[EL] How strange. I've written about and called for reform of absentee ballots for years

Fri Feb 8 10:49:54 PST 2013

Mismatch between identified problems and proposed solutions are pretty common in the public policy realm, at least in the opinion of those who differ with those identifying the problem and proposing the solution. “If pro-lifers really wanted to reduce abortion, they’d favor free distribution of birth control,” “if gun-control advocates really wanted to stop gun violence, they’d demand confiscation of all guns,” “if Obama really wanted to spur job growth, he’d lower tax rates,” etc. etc. 

My favorite was sitting in the audience at a ‘reform’ event and hearing a speaker single out CCP, saying that (I’m paraphrasing here, but the gist is accurate) “If CCP really wanted to enhance competition in politics, they’d support public funding of campaigns.” Umm, no.

People support lots of different policies on all sorts of issues, for a variety of reasons, some easily comprehensible and identifiable, others less so. A lot of ink an electrons have been spilt in the last several years decrying the lack of civility in politics, the coarseness of debate, divisiveness, polarization, etc. IMHO a great deal of this can be traced to people automatically assuming that persons with opposing views hold them for nefarious reasons, because they’ve been bought off by ‘special interests,’ because they don’t care about children/old people/veterans/women/poor people/small business/minorities/working families/victims of crime/students/etc, because they’re bigoted and hateful, because they’re unpatriotic, etc. It’s awfully hard to have a real discussion on public policy issues when one or both sides start the conversation with “Well, you’re evil. Now, let’s talk solutions, and keep in mind that everything you say I’m going to loudly announce proves your base motives.”

To slightly clean up one of my favorite scenes from Entourage:

E:         You really are a front running [deleted] bag, you know that?
E:         (Ari starts walking away): You are not seriously leaving in the middle of this conversation?
Ari:      Conversations usually end after one person calls the other person a [deleted] bag.

(now stepping off soapbox)

Best,

Sean Parnell

President

Impact Policy Management, LLC

6411 Caleb Court

Alexandria, VA  22315

571-289-1374 (c)

sean at impactpolicymanagement.com

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, February 08, 2013 11:33 AM
To: John Fund
Cc: law-election at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] How strange. I've written about and called for reform of absentee ballots for years

Thanks for the correction John about your views.  Good to know there is some common ground.  It is notable that in the Republican/ALEC push to take anti-fraud measures, limiting the use of absentee ballots was never part of any serious discussion.  And it remains so to this day. Instead we have a heavy push for state voter id laws, which do very little, if anything, to address election official fraud and absentee ballot fraud.  The mismatch makes me question the motives of those pushing these laws.

On 2/8/13 8:25 AM, John Fund wrote:

Rick (whose book I read and found much to agree with in)  says he would take my concerns about voter fraud more seriously if I and others  "started a serious push to eliminate the use of absentee ballots."  

That is strange. No one serious calls for ELIMINATING absentee ballots. They are needed by old people, bedridden people, military voters, expats and people who travel a great deal. In "Who's Counting: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote At Risk," my co-author an I call for absentee ballot REFORM and vigorously. The chapter is entitled "Absentee Ballots: the Tool of Choice for Vote Thieves." 

Indeed, I have gotten into hot water with some Republicans for criticizing some state legislatures that have not passed comprehensive anti-fraud efforts that include Photo ID, absentee ballot reform and cleaning up voter rolls despite the federal strictures on that activity. 

 As the liberal Talking Points Memo wrote last August:

Fund said that many voter ID laws “take some provisions to curb absentee ballot fraud,” with a few exceptions. But he confessed that Democrats had a point when they say that Republicans focus on voter ID because of a potential electoral advantage.

“I think it is a fair argument of some liberals that there are some people who emphasize the voter ID part more than the absentee ballot part because supposedly Republicans like absentee ballots more and they don’t want to restrict that,” Fund said. “But the bottom line is, on good government grounds, we have to have both voter ID laws and absentee ballot laws.”

Just last Wednesday, my co-author and I were in Raleigh, North Carolina on a panel with two liberal opponents of Photo ID laws. We all agreed that absentee ballot fraud was a real problem, however the two opposing panelists declined to endorse any specific legislation to combat it despite a clear invitation to do so. 

--- On Fri, 2/8/13, Rick Hasen  <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu> <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:

From: Rick Hasen  <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu> <rhasen at law.uci.edu>
Subject: Re: [EL] Voter fraud? What voter fraud!?! Nothing to see here, people. Move along.
To: "Joe La Rue"  <mailto:joseph.e.larue at gmail.com> <joseph.e.larue at gmail.com>
Cc: law-election at uci.edu
Date: Friday, February 8, 2013, 10:44 AM

I don't know any serious person studying this issue who says there is no election fraud.  The vast majority of the relatively small number of cases involve either election officials committing fraud, or voters, candidates, and others committing absentee ballot fraud.  
The problem is that the supposed cure---voter id---does not stop these main types of fraud.
If John Fund and others started a serious push to eliminate the use of absentee ballots, then I would take their concerns about voter fraud much more seriously. But it is not a part of the antifraud measures proposed and adopted by those who claim this is a major problem.

On 2/8/13 7:35 AM, Joe La Rue wrote:

This is not directed at Rick, who has candidly acknowledged that voter fraud does, sometimes, happen.  But there are others who say that "voter fraud" is nothing but an invention of those who want to suppress voters by requiring photo ID.  Worse, some say that it is an invention to keep minorities from voting.  Well, for all who say that voter fraud never, ever, happens, here's another example of that "non-existent" phenomenon. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/340174/voter-fraud-never-happens-keeps-coming-back-john-fund

Joe
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