[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/4/20

[Rick Hasen]

“Trump’s assault on mail voting threatens his reelection bid”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113747>
Posted on August 3, 2020 9:15 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113747> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico:<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/trumps-assault-on-mail-voting-threatens-his-reelection-bid-390949>

Donald Trump’s all-out war on mail voting is backfiring in battleground states.

New private polling shared first with POLITICO showed that Republicans have become overwhelmingly concerned about mail balloting, which Trump has claimed without evidence, will lead to widespread voter fraud. A potentially decisive slice of Trump’s battleground-state base — 15 percent of Trump voters in Florida, 12 percent in Pennsylvania and 10 percent in Michigan — said that getting a ballot in the mail would make them less likely to vote in November.

Trump won each of those states by a thin margin in 2016, and less than 1 percent of Joe Biden voters said getting a ballot mailed to them would make them less likely to vote. Overall, 53 percent of voters in Florida and about half in Michigan and Pennsylvania expressed health concerns about casting their ballots in person and prefer voting by mail in November.

The poll is part of a late flurry of research trying to gauge swing-state voter attitudes as the coronavirus accelerates the trend of more and more voters casting their ballots by mail. While there are concerns that the U.S. Postal Service may not be able to handle the crush of ballots, some Republicans fear that Trump’s regular fulminations against mail voting will depress GOP turnout in the fall. He has repeated baseless claims of widespread fraud associated with mail voting, and late last week the president floated the idea of delaying the election because of it,<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/30/trump-suggests-delaying-2020-election-387902> which he does not have the constitutional authority to do.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Trump stokes fears of election-night mail voting fraud”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113745>
Posted on August 3, 2020 9:12 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113745> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Axios reports.<https://www.axios.com/trump-mail-voting-fraud-charges-b8526b70-c787-4f16-ae29-e51d726e1fa9.html>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Group that wanted to call state lawmaker ‘literally Hitler’ in campaign mailer wins First Amendment case”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113743>
Posted on August 3, 2020 9:09 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113743> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Tennessean<https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/01/judge-tennessee-election-law-incompatible-first-amendment/5551097002/>:

A group that wanted to skewer a Tennessee state representative as “literally Hitler” in a mailer has successfully challenged a law that blocked false speech, including satire, against candidates in campaign literature.

Tennesseans for Sensible Election Laws created a mailer that lambasted Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris, for proposing a new law to chemically castrate convicted sex offenders.<https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/03/tennessee-republican-lawmaker-files-bill-chemically-castrate-sex-offenders/2803880001/>

The mailer called the Griffey bill “the kind of thing you would see in Nazi Germany, not Tennessee.” It included bold text saying, “Bruce Griffey is LITERALLY HITLER.”

Because the mailer used false language to parody and criticize a candidate for elected office, the group faced a $50 fine and up to 30 days in jail under state law if members distributed it.
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Posted in campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>


“Another fake Pelosi video goes viral on Facebook”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113740>
Posted on August 3, 2020 9:07 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113740> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CNN<https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/02/politics/fake-nancy-pelosi-video-facebook/index.html?utm_term=159651287494950ab6a134dda&utm_source=Reliable+Sources+-+Aug+3%2C+2020&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=232406_1596512874950&bt_ee=uwgoKfgb42fNnrJ6Zr6S%2BIDDh1lA8pGdHHQHpkpUsM1iUqTttnKFxel1N%2Fq9%2FWB%2B&bt_ts=1596512874950>:

Facebook’s fact-checkers on Sunday labeled as “partly false” a video that it said was manipulated to make it appear as if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was drunk or drugged. The video had been circulating on Facebook since Thursday and by Sunday night had been viewed more than 2 million times.

A similarly false video of Pelosi <https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2019/05/24/nancy-pelosi-doctored-video-social-media.cnn-business> went viral on Facebook in May 2019. At the time, Pelosi blasted Facebook for not removing the video. Facebook had instead applied a fact-check label to it.Facebook did not remove the new video on Sunday either, meaning it can still be viewed on the platform but a warning label has been placed on it. Videos marked false are also promoted less by Facebook’s algorithms, the company says. Facebook said it will also send a notification to people who shared the video to flag the fact check.

That the video was viewed so many times will likely prompt renewed scrutiny of policies on misinformation. The earlier manipulated Pelosi video prompted similar scrutiny.

More from the “Reliable Sources” newsletter:

It’s worth noting that, once again, Facebook did not take action to even apply a label to the doctored video until it had gone viral on the platform. As Donie O’Sullivan noted in his story, the video had been circulating since Thursday, but Facebook took action Sunday night when it had been already viewed more than 2 million times. Stone reiterated to me that fact-checked content has its distribution reduced and that people who shared it are notified a fact-check was applied.

But O’Sullivan also noted<https://e.newsletters.cnn.com/click/Ecmhhc2VuQGxhdy51Y2kuZWR1/CeyJtaWQiOiIxNTk2NTEyODc0OTQ5NTBhYjZhMTM0ZGRhIiwiY3QiOiJjbm4tMzM5MWU2NmUyODAxYTMzZGJmNzc1NTA3MmRiNjUyMjQtMSIsInJkIjoibGF3LnVjaS5lZHUifQ/HWkhfQ05OX2lfTmV3c19OREJBTjA4MDQyMDIwMjMyNDA2MSxjbm5uZXdzLGh0dHBzOi8vdHdpdHRlci5jb20vZG9uaWUvc3RhdHVzLzEyOTAzMjUzOTU1NDAxODUwODg/qP3M9MjE/sfa65389da8> the video is still continuing to rack up hundreds of thousands of views. My two cents: The fact that Facebook is so often acting only after disinfo has gone viral on its platform indicates that the company’s current approach to stemming bad content from being widely shared isn’t very effective.
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Posted in social media and social protests<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=58>


“Two People Linked to Kanye West’s Campaign Are Active in GOP Politics”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113738>
Posted on August 3, 2020 8:54 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113738> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ben Jacobs:<https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/08/two-people-linked-to-kanye-wests-campaign-have-ties-to-gop.html>

At least two people with links to Kanye West’s nascent presidential campaign are also active in Republican Party politics.

One of West’s electors in the state of Vermont will also be a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Charlotte. Chuck Wilton, one of the three electors West’s presidential campaign named in a filing submitted with the Vermont Secretary of State on Monday, was also elected by the Vermont Republican Party in May to serve as a delegate for President Trump at this year’s RNC.

Asked by Intelligencer if he was the same person who was listed as a delegate, Wilton replied, “Yup, that would be me.” He said that he had been involved in politics in Vermont for years, and had been connected to the West campaign “through political contacts.”

“Somebody said that Vermont needs electors for certain people and [it was] something I said that I’m more than willing to do,” Wilton explained. He described himself politically as “conservative libertarian/center right,” adding that he was “not disappointed with [Trump] but wanted to search out some more alternatives to him.” Wilton said that he thought West was “center right” just like him.

The Republican National Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wilton was the second person with ties to the GOP to be linked to the West presidential campaign on Monday. A prominent Republican operative, Gregg Keller<http://www.atlasstrategygroup.com/about/>, was listed as the campaign’s point of contact<https://twitter.com/Bencjacobs/status/1290368066946203648> in a filing with the Arkansas Secretary of State. Keller, who did not respond to repeated requests for comment, is the former executive director of the American Conservative Union and has worked for a number of prominent Republican politicians including Mitt Romney and Josh Hawley.
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Posted in third parties<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47>


“Census Cuts All Counting Efforts Short By A Month”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113736>
Posted on August 3, 2020 8:50 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113736> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Hansi Lo Wang<https://www.npr.org/2020/08/03/898548910/census-cut-short-a-month-rushes-to-finish-all-counting-efforts-by-sept-30>:

The Census Bureau is ending all counting efforts for the 2020 census on Sept. 30, a month shorter than previously announced, the bureau’s director confirmed Monday in a statement<https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/delivering-complete-accurate-count.html>. That includes critical door-knocking efforts and collecting responses online, over the phone and by mail.

The latest updates to the bureau’s plans are part of efforts to “accelerate the completion of data collection and apportionment counts by our statutory deadline of December 31, 2020, as required by law and directed by the Secretary of Commerce,” who oversees the bureau, Director Steven Dillingham said in the written statement posted on the bureau’s website<https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/delivering-complete-accurate-count.html>.

These last-minute changes to the constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the U.S. threaten the accuracy of population numbers used to determine the distribution of political representation and federal funding for the next decade.

With roughly 4 out of 10 households nationwide yet to be counted<https://twitter.com/hansilowang/status/1290354793639301127> and already delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, the bureau now has less than two months left to try to reach people of color, immigrants, renters, rural residents and other members of historically undercounted groups who are not likely to fill out a census form on their own.
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Posted in census litigation<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=125>


“Over Six in Ten ‘Likely Voters’ Support Vote by Mail, Survey Says”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113734>
Posted on August 3, 2020 8:46 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113734> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Rutgers Today<https://www.rutgers.edu/news/over-six-ten-likely-voters-support-vote-mail-survey-says?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=rutgerstoday&utm_content=Research%20%26amp%3B%20Innovation>:

Likely voters throughout the country say the surge of coronavirus  makes it even more important to vote by mail in November, with 64 percent of Americans and 70 percent of New Jerseyeans supporting the provision, according to a new national survey<https://covidstates.net/COVID19%20CONSORTIUM%20REPORT%207%20VBM%20JULY%202020.pdf> led by researchers from Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Northeastern, Harvard, and Northwestern Universities.

The survey, published by The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States<https://covidstates.org/>, also reveals that 66 percent of people who plan to vote support giving every American the right to vote by mail in November. Twenty-two percent oppose the idea.

“Overall, a majority of Americans support giving every eligible voter the right to cast a ballot by mail,” said coauthor Katherine Ognyanova<https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/ognyanova-katherine-katya>, an assistant professor of communication at Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information<https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/>. “Health concerns, crowded polling stations and long wait times will likely dissuade many people from voting in person this November.”

The researchers surveyed 19,052 people across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia from July 10 to July 26, polling participants on their support for voting by mail, and likelihood to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot this November.

Forty-one percent of respondents said they were “very likely” and 23 percent said they were “somewhat likely” to vote by mail in November.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>


Top Recent Downloads in Election Law on SSRN<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113732>
Posted on August 3, 2020 5:21 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113732> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/topten/topTenResults.cfm?groupingId=991929&netorjrnl=jrnl>:

Recent Top Papers (60 days)

As of: 04 Jun 2020 – 03 Aug 2020
Rank
Paper
Downloads
1.
Do Shifts in Late-Counted Votes Signal Fraud? Evidence From Bolivia<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3621475>
Nicolás Idrobo<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=4166406>, Dorothy Kronick<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1885470> and Francisco Rodríguez<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1866758>
University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts & Sciences, Department of Political Science, Students, University of Pennsylvania and Tulane University
Date Posted: 01 Jul 2020
Last Revised: 01 Jul 2020
1,800
2.
Pay to Play? Campaign Finance and the Incentive Gap in the Sixth Amendment’s Right to Counsel<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3611209>
Neel U. Sukhatme<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1289947> and Jay Jenkins<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=4197589>
Georgetown University Law Center and Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
Date Posted: 19 Jun 2020
Last Revised: 19 Jun 2020
191
3.
The Democracy Principle in State Constitutions<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3593788>
Jessica Bulman-Pozen<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=825651>
Columbia University – Law School
Miriam Seifter<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1895131>
University of Wisconsin Law School
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2020
Last Revised: 24 Jul 2020
160
4.
Election Litigation in the Time of the Pandemic<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3604763>
Nicholas Stephanopoulos<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=636048>
Harvard Law School
Date Posted: 27 May 2020
Last Revised: 29 Jun 2020
126
5.
The Constitutional Emergency Powers of Federal Courts<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3629356>
Richard H. Pildes<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=121253>
New York University School of Law
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2020
Last Revised: 30 Jun 2020
119
6.
Postponing Federal Elections Due to Election Emergencies<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3619213>
Michael Morley<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2159971>
Florida State University – College of Law
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2020
Last Revised: 20 Jul 2020
103
7.
Accommodating a Massive Surge in Absentee Voting<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3613163>
Richard H. Pildes<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=121253>
New York University School of Law
Date Posted: 22 Jun 2020
Last Revised: 24 Jun 2020
91
8.
The County Line: The Law and Politics of Ballot Positioning in New Jersey<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3613994>
Brett M. Pugach<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=4203483>
Independent
Date Posted: 23 Jun 2020
Last Revised: 23 Jun 2020
83
9.
Trumped by Trump? Public Support for Vote By Mail Voting in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3630334>
Joshua David Clinton<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1661125>, John S. Lapinski<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1197909>, Sarah Lentz<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=4237861> and Stephen Pettigrew<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=4237866>
Vanderbilt University – Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania – Department of Political Science, Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies and Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2020
Last Revised: 29 Jun 2020
66
10.
Political Fair Use<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3568515>
Cathay Smith<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2217861>
The University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law
Date Posted: 18 May 2020
Last Revised: 24 Jun 2020
56
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Trump Again Assails Mail-In Voting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113730>
Posted on August 3, 2020 5:16 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113730> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/us/politics/trump-mail-in-voting.html>

In his latest assault on voting by mail, President Trump said on Monday that he thought the Democratic primary in New York’s 12th Congressional District should be rerun because of lengthy delays in counting mail-in ballots.

Prompted by a question at an afternoon news conference, Mr. Trump also claimed that he had the right to take executive action to stop the broader use of mail-in ballots nationwide, but he said “we haven’t gotten there yet.” He offered no details on what authority he would cite to override state laws that allowed mail-in voting.

The president has been raging against voting by mail<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/us/politics/trump-vote-by-mail.html> for several months, claiming without evidence<https://www.nytimes.com/article/mail-in-voting-explained.html> that the process is plagued by fraud<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/us/politics/trump-mail-voting-fraud.html> and insisting that the broader use of mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html> will corrupt the 2020 presidential election. “Universal mail-in ballots is going to be a great embarrassment to our country,” he said.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Allows Candidate Submission of Electronic Signatures Despite Errors<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113727>
Posted on August 3, 2020 1:26 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113727> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Seems an application<https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2020/08/03/z12979.pdf> of the Democracy Canon.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“How Has the Electoral College Survived for This Long?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113725>
Posted on August 3, 2020 1:19 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113725> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Alex Keyssar NYT oped<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/opinion/electoral-college-racism-white-supremacy.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage>:

As our revived national conversation on race has made clear, the legacies of slavery and white supremacy run wide and deep in American society and political life. One such legacy — which is particularly noteworthy in a presidential election season — has been the survival and preservation of the Electoral College, an institution that has been under fire for more than 200 years. Our complicated method of electing presidents has been the target of recurrent reform attempts since the early 19th century, and the politics of race and region have figured prominently in their defeat.

It is, of course, no secret that slavery played a role in the original design of our presidential election system — although historians<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/opinion/the-electoral-college-slavery-myth.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article> disagree<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/06/opinion/electoral-college-slavery.html> about the centrality of that role. The notorious formula that gave states representation in Congress for three-fifths of their slaves was carried over into the allocation of electoral votes; the number of electoral votes granted to each state was (and remains) equivalent to that state’s representation in both branches of Congress. This constitutional design gave white Southerners disproportionate influence in the choice of presidents, an edge that could and did affect the outcome of elections.

Not surprisingly, the slave states strenuously opposed any changes to the system that would diminish their advantage. In 1816, when a resolution calling for a national popular vote was introduced in Congress for the first time, it was derailed by the protestations of Southern senators. The slaveholding states “would lose the privilege the Constitution now allows them, of votes upon three-fifths of their population other than freemen,” objected William Wyatt Bibb of Georgia on the floor of the Senate. “It would be deeply injurious to them.”

What is far less known, or recognized, is that long after the abolition of slavery, Southern political leaders continued to resist any attempts to replace the Electoral College with a national popular vote. (They sometimes supported other reforms, like the proportional division of each state’s electoral votes, but those are different strands of a multifaceted tale.) The reasoning behind this opposition was straightforward, if disturbing. After Reconstruction, the white “Redeemer” governments that came to power in Southern states became the political beneficiaries of what amounted to a “five-fifths” clause: African-Americans counted fully toward representation (and thus electoral votes), but they were again disenfranchised — despite the formal protections outlined in the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, which stated that the right to vote could not be denied “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” White Southerners consequently derived an even greater benefit from the Electoral College than they had before the Civil War.
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Posted in electoral college<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>


Trump Made at Least 713 Statements and Tweets Since 2012 Calling Voting and Elections into Question, Including 91 from January through July of This Year<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113699>
Posted on August 3, 2020 8:52 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113699> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Incredible stats from Susan Glasser<https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/trump-is-the-election-crisis-he-is-warning-about> in the New Yorker:

In fact, Trump’s attack on the legitimacy of the upcoming election has been intensifying for months, as his poll standing has sunk. Trump’s “Twitter Richter scale,” as the Democratic lawyer Norm Eisen put it to me the other day, was already registering “off the charts” on the subject. Indeed, when I asked Bill Frischling, who runs the Factbase Web site, which tracks Trump’s public statements and tweets, to look at how often the President had questioned voting or suggested that an election would be rigged, unfair, or otherwise compromised, he came up with seven hundred and thirteen references by Trump since 2012, the vast majority occurring in clusters as the elections of 2016, 2018, and 2020 neared. Already, Factbase has recorded ninety-one instances of such rhetoric from Trump this year, a number which is all but sure to escalate.

I had the pleasure of appearing<https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/08/02/election-meltdown-author-on-trumps-threat-to-democracy.cnn> with Susan on CNN’s Reliable Sources yesterday.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113699&title=Trump%20Made%20at%20Least%20713%20Statements%20and%20Tweets%20Since%202012%20Calling%20Voting%20and%20Elections%20into%20Question%2C%20Including%2091%20from%20January%20through%20July%20of%20This%20Year>
Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


“Inside the Project Veritas Plan to Steal the Election; James O’Keefe’s group is part of a sprawling campaign to delegitimize mail-in balloting in the fall—a campaign being led by the White House.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113697>
Posted on August 3, 2020 8:30 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113697> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

TNR reports.<https://newrepublic.com/article/158622/inside-project-veritas-plan-steal-election>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113697&title=%E2%80%9CInside%20the%20Project%20Veritas%20Plan%20to%20Steal%20the%20Election%3B%20James%20O%E2%80%99Keefe%E2%80%99s%20group%20is%20part%20of%20a%20sprawling%20campaign%20to%20delegitimize%20mail-in%20balloting%20in%20the%20fall%E2%80%94a%20campaign%20being%20led%20by%20the%20White%20House.%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


2020 Supplement to “The Law of Democracy” Now Available<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113693>
Posted on August 3, 2020 7:30 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113693> by Richard Pildes<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>

West Academic Published has announced<https://electionlawblog.org/Users/pildesr/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/XAO6JGKC/email%20(003).mht> that the 2020 Supplement to The Law of Democracy: Legal Regulation of the Political Process is now available at this <https://3668083.app.netsuite.com/core/media/media.nl?id=4358294&c=3668083&h=c32b3ef383d013f49f84&_xt=.pdf&utm_source=Law+School&utm_campaign=43eb7640bc-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_31_02_38&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54bb41ccd1-43eb7640bc-68000453> link.

The Supplement contains a free-standing 15-page section on issues concerning the fall election, including how the courts and policymakers have responded thus far to voting during a pandemic. For those not teaching the course who might want to use this material in other classes, we would be happy to send that free-standing section.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113693&title=2020%20Supplement%20to%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Law%20of%20Democracy%E2%80%9D%20Now%20Available>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Why the Botched N.Y.C. Primary Has Become the November Nightmare”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113694>
Posted on August 3, 2020 7:23 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113694> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT reports<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/nyregion/nyc-mail-ballots-voting.html>, with the subhed: “Nearly six weeks later, two congressional races remain undecided, and officials are trading blame over the mishandling of tens of thousands of mail-in ballots.”
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113694&title=%E2%80%9CWhy%20the%20Botched%20N.Y.C.%20Primary%20Has%20Become%20the%20November%20Nightmare%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>


2004 video of Trump driving all over NYC trying to vote but not on the rolls, then casting a provisional ballot<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113691>
Posted on August 3, 2020 7:12 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113691> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CNN<https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/31/politics/trump-vote-by-mail-provisional-ballot-2004-video/>:

Video of then-businessman Donald Trump struggling to vote in-person before declaring he would fill out an absentee ballot in 2004 has resurfaced this week amid a new round of unfounded attacks on mail-in voting<https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/07/30/trump-briefing-mail-in-ballots-election-bts-collins-sitroom-vpx.cnn> from the President.

The “Access Hollywood” segment<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOcQEcwFkX0>, filmed as Trump was attempting to vote in the 2004 election, shows Trump alongside TV host Billy Bush visiting multiple New York City polling locations. Trump, however, is blocked from voting at each location because he is not on any of the voter rolls at each stop.Trump can be seen becoming increasingly frustrated before declaring, “I’m going to fill out the absentee ballot.

“The segment ends with Trump filling out what Bush describes as a provisional ballot in his car.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113691&title=2004%20video%20of%20Trump%20driving%20all%20over%20NYC%20trying%20to%20vote%20but%20not%20on%20the%20rolls%2C%20then%20casting%20a%20provisional%20ballot>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Remember election night? Pandemic, tight races could make it election week. Or longer”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113689>
Posted on August 3, 2020 7:08 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113689> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bryan Lowry<https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article244625722.html> for the KC Star:

Kansans and Missourians may need to be patient on election night Tuesday. That’s because election night won’t necessarily bring election results.

The unprecedented volume of mail balloting and a shortage of poll workers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic<https://www.kansascity.com/news/coronavirus/article243066146.html>, combined with tightly-contested primary races<https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article243956922.html>, creates the conditions for a long election night, or possibly election week. Or longer.

Officials in Kansas, where Republican voters will select a general election contender for the seat of retiring Sen. Pat Roberts, are explicitly cautioning against expecting reliable results Tuesday night. Missouri, which will decide whether to become the38th state to expand eligibility for Medicaid<https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article244450087.html>, is more optimistic about a timely outcome.

Tuesday could also be a preview of November 3, when all 50 states and the District of Columbia will be running elections in a pandemic.

Many states have seen long lines for voting this primary season, as a shortage of poll workers has slowed in-person voting. Other states have embraced mail voting as a safer alternative during the pandemic to ensure as many people get to vote as possible.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113689&title=%E2%80%9CRemember%20election%20night%3F%20Pandemic%2C%20tight%20races%20could%20make%20it%20election%20week.%20Or%20longer%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>


“As Trump leans into attacks on mail voting, GOP officials confront signs of Republican turnout crisis”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113687>
Posted on August 3, 2020 7:03 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113687> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-race-to-promote-mail-voting-as-trumps-attacks-discourage-his-own-supporters-from-embracing-the-practice/2020/08/03/9dd1d988-d1d9-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html>

President Trump’s unfounded attacks on mail balloting are discouraging his own supporters from embracing the practice, according to polls and Republican leaders across the country, prompting growing alarm that one of the central strategies of his campaign is threatening GOP prospects in November.

Multiple public surveys show a growing divide between Democrats and Republicans about the security of voting by mail, with Republicans saying they are far less likely to trust it in November. In addition, party leaders in several states said they are encountering resistance among GOP voters who are being encouraged to vote absentee while also seeing the president describe mail voting as “rigged<https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1287554056727040008>” and “fraudulent<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1281556758457188352>.”

As a result, state and local Republicans across the country fear they are falling dramatically behind in a practice that is expected to be key to voter turnout this year. Through mailers and Facebook ads, they are racing to promote absentee balloting among their own.

In the process, some Republican officials have tried to draw a distinction between “absentee ballots,” which Trump claims are secure, and “mail ballots,” which he has repeatedly attacked. In fact, the terms are used interchangeably.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, describing a recent meeting with a group of Republican voters in Fort Payne, said he felt compelled to explain that there is only one kind of mail-in voting in Alabama, and that it is safe and secure.

“They were confused about two different kinds of mail-in balloting,” he said, “where one is ‘good’ and one is not.”

Merrill’s concerns were echoed by senior White House and campaign aides, as well as GOP operatives in numerous key states including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to criticize the president.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113687&title=%E2%80%9CAs%20Trump%20leans%20into%20attacks%20on%20mail%20voting%2C%20GOP%20officials%20confront%20signs%20of%20Republican%20turnout%20crisis%E2%80%9D>
Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>


“Trump threatens lawsuit to block mail-in voting in Nevada”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113685>
Posted on August 3, 2020 7:01 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113685> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico:<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/03/trump-nevada-mail-voting-lawsuit-390878>

President Donald Trump threatened legal action Monday after Nevada’s legislature passed a bill to mail ballots to all active voters, suggesting that the measure would make it impossible for Republicans to win there in November’s general election.

“In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court!”

The president’s social media post came after Nevada state lawmakers approved legislation on Sunday to automatically send mail-in ballots to voters. Nevada Gov. Stephen Sisolak, a Democrat, is expected to sign the legislation into law.

Trump has aggressively advocated for in-person voting in recent months even as statelevel election officials move expand mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic, which many fear could be easily spread at polling places.

The president argued in April that mail-in voting “doesn’t work out well for Republicans,” and has repeatedly claimed the ballot-casting practice results in widespread incidents of voter fraud.

But Republican political operatives have embraced vote-by-mail, and a recent study found that it does not benefit one party over another.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113685&title=%E2%80%9CTrump%20threatens%20lawsuit%20to%20block%20mail-in%20voting%20in%20Nevada%E2%80%9D>
Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


--
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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