[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/14/17

Fri Oct 13 19:36:37 PDT 2017

“Google, Facebook putting an early mark on political advertising bills”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95452>
Posted on October 13, 2017 7:34 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95452> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico:<http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/13/google-facebook-political-advertising-bills-243764>
Google and Facebook are looking to make an early imprint on legislation being drafted in the House and Senate that would force them and other online networks to disclose information about the buyers of political ads.
Lobbyists from the Silicon Valley behemoths have met with the staffs of Sens. Mark Warner and Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Derek Kilmer, all of whom are drawing up bills that would impose new regulations on the industry, according to Democratic aides and company representatives. The Senate bill is expected to be formally introduced next week. It is not clear when the House legislation, which has not been previously reported, will be introduced.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

NC: “Voting defamation suit seeks to widen net, accuses GOP attorneys of conspiracy”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95450>
Posted on October 13, 2017 7:25 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95450> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WRAL:<http://www.wral.com/voting-defamation-suit-seeks-to-widen-net-accuses-gop-attorneys-of-conspiracy/17014648/>
The attorneys who brought a defamation lawsuit over voter protests filed in the wake of last November’s election want to add former Gov. Pat McCrory’s legal defense fund and the attorneys who helped file those protests to their suit.
They also want to turn the case into a class-action suit on behalf of more than 100 people who they say were unfairly maligned when Republicans falsely accused them of casting fraudulent votes<http://www.wral.com/group-calls-for-criminal-investigation-of-nc-gop-for-unfounded-voter-fraud-claims/16651098/>. Attorneys for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice argue there was a coordinated effort by attorneys from a well-connected Republican law firm in Virginia to throw the results of North Carolina’s close gubernatorial race<http://www.wral.com/cooper-s-lead-grows-more-election-protests-filed-in-durham/16250933/> into doubt.
Those attorneys, the lawsuit argues, helped North Carolina voters challenge Democratic votes “to delay certification of the election and suggest that voter fraud affected the election results.”
Attorneys with the firm accused, Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky, did not return messages seeking comment Friday. Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, called the lawsuit “a disgusting intimidation effort” meant to dissuade people from filing reasonable challenges.
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Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Alabama election officials remain confused over which felons should be able to vote”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95448>
Posted on October 13, 2017 7:18 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95448> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AL.com:<http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/10/alabama_election_officials_rem.html>
A number of election officials across Alabama remain confused about the impacts of a sweeping new felon disenfranchisement law, according to interviews this week with registrars representing 12 counties.
The new law, which took effect in August, clarified which felons are allowed to vote and what steps they need to take to restore that right.
But four registrars told AL.com this week that they were not entirely clear about the intricacies of the law and how it applies to their duties. And multiple nonprofits and advocates told AL.com last month<http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/10/too_poor_to_vote_how_alabamas.html> that they were working with people who were being wrongly barred from regaining the right to vote because the law is not being properly and consistently followed.
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Posted in felon voting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>

“China’s Internet censors know how to block Russian interference”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95446>
Posted on October 13, 2017 7:05 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95446> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Eric Wang:<https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/10/13/protecting-russian-hacking-doesnt-mean-throwing-out-first-amendment-rights-eric-wang-column/759504001/>
Any regulation of speech about political issues by foreigners could end up entangling U.S. citizens. Therefore, American supporters of Black Lives Matter, to name one obvious issue, may very well end up being regulated too.
Even if we could use technology, such as blocking overseas Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, to prevent only foreign nationals from influencing us, this would still limit Americans’ First Amendment rights. As the Supreme Court has held, the right to speak also involves the right to listen.
Expect to see more arguments that society must tolerate foreign interference to preserve the First Amendment. I strongly disagree and my concern is longstanding. Indeed, here’s a lead I wrote for a New Republic piece <https://newrepublic.com/article/98162/citizens-united-foreign-money> in 2011:
Let’s say that the leader of a foreign country, one with military or economic interests adverse to the United States, took a look at our 2012 elections and decided to spend millions of dollars in hopes of determining which party held control over the House, the Senate, or the White House. Most of us would consider that scenario highly distressing, to say the least.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg just hinted that Russian-bought ads could be fair game”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95444>
Posted on October 13, 2017 6:56 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95444> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Business Insider:<http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-sheryl-sandberg-russia-ads-2017-10>
Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told Axios’ Mike Allen<https://www.axios.com/exclusive-interview-facebook-sheryl-sandberg-2495538841.html> on Thursday that the company would not have removed the political ads purchased by accounts operating out of Russia if they had been posted by real people rather than fake accounts….
Laura Rosenberger<http://www.gmfus.org/profiles/laura-rosenberger>, director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and a senior fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, said Friday that Sandberg’s comments miss the point.
“Foreign governments should not be able to purchase such political ads, period,” she wrote on Twitter, adding that any “loophole” allowing them to buy these ads should be closed.
While it is illegal for a foreign government or entity to spend money on political ads in an attempt to sway a US election, “there is no doubt disagreement over which ads are covered by the prohibition,” said election law and campaign finance expert Rick Hasen<https://twitter.com/rickhasen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor>.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“Pedro Cortes, Pa. secretary of state, steps down”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95442>
Posted on October 13, 2017 6:48 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95442> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Phil. Inquirer:<http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/pedro-cortes-resigns-pennsylvania-secretary-of-state-voters-20171011.html>
Pedro Cortes, Pennsylvania’s secretary of state, abruptly resigned from office Wednesday, three weeks after his agency came under criticism for a glitch that may have allowed thousands of ineligible immigrants statewide to vote.
Cortes’ departure was announced in a 349-word “personnel update” emailed from Gov. Wolf’s office that offered no reason and focused almost entirely on his replacement, interim Secretary of State Robert Torres….
As secretary of state, Cortes served as the state’s top election official. His departure comes a week after State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, chairman of the House State Government Committee, and 15 of his colleagues sent Cortes a letter “to express our dire concerns” about the disclosure three weeks ago Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.<http://-%20http/www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/city/philly-voter-fraud-trump-immigrants-registration-commissioners-penndot-20170920.html>while applying for or renewing drivers’ licenses at PennDot service centers.
What a mess.
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Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

Steven Spielberg Made a Movie About the Wrong Amendment<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95440>
Posted on October 13, 2017 12:17 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95440> by Richard Pildes<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>
“The adoption of the 15th Amendment … constitutes the most important event that has occurred, since the nation came into life.”
Ulysses S. Grant, as quoted in Ron Chernow’s new biography.
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Posted in 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
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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