[EL] ELB News and Commentary 7/6/17

Wed Jul 5 20:11:07 PDT 2017

“Maryland argues Republicans not harmed in redistricting case”; Case May Be Postponed for WI SCOTUS Case<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93605>
Posted on July 5, 2017 7:58 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93605> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Baltimore Sun:<http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-state-responds-redistricting-20170630-story.html>
Lawyers deposed former Gov. Martin O’Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller<http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics-government/government/thomas-v.-mike-miller-PEPLT004538-topic.html>and House Speaker Michael E. Busch<http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics-government/government/michael-e.-busch-PEPLT000854-topic.html> as part of the lawsuit this year. In transcripts of those interviews, made public this month, O’Malley acknowledged that part of his goal was to make the 6th District more friendly to Democratic candidates.
Though that was not a surprise — O’Malley was the leader of the state Democratic Party at the time, as well as governor — it was the first time an elected official involved in the process acknowledged what was widely believed. Miller and Busch both continued to say partisan politics had nothing to do with the redistricting.
In his motion, Frosh wrote that an effort to draw a better map for Democrats did not represent a violation of the Constitution.
“The only evidence produced proves merely that the mapdrawers intended to create a more competitive district, one that slightly advantaged Democrats without considering any particular citizen’s political conduct,” he wrote….
The Maryland case is being heard by a three judge panel. The court set a hearing in the case for July 14, and the judges asked both sides to prepare to argue whether the litigation should be put on hold until the Supreme Court rules in the Wisconsin case.
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Fraudulent Voting Fraud” (Borunda Resignation)<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93603>
Posted on July 5, 2017 7:54 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93603> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Baltimore Sun editorial:<http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0706-voting-20170705-story.html>
Closer to home, Marylanders got another whiff of this deliberate incompetence with the rather bizarre appointment of — followed by sudden resignation by — Maryland Deputy Secretary of State Luis E. Borunda to the election integrity panel. That a member of the secretary of state’s office might serve on an election panel makes perfect sense if the state in question was Kansas, but in Maryland, elections are run by an independent board, not the secretary of state. The involvement of Mr. Borunda, a former Baltimore County school board member with minimal election experience, simply proved too embarrassing for all involved, including Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who had no role in that appointment, a spokesman insisted.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93603&title=%E2%80%9CFraudulent%20Voting%20Fraud%E2%80%9D%20(Borunda%20Resignation)>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

Most Prominent Democratic Member of Pence-Kobach Commission, Maine SOS Dunlap, Surprised by Reaction to Letter Requesting Voting Info<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93601>
Posted on July 5, 2017 7:50 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93601> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
HuffPo:<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-voter-fraud-commission_us_595d511fe4b02e9bdb0a073d>
Despite the backlash, Dunlap said he didn’t think the letter was mishandled, nor did he believe outrage was based on a misunderstanding of the kind of information the commission was requesting.
“People are very sensitive about their voter data. Much more so than I think many of us had calculated up until now,” he said. “I think it speaks more to the polarization of the country as to how it was received. I think maybe that was underestimated a little bit by everybody, including me.”
I think this naivete explains why he agreed to join the commission while it appears other prominent Democrats apparently declined.
It’s not too late for Dunlap to resign<http://www.pressherald.com/2017/05/24/commentary-dunlap-badly-mistaken-in-agreeing-to-serve-on-trump-voter-fraud-panel/>.  Another commissioner, Luis Borunda, resigned without explanation <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93603> a few days ago.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Michael Chertoff: Pence-Trump Data Request Poses Threat to National Security<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93599>
Posted on July 5, 2017 6:07 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93599> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Michael Chertoff,<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-voter-data-request-poses-an-unnoticed-danger--to-national-security/2017/07/05/470efce0-60c9-11e7-8adc-fea80e32bf47_story.html?utm_term=.39cfdea7f0a0&wpmk=MK0000200> former head of DHS, with a WaPo oped:
We know that voting information has been the target of hackers. News reports indicate that election-related systems in as many as 39 states<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-13/russian-breach-of-39-states-threatens-future-u-s-elections> were penetrated, focusing on campaign finance, registration and even personal data of the type being sought by the election integrity commission. Ironically, although many of these individual databases are vulnerable, there is some protection in the fact that U.S. voting systems are distributed among thousands of jurisdictions. As data-security experts will tell you, widespread distribution of individual data elements in multiple separate repositories is one way to reduce the vulnerability of the overall database.
That’s why the commission’s call to assemble all this voter data in federal hands raises the question: What is the plan to protect it? We know that a database of personal information from all voting Americans would be attractive not only to adversaries seeking to affect voting but to criminals who could use the identifying information as a wedge into identity theft. We also know that foreign intelligence agencies seek large databases on Americans for intelligence and counterintelligence purposes. That is why the theft of more than 20 million personnel files<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/07/09/hack-of-security-clearance-system-affected-21-5-million-people-federal-authorities-say/?utm_term=.c419b4ffcb94> from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the hacking of more than half a billion Yahoo accounts<http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2016/09/22/yahoo_hack_in_2014_exposed_500_million_user_credentials_company_confirms.html> were such troubling incidents.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93599&title=Michael%20Chertoff%3A%20Pence-Trump%20Data%20Request%20Poses%20Threat%20to%20National%20Security>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

Running Tally of Laws Potentially Broken by Pence-Kobach Commission, or By Commissioners<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93592>
Posted on July 5, 2017 4:21 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93592> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

  1.  Hatch Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93527> (Kobach only) (Kobach also sanctioned for misleading court<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93347> on voting info, but not as part of commission)
  2.  Federal Advisory Commissions Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93577>
  3.  Paperwork Reduction Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93584>
  4.  Federal privacy laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93573> (Judge Kollar-Kotelly wants response<https://twitter.com/chrisgeidner/status/882740006296702976>, including knowing who is on Commission) (Chris Geidner with pleadings<https://twitter.com/chrisgeidner/status/882741821746675712>)
More to come?
This list will be updated
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

First Pence-Kobach Meeting to Be Live Streamed, May Have “Experts” But No Oral Public Comments<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93590>
Posted on July 5, 2017 4:10 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93590> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Notice <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/07/05/2017-14210/the-presidential-commission-on-election-integrity-pcei-upcoming-public-advisory-meeting> in FR of July 19 meeting:
This meeting will consist of a ceremonial swearing in of Commission members, introductions and statements from members, a discussion of the Commission’s charge and objectives, possible comments or presentations from invited experts, and a discussion of next steps and related matters….The Commission will provide individuals interested in providing oral comments the opportunity to do so at subsequent meetings
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

Democratic Commissioner Dunlap: Kobach Did Not Vet Voter Data Letter with Other Commission Members<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93586>
Posted on July 5, 2017 2:56 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93586> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Celeste Katz:<https://mic.com/articles/181510/trump-election-integrity-commission-member-we-should-have-predicted-the-backlash?utm_campaign=ckatz+twitter&utm_content=buffere4b81&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com#.TZYCRW26m>
Because the commission hadn’t officially met to begin business, Dunlap said the letter signed by Kobach and sent to all 50 states wasn’t first vetted by other panel members.
As for the reaction, Dunlap said, “some of that speaks to the politics of all this because it’s the Trump administration and Kobach, who has a very electric reputation, shall we say. I think people just immediately reacted that ‘This is all a sham and don’t do this to me.’”
But Dunlap, a Democrat, thinks the panel does have potential to make a positive statement about protecting voting rights.
“The most useful thing that could come out of it is having the open discussion about the right of people to vote and the opportunity to vote and the security of elections,” he said. “And when you’re talking about enhancing security, that you don’t inadvertently put almost insurmountable barriers in front of people in participating in elections.”
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93586&title=Democratic%20Commissioner%20Dunlap%3A%20Kobach%20Did%20Not%20Vet%20Voter%20Data%20Letter%20with%20Other%20Commission%20Members>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“President Trump’s Election Commission Has Already Violated Federal Law”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93584>
Posted on July 5, 2017 2:40 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93584> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Larry Schwartztol <https://takecareblog.com/blog/president-trump-s-election-commission-has-already-violated-federal-law/flushcache/1/showdraft/1> for Take Care:
In other words, the Commission’s failure to adhere to the PRA isn’t a matter of mere technical non-compliance; it flouted a legal framework whose provisions would have offered a safeguard against a misguided, and potentially quite harmful, national fishing expedition for voter data.
The Director of OMB is legally obligated to address this problem, and he shouldn’t let it stand.  Earlier this week, my organization, Protect Democracy, along with the Brennan Center for Justice, sent a letter<https://unitedtoprotectdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/UPD-BC-OMB-07032017-1.pdf> to OMB laying out why the commission’s request violates the PRA.  (Unsurprisingly, we’re not the only ones who think so<https://www.theregreview.org/2017/07/05/shapiro-voter-request-illegal-controversial/>.)  As we explained, the statute charges OMB’s Director with remedying violations of the statute.  He should act swiftly to do so.
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

Kobach Statement Issued by VP’s Office Says Media Distorts Rejection of Requests for State Info<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93580>
Posted on July 5, 2017 2:07 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93580> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Statemen<https://twitter.com/JessicaHuseman/status/882705565293662209>t via Jessica Huseman, who adds:<https://twitter.com/JessicaHuseman/status/882705565293662209> “A good way to prevent ‘media distortions’ is to answer the phone when the media calls with questions, or to respond to emails with questions…lot of journalists *did* mischaracterize the email Kobach sent out/states denials. He only requested publicly available info.”
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93580&title=Kobach%20Statement%20Issued%20by%20VP%E2%80%99s%20Office%20Says%20Media%20Distorts%20Rejection%20of%20Requests%20for%20State%20Info>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

New Lawyers’ Committee Request for Information from Pence-Kobach Faux Commission<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93577>
Posted on July 5, 2017 2:04 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93577> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Release:
On Monday, the Lawyers’ Committee submitted a request <http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/Kobach-Commission-Records-7-3-17.pdf> under the Federal Advisory Committee Act for all of the Commission’s records to date.  The request includes all emails from Commission members — including Vice President Mike Pence and the Commission’s Vice Chair Kris Kobach — relating to their work on the Commission.  The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that commissions like this operate transparently, and a key component of that is the legal requirement that all of the commission’s records be open to the public.  By law, the Commission must disclose these records, and it cannot claim exceptions that are usually available under FOIA for internal or deliberative communications.
“The so-called Election Integrity Commission has been operating covertly and its actions, to date, have been shrouded in secrecy,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Through the Federal Advisory Committee Act, we are using an important statutory tool to expose and curb the illegitimacy of this Commission by requiring that they immediately make materials  available for inspection. In our view, the Commission cannot conduct any meetings before complying with our request.  We will continue to fight to expose all of the Commission’s illegitimate actions. “
The Lawyers’ Committee also requested that the Commission and the White House confirm that all Commission members including Mr. Kobach have been issued federal government email address and have been advised to only use those email addresses for communications related to the Commission.  The Lawyers’ Committee further request confirmation that any emails Mr. Kobach and other Commission members have sent from their personal or state government email addresses have been forwarded to a federal government email address, as required by the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Why almost every state is partially or fully rebuffing Trump’s voter fraud commission”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93575>
Posted on July 5, 2017 2:01 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93575> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo reports.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/07/05/most-states-are-now-partially-or-fully-refusing-to-hand-over-data-to-trumps-voter-fraud-commission/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_pn-voterfraud-250pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.3ca354eb9ffa>

[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93575&title=%E2%80%9CWhy%20almost%20every%20state%20is%20partially%20or%20fully%20rebuffing%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20voter%20fraud%20commission%E2%80%9D>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Did Trump’s Voting Commission Break Privacy Laws? We’ll Find Out Soon”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93573>
Posted on July 5, 2017 1:59 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93573> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NLJ:<http://www.nationallawjournal.com/legaltimes/id=1202792262468/Did-Trumps-Voting-Commission-Break-Privacy-Laws-Well-Find-Out-Soon?kw=Did%20Trump%27s%20Voting%20Commission%20Break%20Privacy%20Laws?%20We%27ll%20Find%20Out%20Soon&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&cn=20170705&src=EMC-Email&pt=Legal%20Times%20Afternoon%20Update>
A federal judge may decide by Friday whether to block President Donald Trump’s newly created voting commission from asking states to hand over voters’ personal data.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93573&title=%E2%80%9CDid%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Voting%20Commission%20Break%20Privacy%20Laws%3F%20We%E2%80%99ll%20Find%20Out%20Soon%E2%80%9D>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Voter Data Request Is Illegal, Not Just Controversial”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93571>
Posted on July 5, 2017 1:58 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93571> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Stuart Shapiro<https://www.theregreview.org/2017/07/05/shapiro-voter-request-illegal-controversial/?utm_content=bufferd51a4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer> for Regulatory Review:
Recently, the newly created Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity<https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/11/presidential-executive-order-establishment-presidential-advisory> sent<https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2017/06/PEIC-Letter-to-Connecticut-1.pdf?tid=a_inl> a letter to all fifty states asking them to submit extensive information about registered voters. The letter has created an uproar among state officials, and many have announced<http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/340289-19-states-refusing-to-provide-voter-data-to-trump-panel> their intention to refuse the request. President Donald Trump has tweeted<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881137079958241280> his disapproval of these state refusals.
Overlooked in the controversy has been the rather obvious conclusion that, because the Commission on Election Integrity appears to have ignored the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act<https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ13/html/PLAW-104publ13.htm> (PRA), its request is simply illegal.
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“The Trump Administration’s Voter-Suppression Plans Are Backfiring Badly”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93568>
Posted on July 5, 2017 1:53 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93568> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ari Berman<https://www.thenation.com/article/the-trump-administrations-voter-suppression-plans-are-backfiring-badly/> for The Nation.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93568&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20Trump%20Administration%E2%80%99s%20Voter-Suppression%20Plans%20Are%20Backfiring%20Badly%E2%80%9D>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“This DOJ Letter May Be More Alarming Than Trump Commission’s Request For Voter Data”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93566>
Posted on July 5, 2017 1:51 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93566> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
HuffPo:<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/department-of-justice-voter-purge_us_595d22b1e4b0da2c7326c38b>
Former Department of Justice officials and voting advocates are seriously alarmed over a DOJ letter sent to states last week that they say could signal a forthcoming effort to kick people off voter rolls. This comes as national attention focuses on several states blocking<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/voter-fraud-kobach-states_us_595babf4e4b05c37bb805080> a request for voter information from President Donald Trump<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump>’s commission to investigate voting fraud, which does occur, but is not a widespread problem<https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/debunking-voter-fraud-myth>.
The DOJ sent the letter to several states last Wednesday, the same day the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity sent a letter controversially requesting personal voter information<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-voter-fraud-panel-personal-information_us_59555bbee4b0da2c732230c2>. The DOJ letter requests that election officials respond by detailing their compliance with a section of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), which was enacted to help people register to vote, but also specifies when voters may be kicked off the rolls.
Several experts said it’s difficult not to see the DOJ letter in connection with the commission’s letter as part of a multipronged effort to restrict voting rights.
Former Justice Department officials say that while there’s nothing notable about seeking information about compliance with the NVRA, it is unusual for the department to send out such a broad inquiry to so many states seeking information. Such a wide probe could signal the department is broadly fishing for cases of non-compliance to bring suits aimed at purging the voter rolls.
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Posted in Department of Justice<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=26>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, NVRA (motor voter)<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=33>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

Today’s Must Read: David Becker, “Why does Trump’s voting commission want data it shouldn’t have?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93564>
Posted on July 5, 2017 10:51 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93564> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Becker oped<http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/340662-trumps-voter-panel-a-wild-goose-chase-doomed-to-fail?rnd=1499267672> in The Hill:
I led an effort several years ago, working with election officials of both parties and experts to solve the problem of inaccurate voter records, most of which are not due to fraud at all, but rather because so many Americans move between elections. We realized early on that we needed a sophisticated methodology incorporating multiple data points to be at all useful, and we needed to develop a comprehensive legal, physical, and technical security framework to protect that process and the data within.
The result was the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)<http://ericstates.org/>, a data center which helps states keep their voter lists more accurate than ever before. ERIC is run and funded entirely by the politically diverse states that chose to join it — states as blue as Oregon and Connecticut and as red as Alabama and Utah.
And the twenty states that make up ERIC mandated a comprehensive security plan that anonymizes all private data and protects its transmission and storage. In the five years since its founding, ERIC has helped states update the voter records of over 5 million Americans, ensuring fewer problems at the polls.
These efforts are well-known to members of the commission, and in fact, membership in ERIC was recommended by the Presidential Commission on Election Administration (PCEA)<http://web.mit.edu/supportthevoter/www/> only three years ago.
But this current commission didn’t take the care to develop a plan to protect the data first, and justify its use, dooming this effort to failure. And if it had, the data it requested was unlikely to be useful.
Even worse, all these taxpayer resources are being spent to research a question to which we already know the answer – the extent to which voter fraud exists. On this point, every piece of research<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/25/here-are-nine-major-investigations-on-voter-fraud-that-found-virtually-nothing/?utm_term=.82079ae0a9f8> conducted by states both red and blue<https://www.electioninnovation.org/news/2017/5/1/just-the-facts-on-fraud>, academics, and even the Bush Department of Justice, agrees – voter fraud exists but only barely. It is extremely rare, comprising only thousandths of a percent of the total ballots cast.
Which begs the question– why is the federal government marshaling considerable taxpayer resources to collect data it shouldn’t have, to reach a conclusion it cannot possibly reach, to prove something we already know isn’t true? Sadly, the answer may have been provided by the president himself last week, when he tweeted<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/881137079958241280> that the commission was actually a “voter fraud panel.” This traces back to the President’s entirely unsubstantiated claims post-election<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/802972944532209664> that he “won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.” The White House cited a Pew report to justify his claims – a report which says absolutely nothing about voter fraud<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/24/us/politics/unauthorized-immigrant-voting-trump-lie.html?_r=0>. I should know – I authored that report.<http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/315914-author-of-study-spicer-cited-we-found-no-evidence-of-voter> Perhaps some of the commissioners themselves are wondering what they’ve gotten themselves into, as one of the Republican members of the commission resigned Monday<http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-borunda-resigns-trump-20170703-story.html>, before the commission had even met.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93564&title=Today%E2%80%99s%20Must%20Read%3A%20David%20Becker%2C%20%E2%80%9CWhy%20does%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20voting%20commission%20want%20data%20it%20shouldn%E2%80%99t%20have%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Newspapers rip Trump voter fraud panel in July Fourth editorials”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93562>
Posted on July 5, 2017 9:38 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93562> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
The Hill reports.<http://thehill.com/homenews/news/340609-newspaper-editorial-boards-rip-trump-voter-fraud-panel-for-july-4>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93562&title=%E2%80%9CNewspapers%20rip%20Trump%20voter%20fraud%20panel%20in%20July%20Fourth%20editorials%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Alabama Must Immediately Educate Voters About Updates to State’s Felony Disenfranchisement Law”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93559>
Posted on July 5, 2017 8:41 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93559> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
CLC press release<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/news/press-releases/alabama-must-immediately-educate-voters-about-updates-state-s-felony> from last week:
Campaign Legal Center today asked a federal court<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/sites/default/files/Motion%20for%20Preliminary%20Injunction.pdf> to immediately order the state of Alabama to implement the Felony Voter Disqualification Act (HB 282) (signed May 25, 2017) by educating and advising voters of the law, and ensuring that voters who are eligible are added back to the state’s voter rolls.
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill told the Huffington Post<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alabama-moral-turpitude_us_594a8335e4b0177d0b8af45f> he was “not going to spend state resources” educating Alabamians about the updates to the law, even though the state had previously inaccurately told many voters they could not vote, but thanks to the clarity in the law with HB 282, will now be able to vote. The Secretary of State has yet to update AlabamaVotes.gov, voter registration forms, or any other public materials to advise voters of the eligibility requirements.
CLC’s motion calls for the court to immediately order the state to take a series of actions to effectively implement the law before the next statewide election on August 15, 2017.
Since this release, the court issued this scheduling order.<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/sites/default/files/Court%20scheduling%20order%20on%20PI.pdf>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93559&title=%E2%80%9CAlabama%20Must%20Immediately%20Educate%20Voters%20About%20Updates%20to%20State%E2%80%99s%20Felony%20Disenfranchisement%20Law%E2%80%9D>
Posted in felon voting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>

“‘Worse Than What I Thought’: Voting Experts Balk At Trump Panel’s Latest Moves”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93556>
Posted on July 5, 2017 7:35 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93556> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Tierney Sneed reports for TPM.<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-commission-data-request-voting-rights>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93556&title=%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Worse%20Than%20What%20I%20Thought%E2%80%99%3A%20Voting%20Experts%20Balk%20At%20Trump%20Panel%E2%80%99s%20Latest%20Moves%E2%80%9D>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

--
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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