[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/28/19

Tue Aug 27 21:00:29 PDT 2019

“Researchers studying Facebook’s impact on democracy threaten to quit”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107105>
Posted on August 27, 2019 8:41 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107105> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Reuters:<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-election-research/researchers-studying-facebooks-impact-on-democracy-threaten-to-quit-idUSKCN1VI04F>

A group of philanthropies working with Facebook Inc (FB.O<https://www.reuters.com/companies/FB.O>) to study the social network’s impact on democracy threatened on Tuesday to quit, saying the company had failed to make data available to researchers as pledged.

The funders said in a statement that Facebook had granted the 83 scholars selected for the project access to “only a portion of what they were told they could expect,” which made it impossible for some to carry out their research. They have given Facebook until Sept. 30 to provide the data.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107105&title=%E2%80%9CResearchers%20studying%20Facebook%E2%80%99s%20impact%20on%20democracy%20threaten%20to%20quit%E2%80%9D>
Posted in social media and social protests<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=58>

“Tom Steyer Is Spending Millions to Get Money Out of Politics”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107101>
Posted on August 27, 2019 1:44 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107101> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/us/politics/tom-steyer-debate.html>:

Running as something of a patrician populist, Mr. Steyer brushed aside the dissonance of someone with his résumé — Exeter, Yale, Stanford, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, his own hedge fund — flooding the airwaves with ads that castigate the influence of “the powerful and well-connected.”….
In a fraction of the time, Mr. Steyer has already outspent his opponents online: $1 million on Google and $3.9 million on Facebook, peaking at $215,000 a day on Facebook as he sought the 130,000 donors needed to qualify for the next debate.
His rivals, including Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, have accused him of simply buying his way in. “The Democratic primary should not be decided by billionaires,” Ms. Warren tweeted the day Mr. Steyer entered the race.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107101&title=%E2%80%9CTom%20Steyer%20Is%20Spending%20Millions%20to%20Get%20Money%20Out%20of%20Politics%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Voting Machine Errors Messing with Mississippi Runoff<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107099>
Posted on August 27, 2019 1:42 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107099> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Clarion Ledger:<https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2019/08/27/ms-runoff-malfunction-allows-improper-party-crossover-voting/2131397001/>

Voters who cast ballots for one party in the Aug. 6 primary may have improperly voted for a different party in Tuesday’s runoff due to machine malfunctions, according to the Hinds County GOP.

Pete Perry, Hinds County Republican Party chairman, said he was first alerted to an issue at Casey Elementary precinct around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. The school is one of the 108 precincts in Hinds County. According to a poll worker, people who voted Democratic in the primary were allowed to vote in the Republican runoff, Perry said.

A spokesperson for the Hinds County Election Commission could not be reached for comment.

According to Perry, the “party lock” on machines provided by Election Systems and Software is not functioning. This means voters who cast a ballot for a Democratic candidate in the primary are being erroneously allowed to vote in the Republican runoff.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107099&title=Voting%20Machine%20Errors%20Messing%20with%20Mississippi%20Runoff>
Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, voting technology<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>

Mississippi: “Election problems: Video shows machine automatically changing vote from Waller to Reeves”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107097>
Posted on August 27, 2019 10:53 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107097> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Malfunctioning voting machine.<https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/27/voting-machine-problems-video-changing-vote-bill-waller-tate-reeves-ms-election-governor-runoff/2129515001/>

These are usually calibration errors but they often bring up cries of a conspiracy.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107097&title=Mississippi%3A%20%E2%80%9CElection%20problems%3A%20Video%20shows%20machine%20automatically%20changing%20vote%20from%20Waller%20to%20Reeves%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

California Appeals Court Unanimously Holds That New California Law Allowing Public Financing of Campaigns Illegally Conflicts with Earlier Ballot Measure<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107095>
Posted on August 27, 2019 10:50 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107095> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Opinion here.<https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/C086334.PDF>

If this stands, it means it will take another ballot measure to get California on the road to public financing of campaigns.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107095&title=California%20Appeals%20Court%20Unanimously%20Holds%20That%20New%20California%20Law%20Allowing%20Public%20Financing%20of%20Campaigns%20Illegally%20Conflicts%20with%20Earlier%20Ballot%20Measure>
Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

7th Circuit Unanimously Affirms District Court Grant of Preliminary Injunction Barring Indiana from Using Controversial Kobach-Backed Crosscheck Program to Remove Voters from Voting Rolls<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107092>
Posted on August 27, 2019 10:39 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107092> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Opinion here<https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/indiana-nvra.pdf.pdf>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107092&title=7th%20Circuit%20Unanimously%20Affirms%20District%20Court%20Grant%20of%20Preliminary%20Injunction%20Barring%20Indiana%20from%20Using%20Controversial%20Kobach-Backed%20Crosscheck%20Program%20to%20Remove%20Voters%20from%20Voting%20Rolls>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“New Report Documents Impact of Felony Voting Disenfranchisement & Proposes Common Sense Solutions”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107090>
Posted on August 27, 2019 10:29 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107090> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Release:<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commoncause.org%2Fpress-release%2Fnew-report-documents-impact-of-felony-voting-disenfranchisement-proposes-common-sense-solutions%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cdvance%40commoncause.org%7Ca7f7bd0e8d95479b0e0b08d72b065134%7Cdb39e4b4de324cf9b66e9d02d8172178%7C0%7C0%7C637025178452616669&sdata=lZZZg1dn2i2qv1n0pdKrWWzKumvdVeAzUiNgGlioWc4%3D&reserved=0>

Today, Common Cause released a new report on the impact of denying voting rights to people with past felony convictions and what must be done to strengthen their voting rights. “Zero Disenfranchisement: The Movement to Restore Voting Rights<https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commoncause.org%2Fzero-disenfranchisement%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cdvance%40commoncause.org%7Ca7f7bd0e8d95479b0e0b08d72b065134%7Cdb39e4b4de324cf9b66e9d02d8172178%7C0%7C0%7C637025178452596681&sdata=zNdAuznR1UgtfBCvSwGZIqv8MXDxQ944GOjHQvJ162o%3D&reserved=0>” documents the racist history of felony disenfranchisement laws, the new movement to repeal them, and provides several personal stories of individuals affected by these voter suppression efforts.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107090&title=%E2%80%9CNew%20Report%20Documents%20Impact%20of%20Felony%20Voting%20Disenfranchisement%20%26%20Proposes%20Common%20Sense%20Solutions%E2%80%9D>
Posted in felon voting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>

FEC Commissioner Petersen Intentionally Left Internet Disclosure Regulations Hanging, Knowing He Was Leaving<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107088>
Posted on August 27, 2019 10:26 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107088> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Mother Jones:<https://www.amazon.com/Election-Meltdown-Distrust-American-Democracy/dp/0300248199/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hasen+election+meltdown&qid=1565015345&s=digital-text&sr=1-1-catcorr>

At the most recent FEC meeting last week, commissioners punted—for the fourth meeting in a row—on the question of how to attach the same kind of disclosures that appear in television political ads to digital political ads. The commission’s lone remaining Democrat, Ellen Weintraub pressed the other three members to address the issue and complained that she hadn’t been able to get any response from Petersen’s staff.

“I can’t say that I have anything new,” Petersen told Weintraub. “I don’t have a lot to add other than that this particular time I have not been able to develop the formulation I think will bring us to consensus. I wish I had more to say but that is about the extent of it right now.”

Any further discussion on how to increase the transparency of internet ads—on which campaigns are expected to spend as much as $1.2 billion this cycle—was tabled. Thanks to Petersen’s resignation, the tabling will continue for the foreseeable future. Commission members are appointed by the president, and although Trump has made one nomination to the commission since his inauguration, the Senate has not scheduled any confirmation hearings.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107088&title=FEC%20Commissioner%20Petersen%20Intentionally%20Left%20Internet%20Disclosure%20Regulations%20Hanging%2C%20Knowing%20He%20Was%20Leaving>
Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal election commission<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

“Can states control how presidential electors vote?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107086>
Posted on August 27, 2019 7:40 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107086> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Lyle Denniston<https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/can-states-control-how-presidential-electors-vote> for Constitution Daily:

When the Supreme Court reopens a new session in October, awaiting the Justices in the pile of work that built up over their summer recess will be a major constitutional case over how America elects its President. It is a dispute as current as the last election, in 2016, when seven members of the Electoral College did not vote the way they were instructed to do.

Their votes did not change the outcome of President Trump’s victory in the Electoral College.

A deep split over whether those 2016 electors acted illegally, or whether they had a constitutional right to do what they did, has now developed in lower courts. A split like that often enhances the prospect that the Justices will feel a duty to step in and provide a definite answer.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107086&title=%E2%80%9CCan%20states%20control%20how%20presidential%20electors%20vote%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in electoral college<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>

“Exclusive: U.S. officials fear ransomware attack against 2020 election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107084>
Posted on August 27, 2019 7:38 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107084> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Reuters<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-election-exclusive/exclusive-u-s-officials-fear-ransomware-attack-against-2020-election-idUSKCN1VG222?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top>:

T he U.S. government plans to launch a program in roughly one month that narrowly focuses on protecting voter registration databases and systems ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
These systems, which are widely used to validate the eligibility of voters before they cast ballots, were compromised in 2016 by Russian hackers seeking to collect information. Intelligence officials are concerned that foreign hackers in 2020 not only will target the databases but attempt to manipulate, disrupt or destroy the data, according to current and former U.S. officials.
“We assess these systems as high risk,” said a senior U.S. official, because they are one of the few pieces of election technology regularly connected to the Internet.
The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, a division of the Homeland Security Department, fears the databases could be targeted by ransomware, a type of virus that has crippled city computer networks across the United States, including recently in Texas, Baltimore and Atlanta.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107084&title=%E2%80%9CExclusive%3A%20U.S.%20officials%20fear%20ransomware%20attack%20against%202020%20election%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, voting technology<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>

--
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/20190828/cfaaf18e/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/20190828/cfaaf18e/attachment.png>