[EL] More ELB news and commentary 12/7/18

[Rick Hasen]

“Republicans Are Using Potential GOP Election Crimes in North Carolina to Push for More Voter Suppression Measures”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102708>
Posted on December 7, 2018 2:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102708> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I have written this piece<https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/12/north-carolina-election-fraud-voter-id-laws.html> for Slate. It begins:

It is easy for Democrats to feel some glee about revelations<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/us/politics/north-carolina-vote-fraud-absentee.html> that a Republican operative may have committed absentee ballot fraud<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/north-carolina-election-fraud-investigation-centers-on-operative-with-criminal-history-who-worked-for-gop-congressional-candidate/2018/12/03/7b270a90-f6aa-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html?utm_term=.fd90228b9f72> in connection with last month’s election for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. Not only does this mean that Democrat Dan McCready<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrat-dan-mccready-withdraws-his-concession-in-north-carolina-congressional-race-roiled-by-accusations-of-fraud/2018/12/06/79b6d4c8-f958-11e8-8c9a-860ce2a8148f_story.html?utm_term=.43b89d174a10>may have a chance to beat Republican Mark Harris in a new election that the state election board or the U.S. House of Representatives<https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/democrats-could-refuse-to-seat-north-carolina-republican-hoyer-says/2018/12/04/71fe2b12-f7e3-11e8-863c-9e2f864d47e7_story.html?utm_term=.51996ccd351e> may order, giving Democrats a chance to pick up a 41st Republican seat this election cycle. The idea of a Republican operative being caught up in election shenanigans after North Carolina Republicans and others have been yelling so loudly in the past decade about the false specter of Democratic “voter fraud” deliciously demonstrates the hypocrisy and disingenuousness of Republican rhetoric about election integrity.

But to me, the circumstances surrounding the North Carolina election controversy are profoundly depressing, because they reveal that even incontrovertible facts are not going to get in the way of a narrative used to justify a host of suppressive laws aimed at making it harder for those likely to vote for Democrats to register and to vote, not only in North Carolina, but in Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, and elsewhere.

The efforts are likely going to continue to accelerate despite what we can learn about election integrity from the North Carolina ballot shenanigans, and it is unclear at best whether courts will continue to step up to block efforts aimed at assuring that Republicans can hold on to as much power as possible even when they lack the support of a majority of voters.


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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


SDNY Sentencing Memo: Michael Cohen “Acted in Coordination with and at the Direction of” Donald Trump in Making Two Payments to Women to Keep Them Silent About Affairs Before Election<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102704>
Posted on December 7, 2018 2:05 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102704> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

From the sentencing memo: <https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5453410/SDNY-Cohen-Sentencing-Submission.pdf#page=11>

During the campaign, Cohen played a central role in two similar schemes to purchase the rights to stories – each from women who claimed to have had an affair with Individual-1 – so as to suppress the stories and thereby prevent them from influencing the election. With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election. Cohen coordinated his actions with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments. (PSR ¶ 51). In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1. (PSR ¶¶ 41, 45). As a result of Cohen’s actions, neither woman spoke to the press prior to the election. (PSR ¶ 51).

See my August Slate piece: Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Directly Implicates Donald Trump in a Felony<https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/08/michael-cohens-guilty-plea-directly-implicates-donald-trump-in-a-felony.html>.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


“Judge voids key pieces of Arizona law gutting campaign finance rules”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102702>
Posted on December 7, 2018 1:47 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102702> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Arizona Republic:<https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/12/06/judge-voids-key-pieces-arizona-law-gutting-campaign-finance-rules-elections-donations/2232345002/>

A judge has ruled that Arizona lawmakers violated the state Constitution on multiple fronts when they passed a sweeping overhaul of campaign-finance laws in 2016.

Those changes illegally limit the power of the voter-approved Citizens Clean Elections Commission to police campaign-finance laws and illegallycreate loopholes for spending limits, the ruling states.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David Palmer ruled that the changes are unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>


“Election Fraud Scandal in North Carolina (Podcast)”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102700>
Posted on December 7, 2018 12:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102700> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Great to talk to June Grasso of Bloomberg Law. Listen<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2018-12-07/election-fraud-scandal-in-north-carolina-podcast>.
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Posted in campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


Democratic and Republican AG Associations Collecting Big Bucks<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102697>
Posted on December 7, 2018 12:16 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=102697> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Corporate Counsel<https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2018/12/04/state-ags-emerging-as-most-feared-regulators-attorney-says/>:

Midterm contribution records from Political MoneyLine show corporations gave big to both parties in the AG races. For instance, DAGA’s top contributors<http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/tr/tr_MG_527_Filer.aspx?&sEIN=134220019&sCycle=2018> were unions such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ($350,000), its top donor. But Altria Group Inc. ($200,000), the law firm of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann ($155,000), Anthem Inc. ($150,000), Home Depot Inc. ($150,000), Reynolds American Inc. ($150,000) and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom ($130,150) were also among its top 20 donors.

Similar figures for RAGA<http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/tr/tr_MG_527_Filer.aspx?&sEIN=464501717&sCycle=2018> showed Altria ($440,000) and Anthem ($285,000) covering their bets. The largest RAGA contributors included the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative judicial think tank ($1.59 million); Citizens for a Working America Inc. ($930,000); and the National Rifle Association ($835,000).

Among companies, the largest RAGA contributors were Noble Energy Inc. ($520,000); Koch Industries ($515,000); and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. ($500,000).

Bruce Freed, president and co-founder of the Center for Political Accountability, told Corporate Counsel that companies need to be careful making political donations “in this hyper-polarized environment. It’s like nitroglycerin, when you shake the bottle you never know when it might explode.”

Freed referred to his group’s report released earlier this year, “Collision Course: The Risks Companies Face When Their Political Spending and Core Values Conflict and How to Address Them.<http://files.politicalaccountability.net/reports/cpa-reports/Final_Draft_Collision_Report.pdf>”
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

--
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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