[EL] election crimes, registration fraud and voter fraud -- moral equivalence?

Rick Hasen rhasen at law.uci.edu
Sat Oct 13 20:26:08 PDT 2012


Marty,
I've addressed the false equivalence argument here:
http://electionlawblog.org/?p=31719

Rick

On 10/13/12 10:24 AM, Marty Lederman wrote:
> P.S.  As I wrote earlier, even if everyone involved were for some 
> inexplicable reason sincerely convinced that voter impersonation is a 
> "significant problem," I am much less concerned with motive than with 
> effect.  And since such impersonation is not, in fact, a problem, and 
> the costs of voter ID are, by contrast, so severe, I think it is 
> imperative to convey that message at every opportunity.
>
> On Sat, Oct 13, 2012 at 1:16 PM, Marty Lederman 
> <lederman.marty at gmail.com <mailto:lederman.marty at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Brad:  I begin with a very strong presumption of good faith on the
>     part of those contributing to this listserv.  But please explain
>     why "most proponents of voter ID believe very strongly that voter
>     fraud is a significant problem" if in fact there is virtually no
>     evidence of any such voter impersonation (and no incentive for
>     anyone to organize or encourage such impersonation), let alone
>     enough that might affect the outcome of any election?
>
>
>
>     On Sat, Oct 13, 2012 at 12:53 PM, Smith, Brad
>     <BSmith at law.capital.edu <mailto:BSmith at law.capital.edu>> wrote:
>
>         Again, Marty, your assumption here: "On the one hand, we have
>         people working to enact and defend laws that they know will
>         eliminate, at best, a handful of cases of voter impersonation"
>         is simply incorrect. They don't know that at all. Most
>         proponents of voter ID believe very strongly that voter fraud
>         is a significant problem, and that the ID requirement is a
>         necessary step to starting to control the problem.
>
>         Your continued assumption of bad faith doesn't advance the
>         argument.
>
>         /Bradley A. Smith/
>
>         /Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault/
>
>         /   Professor of Law/
>
>         /Capital University Law School/
>
>         /303 E. Broad St./
>
>         /Columbus, OH 43215/
>
>         /614.236.6317 <tel:614.236.6317>/
>
>         /http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx/
>
>         ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>         *From:* law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
>         <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>
>         [law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
>         <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>] on
>         behalf of Marty Lederman [lederman.marty at gmail.com
>         <mailto:lederman.marty at gmail.com>]
>         *Sent:* Saturday, October 13, 2012 11:44 AM
>         *To:* Rick Hasen
>         *Cc:* JBoppjr at aol.com <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>;
>         law-election at uci.edu <mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
>         *Subject:* Re: [EL] election crimes, registration fraud and
>         voter fraud -- moral equivalence?
>
>         Thanks for those links, Rick.  You're right that some of the
>         claims in the reports appear to be hyperbolic.
>
>         The Advancement Project Report asserts that "[t]here are 22
>         states in which citizenship-based purges, registration
>         barriers, and/or photo ID restrictions are in effect or could
>         be in effect by the 2012 elections. There are more than 10
>         million eligible Latino voters in these states who *could be
>         *deterred or prevented from voting in the 2012 elections due
>         to these barriers."
>
>         While that hedged assertion ("could be" deterred) might
>         literally be true -- especially taking into account the laws
>         other than Voter ID that the report focuses upon -- it is
>         almost surely not the case that more than 10 million eligible
>         Latino voters will in fact fail to vote (or have their votes
>         counted) as a result of those laws. The number is almost
>         certainly smaller than that -- perhaps it's "only" on the
>         order of tens or hundreds of thousands of Latino voters.
>
>         The claim in the CAP Report (p.5) is that because over 21
>         million eligible voters currently lack the required IDs, "it's
>         clear that such laws /could have/ a disastrous effect," and
>         "have /the potential /to exclude millions of Americans."
>         Again, these hedged claims are literally true . . . but of
>         course the relevant subset is the percentage of those 21
>         million who (i) live in states with a voter ID law; (ii) who
>         would have voted anyway; but (iii) who will not vote (or have
>         their votes counted) as a result of the laws. That number
>         /might be/ more than a million; but the study doesn't
>         demonstrate that it would be; and it seems much more likely
>         that the number would be in five or six figures, not seven.
>
>         Fair enough.  So these reports are guilty of hyperbole, or at
>         least sloppiness.
>
>         But how is that remotely comparable to what the proponents of
>         voter ID laws are doing?
>
>         On the one hand, we have people working to enact and defend
>         laws that they know will eliminate, at best, a handful of
>         cases of voter impersonation (and there's not even evidence of
>         that), none of which could possibly have an effect on the
>         outcome of an election, but that will result in tens or
>         hundreds of thousands of eligible voters not voting or not
>         having their votes counted.  From all that appears, such laws
>         are in fact designed to change the outcome of elections by
>         lowering that vote, as the Pennsylvania GOP leader
>         acknowledged.  (And regardless of motive, such laws clearly
>         have the potential to effect outcomes.) Moreover, most such
>         proponents are not taking steps (as Rick described) to
>         ameliorate the /actual/ voter fraud that occurs in
>         registration and absentee balloting.
>
>         On the other hand, we have organizations dedicated to
>         /preserving/ the effective franchise of those eligible voters,
>         but in doing so exaggerate the effect of the Voter ID laws by
>         using the word "millions" when they should have referred to
>         tens or hundreds of thousands.
>
>         An equal pox on both their houses?
>
>         On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 3:32 PM, Rick Hasen
>         <rhasen at law.uci.edu <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>> wrote:
>
>             Here's an example suggesting that Republican supported
>             laws could disenfranchise 10 million Hispanic voters:
>
>             http://themoderatevoice.com/161344/report-voting-laws-may-disenfranchise-10-million-hispanic-u-s-citizens-study/
>
>             Here's a report from Think Progress: Voter Suppression
>             101: How Conservatives Are Conspiring to Disenfranchise
>             Millions of Americans
>             <https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:Qfc8Q7rwAD0J:www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2012/04/pdf/voter_supression.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiydHbM1GA4xbmC1GpkpUZL3rJTiCZwqHgzczR2Ku-TOw8kGFmcyZo5dSlru6Gu7CbWBEFEm6DZvYeqdKd9tnV3mf70ByAWZdpxHGIcpZ0FZ3B2IUkrMvSMcmb99lUKlRqxJ9BG&sig=AHIEtbRNcsRxBc3KgtommeujMEAaX-2fWQ>
>
>
>
>
>             On 10/12/12 12:21 PM, Lowenstein, Daniel wrote:
>>             Marty, do you believe all or most of the Democrats and
>>             progessives who have claimed millions of voters are
>>             disfranchised by photo ID laws really believe that claim?
>>             Do you believe most ordinary Democrats who profess to
>>             believe those claims are speaking insincerely? If your
>>             answer to both those questions is no, then (a) I don't
>>             see any disagreement between us, and (b) I don't see what
>>             is left of your argument against moral equivalence. Best,
>>             Daniel H. Lowenstein Director, Center for the Liberal
>>             Arts and Free Institutions (CLAFI) UCLA Law School 405
>>             Hilgard Los Angeles, California 90095-1476 310-825-5148
>>             <tel:310-825-5148> ________________________________ From:
>>             Marty Lederman [lederman.marty at gmail.com
>>             <mailto:lederman.marty at gmail.com>] Sent: Friday, October
>>             12, 2012 12:03 PM To: Lowenstein, Daniel Cc: Rick Hasen;
>>             JBoppjr at aol.com <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>;
>>             law-election at uci.edu <mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
>>             Subject: Re: [EL] election crimes, registration fraud and
>>             voter fraud Dan: Of course there are many "ordinary"
>>             Republicans -- Dems and Independents, too! -- who
>>             sincerely believe there is a high incidence of the sort
>>             of voter fraud that a Voter ID law purports to address.
>>             They have such a belief, in large measure, because they
>>             have been told repeatedly that there is such an epidemic
>>             of fraud by people who know better; because they are
>>             unaware that there is no evidence to support such a view;
>>             and because they haven't had any occasion to think
>>             through (as Rick has) the fact that if one were going to
>>             try to influence the outcome of an election, it'd be nuts
>>             to try to do so through voter impersonation. Those aren't
>>             the people who are acting in bad faith, Dan. It's the
>>             sponsors, promoters, drafters and legal/public defenders
>>             of such laws to which I'm referring. Some of those, like
>>             Joe La Rue, repeatedly purport to believe that such fraud
>>             exists (even though he now acknowledges it must be
>>             "rare"), and claim not to want to prevent any eligible
>>             voter from voting. I don't know Joe, and so would be
>>             reluctant to accuse him of posting here in bad faith. But
>>             I think it is very fair to say that the vast majority of
>>             Voter ID sponsors, etc., know full well that the
>>             vanishingly small if not nonexistent number of unlawful
>>             "votes" that will be prevented by Voter ID laws pale in
>>             comparison to the number of votes that will not be cast
>>             or counted by virtue of such laws. Ultimately, of course,
>>             I'm not very much concerned with the motives and
>>             good-or-bad faith of the Voter ID proponents on this
>>             listserv. I care instead about making sure that every
>>             eligible voter who wishes to cast a ballot will do so,
>>             and that all such votes are counted. And one way to try
>>             to realize that result is to convince judges, and public
>>             officials, and Republicans with a conscience who truly do
>>             not wish any such votes to not be counted, and "ordinary"
>>             citizens who have been confused into thinking that there
>>             is a raft of voter impersonation to be addressed, that in
>>             fact there is no such problem and that the cure is far,
>>             far worse than the alleged disease. In that context, what
>>             I find deeply unhelpful, and regrettable, are those who
>>             would suggest that the motives of the disputants here are
>>             in any sense equivalent, and who opine that although
>>             there is no problem that needs addressing here, we really
>>             should not worry about Voter ID laws because the number
>>             of citizens who will not vote as a result of such laws is
>>             insufficiently "significant." On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at
>>             12:54 PM, Lowenstein, Daniel <lowenstein at law.ucla.edu
>>             <mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu><mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu>
>>             <mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu>> wrote: I do not believe
>>             in moral equivalence as a general principle, but there
>>             are situations to which it is apt, none more so, in my
>>             opinion, than the controversy over photo ID. Marty's post
>>             is the exact counterpart to the one earlier today by Jim
>>             Bopp. (By the way, I have a high degree of respect for
>>             both of them and appreciation for what they have
>>             contributed to this listserv over the years.) Marty's
>>             premise is that "the supporters of ID laws know" that
>>             impersonation fraud is a negligible problem. In my
>>             earlier post I agreed in part, saying that no doubt some
>>             people whom I referred to as demagogues know that. Just
>>             as their are some people on the other side whom I also
>>             referred to as demagogues who no doubt know that photo ID
>>             laws are not civil rights disasters that will
>>             disfranchise millions of voters. But most "supporters of
>>             ID laws" are not demagogues. Perhaps inside the Beltway
>>             Marty does not have many discussions with ordinary
>>             Republican voters who are interested in politics but do
>>             not have any special knowledge of election law. I meet
>>             many such people and based on my conversations with them
>>             I am convinced that very many of them sincerely believe
>>             voter fraud is a major benefit to Democratic candidates,
>>             which is why Democrats oppose such laws. I also meet many
>>             Democrats of the same description and I am similarly
>>             convinced that they are equally sincere. As I see it,
>>             there is cynicism among a few and sincere delusion among
>>             many in both parties. I do not believe the parties differ
>>             much in the ratio between the two. Best, Daniel H.
>>             Lowenstein Director, Center for the Liberal Arts and Free
>>             Institutions (CLAFI) UCLA Law School 405 Hilgard Los
>>             Angeles, California 90095-1476 310-825-5148
>>             <tel:310-825-5148><tel:310-825-5148> <tel:310-825-5148>
>>             ________________________________ From: Marty Lederman
>>             [lederman.marty at gmail.com
>>             <mailto:lederman.marty at gmail.com><mailto:lederman.marty at gmail.com>
>>             <mailto:lederman.marty at gmail.com>] Sent: Friday, October
>>             12, 2012 9:17 AM To: Rick Hasen Cc: Lowenstein, Daniel;
>>             JBoppjr at aol.com
>>             <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>
>>             <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>; law-election at uci.edu
>>             <mailto:law-election at uci.edu><mailto:law-election at uci.edu> <mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
>>             Subject: Re: [EL] election crimes, registration fraud and
>>             voter fraud Rick: I don't think the "there's no problem
>>             on either end" meme holds up. It's a case of false
>>             equivalence. As you note, there is virtually no evidence
>>             of any impersonation fraud that would be remedied by a
>>             voter ID law -- and the supporters of ID laws know this.
>>             That strongly suggests that they support such laws not in
>>             order to eliminate any voter fraud, but instead for the
>>             (wholly illegitimate) purpose of trying to prevent
>>             eligible voters from voting--a conclusion bolstered by
>>             the fact, which you emphasize, that they have done
>>             virtually nothing to address the sources of actual voter
>>             fraud. OK, but Dan says: Even if that is their motive,
>>             they're not getting any bang for their buck -- don't
>>             sweat it, because such voter ID laws will not prevent
>>             "significant numbers from voting." And you add that it's
>>             difficult for challengers of such laws to identify "real
>>             eligible voters who (1) lack id; (2) would have trouble
>>             getting the id; and (3) want to vote." That may be true
>>             -- it might be difficult to identify particular willing
>>             voters who "would have trouble getting the id" -- in part
>>             because once we identify such a person, it might not be
>>             especially difficult to guide them through the steps
>>             they'd need to take to obtain the ID. But even so, there
>>             will in fact be some number of voters -- overwhelmingly
>>             less-well-to-do voters, who tend to vote Democratic --
>>             who will not in fact obtain the ID, however "troublesome"
>>             we might consider it to be to do so. And thus they won't
>>             be able to vote -- and their franchise will have been
>>             lost without any resulting gain in preventing voter fraud
>>             (or any other legitimate state interest). Is that number
>>             of voters "significant"? Well, since I think the
>>             franchise is very precious, I'd tend to say "yes," no
>>             matter what the number is. But in any event, I think it's
>>             safe to say that the proponents of the laws sure think
>>             the number would be significant -- in the sense of having
>>             a possible affect on the outcome of some races, perhaps
>>             even the presidential electoral votes in a particular
>>             state -- or else they wouldn't go to the trouble of
>>             making such efforts to push through these laws. Is there
>>             any reason to think these very astute and dedicated
>>             political operatives are wrong -- that in fact virtually
>>             the same number of votes will be cast and counted with ID
>>             laws? On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 11:47 AM, Rick Hasen
>>             <rhasen at law.uci.edu
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu><mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu><mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>>> wrote: I think Dan is right
>>             on this, and I think the overheated rhetoric in many of
>>             the posts which have come through this morning (please
>>             take a breath and think before you hit send) is a sad
>>             illustration of his point. Here's what we know about
>>             in-person, impersonation fraud. Almost all the fraud that
>>             occurs in relation to election falls into three
>>             categories: election crimes committed by election
>>             officials
>>             (Cudahy<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/cudahy-corruption-election-fraud.html>
>>             <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/cudahy-corruption-election-fraud.html>
>>             is a recent colorful example), voter registration fraud
>>             (a la ACORN workers and now apparently Sproul
>>             workers---though there is still an investigation of
>>             those), and absentee ballot fraud. This usually occurs
>>             through vote buying and there are examples of such fraud
>>             in every election. See Adam Liptak's recent
>>             piece<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/us/politics/as-more-vote-by-mail-faulty-ballots-could-impact-elections.html
>>             >
>>             <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/us/politics/as-more-vote-by-mail-faulty-ballots-could-impact-elections.html>.
>>             The Justice Dept. under Bush spent five years going after
>>             election crimes and voter fraud, and almost all the cases
>>             it found (I believe it was reported first as 86 and then
>>             as 120) fell into these categories. There were no cases
>>             of in person, impersonation fraud---the primary type of
>>             fraud which a state voter id law can prevent. For my
>>             book, I tried to find a single example of impersonation
>>             fraud at the polls, done without the cooperation of
>>             election officials (because a voter id law would not
>>             prevent that), in the last generation, where the results
>>             could arguably have been called into question by such
>>             fraud. I could not find one. Nor can those who tout the
>>             voter fraud claims find one. Von Spakovsky pointed to
>>             what he called "extensive impersonation fraud" in a
>>             Heritage report (and related FOX News oped) based upon a
>>             1984 grand jury
>>             report<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=23572>
>>             <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=23572> from Brooklyn. He
>>             stonewalled on giving me the report and when UCI
>>             librarians tracked it down it did not support his claim:
>>             the crimes were almost all by election officials and
>>             party officials. (Note that crimes committed in the 1970s
>>             are particularly relevant to what is going on today in
>>             any case....). News21
>>             <http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/11/13236464-new-database-of-us-voter-fraud-finds-no-evidence-that-photo-id-laws-are-needed>
>>             <http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/11/13236464-new-database-of-us-voter-fraud-finds-no-evidence-that-photo-id-laws-are-needed>
>>             did a recent comprehensive study of all reports by
>>             prosecutors of election crimes since 2000. They found
>>             only 10 prosecutions for impersonation fraud across the
>>             country (leading to what looks like 7 convictions), with
>>             none of them tied to any kind of conspiracy to steal the
>>             vote. This compares to 491 cases of absentee ballot fraud
>>             and 400 cases of registration fraud. There is no reason
>>             to believe that impersonation fraud would be harder to
>>             detect than these other kinds of fraud. Instead, because
>>             it would involve a conspiracy among a number of
>>             individuals going to the polls and claiming to be someone
>>             else listed on the polls (someone out of the area, or dea
>>             d, or false registered---though we don't see case of
>>             that), it should be easier to detect. The reason this
>>             kind of fraud doesn't happen except in very rare
>>             circumstances is that it is an exceedingly dumb way to
>>             steal an election. Election official fraud and absentee
>>             ballot fraud are easier and therefore more prevalent.
>>             There are cases of double voting across states, but state
>>             id laws are not the best way to catch that. The best way
>>             is with a national id, which is something I'd support if
>>             it were coupled with universal voter registration done by
>>             the federal government. I've written too about how it is
>>             very hard for plaintiffs in the voter id challenges
>>             (putting aside Pa., which did not have its act together
>>             in time) to find real eligible voters who (1) lack id;
>>             (2) would have trouble getting the id; and (3) want to
>>             vote. There are some, and the question is one of cost and
>>             benefits: state voter id laws inconvenience a lot of
>>             people without much anti-fraud payoff. And compare that
>>             to cutting back on absentee ballots to prevent that kind
>>             of fraud. As I recently
>>             wrote<http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/a-dtente-before-the-election/?ref=opinion>
>>             <http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/a-dtente-before-the-election/?ref=opinion>:
>>             Recently,
>>             officials<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/cudahy-corruption-election-fraud.html>
>>             <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/cudahy-corruption-election-fraud.html>
>>             in Cudahy, Calif., admitted intercepting absentee ballots
>>             and throwing out ballots not cast for incumbents. Every
>>             year we see convictions for absentee ballot fraud. Not a
>>             lot, but enough to know it's a problem. So you might
>>             think that Republicans, newly obsessed with voter fraud,
>>             would call for eliminating absentee ballots, or at least
>>             requiring that voters who use them show some need, like a
>>             medical condition. But Republicans don't talk much about
>>             reining in absentee ballots. Eliminating them would
>>             inconvenience some voters and would likely cut back on
>>             voting by loyal Republican voters, especially elderly and
>>             military voters. If only Republicans would apply that
>>             same logic to voter-identification laws. The only kind of
>>             fraud such ID laws prevent is impersonation: a person
>>             registered under a false name or claiming to be someone
>>             else on the voter rolls. I have not found a single
>>             election over the last few decades in which impersonation
>>             fraud had the slightest chance of changing an election
>>             outcome --- unlike absentee-ballot fraud, which changes
>>             election outcomes regularly. (Let's face it:
>>             impersonation fraud is an exceedingly dumb
>>             way<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=23053>
>>             <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=23053> to try to steal an
>>             election.) Pointing to a few isolated
>>             cases<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=33751>
>>             <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=33751> of impersonation
>>             fraud does not prove that a state identification
>>             requirement makes sense. As with restrictions on absentee
>>             ballots, we need to weigh the costs of imposing barriers
>>             on the right to vote against the benefits of fraud
>>             protection. On 10/12/12 7:43 AM, Lowenstein, Daniel
>>             wrote: Jim's second point illustrates the only aspect of
>>             the photo ID controversy that interests me. So far as I
>>             can tell, the opposing concerns that animate the opposing
>>             sides are utterly unfounded. Republicans are wrong that
>>             photo ID will prevent significant voter fraud and
>>             Democrats are wrong that the requirement will prevent
>>             significant numbers from voting. There are no doubt some
>>             demagogues on both sides who are whipping up these two
>>             forms of hysteria for partisan reasons, but I have spoken
>>             to many ordinary voters on both sides and I am convinced
>>             that they are utterly sincere in their belief in their
>>             own party's form of hysteria. But while each side
>>             believes what it believes, neither is willing to credit
>>             the other side for sincere belief. Thus, each side
>>             demonizes the other--Republicans believe Democrats are
>>             trying to steal elections with fraud, Democrats believe
>>             Republicans are trying to suppress voting by
>>             preponderantly Democratic groups. Best, Daniel H.
>>             Lowenstein Director, Center for the Liberal Arts and Free
>>             Institutions (CLAFI) UCLA Law School 405 Hilgard Los
>>             Angeles, California 90095-1476 310-825-5148
>>             <tel:310-825-5148><tel:310-825-5148>
>>             <tel:310-825-5148><tel:310-825-5148<tel:310-825-5148>
>>             <tel:310-825-5148>> ________________________________
>>             From: JBoppjr at aol.com
>>             <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>
>>             <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com<mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>
>>             <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>> [JBoppjr at aol.com
>>             <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>
>>             <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com<mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>
>>             <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>>] Sent: Friday, October 12, 2012
>>             7:32 AM To: Lowenstein, Daniel; rhasen at law.uci.edu
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu><mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu><mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>>; law-election at uci.edu
>>             <mailto:law-election at uci.edu><mailto:law-election at uci.edu> <mailto:law-election at uci.edu><mailto:law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:law-election at uci.edu>> Subject: Re: [EL] Check
>>             out New O'Keefe video: Obama campaign staffer caught
>>             helping a... Before the controversy over the Voter ID, I
>>             thought the same thing -- that absentee voter fraud was
>>             the problem. But I have changed my mind for two reasons:
>>             (1) if someone, like these Obama campaign workers, would
>>             so willing commit voter fraud through the absentee
>>             process, why wouldn't they also do it on election day, if
>>             there were opportunities to do so without getting caught.
>>             A person is either a crook or isn't. So, for instance, if
>>             you have instant registration and then voting on election
>>             day, without a voter ID law, then in precincts dominated
>>             by one party this seems like a prime opportunity. (2) Has
>>             been the reaction of the opponents, particular the
>>             Democrats. I first thought that voter ID was a modest
>>             proposal all the way around: it was dealing with a modest
>>             threat of voter fraud, but also without a serious
>>             impediment to voting. What happened is that Democrat
>>             politician flipped out, calling it racist, claiming
>>             thousands would be disenfranchised, etc, without reason.
>>             In othe r words, they "protest too much." I figured we
>>             were on to something -- in person voter fraud -- that was
>>             more serious than I thought. In person voter fraud in
>>             such cases as I have mentioned is very hard to prove, but
>>             that does not mean that it does not happen. From time to
>>             time, however, we see people like these Obama operatives
>>             who clearly are prepared to commit voter fraud and it is
>>             just reasonable to suggest that they would do it in
>>             person if they had a chance -- which voter ID laws, in
>>             large measure, prevent. Jim Bopp In a message dated
>>             10/12/2012 10:08:44 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
>>             lowenstein at law.ucla.edu
>>             <mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu><mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu>
>>             <mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu><mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu<mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu>
>>             <mailto:lowenstein at law.ucla.edu>> writes: I think the
>>             more sensible Democrats have claimed there is no or
>>             virtually no voter fraud that can be avoided by a photo
>>             ID requirement, not that there is no significant voter
>>             fraud at all. I very much agree with Rick and others who
>>             have said the biggest concern about voter fraud arises
>>             from the widespread use of voting by mail, which gives
>>             rise not only to potential fraud problems but, I believe,
>>             even worse problems of intimidation and bribery. Indeed,
>>             the reporter in the video is representing to vote,
>>             fraudulently, in Florida by mail, not be impersonation.
>>             Best, Daniel H. Lowenstein Director, Center for the
>>             Liberal Arts and Free Institutions (CLAFI) UCLA Law
>>             School 405 Hilgard Los Angeles, California 90095-1476
>>             310-825-5148 <tel:310-825-5148><tel:310-825-5148>
>>             <tel:310-825-5148><tel:310-825-5148<tel:310-825-5148>
>>             <tel:310-825-5148>> ______________________________
>>             __
>>             From:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu  <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu><mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>  <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu><mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>  <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>> [law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu  <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu><mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>  <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu><mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>  <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu>>] On Behalf OfJBoppjr at aol.com  <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>  <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com<mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>  <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>> [JBoppjr at aol.com  <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>  <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com><mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com<mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com&
>>             gt;  <mailto:JBoppjr at aol.com>>]
>>             Sent: Friday, October 12, 2012 6:44 AM
>>             To:rhasen at law.uci.edu  <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu><mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>  <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu><mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>  <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>>;law-election at uci.edu  <mailto:law-election at uci.edu><mailto:law-election at uci.edu>  <mailto:law-election at uci.edu><mailto:law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>  <mailto:law-election at uci.edu>>
>>             Subject: [EL] Check out New O'Keefe video: Obama campaign staffer caught helping activist v
>>
>>             Click here: New O'Keefe video: Obama campaign staffer caught helping activist vote twice | The Daily Caller<http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/10/new-okeefe-video-obama-campaign-staffer-caught-helping-activist-vote-twice/#ixzz293I3dEts>  <http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/10/new-okeefe-video-obama-campaign-staffer-caught-helping-activist-vote-twice/#ixzz293I3dEts><http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/10/new-okeefe-video-obama-campaign-staffer-caught-helping-activist-vote-twice/#ixzz293I3dEts>  <http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/10/new-okeefe-video-obama-campaign-staffer-caught-helping-activist-vote-twice/#ixzz293I3dEts>
>>             Obama campaign caught red handed participating in voter
>>             fraud by helping voters vote in two different states in
>>             this election. And some say there is no voter fraud! Jim
>>             Bopp -- 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
>>             <tel:949.824.3072><tel:949.824.3072>
>>             <tel:949.824.3072><tel:949.824.3072<tel:949.824.3072>
>>             <tel:949.824.3072>> - office 949.824.0495
>>             <tel:949.824.0495><tel:949.824.0495>
>>             <tel:949.824.0495><tel:949.824.0495<tel:949.824.0495>
>>             <tel:949.824.0495>> - fax rhasen at law.uci.edu
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu><mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu><mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>>
>>             http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
>>             http://electionlawblog.org Now available: The Voting
>>             Wars: http://amzn.to/y22ZTv
>>             _______________________________________________
>>             Law-election mailing list
>>             Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
>>             <mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu><mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu><mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
>>             <mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>>
>>             http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
>>
>
>             -- 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 <tel:949.824.3072> - office 949.824.0495
>             <tel:949.824.0495> - fax
>             rhasen at law.uci.edu <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>             http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
>             http://electionlawblog.org Now available: The Voting Wars:
>             http://amzn.to/y22ZTv
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Law-election mailing list
> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
> http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election

-- 
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
Now available: The Voting Wars: http://amzn.to/y22ZTv

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