[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/31/17

Mon Jan 1 05:14:06 PST 2018

Rick, have a Happy New Year, a great 2018, and Thanks for what you provide for all of us,

Miles

Miles S. Rapoport
Senior Practice Fellow in American Democracy
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Harvard Kennedy School
(o)  617-495-8590
(c)  202-578-3992

[ash logo_small]

From: Law-election [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Hasen
Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2017 7:22 PM
To: Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/31/17

Happy New Year!<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96659>
Posted on December 31, 2017 4:19 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96659> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Once again it has been a busy year for the Election Law Blog and 2018 promises some big news as well in the area of voting rights, campaign finance, filibuster reform/political polarization and other topics.

I am very much looking forward to March 2018, when my new book, The Justice of Contradictions: Antonin Scalia and the Politics of Disruption<https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300228649/justice-contradictions> will be released by Yale University Press. (You can preorder at Amazo<https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Contradictions-Antonin-Politics-Disruption/dp/0300228643/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1514765717&sr=8-3&keywords=richard+l.+hasen>n, though the Kindle and audiobook links are not yet up).  I’ll be doing some talks connected with the book, and I’ll be announcing those dates and locations in January.

i wish all my readers a safe, healthy and happy 2018.

[http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/scalia-hasen-197x300.jpg]<http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/scalia-hasen.jpg>

Below the fold you’ll find a list of books, articles, and opeds that I’ve published (or that were released in draft) in 2017.  Thanks for reading!

Continue reading →<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96659#more-96659>

[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96659&title=Happy%20New%20Year!>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Doug Jones to be sworn into Senate seat Wednesday on family Bible”–AL SOS Merrill Continues to Misstate Alabama Law<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96657>
Posted on December 31, 2017 4:08 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96657> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AL.com:<http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/12/doug_jones_to_be_sworn_into_se.html#incart_river_home>

After a contentious special election, Senator-elect Doug Jones is set to be sworn into office Wednesday in Washington.

Jones will be sworn in on a family Bible, a spokesman for his transition told AL.com on Sunday. He will be joined by family and friends for the ceremonial portion of the act for pictures with Vice President Mike Pence, who administers the oath. Senate rules bar photography during the official swearing in, where Jones will be signing a copy of the oath and reciting it….

Moore did not concede to Jones and filed a lawsuit alleging voter fraud in the race, but the suit was thrown out of Montgomery County Circuit Court after a judge ruled the court did not have jurisdiction over the matter.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said Saturday that the deadline had passed for Moore to seek a recount using his own funds. The state threshold for an automatic recount is a .5 percent margin.

Under Alabama law, however, Moore, as a candidate for federal office, was never entitled<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96376> to request a recount.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96657&title=%E2%80%9CDoug%20Jones%20to%20be%20sworn%20into%20Senate%20seat%20Wednesday%20on%20family%20Bible%E2%80%9D%E2%80%93AL%20SOS%20Merrill%20Continues%20to%20Misstate%20Alabama%20Law>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“In gerrymandering case, judge recommends Pa. Supreme Court uphold congressional map”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96655>
Posted on December 31, 2017 4:03 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96655> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Philly Inquirer:<http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pa-gerrymandering-judge-upholdsupreme-court-20171229.html>

 Commonwealth Court judge recommended Friday that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court uphold the state’s map of congressional districts in a high-profile gerrymandering lawsuit that challenges the map as unconstitutionally drawn to benefit Republicans.
 Democrats hold a 5-2 majority on the state’s high court, which has fast-tracked the suit. On Friday, the justices scheduled oral arguments for  Jan. 17 in Harrisburg.

“A lot can and has been said about the 2011 Plan, much of which is unflattering and yet justified,” wrote Commonwealth Court Judge P. Kevin Brobson, who had been tasked by the high court with holding a trial and submitting “findings of fact” and “conclusions of law” before the end of the year.

The plaintiffs had shown that partisan considerations were taken into account in creating the map, he wrote, and that more politically neutral maps could have been drawn that would not have been as favorable to the GOP.

But some degree of partisanship is considered acceptable in redistricting, he said, and the plaintiffs had not created a “judicially manageable standard” for the court to decide whether the map crossed the line.

“Petitioners, however, have failed to meet their burden of proving that the 2011 Plan, as a piece of legislation, clearly, plainly, and palpably violates the Pennsylvania Constitution,” he wrote<http://media.philly.com/storage/inquirer/documents/Dec%2029%202017%20Recommended%20Findings%20Of%20Fact%20And%20Conclusions%20Of%20Law%20-%20006683.pdf>. “For the judiciary, this should be the end of the inquiry.”
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96655&title=%E2%80%9CIn%20gerrymandering%20case%2C%20judge%20recommends%20Pa.%20Supreme%20Court%20uphold%20congressional%20map%E2%80%9D>
Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“The Modern Campaign-Finance Loophole: Governors Associations”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96653>
Posted on December 29, 2017 4:42 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96653> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WSJ reports.<https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-modern-campaign-finance-loophole-governors-associations-1514562975>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96653&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20Modern%20Campaign-Finance%20Loophole%3A%20Governors%20Associations%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

“Why the 2018 Midterms are So Vulnerable to Hackers”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96651>
Posted on December 29, 2017 4:27 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96651> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Evan Osnos<https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-the-2018-midterms-are-so-vulnerable-to-hackers?mbid=nl_Humor%20122917&CNDID=24399013&spMailingID=12653324&spUserID=MTMzMTgyMzY0NTk1S0&spJobID=1302596468&spReportId=MTMwMjU5NjQ2OAS2> for the New Yorker.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96651&title=%E2%80%9CWhy%20the%202018%20Midterms%20are%20So%20Vulnerable%20to%20Hackers%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Here’s what Sean Spicer said in N.J. voter intimidation case”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96649>
Posted on December 29, 2017 4:22 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96649> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jonathan Salant <http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/what_sean_spicer_said_in_nj_voter_intimidation_cas.html> for NJ.com.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96649&title=%E2%80%9CHere%E2%80%99s%20what%20Sean%20Spicer%20said%20in%20N.J.%20voter%20intimidation%20case%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Sherrilyn Ifill: ‘Black Voters In Alabama Mattered'”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96647>
Posted on December 29, 2017 8:04 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96647> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

On NPR’s Morning Edition.<https://www.npr.org/2017/12/28/573995962/sherrilyn-ifill-black-voters-in-alabama-mattered?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96647&title=%E2%80%9CSherrilyn%20Ifill%3A%20%E2%80%98Black%20Voters%20In%20Alabama%20Mattered%27%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Voting Rights Act<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

Charles Stewart Mines the Alabama Election Data….and Finds No Evidence of Voter Fraud<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96645>
Posted on December 29, 2017 8:04 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96645> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Two posts from Charles:

Much ado about nothing in Alabama “fraud” charges<https://electionupdates.caltech.edu/2017/12/28/much-ado-about-nothing-in-alabama-fraud-charges/>

Small blue shift in Alabama canvass<https://electionupdates.caltech.edu/2017/12/29/small-blue-shift-in-alabama-canvass/>

[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96645&title=Charles%20Stewart%20Mines%20the%20Alabama%20Election%20Data%E2%80%A6.and%20Finds%20No%20Evidence%20of%20Voter%20Fraud>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“There’s still little evidence that Russia’s 2016 social media efforts did much of anything”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96643>
Posted on December 29, 2017 7:50 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96643> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Philip Bump<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/12/28/theres-still-little-evidence-that-russias-2016-social-media-efforts-did-much-of-anything/?utm_term=.2fc4115cd89d> for WaPo:

That idea was bolstered by a report<https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mueller-probe-outgrows-witch-hunt-phase-100045988.html> from Yahoo News this week that investigators working with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III were talking to staffers for the Republican National Committee who worked with the Trump campaign on voter targeting efforts. “They are seeking to determine if the joint effort was related to the activities of Russian trolls and bots aimed at influencing the American electorate,” sources told Yahoo’s Michael Isikoff.

This plays into a popular sense of how the 2016 campaign unfolded. The Russians launched hundreds of Facebook ads, reaching millions of people in critical swing states. They unleashed thousands of fake Twitter accounts, which got retweeted hundreds of thousands of times. The targeting of users on Facebook in particular was described in various<http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/politics/russian-facebook-ads-michigan-wisconsin/index.html> news<https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-ads-targeted-facebook-users-by-profile-1509563354> reports as appearing to be “highly sophisticated” — naturally raising the question of whether the Russians had been aided in their efforts.

All of that, though, requires setting aside what we actually know about the Russian activity on Facebook and Twitter: It was often modest, heavily dissociated from the campaign itself and minute in the context of election social media efforts.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96643&title=%E2%80%9CThere%E2%80%99s%20still%20little%20evidence%20that%20Russia%E2%80%99s%202016%20social%20media%20efforts%20did%20much%20of%20anything%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“The latest 2018 election-hacking threat: 9-month wait for government help”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96641>
Posted on December 29, 2017 7:47 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96641> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico:<https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/29/2018-election-hacking-threat-government-help-231512>

States rushing to guard their 2018 elections against hackers may be on a waiting list for up to nine months for the Department of Homeland Security’s most exhaustive security screening, according to government officials familiar with the situation.

That means some states might not get the service until weeks before the November midterms and may remain unaware of flaws that could allow homegrown cyber vandals or foreign intelligence agencies to target voter registration databases and election offices’ computer networks, the officials said. Russian hackers targeted election systems in at least 21 states in 2016, according to DHS.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96641&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20latest%202018%20election-hacking%20threat%3A%209-month%20wait%20for%20government%20help%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“FACT CHECK: Where Roy Moore’s Voter Fraud Claims Fall Flat”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96639>
Posted on December 28, 2017 7:56 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96639> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NPR reports.<https://www.npr.org/2017/12/28/574222257/fact-check-where-roy-moores-voter-fraud-claims-fall-flat>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96639&title=%E2%80%9CFACT%20CHECK%3A%20Where%20Roy%20Moore%E2%80%99s%20Voter%20Fraud%20Claims%20Fall%20Flat%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“Three Money in Politics Trends You May Have Missed in 2017”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96637>
Posted on December 28, 2017 7:54 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96637> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CLC Blog<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/news/blog/three-money-politics-trends-you-may-have-missed-2017>.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96637&title=%E2%80%9CThree%20Money%20in%20Politics%20Trends%20You%20May%20Have%20Missed%20in%202017%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

Alabama SOS Continues to Say, Incorrectly, that Roy Moore Can Request a Recount within 48 Hours of Certification<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96635>
Posted on December 28, 2017 7:53 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96635> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

U.S. News:<https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/alabama/articles/2017-12-28/roy-moore-files-lawsuit-to-block-alabama-senate-result>

Merrill said Moore has a few options left, such as offering to pay for a recount within 48 hours.

That’s incorrect<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96376>.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96635&title=Alabama%20SOS%20Continues%20to%20Say%2C%20Incorrectly%2C%20that%20Roy%20Moore%20Can%20Request%20a%20Recount%20within%2048%20Hours%20of%20Certification>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“U.S. Virginia Voting Mess Was Never Supposed to Happen After Bush v. Gore”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96633>
Posted on December 28, 2017 1:28 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96633> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Fun Trip Gabriel piece<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/us/virginia-election-recount.html?smid=tw-share> in the NYT.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96633&title=%E2%80%9CU.S.%20Virginia%20Voting%20Mess%20Was%20Never%20Supposed%20to%20Happen%20After%20Bush%20v.%20Gore%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Maine Election Chief Shines Light On Voter Fraud Panel He Was Accused Of Legitimizing”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96631>
Posted on December 28, 2017 12:59 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96631> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Maine Public Radio reports<http://mainepublic.org/post/maine-election-chief-shines-light-voter-fraud-panel-he-was-accused-legitimizing#stream/0>:

In May, Hasen wrote a column for the Portland Press Herald<http://www.pressherald.com/2017/05/24/commentary-dunlap-badly-mistaken-in-agreeing-to-serve-on-trump-voter-fraud-panel/> warning Dunlap that he was being set up as a patsy.

“Dunlap’s participation just gives someone like Kris Kobach a cover to be able to claim that this is a bipartisan effort, when in fact it’s lopsided and seems aimed at some preconceived conclusions about where things are going to go,” he says.

And Hasen says he worries that the real agenda was to craft voting policies that could disenfranchise those who are not behind the conservative cause. He and others urged Dunlap not to legitimize the commission and boycott it altogether.

But Dunlap says he believes that by serving on the panel, he has a platform to call out irregularities in its work. That effort began with a public takedown of Kobach, the commission’s co-chairman, at a meeting in New Hampshire in September, when Dunlap challenged Kobach’s claim that the 5,000 people who registered to vote last year with out-of-state IDs and failed to later get in-state IDs, as required by N.H. state law, was evidence of voter fraud….

“It’s unfortunate, you know, the president wants to get something done, and all of these ‘resist’ people, which apparently now includes the Maine secretary of state, are trying to stop it,” he said on “Fox and Friends” last month.

Dunlap shrugs off the attacks, claiming that he has become a Trojan horse for the progressive resistance. He says he just wants to make sure the commission does its work transparently, and that whatever report it produces is shared and vetted.

Hasen says the odds of that happening are better now that a federal judge has ruled in Dunlap’s favor.

“I would much rather have people not participate in this sham commission than participate. But if someone is going to participate, they should be playing the watchdog role that Secretary Dunlap has been playing,” he says.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96631&title=%E2%80%9CMaine%20Election%20Chief%20Shines%20Light%20On%20Voter%20Fraud%20Panel%20He%20Was%20Accused%20Of%20Legitimizing%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

What Election Geeks Have Been Waiting For: Electionline’s “In and Out” List for 2018<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96629>
Posted on December 28, 2017 11:46 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=96629> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here.<http://www.electionline.org/index.php/electionline-weekly>

See if you can spot my contribution.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D96629&title=What%20Election%20Geeks%20Have%20Been%20Waiting%20For%3A%20Electionline%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%9CIn%20and%20Out%E2%80%9D%20List%20for%202018>

--
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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