[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/17/16

Mon Oct 17 08:51:05 PDT 2016

There He Goes Again Dep’t; A Collection of My Responses to Trump’s Irresponsible Vote Rigging Rhetoric<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87593>
Posted on October 17, 2016 8:49 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87593> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This morning Donald Trump tweeted the following:
<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump>
 Follow<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump>
[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1980294624/DJT_Headshot_V2_normal.jpg]Donald J. Trump <https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump>
✔@realDonaldTrump<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump>

Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day. Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!
5:33 AM - 17 Oct 2016<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/787995025527410688>
·         <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?in_reply_to=787995025527410688>

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 19,15919,159 likes<https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=787995025527410688>

I responded with a 15-tweet tweetstorm<https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/788003469521149957>.

Some of my earlier posts and articles on this topic:

(Literally) Waking Up to the Danger of Trump’s Vote Rigging Comments to Democracy<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87520>

Trump’s Irresponsible Vote-Rigging Statements Literally Putting Our Democracy at Risk

Donald Trump’s Dangerous Vote Rigging Comments Follow Years of Republican Voter Fraud Hysteria<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/trump-rigged-election-republican-voter-fraud-hysteria> (TPM)

If you’re worried about rigged elections, look at Trump’s tactics first<http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hasen-vote-rigging-20160816-snap-story.html>
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“Lobbyists raised $11 million for Hillary Clinton since July, none for Trump”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87589>
Posted on October 17, 2016 8:25 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87589> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/10/17/lobbyists-raised-11-million-for-hillary-clinton-since-july-none-for-trump/>

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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, lobbying<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>
“Voting wars continue over ballot collection law in Arizona”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87587>
Posted on October 17, 2016 8:21 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87587> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ariane de Vogue<http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/17/politics/arizona-election-2016-voting-rights/> for CNN:

Arizona Democrats will ask a federal appeals court on Monday to put on hold a state law that criminalizes the practice of ballot collection, arguing that the law could disenfranchise thousands of voters — particularly in minority communities — that rely upon neighbors and activists to collect and hand deliver early ballots.
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Posted in absentee ballots<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“As Donald Trump warns of ‘rigged’ election, campaign looks for Missouri poll watchers”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87585>
Posted on October 17, 2016 8:12 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87585> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The KC Star reports.<http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article108724832.html>
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
Trump’s Vote Rigging Rhetoric Causes Supporters to Lose Faith in Fairness of the Electoral Process<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87583>
Posted on October 17, 2016 8:10 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87583> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Morning Consult:<https://morningconsult.com/2016/10/17/trump-support-slides-vote-rigging-rhetoric-takes-hold/>

Eighty percent of Americans say they are confident their vote will be accurately counted in the election. But independent voters are markedly less certain their votes will count, with just 68 percent saying they are confident their vote will be registered on election day. Democrats are 91 percent confident, Republicans are 80 percent confident.

Americans are less certain that others votes will count, and Trump supporters are even more dubious. Sixty-eight percent say other people’s votes will count. Just 50 percent of Trump voters are confident that other’s votes will be registered, compared to 85 percent of Clinton supporters.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“‘Rigged Election Talk Didn’t Start with Trump”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87581>
Posted on October 17, 2016 8:06 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87581> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Weigel reports.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/10/17/rigged-election-talk-didnt-start-with-trump/>
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Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>
“Koch brothers’ network focusing on GOP Senate, not Trump”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87579>
Posted on October 17, 2016 7:55 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87579> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<https://apnews.com/a09a1c51058e4816ac07b0df7e063b84/Koch-brothers'-network-focusing-on-GOP-Senate,-not-Trump>

Four years after spending heavily in a futile effort to prevent President Barack Obama’s second term, the Kochs have pushed all of their resources down ballot. And their resources are ample: They’re on track to spend about $250 million on policy and politics in the two years leading to Election Day.

The brothers and many of their wealthy donor friends who fund the political and policy groups known as the Koch network have no interest in backing Trump. In a television interview in April, Charles Koch called Clinton and Trump “terrible role models” and trashed Trump’s “monstrous” proposal for a temporary ban of foreign Muslims entering the U.S.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Obama, Holder to lead post-Trump redistricting campaign”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87577>
Posted on October 17, 2016 7:52 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87577> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico reports.
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>
Republicans Support Green Party Candidate in AZ to Hurt Democrat<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87575>
Posted on October 17, 2016 7:47 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87575> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Arizona’s Politics.<http://arizonaspolitics.blogspot.com/2016/10/breaking-here-we-go-again-pro-babeu.html>

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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“The Other Campaign Madness: Mega-Donors”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87573>
Posted on October 17, 2016 7:42 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87573> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT editorial:<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/opinion/sunday/the-other-campaign-madness-mega-donors.html?_r=1>

Whatever voters’ disappointment with the fractious and bitter election campaign, the moneyed forces underpinning the candidates are quietly doing very well. It’s estimated that the $6.3 billion record set for election spending by presidential and congressional candidates in 2012 will be surpassed by at least a billion dollars this year, driven by affluent mega-donors whose insider heft with politicians grows with each seven-figure check they write.

For all the discord of the campaign, there is overwhelming agreement by the public — 78 percent, according to a Bloomberg Politics national poll last year<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-09-28/bloomberg-poll-americans-want-supreme-court-to-turn-off-political-spending-spigot> — that the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision should be overturned, as it is a main cause of wealthy Americans’ rising power to buy political clout.

Unfortunately, the public’s concern has stirred virtually nothing in the way of a straight-talk debate between the two presidential candidates about how they would rein in the abuses of big money. This is a grave omission. The lure of outsized donations is corrupting the political process.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
Federal District Court Calls Florida’s Disparate Treatment of Absentee Ballots “Obscene,” Strikes Requirement<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87570>
Posted on October 16, 2016 9:27 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87570> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Quite a decision (one which seems correct) in Florida Democratic Party v. Detzner.<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/fdp-detzner.pdf>  The court explains what’s at stake:

In light of those limitations, many Florida voters choose to vote by mail. And that option has become increasingly popular in recent years—six percent more voters cast vote-by-mail ballots in the 2012 General Election than the 2008 General Election. ECF No. 3, at 8–9. What vote-by-mail voters likely do not know, how-ever, is that their vote may not be counted. In Florida, if a voter’s signature on a vote-by-mail ballot does not match the signature on file with the supervisor of elections office then the ballot is declared “illegal” and their vote is not counted. Moreover, that voter only receives notice that their vote was not counted after the election has come and gone and, further, is provided no opportunity to cure that defect. On the other hand, if a vote-by-mail voter doesn’t bother to sign the ballot in the first place, that voter is immediately notified and provided an opportunity to cure.

The issue in this case is whether Florida’s statutory scheme, which provides an opportunity to cure no-signature ballots yet de-nies that same opportunity for mismatched-signature ballots, is le-gally tenable. The answer is a resounding “no.”

From the court’s conclusion:

Once again, at the end of the day, this case is about the pre-cious and fundamental right to vote and to have one’s vote counted. In our democracy, those who vote decide everything; those who count the vote decide nothing. Justice Stewart once quipped, in reference to pornography, “I know it when I see it . . .” Jacobellis v. State of Ohio, 378 U.S. 184, 197 (1964) (Stewart, J., concurring). Likewise, this Court knows disenfranchisement when it sees it and it is obscene.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“Donald Trump’s Biggest Lie is About the Election Itself”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87568>
Posted on October 16, 2016 8:58 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87568> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Watch Brian Stelter on CNN.<https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/787687570981330944>

It’s important.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>
Outrages, Real and Imagined, Over Firebombing/Vandalism at NC GOP Office, and a Glimmer of Hope<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87564>
Posted on October 16, 2016 6:39 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87564> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Charlotte Observer reports<http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article108627627.html>: “Hillsborough police said somebody threw a bottle of flammable liquid through the window of Orange County’s GOP headquarters, setting campaign signs, supplies and furniture ablaze before burning itself out….A swastika and ‘Nazi Republicans get out of town or else’ were spray painted on the side of an adjacent building. No damage estimates were available.”

This is a despicable and outrageous act that is worthy of condemnation. As I’ve written, when Trump supporters were attacked in San Jose<https://storify.com/rickhasen/getting-started> and when Donald Trump inspired vigilantism<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87520> at polling places, all violence in the election needs to be condemned early and often by people of all political stripes. An essential feature of our elections is that people can vote in fully free and fair elections undeterred by violence or threats of violence.

We do not know who committed this deplorable act, and many people on the left are suggesting<https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/787767856112869376> this this is some false flag operation by the GOP to get sympathy for the GOP. On the other hand, we have Donald Trump tweeting<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/787782613633208320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>: “Animals representing Hillary Clinton and Dems in North Carolina just firebombed our office in Orange County because we are winning @NCGOP.”

All of this is irresponsible. There is no evidence as to who did this, and certainly no evidence this is connected to the Clinton campaign. Let the police and the FBI do their job and stop speculating as to who did it. We will find out in time. Whoever did it deserves our condemnation.
In the meantime, the following exchange between Hillary Clinton and the North Carolina GOP gave me a glimmer of hope:
<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton>
 Follow<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton>
[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/750300510264107008/G8-PA5KA_normal.jpg]Hillary Clinton <https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton>
✔@HillaryClinton<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton>

The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP<https://twitter.com/NCGOP> office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.
2:13 PM - 16 Oct 2016<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/787763497308418052>
·         <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?in_reply_to=787763497308418052>

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18h<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/787763497308418052>
[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/750300510264107008/G8-PA5KA_normal.jpg]Hillary Clinton <https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton>
✔@HillaryClinton<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton>

The attack on the Orange County HQ @NCGOP<https://twitter.com/NCGOP> office is horrific and unacceptable. Very grateful that everyone is safe.
<https://twitter.com/NCGOP>
 Follow<https://twitter.com/NCGOP>
[https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/751165282668933120/C4R5GQCU_normal.jpg]NCGOP <https://twitter.com/NCGOP>
✔@NCGOP<https://twitter.com/NCGOP>

Thank you for your thoughts & prayers, Sec. @HillaryClinton<https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton>.
2:21 PM - 16 Oct 2016<https://twitter.com/NCGOP/status/787765546909569024>
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Let us hope to see more of this spirit of healing, before and after the election, and less of irresponsible talk from Donald Trump and those on the left who are ready to pin this on Republicans without evidence.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
Today in “Mitch McConnell is Still a Wimp” Dept<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87562>
Posted on October 16, 2016 2:59 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87562> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/us/politics/donald-trump-election-rigging.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0>

Donald J. Trump on Sunday intensified his claims that the presidential campaign is “rigged” against him, sowing doubts about the integrity of the country’s democratic process even as his own running mate and other Republican leaders sought to assure voters they viewed the election as legitimate.

“The election is absolutely being rigged by the dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary — but also at many polling places — SAD,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Mr. Trump’s made his incendiary claim just hours after his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, had tried to play down the Republican nominee’s increasingly heated questions about the fairness of the election. Mr. Pence said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he and Mr. Trump “will absolutely accept the result of the election.”…

Donald J. Trump on Sunday intensified his claims that the presidential campaign is “rigged” against him, sowing doubts about the integrity of the country’s democratic process even as his own running mate and other Republican leaders sought to assure voters they viewed the election as legitimate.

“The election is absolutely being rigged by the dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary — but also at many polling places — SAD,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Mr. Trump’s made his incendiary claim just hours after his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, had tried to play down the Republican nominee’s increasingly heated questions about the fairness of the election. Mr. Pence said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he and Mr. Trump “will absolutely accept the result of the election.”
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“Republican Lawyers’ Group Backs Trump On “Rigged” Election Warning”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87560>
Posted on October 16, 2016 2:57 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87560> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Chris Geidner<https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/republican-lawyers-group-backs-trump-on-rigged-election-warn?utm_term=.xnJdwBvYbv#.gq4L6z12N1> for BuzzFeed:

Even as leaders of and lawyers for both major political parties denounce Donald Trump’s warnings that next month’s election could be “rigged,” one top Republican legal group is standing by the nominee.

“History has proven that some elections have involved serious questions and it remains a possibility in 2016,” Randy Evans, the chairman of the Republican National Lawyers Association and a partner at the global law firm Dentons, told BuzzFeed News. “Only the rule of law performed by election workers enforced by lawyers informed by citizens decided by courts is the only sure way of making sure elections are open, fair and honest. Time will tell whether that happens in 2016.”

Asked directly about Trump’s comments, Evans said it was “premature to say now” whether the candidate’s words are appropriate or correct.

After initial publication of this report, the executive director of the association, Michael Thielen, responded to a second request for comment from BuzzFeed News — specifically asked the second time whether he agrees with Evans’ comments — writing, “RNLA is working on an official statement in response from the association. Unfortunately as this is Sunday, that statement will not be ready until Monday.”

Disappointing but not surprising. See also the much more reasonable comments from Rob Kelner and Chris Ashby.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“Republican HQ in Orange County firebombed”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87558>
Posted on October 16, 2016 2:53 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87558> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Despicable<http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article108627627.html>:

The weekend firebombing of a North Carolina Republican headquarters drew national attention Sunday, with one state GOP official calling it an act of “political terrorism.”

Hillsborough police say the incident at the Orange County GOP headquarters occurred when a bottle of flammable liquid was thrown through the front window of the office that housed the local GOP headquarters.

The words, “Nazi Republicans get out of town or else” and a swastika were spray painted on the side of an adjacent building. Officials said the bomb ignited inside the office. No damage estimates were available.

This and all violence and threats of violence and intimidation should be condemned by all across the political spectrum.
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Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
“‘Threatening’ GOP mailer angers recipients”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87556>
Posted on October 16, 2016 11:23 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87556> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

New Mexico in Depth<http://nmindepth.com/2016/10/15/threatening-gop-mailer-angers-recipients/>:

“When Democrats win the election and you didn’t do your part to stop it… Your neighbors will know.”

That’s the message on a mailer from the New Mexico Republican Party encouraging early voting.

But not everyone is thrilled by it.

“I feel like this is a threat,” said Dusty Deen, a 35-year-old Roswell resident who received the mailer this week.

The flier features a woman peeking out her blinds “as though she voted for Hillary and they’re forming a mob,” said Deen, who is an unaffiliated voter..

The New Mexico Republican Party office and spokesman Tucker Keene did not respond to phone calls and emails from NMID. Keene confirmed to the Daily Beast<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/14/gop-mailer-we-ll-tell-your-neighbors-if-you-vote-democratic.html?via=desktop&source=twitter> that the party sent the mailer.

[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D87556&title=%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Threatening%E2%80%99%20GOP%20mailer%20angers%20recipients%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
“Rudy Giuliani: Democrats commit election fraud because they ‘control the inner-cities'”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87554>
Posted on October 16, 2016 11:10 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87554> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A bit more<http://www.vox.com/2016/10/16/13298058/rudy-giuliani-election-fraud> than a dog whistle at this point:

In most years, what Rudy Giuliani said on today’s Sunday morning talk shows could be dismissed as a conspiracy theory with no greater consequence or relevance. But this isn’t most years.

“Dead people generally vote for Democrats instead of Republicans,” Giuliani said on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper, insinuating that American cities are hotbeds of widespread voter fraud. “If you want me to tell you that I think the elections of Philadelphia and Chicago are going to be fair, I would have to be a moron to say that.”

This is flatly wrong. Despite Giuliani’s dystopian fever dreams, election experts areclear<http://prospect.org/article/trump%E2%80%99s-voter-fraud-fantasy> that voter fraud is extraordinary rare, had no impact on the 2012 race, and isn’t expected to be a problem in 2016. As Tapper correctly pointed out, even the Republican Party of Philadelphia agreed<http://www.politifact.com/pennsylvania/statements/2016/aug/12/viral-image/internet-philly-rigged-2012-presidential-election-/> that there was no voter fraud in the city.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D87554&title=%E2%80%9CRudy%20Giuliani%3A%20Democrats%20commit%20election%20fraud%20because%20they%20%E2%80%98control%20the%20inner-cities%27%E2%80%9D&description=>
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>
“Our View: Ranked-choice voting is right for Maine”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87552>
Posted on October 16, 2016 11:04 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87552> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Portland Press-Herald editorial.<http://www.pressherald.com/2016/10/16/our-view-ranked-choice-voting-is-right-choice-for-maine/>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D87552&title=%E2%80%9COur%20View%3A%20Ranked-choice%20voting%20is%20right%20for%20Maine%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in alternative voting systems<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>
Pro-Clinton Lawyers Believed Obama Sent Ineligible Voters to Colorado Caucuses in 08, According to Wikileaks<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87549>
Posted on October 16, 2016 10:56 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87549> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Daily Caller:<http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/15/emails-clinton-allies-believe-the-obama-forces-committed-voter-fraud-in-08/>

Emails hacked from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta cites two attorneys and “old friends of the Clintons,” James Lyons and Michael Driver, tasked with “caucus protection, election protection and to raise hard $” for the 2016 Colorado caucus.

Apparently, Lyons and Driver didn’t want a repeat of 2008 when, they believe, the Obama campaign “flooded the caucuses with ineligible voters,” according to the email chain released by WikiLeaks<https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/10290>. It’s unclear if they are only talking about the Colorado caucus or those in other states.

There’s no more context to this I’ve seen, and of course no way to know if these Wikleaks documents were altered or falsified.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D87549&title=Pro-Clinton%20Lawyers%20Believed%20Obama%20Sent%20Ineligible%20Voters%20to%20Colorado%20Caucuses%20in%2008%2C%20According%20to%20Wikileaks&description=>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
“Judge Rebukes Florida’s Top Election Official in Ballot Case”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87546>
Posted on October 15, 2016 8:55 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87546> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-rebukes-floridas-top-election-official-ballot-case-42829501>

A federal judge on Saturday issued a scathing rebuke to Florida’s top election official in an order cancelling a hearing on a lawsuit over vote-by-mail ballots.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker accused Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner of delaying a hearing on the lawsuit “so that he could use every second available to run out the clock” so there wouldn’t be enough time to address problems raised in the lawsuit. The judge also said Detzner’s actions amounted to an “undeclared war’ on the right to vote in Florida, the largest swing state in the presidential election<http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/elections/presidential-election.htm>.

The judge in Tallahassee, Florida said he will make a decision on the lawsuit without a hearing that had been set for Monday….

After the lawsuit was filed earlier this month, the judge held a scheduling hearing. The Secretary of State’s Office requested a week to respond to the lawsuit and later the notified the judge that no witnesses or evidence would be presented at Monday’s hearing.

“If one were skeptical, it would appear that the Florida Secretary of State requested as much time as he felt he could possibly justify so that he could use every second available to run out the clock,” the judge wrote. “And by wasting a week on his scintillating response, he quite nearly succeeded.”
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D87546&title=%E2%80%9CJudge%20Rebukes%20Florida%E2%80%99s%20Top%20Election%20Official%20in%20Ballot%20Case%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
“Hillary Clinton Builds $150 Million War Chest, Doubling Donald Trump”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87544>
Posted on October 15, 2016 8:52 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87544> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/us/politics/trump-clinton-money.html?ref=politics>

After raising $100 million in partnership with Republican Party organizations in September, Mr. Trump and committees linked to his campaign began October with $75 million in cash on hand. Mrs. Clinton raised $154 million in September and began October with roughly $150 million in the bank, her campaign said, twice as much as Mr. Trump.

That gives Mrs. Clinton a huge war chest for last-minute advertising and organizing at a time when she has regained her lead in public opinion polls and Mr. Trump has become mired in accusations that he groped women.

Even so, the monthly figure was a record for Mr. Trump and provided evidence of his powerful appeal among grass-roots donors: The campaign now estimates that 2.6 million people have given to his campaign. But it was only a small improvement over his fund-raising in July and August, suggesting he might have peaked.

Moreover, Mr. Trump has so far not followed through on promises to spend $100 million of his own fortune on the campaign. In September, he contributed $2 million, his usual amount since he became the Republican nominee, leaving him roughly $44 million short of his goal.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D87544&title=%E2%80%9CHillary%20Clinton%20Builds%20%24150%20Million%20War%20Chest%2C%20Doubling%20Donald%20Trump%E2%80%9D&description=>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
How the Russians Hacked the DNC<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87541>
Posted on October 15, 2016 6:46 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=87541> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This Sheera Frenkel BuzzFeed stor<https://www.buzzfeed.com/sheerafrenkel/meet-fancy-bear-the-russian-group-hacking-the-us-election?utm_term=.jrL80w9ZE9#.acGgDBLO2L>y is something else:

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and another 20 people from the Democratic National Convention (DNC), according to research<https://www.secureworks.com/research/threat-group-4127-targets-hillary-clinton-presidential-campaign> published by the cybersecurity firm SecureWorks. They found the emails by tracing the malicious URLs set up by Fancy Bear using Bitly, the same service used to target Bellingcat. Fancy Bear had set the URL they sent out to read accounts-google.com, rather than the official Google URL, accounts.google.com. Dozens of people were fooled.

“We were monitoring bit.ly and saw the accounts being created in real time,” said Phil Burdette, a senior security researcher at SecureWorks, explaining how they stumbled upon the URLs set up by Fancy Bear. Bitly also keeps data on when a link is clicked, which allowed Burdette to determine that of the 108 email addresses targeted at the Clinton campaign, 20 people clicked on the links (at least four people clicked the link more than once). At the DNC, 16 email addresses were targeted, and 4 people clicked on them.

“They did a great job with capturing the look and feel of Google,” said Burdette, who added that unless a person was paying clear attention to the URL or noticed that the site was not HTTPS secure, they would likely not notice the difference.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D87541&title=How%20the%20Russians%20Hacked%20the%20DNC&description=>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

--
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<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>
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