[EL] GOP pushes absentee ballot applications and Trump condems "mail in balloting"

Mon Apr 13 11:10:22 PDT 2020

Back years ago, before California went to Permanent Absentee Voters – allowing a registered voter to register for an absentee ballot for every election and allowing others to request for a specific election – we (partisan campaigns) would mail applications to targeted voters. They would be complete except for the voter’s signature. At first they had to be sent back to the elections office. Then the law was changed to allow them to be mailed back to campaign headquarters and require that the campaign deliver them to the elections office within 72 hours to prevent warehousing them to blind-side the opposition and overburden registrars at the last minute. Under this proposal to send applications to all voters, the individual campaigns and parties would certainly have a high incentive to harvest applications to  make sure their voters would receive a ballot. I can just hear the howl go up in opposition to application harvesting. You can fill in who would howl and all the reasons why. 

Larry

From: Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> On Behalf Of Trevor Potter
Sent: Monday, 13 April 2020 4:49 AM
To: James Bopp Jr <jboppjr at aol.com>; rhasen at law.uci.edu; law-election at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] GOP pushes absentee ballot applications and Trump condems "mail in balloting"

There is another difference between the two regimes Jim describes — perhaps a compromise— in which “no-excuse “ absentee ballot requests are mailed to every voter , so that those who wish to vote by mail may easily request a ballot. Several states are heading down this path...
Trevor Potter

Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>

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From: Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu <mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> > on behalf of James Bopp Jr <jboppjr at aol.com <mailto:jboppjr at aol.com> >
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2020 7:32 AM
To: rhasen at law.uci.edu <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu> ; law-election at uci.edu <mailto:law-election at uci.edu> 
Subject: [EL] GOP pushes absentee ballot applications and Trump condems "mail in balloting"

This is the problem with conflating "absentee balloting" and current "mail in balloting" schemes -- it leads to partisan attacks claiming phony hypocrisy.

While both traditional "absentee balloting" and current "mail in balloting" schemes promoted by Democrats involve "mailing a ballot," this is superficial. There is at least one big substantive difference which leads Republicans and Trump to support and use absentee balloting, as the WaPo correctly points out, while opposing current "mail in balloting" schemes.

In absentee balloting, a prior application is required in order to get a ballot and that is what many GOP state parties are now promoting.

In current mail in balloting scheme, no application is needed and ballots are just mailed wholesale to all registered voters. Republican believe that this required application is a vital fraud protection measure and is an important basis for Republican's opposition.

I really think we need to understand the difference and get the terminology right. Jim Bopp

In a message dated 4/12/2020 11:55:37 PM US Eastern Standard Time, rhasen at law.uci.edu <mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>  writes:

“GOP pushes voting by mail — with restrictions — as Trump attacks it as ‘corrupt’”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110678>

Posted on April 12, 2020 3:13 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=110678> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-pushes-voting-by-mail--with-restrictions--as-trump-attacks-it-as-corrupt/2020/04/12/526057a4-7bf8-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_politics <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-pushes-voting-by-mail--with-restrictions--as-trump-attacks-it-as-corrupt/2020/04/12/526057a4-7bf8-11ea-a130-df573469f094_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_politics&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss> &utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss>:

The same week President Trump told the public that voting by mail is “corrupt<https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-calls-vote-by-mail-efforts-corrupt/2020/04/08/ad9b3706-3072-41a3-87a6-2525ae6be436_video.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_1 <https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-calls-vote-by-mail-efforts-corrupt/2020/04/08/ad9b3706-3072-41a3-87a6-2525ae6be436_video.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_1&itid=lk_inline_manual_1> &itid=lk_inline_manual_1>” and “ripe for fraud<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1248031484532928514>,” his own party was sending a very different message to Republican voters in Pennsylvania.

“Voting by mail is an easy, convenient and secure way to cast your ballot,” read a mail piece the Republican National Committee distributed across the Keystone State. “Return the attached official Republican Party mail-in ballot application to avoid lines and protect yourself from large crowds on Election Day.”

Despite the president’s rhetoric, state party leaders across the country are aggressively urging their voters to cast ballots by mail, GOP officials confirm. In addition, Republican officeholders in at least 16 states that do not have all-mail elections are encouraging people to vote absentee during the ongoing coronavirus<https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?tid=lk_inline_manual_3 <https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?tid=lk_inline_manual_3&itid=lk_inline_manual_3> &itid=lk_inline_manual_3> pandemic, according to a tally by The Washington Post.

Ohio SOS LaRose<https://twitter.com/FrankLaRose/status/1249378551217950720>:

[cid:Me7GJLgc6JfMlwNwDQaX]<https://twitter.com/lbischoff>

Laura Bischoff at lbischoff <mailto:Bischoff at lbischoff%3chttps://twitter.com/lbischoff> <https://twitter.com/lbischoff>

15h<https://twitter.com/lbischoff/status/1249311501472731138>

Ohio is currently conducting mail-in voting. Your ballot must be postmarked by April 27 to be counted. @FrankLaRose<https://twitter.com/FrankLaRose> - how do you respond to @realDonaldTrump<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump>'s statement? https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1249132374547464193 …<https://t.co/bcoj2D1cNd>

Donald J. Trump<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1249132374547464193>

✔@realDonaldTrump<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1249132374547464193>

Mail in ballots substantially increases the risk of crime and VOTER FRAUD!<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1249132374547464193>

[cid:JNk9x0M5sgPrBktX5KMh]<https://twitter.com/FrankLaRose>

Frank LaRose<https://twitter.com/FrankLaRose>

✔@FrankLaRose<https://twitter.com/FrankLaRose>

I can tell you that’s not the case in Ohio. As I’ve said, we’re fortunate that we’ve been doing vote by mail for a long time. We know how to do it, and we know how to get it done securely.

Hope we can get back to normal for November, but we’ll be ready no matter the situation.

581<https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1249378551217950720>

9:47 AM - Apr 12, 2020<https://twitter.com/FrankLaRose/status/1249378551217950720>

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175 people are talking about this<https://twitter.com/FrankLaRose/status/1249378551217950720>

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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>

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