

Contact Mary Spicuzza and Molly Beck atmary.spicuzza@jrn.comand molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJSand @mollybeck.

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Wisconsin Republicans have been facing an outbreak among lawmakers and aides. But they don't want to talk about it. - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel