[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/3/17

[Rick Hasen]

10 Million People Saw Russian-Paid Ads From Fake Divisive Groups<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95170>
Posted on October 2, 2017 6:17 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95170> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/technology/facebook-russia-ads-.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0>
The Russians who posed as Americans on Facebook last year tried on quite an array of disguises.
There was “Defend the 2nd,” a Facebook page for gun-rights supporters, festooned with firearms and tough rhetoric. There was a rainbow-hued page for gay rights activists, “LGBT United.”<http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:M-NRKWCVbEkJ:b-m.facebook.com/lgbtun/&num=1&hl=en&gl=us&strip=0&vwsrc=0> There was even a Facebook group for animal lovers with memes of adorable puppies that spread across the site with the help of paid ads.
Federal investigators and officials at Facebook now believe these groups and their pages were part of a highly coordinated disinformation campaign linked to the Internet Research Agency<https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html?mcubz=0>, a secretive company in St. Petersburg, Russia, known for spreading Kremlin-linked propaganda and fake news across the web. They were described to The New York Times by two people familiar with the social network and its ads who were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
Under intensifying pressure from Congress and growing public outcry, Facebook on Monday turned over more than 3,000 of the Russia-linked advertisements<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/01/technology/facebook-russia-ads.html> from its site over to the Senate and House intelligence committees, as well as the Senate Judiciary Committee. The material is part of an attempt to learn the depth of what investigators now believe was a sprawling foreign effort spanning years to interfere with the 2016 United States presidential election….
Late Monday, Facebook said in a post<https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/10/hard-questions-russian-ads-delivered-to-congress/> that about 10 million people had seen the ads in question. About 44 percent of the ads were seen before the 2016 election and the rest after, the company said.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95170&title=10%20Million%20People%20Saw%20Russian-Paid%20Ads%20From%20Fake%20Divisive%20Groups>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


“New Document Shows Inner Workings Of Trump’s Voter Fraud Probe”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95167>
Posted on October 2, 2017 5:41 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95167> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
HuffPost:<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-voter-fraud-probe_us_59d2a80ee4b0f962988957f5?q2>
The commission’s work so far has been unclear; even some commissioners<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alan-king-trump-voter-fraud-probe_us_59b42303e4b0b5e531068520> have said they’re not exactly sure what the panel is working on<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-voter-fraud-panel_us_59b40850e4b0dfaafcf83485>. Friday’s disclosure is significant because it shows officials on the probe have contacted officials with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Social Security Administration ― which suggests the commission may be proceeding with a plan to compare the voter data it’s collected against federal databases….
The log also raises new questions about a controversial June 28 letter the commission sent out to all 50 states requesting voter information. In the week ahead of the letter’s release, Kobach and two other commissioners, Hans von Spakovsky and J. Christian Adams, exchanged emails about its contents. Von Spakovsky, Adams and Kobach are three of the most controversial picks<https://mic.com/articles/181965/watchdogs-say-trumps-new-voter-fraud-panel-pick-rounds-out-four-horsemen-of-suppression> for the commission, and critics of the probe say they intend to weaken confidence in American election systems and make it more difficult to vote. Von Spakovsky also emailed Adams, Kobach and Kossack about potential commission members.
“It appears that known vote-suppressors Kris Kobach, J. Christian Adams, and Hans von Spakovsky, worked together without the input of other commissioners to develop the unprecedented June 28th letter to state election officials seeking personal voter information,” Clarke said.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95167&title=%E2%80%9CNew%20Document%20Shows%20Inner%20Workings%20Of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Voter%20Fraud%20Probe%E2%80%9D>
Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


“How to stop Russian robots from attacking the next election”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95165>
Posted on October 2, 2017 4:13 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95165> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Senator Amy Klobuchar WaPo oped<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-to-stop-russian-robots-from-attacking-the-next-election/2017/10/02/f8197782-a78b-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html?utm_term=.0ed94c02a0b4&wpmk=MK0000200>.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95165&title=%E2%80%9CHow%20to%20stop%20Russian%20robots%20from%20attacking%20the%20next%20election%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


“A Supreme Court Case Could Make Partisan Gerrymandering Illegal”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95163>
Posted on October 2, 2017 12:11 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95163> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
David Daley<http://billmoyers.com/story/supreme-court-case-make-partisan-gerrymandering-illegal/> for Moyers & Co.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95163&title=%E2%80%9CA%20Supreme%20Court%20Case%20Could%20Make%20Partisan%20Gerrymandering%20Illegal%E2%80%9D>
Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


Justin Levitt Guest Blogging October 5-9<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95161>
Posted on October 2, 2017 12:04 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95161> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Send any tips his way<http://www.lls.edu/faculty/facultylistl-r/levittjustin/>.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95161&title=Justin%20Levitt%20Guest%20Blogging%20October%205-9>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Plaintiffs in Wisconsin redistricting case get send-off”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95159>
Posted on October 2, 2017 7:26 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95159> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.<http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2017/10/01/plaintiffs-wisconsin-redistricting-case-get-sendoff/721440001/>

[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95159&title=%E2%80%9CPlaintiffs%20in%20Wisconsin%20redistricting%20case%20get%20send-off%E2%80%9D>
Posted in referendum<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=56>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>


“Supreme Court Prepares To Hear Gerrymandering Case”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95156>
Posted on October 2, 2017 7:24 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95156> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Nina Totenberg<http://www.npr.org/2017/10/01/554933061/supreme-court-prepares-to-hear-gerrymandering-case> for NPR on “cracking” and “packing.”
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95156&title=%E2%80%9CSupreme%20Court%20Prepares%20To%20Hear%20Gerrymandering%20Case%E2%80%9D>
Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>


“California bill takes aim at dark money in politics — will Jerry Brown sign it?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95154>
Posted on October 2, 2017 7:22 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95154> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Mercury News:<http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/01/california-bill-takes-aim-at-dark-money-in-politics-will-jerry-brown-sign-it/>
 The barely legible print that briefly flashes on-screen at the end of political ads will be gone, replaced by information people can clearly read, if Gov. Jerry Brown signs a closely watched bill targeting “dark money” in campaigns.
The unions, corporations or billionaires behind the money would be listed, rather than the obscure committees with misleading, feel-good names that wrote the checks.
Good-government advocates, including the co-author of the 1974 Political Reform Act, say the DISCLOSE Act would make California’s campaign-advertisement disclosure laws the toughest in the country.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95154&title=%E2%80%9CCalifornia%20bill%20takes%20aim%20at%20dark%20money%20in%20politics%20%E2%80%94%20will%20Jerry%20Brown%20sign%20it%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>


“Democracy’s Deficits”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95152>
Posted on October 2, 2017 7:19 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95152> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Sam Issacharoff has posted this draft<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3040163> on SSRN (forthcoming, U Chicago L Review).  Here is the abstract:
Barely a quarter century after the collapse of the Soviet empire, it is democracy that has entered an intense period of public scrutiny. The election of President Trump and the Brexit vote are dramatic moments in a populist uprising against the postwar political consensus of liberal rule. But they are also signposts in a process long in the making, yet perhaps not fully appreciated until the intense electoral upheavals of recent years. The current moment is defined by the distrust of the institutional order of democracy and, more fundamentally, of the idea that there is a tomorrow and that the losers of today may unseat the victors in a new round of electoral challenge. At issue across the nuances of the national settings is a deep challenge to the core claim of democracy to be the superior form of political organization of civilized peoples.
This Article roots the current democratic malaise not so much in the outcome of any particular election but in four central institutional challenges, each one a compromise of how democracy was consolidated over the past few centuries. The four are: first, the accelerated decline of political parties and other institutional forms of popular engagement; second, the paralysis of the legislative branches; third, the loss of a sense of social cohesion; and fourth, the decline in state competence. While there are no doubt other candidates for inducing anxiety over the state of democracy, these four have a particular salience in theories of democratic superiority that make their decline or loss a matter of grave concern. Among the great defenses of democracy stand the claims that democracies offer the superior form of participation, of deliberation, of solidarity, and of the capacity to get the job done. We need not arbitrate among the theories of participatory democracy, deliberative democracy, solidaristic democracy, or epistemic democratic superiority. Rather, we should note with concern that each of these theories states a claim for the advantages of democracy, and each faces worrisome disrepair.
Looking forward to reading this!
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95152&title=%E2%80%9CDemocracy%E2%80%99s%20Deficits%E2%80%9D>
Posted in theory<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=41>


“The House Appropriations Committee and the Johnson Amendment”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95150>
Posted on October 2, 2017 7:17 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95150> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ed Zelinsky:<https://blog.oup.com/2017/10/house-appropriations-committee-johnson-amendment/>
The best solution is not the kind of procedural band-aid proposed by the Appropriations Committee. Congress should instead modify the Johnson Amendment to protect internal church communications from all IRS scrutiny. With churches’ rights of free expression thus protected from government interference, the Johnson Amendment should, so modified, remain on the books to preclude the use of all tax-exempt institutions (including churches) to divert tax-deductible resources to political campaigns.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95150&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20House%20Appropriations%20Committee%20and%20the%20Johnson%20Amendment%E2%80%9D>
Posted in tax law and election law<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>


“Overturned Convictions Loom Over Menendez’s Corruption Trial”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95148>
Posted on October 2, 2017 7:15 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95148> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/nyregion/overturned-convictions-loom-over-menendezs-corruption-trial.html?_r=0>
They were two of the most notable corruption convictions in recent political history, two entrenched New York power brokers seemingly brought to justice, their cases reverberating well beyond the wood-paneled walls of the Statehouse in Albany.
And in a span of less than three months, both convictions were overturned.
The legal turn of events in the cases against Sheldon Silver and Dean G. Skelos, the two former New York State legislative leaders, is almost certain to resonate in another corruption case unfolding just across the Hudson River in the federal courthouse here where the defendant is United States Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey.
What has given Mr. Silver and Mr. Skelos a reprieve was the ruling l<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/us/politics/supreme-court-bob-mcdonnell-virginia.html>ast year by the United States Supreme Court<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/us/politics/supreme-court-bob-mcdonnell-virginia.html> overturning the conviction of the former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell. In its unanimous decision, the court severely narrowed the definition of the kinds of official acts a politician must perform to be considered as having partaken in an illegal quid pro quo.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D95148&title=%E2%80%9COverturned%20Convictions%20Loom%20Over%20Menendez%E2%80%99s%20Corruption%20Trial%E2%80%9D>
Posted in bribery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>


--
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
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/>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20171003/6917e7f1/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2021 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20171003/6917e7f1/attachment.png>