[EL] ELB News and Commentary 12/21/19

[Rick Hasen]

“We May Never See All The Emails About Trump’s Bogus Voter Fraud Panel”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108512>
Posted on December 20, 2019 5:04 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108512> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

TPM:<https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/dunlap-appeals-court-voter-fraud-commission-email-opinion>

A set of potentially juicy emails from President Trump’s disbanded voter fraud commission will likely never see the light of day, due to an appeals court decision<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CEC_wdC8MMqNcYcNDPu3mp5ppQ7yVwOQ/view> issued Friday.

The Trump administration is not required to turn over certain emails from the defunct commission to a Democratic commissioner who sued for them, an appeals court said.

While the commissioner’s lawsuit has largely been successful in getting him access to the documents and commission work he said was withheld from him, there has continued to be a dispute over a set of those emails.<https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/dunlap-lawsuit-trump-voter-fraud-commission-appeal>

Specifically, the administration has resisted handing over to the ex-commissioner, Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, emails other members of the panel sent to the administration staff organizing the panel about potential commissioners.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed the decision of a district judge ordering that those emails be produced.

“Private emails between Executive Branch officials and individuals who served as commissioners about potential additional commissioners are quite distinct from these examples of documents about the Commission’s ongoing, substantive work,” the appellate court said.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


Must-Read: Trump Advisor in Wisconsin Says “Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places,” Promises More Aggressive Poll Watching Following Expiration of Consent Decree Against RNC Activities<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108510>
Posted on December 20, 2019 2:04 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108510> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<https://apnews.com/af2f0ede054d8baebbe1bb6ca47b4895>

One of President Donald Trump’s top re-election advisers told influential Republicans in swing state Wisconsin that the party has “traditionally” relied on voter suppression to compete in battleground states but will be able to “start playing offense” in 2020 due to relaxed Election Day rules, according to an audio recording of a private event obtained by The Associated Press.

“Traditionally it’s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places,” Justin Clark, a senior political adviser and senior counsel to Trump’s re-election campaign, said at the event. “Let’s start protecting our voters. We know where they are. … Let’s start playing offense a little bit. That’s what you’re going to see in 2020. It’s going to be a much bigger program, a much more aggressive program, a much better-funded program.”

Asked about the remarks by AP, Clark said he was referring to false accusations that the GOP engages in voter suppression.

“As should be clear from the context of my remarks, my point was that Republicans historically have been falsely accused of voter suppression and that it is time we stood up to defend our own voters,” Clark said. “Neither I nor anyone I know or work with would condone anyone’s vote being threatened or diluted and our efforts will be focused on preventing just that.”..

Republican officials publicly signaled plans to step up their Election Day monitoring after a judge in 2018 lifted a consent degree in place since 1982 that barred the Republican National Committee from voter verification and other “ballot security” efforts. Critics have argued the tactics amount to voter intimidation.

It would be nice to have access to the recording to hear the remarks in context.

I write about the significance of the expiration of the RNC consent decree in my upcoming book, Election Meltdown.<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>
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


Texas Still Not Releasing Its Flawed List of Supposed Non-Citizen Voters It Was Going to Purge Before Admitting Its List Was Flawed<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108508>
Posted on December 20, 2019 1:58 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108508> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Alexa Ura<https://twitter.com/alexazura/status/1208138107494817792>:
[cid:image002.jpg at 01D5B75B.C315CB30]<https://twitter.com/alexazura>
<https://twitter.com/alexazura>
Alexa Ura<https://twitter.com/alexazura>
✔@alexazura<https://twitter.com/alexazura>

<https://twitter.com/alexazura/status/1208138107494817792>


Since Texas ended its botched voter rolls review in April, I've been asking for its flawed list of "possible non-U.S. citizens."

In response to latest open records request, @TXAG<https://twitter.com/TXAG> says the criminal case is *still* open 8 months later. Background: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/06/05/texas-indicates-criminal-inquiry-over-voter-roll-review-isnt-closed/ …<https://t.co/da1rmiTfrd> #txlege<https://twitter.com/hashtag/txlege?src=hash>
<https://t.co/da1rmiTfrd>
[cid:image003.jpg at 01D5B75B.C315CB30]<https://t.co/da1rmiTfrd>
Texas ditched its botched voter roll review but has signaled it has...<https://t.co/da1rmiTfrd>

State officials continue to deny public access to the list of 100,000 voters selected for citizenship checks, citing a section of state law that allows them to withhold the information if it's part...<https://t.co/da1rmiTfrd>
texastribune.org<https://t.co/da1rmiTfrd>

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1:32 PM - Dec 20, 2019<https://twitter.com/alexazura/status/1208138107494817792>
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26 people are talking about this<https://twitter.com/alexazura/status/1208138107494817792>

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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


“Facebook, Twitter disable sprawling inauthentic operation that used AI to make fake faces”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108506>
Posted on December 20, 2019 11:59 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108506> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/12/20/facebook-twitter-disable-sprawling-inauthentic-operation-that-used-ai-make-fake-faces/>

Facebook and Twitter on Friday disabled a global network of hundreds of fake accounts that pushed pro-Trump messages and covered its tracks using inauthentic photos generated with the aid of artificial intelligence.

The use of AI to trick social-media companies, deceive unsuspecting users and essentially create people who do not exist marked a major, troubling new development, according to disinformation researchers, who expressed fresh alarm that such tactics could have implications for the 2020 presidential election.

The tech giants’ takedown targeted The BL, a U.S.-based media company that Facebook linked to Epoch Media Group. The organization has criticized the Chinese government, and it has ties to the Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual movement. It also has vociferously supported the reelection of President Trump.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Voting systems maker leaving NC, seeks probe of competitor’s practices”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108504>
Posted on December 20, 2019 11:57 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108504> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Carolina Public Press reports.<https://carolinapublicpress.org/29664/voting-systems-maker-leaving-nc-seeks-probe-of-competitors-practices/>
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Posted in election law biz<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>, 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/>

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