[EL] ELB News and commentary 6/24/11
Sean Parnell
sparnell at campaignfreedom.org
Fri Jun 24 06:51:20 PDT 2011
I found this amusing in the Atlantic piece by Garrett Epps:
".Justice John Paul Stevens--a moderate-conservative Republican."
I don't believe I'd ever read that before.
Sean Parnell
President
Center for Competitive Politics
http://www.campaignfreedom.org
http://www.twitter.com/seanparnellccp
124 S. West Street, #201
Alexandria, VA 22310
(703) 894-6800 phone
(703) 894-6813 direct
(703) 894-6811 fax
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Rick
Hasen
Sent: Friday, June 24, 2011 12:30 AM
To: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: [EL] ELB News and commentary 6/24/11
Want More Flavor About the Brooklyn Fraud Described in the 1984 Grand Jury
Report, the Collusion of Election Officials, and Prosecutions for
Impersonation Vote Fraud? <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19584>
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19584> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Jim Sleeper's recollections
<http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/31/treat_or_trick_elections_of
fic/index.php> jibe with the grand jury report and the NY Times reporting
at the time. Sleeper's story
<http://jimsleeper.com/articles/scoops&revelations/Vender%20Beatty.pdf> from
the Village Voice in that period notes some impersonation fraud and some
convictions:
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/beatty.png> The Brooklyn
example is not looking like such a great one of impersonation voter fraud
going on without notice of diligent elected officials.
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19584&title=Want%20More%20Flavor%20About%20the%20Brooklyn%20Fraud%20De
scribed%20in%20the%201984%20Grand%20Jury%20Report%2C%20the%20Collusion%20of%
20Election%20Officials%2C%20and%20Prosecutions%20for%20Imperson> Share
Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> ,
fraudulent fraud squad <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8> , Uncategorized
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> , voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
Two from FollowtheMoney.org <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19579>
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19579> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Best practices <http://www.followthemoney.org/press/ReportView.phtml?r=444>
for state campaign finance disclosure and a 50-state survey
<http://www.followthemoney.org/content/bestpractices/index.phtml> .
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19579&title=Two%20from%20FollowtheMoney.org&description=> Share
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments
Off
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19576> "National Political Committees Must
Return Donations from Stanford"
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19576> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bloomberg reports
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-22/u-s-political-committees-must-retu
rn-1-7-million-in-stanford-donations.html> : "Five Democratic and Republican
national political committees must return more than $1.7 million in
contributions received from indicted financier R. Allen Stanford to his
court-appointed receiver, a federal judge ruled."
You can access the judge's order here
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Janvey-Order.pdf> .
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19576&title=%E2%80%9CNational%20Political%20Committees%20Must%20Return
%20Donations%20from%20Stanford%E2%80%9D&description=> Share
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> , chicanery
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12> | Comments Off
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19573> "The Hatch Act: Showcasing the
Absurdity of Congress"
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19573> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Jeff Patch blogs
<http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/168179-the-hatch-act-showca
sing-the-absurdity-of-congress> .
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19573&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20Hatch%20Act%3A%20Showcasing%20the%20Absurdi
ty%20of%20Congress%E2%80%9D&description=> Share
Posted in conflict of interest laws <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20> |
Comments Off
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19570> "Constitutional Myth #5: Corporations
Have the Same Free-Speech Rights as Individuals"
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19570> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Garrett Epps blogs
<http://m.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/06/constitutional-myth-5-cor
porations-have-the-same-free-speech-rights-as-individuals/240874/> on
Danielczyk.
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19570&title=%E2%80%9CConstitutional%20Myth%20%235%3A%20Corporations%20
Have%20the%20Same%20Free-Speech%20Rights%20as%20Individuals%E2%80%9D&descrip
tion=> Share
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments
Off
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19567> "House Votes Not to Confer More Power
on Feckless FEC"
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19567> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This item
<http://www.clcblog.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=423:hou
se-votes-not-to-confer-more-power-on-feckless-fec-6-23-11> appears on the
CLC Blog.
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19567&title=%E2%80%9CHouse%20Votes%20Not%20to%20Confer%20More%20Power%
20on%20Feckless%20FEC%E2%80%9D&description=> Share
Posted in Election Assistance Commission
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=34> , federal election commission
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24> | Comments Off
NC Governor Vetoes Voter ID Law <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19564>
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19564> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Another
<http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2011/jun/23/north-carolina-governor-vetoes-vo
ter-photo-id-bill/> Democratic governor vetoes a voter id law passed by a
Republican legislature.
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19564&title=NC%20Governor%20Vetoes%20Voter%20ID%20Law&description=>
Share
Posted in voter id <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
1984 New York Grand Jury Report on Voter Fraud Now Available
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19560>
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19560> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Thanks to the hard work of the UCI Law librarians, and the cooperation of
the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, I am pleased to provide a link to
Kings County grand jury report, In the Matter of Confidential Investigation
R84-11
<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/1984_grand_jury_report-r84-11
.pdf> .
This is the report I tried <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19393> to get
<http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/election_expert_cant_find
_report_on_1984_voter_impersonation_case_cited_by_von_spakovsky.php> from
Hans von Spakovsky and the Heritage Foundation with no success. von
Spakovsky had relied on the grand jury report in an effort to justify voter
identification requirements. (He wrote
<http://electionlawblog.org/archives/012191.html> : "One doesn't have to
look far to find instances of fraudulent ballots cast in actual elections by
'voters' who were the figments of active imaginations. In 1984, a district
attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y. (a Democrat), released the findings of a grand
jury that reported extensive registration and impersonation fraud between
1968 and 1982.")
It is a fascinating read, about what appear to have been the last days of a
corrupt Brooklyn Democratic party machine. Most of the fraud alleged
involved the cooperation of election officials or inspectors, or the
downright incompetence of election workers. (One of the most colorful
episodes recorded involved party workers hiding in the restroom ceilings at
the Brooklyn Board of Elections, waiting to phony up voter registration
cards after an election to manufacture evidence for an election contest.)
It is not clear to me why von Spakovsky did not respond to requests to turn
over the grand jury report because the report contains the only apparently
successful effort in the last 40 years of which I'm aware to actually affect
election results through impersonation fraud. Perhaps the reason is that
the way in which the fraud was done almost certainly could not happen today,
thanks to basic safeguards put in place by election officials (such as
checking the names and addresses of new registrants and ensuring greater
security of voter registration materials). And of course when election
officials collude with those committing fraud, a voter i.d. requirement
would not help in the slightest.
The fact that most of this fraud took place 40 years ago and nothing like it
has been discovered since is a good argument that schemes like these cannot
successfully be done anymore. Vote buying schemes, fraudulent registration
schemes, and absentee ballot fraud do get discovered and prosecuted.
There's no reason to think this kind of fraud, if it happened, would not at
least occasionally be discovered and prosecuted as well. At most we find a
handful of isolated cases-nothing organized, and certainly nothing to swing
elections.
Still, the grand jury report is the best evidence that the Fraudulent Fraud
Squad has, and now it will see the light of day.
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19560&title=1984%20New%20York%20Grand%20Jury%20Report%20on%20Voter%20F
raud%20Now%20Available&description=> Share
Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> ,
fraudulent fraud squad <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8> , voter id
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9> | Comments Off
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19557> "Romney backers launch super PAC"
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19557> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo reports
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-backers-launch-super-pac/2011
/06/22/AGTkGchH_story.html> .
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19557&title=%E2%80%9CRomney%20backers%20launch%20super%20PAC%E2%80%9D&
description=> Share
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments
Off
Wonder What the Supreme Court Will Do on Monday in McComish?
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19554>
Posted on <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19554> June 23, 2011 by Rick Hasen
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Here <http://www.slate.com/id/2289193/> 's the oral argument preview I wrote
for Slate, "Rich Candidate Expected to Win Again."
I'll be writing about the McComish decision on Monday, when the decision is
expected to be released at 10 am eastern. Stay tuned.
<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%
3Fp%3D19554&title=Wonder%20What%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20Will%20Do%20on%20M
onday%20in%20McComish%3F&description=> Share
Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10> | Comments
Off
--
Rick Hasen
Visiting Professor
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
William H. Hannon Distinguished Professor of Law
Loyola Law School
http://www.lls.edu/academics/faculty/hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org
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