[EL] ELB News and Commentary 4/10/20

Fri Apr 10 08:03:50 PDT 2020

“Inside Wisconsin’s Election Mess: Thousands of Missing or Nullified Ballots”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110618>
Posted on April 10, 2020 8:01 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110618> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NY Times<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/politics/wisconsin-election-absentee-coronavirus.html>:

Three tubs of absentee ballots that never reached voters were discovered in a postal center outside Milwaukee. At least 9,000 absentee ballots requested by voters were never sent, and others recorded as sent were never received. Even when voters did return their completed ballots in the mail, thousands were postmarked too late to count — or not at all.

Cracks in Wisconsin’s vote-by-mail operation are now emerging after the state’s scramble to expand that effort on the fly for voters who feared going to the polls in Tuesday’s elections. The takeaways — that the election network and the Postal Service were pushed to the brink of their capabilities, and that mistakes were clearly made — are instructive for other states if they choose to broaden vote-by-mail methods without sufficient time, money and planning.

More than 860,000 completed absentee ballots had been returned by Tuesday, already a record for Wisconsin spring elections. But for thousands of other voters, who never received their ballots, there was only one recourse: putting their health at risk and defying a stay-at-home order to vote in person during the coronavirus pandemic. Many chose not to show up.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Four Pinocchios: “Trump once again misleads with bogus claims of voter fraud”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110616>
Posted on April 10, 2020 7:57 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110616> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo fact checker<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/09/trump-once-again-misleads-with-bogus-claims-voter-fraud/>.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

“Does Vote-by-Mail Favor Democrats? No. It’s a False Argument by Trump.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110614>
Posted on April 10, 2020 7:52 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110614> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT analysis<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/us/politics/vote-by-mail.html>.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Wisconsin clerks guarding ballots for days before counting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110612>
Posted on April 10, 2020 7:51 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110612> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP reports.<https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/09/wisconsin-clerks-guarding-ballots-days-counting/111530886/>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“New Hampshire governor to allow absentee voting in November because of coronavirus outbreak”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110610>
Posted on April 10, 2020 7:44 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110610> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-hampshire-gov-sununu-to-allow-absentee-voting-in-november-because-of-coronavirus-outbreak/2020/04/09/d0aa21c8-7aa2-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html>:

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) announced Thursday that the state will allow voters to cast mail-in ballots in the November general election if the coronavirus<https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?tid=lk_inline_manual_1&itid=lk_inline_manual_1> is still a factor this fall.

The decision is a significant departure from Sununu’s past stance against widespread absentee voting and stands in contrast to the rhetoric coming from some Republicans, including President Trump.

“Basically if you feel more comfortable voting absentee because of the outbreak or your inability or nervousness about just appearing in person to vote, you can vote absentee and obtain an absentee ballot,” Sununu said at a news conference.

Sununu said the state is considering other voting alternatives, too, including “drive-up voting,” in which a voter would not have to leave his or her vehicle.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Pandemic spurs court fights over mail-in voting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110608>
Posted on April 10, 2020 7:43 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110608> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Hill reports.<https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/492135-pandemic-spurs-court-fights-over-mail-in-voting#.XpBwyrFT2_o.twitter>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Wisconsin health department tracking whether new coronavirus cases are tied to Tuesday’s in-person voting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110606>
Posted on April 10, 2020 7:42 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110606> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports<https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/04/09/coronavirus-wisconsin-state-tracking-whether-cases-tied-voting/5126212002/>.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Is Ranked Choice Voting a Better Way to Pick a President?<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110604>
Posted on April 9, 2020 4:47 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110604> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NBC LX video.<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciO8f26d9Ac&feature=youtu.be>
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Posted in alternative voting systems<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>

Franita and Foley Discuss the Wisconsin Primary on Their “Free and Fair” Podcast<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110602>
Posted on April 9, 2020 4:45 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110602> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Listen here<https://soundcloud.com/freeandfair/what-happened-in-wisconsin>.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Group sues for more robust N. Carolina voter roll cleanup”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110600>
Posted on April 9, 2020 2:47 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110600> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP reports.<https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article241896931.html>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Politifact Rates as “False” President Trump’s Statement that With voting by mail, “you get thousands and thousands of people sitting in somebody’s living room, signing ballots all over the place.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110598>
Posted on April 9, 2020 2:45 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110598> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Darn big living room.<https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/apr/09/donald-trump/donald-trumps-dubious-claim-thousands-are-conspiri/>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Ron Wyden Rejects Idea (Which I’ve Endorsed) For Congress to Mandate Expanded Vote-by-Mail for This November ONLY<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110596>
Posted on April 9, 2020 2:44 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110596> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I’ve said that in the middle of a pandemic, we should come together on election reforms we need now, and bracket changes that should be made in the future. I think you’d get a lot more bipartisan buy-in with such an approach.

Larry Lessig asked Sen. Wyden (who has proposed permanent changes in vote by mail, among other things) about that idea on Larry’s podcast. Wyden was uninterested. Listen<https://equalcitizens.us/senator-ron-wyden-on-voting-during-a-pandemic/> beginning around the 17-minute mark.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Trump is wrong about the dangers of absentee ballots”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110594>
Posted on April 9, 2020 1:49 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110594> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I have written this oped<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/09/trump-is-wrong-about-dangers-absentee-ballots/> in the Washington Post. Some excerpts:

President Trump has recently come out against expanding voting by mail, despite the fact that he regularly votes by mail himself. He tweeted <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_realDonaldTrump_status_1247861952736526336&d=DwMGaQ&c=RAhzPLrCAq19eJdrcQiUVEwFYoMRqGDAXQ_puw5tYjg&r=Et5YdIyy-C0W2BTIH62ehqB-arbKzolU7qDKR2mCSoY&m=wmpO_bzMQK2sjHAnFS_A_kbLVwyUGrFRajoKzsP7Bwc&s=jjuV8moGPT8qgj2uhEhc0AA_EoJK4LiAoaj0wGtXgQE&e=> that it has “Tremendous potential for voter fraud and, for whatever reason, doesn’t work out well for Republicans.” Given that expanded mail-in voting is going to be an inevitable piece of the November election because of the coronavirus pandemic<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/04/08/coronavirus-latest-news-2/?tid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_3>, it is important that Americans understand what risks come from voting by mail and what can be done about those risks before November, so that voters can have confidence that the election can be fairly conducted, in part, through mail-in balloting….

According to the well-constructed News21<https://votingrights.news21.com/article/about/> database<https://votingrights.news21.com/interactive/election-fraud-database/>, absentee-ballot ballot fraud made up 24.2 percent of all reported prosecutions of election crimes between 2000 and 2012. But the total number of cases was just 491 — during a period in which literally billions of votes were cast. While certain pockets of the country have seen their share of absentee-ballot scandals, problems are extremely rare in the five states<https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/all-mail-elections.aspx> that rely primarily on vote-by-mail, including the heavily Republican state of Utah.

Election design requires tradeoffs. Many states offer absentee balloting because they realize that the tremendous convenience to voters outweighs the small risk of fraud. Now, of course, the covid-19 pandemic has radically elevated the risk of gathering at polling stations, making mail-in balloting a crucial alternative….

o begin with, states need to be prepared to thwart and prosecute any attempts to tamper with ballots. The federal government dragged its feet on investigating the North Carolina case, despite being tipped off<https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/justice-officials-from-washington-were-briefed-months-ago-on-allegations-against-mccrae-dowless-operative-at-center-of-nc-election-fraud-scandal/2019/01/11/4c333722-15db-11e9-a896-f104373c7ffd_story.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_15&itid=lk_inline_manual_15> by state election officials well before the 2018 election.

Next, states should send an application for an absentee ballot to every voter listed on voting rolls. They should not send the ballot itself until a voter requests one, since voting rolls in many states unfortunately are not accurate enough. Voters should also be allowed to request absentee ballots online.

States should also prevent the unlimited collection of absentee ballots by private individuals — sometimes pejoratively referred to as “ballot harvesting.” North Carolina prohibited unlimited collection, but that ban was not enforced and collection allowed the actual ballot tampering that took place. I favor Colorado’s system which allows one person to collect no more than 10 ballots. There are some voters who need assistance getting their votes to the U.S. mail or to a state collection box, such as some on Native American reservations or those who are elderly or disabled. States should also ensure that ballot collection limitations do not put additional burdens on minority voters, as a federal court recently found<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.azcentral.com_story_news_politics_elections_2020_01_27_arizona-2Dballot-2Dharvesting-2Dlaw-2Ddiscriminates-2Dminority-2Dvoters-2Dninth-2Dcircuit_4589610002_&d=DwMGaQ&c=RAhzPLrCAq19eJdrcQiUVEwFYoMRqGDAXQ_puw5tYjg&r=kbTVoB5gjC_YpSg2242OoUwGi-pj-EugYa6z5JyEeVE&m=hTNIDTNT8GSRzbRdISUNa-rVunbkzhLkbGzRE9NdYhw&s=fRh45Znv1njFPeSTOZ3AvRkBQiMFct8zNJbBybpVSt0&e=> happened in Arizona.

Finally, we should not forget that absentee ballots are more likely to be rejected than ballots cast in person, often because of voter error that cannot be corrected as it can in person. Absentee voters should be told if their ballots are being rejected for technical reasons — such as a purported mismatched signature — and have the chance to cure the problem and have their ballot counted.
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

--
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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