[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/22/12

Wed Aug 22 10:21:24 PDT 2012

    My Latest Guest Post is Up over at Talking Points Memo
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38898>

Posted on August 22, 2012 10:20 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38898> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Elections in the Hands of the Partisan and Incompetent 
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/08/elections_in_the_hands_of_the_partisan_and_incompe.php?ref=fpblg>.

Yesterday: The Fake Voter Fraud Epidemic and the 2012 Election 
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/08/the_fake_voter_fraud_epidemic_and_the_2012_electio.php?ref=fpblg>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
fraudulent fraud squad <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting 
Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    Of Debates, Jokes, and Hucksters <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38895>

Posted on August 22, 2012 10:16 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38895> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Over at the Election Law Center,  J. Christian Adams writes 
<http://electionlawcenter.com/2012/08/20/fund-and-von-spakovsky-offer-to-debate-rick-hasen-anytime-anyplace.aspx>: 
"I learned over the weekend that Hans von Spakovsky and John Fund have 
offered to debate law professor Rick Hasen, anytime, anyplace about the 
allegations in their books.  The pair have offered to appear at 
particular events where Hasen will appear to rebut the allegations in 
Hasens' book. So far, Hasen has refused to debate them about book 
contents."  Then there was this follow-up 
<http://electionlawcenter.com/2012/08/21/the-naacp-makes-sure-every-dog-in-virginia-votes.aspx>: 
"Speaking of von Spakovsky and other blogs, I am told that Rick Hasen 
still hasn't accepted von Spakovsky and John Fund's offer to debate 
voter fraud at any of his already scheduled events. Will keep you posted."

This is absolutely hilarious.  I've never been approached by von 
Spakovsky or Fund to debate them about their book.  (I was recently on 
Airtalk 
<http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2012/07/16/27430/feds-grant-florida-right-to-access-citizens-list-t/>debating 
Hans on the subject of voter purges, a show on which von Spakovsky again 
made false claims <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=37015>.) It should not 
surprise me that people who lie shamelessly, shamelessly, shamelessly 
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/08/the_fake_voter_fraud_epidemic_and_the_2012_electio.php?ref=fpblg> 
about voter fraud would also lie about being willing to debate them. 
Perhaps they've tried to approach me indirectly through others.  I have 
not heard from Hans since I tried to get him to give me a copy of the 
1984 grand jury report <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=19560>which he 
refused to do.  (Before that he'd write me to pitch me items to link on 
ELB.)  I can't remember the last time I heard from Fund.

I don't mind a debate with people with whom I disagree.  I've debated 
Brad Smith, Jim Bopp, and Floyd Abrams about campaign finance issues.  
We disagree strongly on the issues, but I can always trust them to tell 
the truth and not misrepresent facts.  They are honorable people and we 
can have an honest, if spirited, disagreement. (I'll be debating Brad 
next at Northern Illinois University in a few weeks--details on that to 
come.)

But I'm genuinely ambivalent about debating members of the Fraudulent 
Fraud Squad who misrepresent the truth. It is important to air these 
issues before the election. But giving them a forum with me to spew 
their lies <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38251> would elevate their 
hucksterism.

Readers, what do you think?  You can comment on the newReader's Forum 
<http://thevotingwars.com/reader-forum-2/> I've opened up over at The 
Voting Wars website.

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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | 
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    "Campaign vendors say Republican Congressman David Rivera funded
    Democrat's failed primary bid" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38892>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:58 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38892> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Miami Herald 
<http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/21/2962351/campaign-vendors-say-republican.html>: 
"Fueled with $43,000 in secret money, Republican Rep. David Rivera 
helped run a shadow campaign that might have broken federal laws in last 
week's Democratic primary against his political nemesis Joe Garcia, 
according to campaign sources and finance records."

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, 
campaigns <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12> | Comments Off

    " Election Supervisor Who Is Refusing to Limit Early Voting Gets
    Ultimatum from Scott" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38889>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:54 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38889> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The latest 
<http://www.theledger.com/article/20120822/POLITICS/120829831/1002/SPORTS?Title=Election-Supervisor-Who-Is-Refusing-to-Limit-Early-Voting-Gets-Ultimatum-from-Scott>from 
Florida.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

    "How Co-Publishing Helped Spread News21 Investigation into Voter
    Fraud" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38887>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:53 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38887> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Interesting 
<http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/08/how-co-publishing-helped-spread-news21-investigation-into-voter-fraud235.html>.

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Posted in election law biz <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51> | 
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    "It's Time to Revisit the Voting Rights Act"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38884>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:50 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38884> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Tim Noah blogs 
<http://www.tnr.com/blog/plank/106366/the-voting-rights-act-ass> at TNR.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Voting Rights Act 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15> | Comments Off

    "Scott Gessler adopts emergency rule to prevent ballots from being
    traced to voters" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38881>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:38 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38881> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

News from Colorado 
<http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/08/scott_gessler_adopts_emergency.php>: 
"After a voter advocacy group offered proof that county clerks and other 
election officials could identify how specific people voted --- which 
would violate a citizen's basic right to a secret ballot --- Colorado 
Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced an "emergency rule" effective 
immediately that will prevent officials from linking ballots to voters. 
It's a big win for activist Marilyn Marks 
<http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/08/colorado_ballots_unconstitutional.php>, 
who has been criticizing the system for more than a year. But at least 
one county clerk thinks the rule change will only create a whole host of 
headaches come Election Day."

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18> | 
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    Interesting Press Release from NAACP on DOJ Preclearance of Virginia
    Voter ID Law <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38878>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:34 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38878> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Via email:

    *NAACP Reaction to US Department of Justice Voter Identification
    Pre-Clearance in VA*
    /In light of the DOJ's ruling, the NAACP urges Virginia voters to
    use voter registration cards and other valid identification at the
    polls. /
    (Richmond, Va.)- The U.S. Department of Justice pre-cleared
    Virginia's Voter ID law that included the Governor Bob McDonnell's
    Executive Order issued on May 18.
    The voter identification law allows several forms of
    identification--- including valid, Virginia voter registration
    cards, Social Security cards, student identification cards, employee
    cards, and a utility bill. In the Executive Order, the State Board
    of Elections was also charged with issuing voter cards to all
    Virginia voters and launching a public education campaign.
    "We spoke out in opposition to the voter ID bills introduced in the
    2012 session as a means of voter suppression and weighed in with the
    US DOJ to reject pre-clearance," said King Salim Khalfani, Executive
    Director of the Virginia State Conference.
    "Governor McDonell's Executive Order attempts to mitigate the effect
    that the voter identification law will have on many Virginia voters,
    but we also believe that the state's resources should be used to
    enhance and increase the participation of VA citizens instead of
    suppress participation."
    In 2008, only about 67 percent of Virginian's voting age population
    showed up at the ballot. A marked increase in participation since
    2004, the NAACP hopes to continue mobilizing new and veteran voters
    under the new laws implemented in 2012.
    "The NAACP supports the use of unique identifiers at the polling
    place, and as such there are dozens of ways to identify oneself that
    will not require a person to spend their resources and time to
    obtain overly restrictive and a conforming photo ID, and Virginia
    took some strides to eliminate the risks," said Hilary Shelton,
    Director of the Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for
    Advocacy at the NAACP. "However, it is the Department of Justice's
    responsibility in Section 5 covered states to reject laws that could
    have an adverse impact on voters and are enacted so close to
    Election Day."
    Section 5 <http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/sec_5/about.php> of
    the Voting Rights Act prevents states from denying citizens the
    right to vote due to racial and ethnic discriminatory practices.
    The Department of Justice has already rejected South Carolina
    <http://www.slideshare.net/andersonatlarge/justice-department-letter-to-south-carolina-denying-preclearance-of-voter-id-law> and
    Texas
    <http://www.scribd.com/doc/85051426/DOJ-Letter-To-Texas-On-Voter-ID-Law> voter
    ID laws, albeit more restrictive, due to their significant negative
    impact on minority communities.
    Last December, the NAACP released the report "Defending Democracy"
    which detailed the various attacks on voting rights, including
    Florida's change to third party, non partisan voter registration
    procedures.  The full report is at
    http://www.naacp.org/pages/defending-democracy

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voter id 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>, Voting Rights Act 
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    Listen for Me on "The Takeaway" Tomorrow at 6:45 AM
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38876>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:33 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38876> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I'll be talking here <http://www.thetakeaway.org/> about "The Voting Wars."

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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | 
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    Diane Rehm Show on "The Voting Wars"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38873>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:31 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38873> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I had a great time on Diane's show, and you can now listen to the entire 
hour on The Voting Wars 
<http://www.amazon.com/Voting-Wars-Florida-Election-Meltdown/dp/0300182031/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1329286945&sr=1-2-catcorr> 
at this link 
<http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-08-21/richard-hasen-voting-wars-florida-2000-next-election-meltdown>.

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Posted in The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | 
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    "'A Lot Is At Stake': Voting Rights Advocates Gear Up For Huge 2012
    Battle" <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38870>

Posted on August 22, 2012 9:11 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=38870> 
by Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

TPM reports 
<http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/voting_rights_advocates_gear_up_for_2012_election.php>.

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Posted in election administration <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, 
The Voting Wars <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60> | Comments Off

-- 
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
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
http://electionlawblog.org
Pre-order The Voting Wars: http://amzn.to/y22ZTv
www.thevotingwars.com

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