[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/6/20

[Rick Hasen]

“State Dept. Traces Russian Disinformation Links”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113840>
Posted on August 6, 2020 7:44 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113840> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/us/politics/state-department-russian-disinformation.html>

Russia continues to use a network of proxy websites to spread pro-Kremlin disinformation and propaganda in the United States and other parts of the West, according to a State Department report<https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USSTATEBPA/2020/08/05/file_attachments/1512230/Pillars%20of%20Russias%20Disinformation%20and%20Propaganda%20Ecosystem_08-04-20%20%281%29.pdf> released on Wednesday.

The report is one of the most detailed explanations yet from the Trump administration on how Russia disseminates disinformation, but it largely avoids discussing how Moscow is trying to influence the current campaign. Even as Democrats on Capitol Hill have urged the American government to declassify more information on Russia’s efforts to interfere with the election, President Trump has repeatedly told officials such disclosures are unwelcome.

Most of the report focuses on an ecosystem of websites, many of them fringe or conspiracy minded, that Russia has used or directed to spread propaganda on a variety of topics. Those include an online journal called the Strategic Culture Foundation and other sites, like the Canada-based Global Research. The document builds on information disclosed<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/us/politics/russia-disinformation-coronavirus.html> last week by American officials about Russian intelligence’s control of various propaganda sites.
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Posted in cheap speech<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


“Almost 4 in 10 election-judge jobs in Maryland are vacant. Officials are begging Hogan to change his Election Day plan.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113838>
Posted on August 6, 2020 7:41 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113838> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/hogan-maryland-voting-plans/2020/08/05/1c25ced4-d68f-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“The Voting Rights Act Turns 55 Today. It’s Still Fiercely Contested In North Carolina.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113836>
Posted on August 6, 2020 7:39 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113836> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WFAE reports.<https://www.wfae.org/post/voting-rights-act-turns-55-today-its-still-fiercely-contested-north-carolina#stream/0>
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Posted in Voting Rights Act<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


“The world has shown it’s possible to avert Covid-caused election meltdowns. But the U.S. is unique.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113834>
Posted on August 6, 2020 7:37 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113834> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico:<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/06/coronavirus-election-safe-fair-391962>

The experiences of electoral authorities around the world show that the risks to pandemic-era voting are predictable and can be prevented — or at least managed — by taking practical steps: delivering funding for additional polling workers and polling places; ensuring more and easier ways to vote; conducting public information campaigns about what’s changing; taking safety measures from masks to outdoor lines; and allowing officials to begin processing mail ballots before election night.

The challenge in the United States is getting all 50 states and numerous territories on the same page when it comes to making the necessary adjustments. While the vast majority of countries have single national election authorities, the U.S. election system is uniquely decentralized, governed by a patchwork of 3,100 counties.

And time is running out for those local election officials to take the kinds of steps necessary to ensure a smooth election day in November — or election weeks, given that many states now have extended early voting periods, starting in September. Richard L. Hasen, the lead author of an April report into fair elections in a crisis<https://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/2020ElectionReport.pdf>, said in an email that after watching the U.S. primary season unfold, he now believes “the report understated the danger” to November’s election….

A University of California report<https://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/election-recommendations/> recommends that mail ballots be opened and stacked — “everything short of the final tabulation” — before voting closes, to ensure a quicker count on election night. Most U.S. states allow at least basic processing of mail ballots, such as signature verification, to occur before election day. Some, such as Maryland, ban counting even on election night,<https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-16-when-absentee-mail-ballot-processing-and-counting-can-begin.aspx> delaying it until the morning after. If a state won’t allow early processing of mail ballots, officials can reduce distrust by publishing daily information about absentee and provisional ballot counting and the number of ballots remaining to be counted.

In the absence of a single federal election authority, the American news media plays a bigger role in tallying and announcing election results than in most countries. That role will be even more prominent if the final election result is not known for days or weeks after Nov. 3. Such delays are common in parliamentary systems, where the leading party often fails to win a majority of seats and must form a coalition to govern, but the uncertainty tends to be around which parties will join a governing coalition, rather than who won parliament seats.
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>


“RNC and Trump campaign prepare to wage war over voting laws”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113832>
Posted on August 6, 2020 7:32 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113832> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CNN reports.<https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/politics/rnc-trump-voting-laws/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_allpolitics+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Politics%29>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“How COVID-19 Changed Everything About the 2020 Election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113830>
Posted on August 6, 2020 7:22 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113830> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Molly Ball analysis<https://time.com/5876599/election-2020-coronavirus/> for TIME.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Fear of COVID-19 will not be reason to vote absentee in November, Tennessee Supreme Court rules”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113828>
Posted on August 6, 2020 7:16 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113828> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Tennesseean<https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/05/fear-covid-19-not-reason-vote-absentee-november/5555059002/>:

Fear of COVID-19 will not be a reason to vote by mail in the November general election<https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2020/07/30/tennessees-chief-justice-absentee-ballot-battle-important-case/5531857002/>, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

Absentee ballots filed for Thursday’s primary will remain valid, according to the court.

The high court’s decision reverses a Nashville judge’s injunction that allowed any voter concerned about COVID-19 to vote by mail. But the full lawsuit remains unresolved.

Concerned voters filed lawsuits in Davidson County Chancery Court earlier this year asking for an expansion of the existing policy as cases of the novel coronavirus began to sweep through Tennessee.

Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled on June 4 that the state must add a COVID-19 exemption to the list of possible excuses. The state appealed, and the Supreme Court agreed to take the case directly.

In the 4-1 decision, the high court found that Lyle’s injunction was an error and vacated it.

“With respect to those plaintiffs and persons who do not have special vulnerability to COVID-19 or who are not caretakers for persons with special vulnerability to COVID-19, we hold that the trial court erred in issuing the temporary injunction,” the Supreme Court ruling stated.

You can find the decision at this link<https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/fisher.earlee._and_lay.benjamin.opn__0.pdf>.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, court decisions<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=129>


“Editorial: Mail service critical to 2020 elections, Trump needs to end irresponsible attacks”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113826>
Posted on August 6, 2020 7:05 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113826> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WRAL editorial.<https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/editorial-mail-service-critical-to-2020-elections-trump-needs-to-end-irresponsible-attacks/19221990/>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Republican operatives are helping Kanye West get on general election ballots”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113824>
Posted on August 6, 2020 6:56 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113824> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CNN:<https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/politics/kanye-west-ballot/index.html>

Republican operatives, some with ties to President Donald Trump<https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/candidate/trump>, are actively helping Kanye West get on presidential general election ballots in states ranging from Vermont to Arkansas to Wisconsin.

The effort is raising questions about whether Republicans are pushing for the rapper’s addition to the ballot as a way to potentially siphon voters from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden<https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/candidate/biden>.

Until Tuesday, West’s attempts to get his name on the ballot have only focused on states that are either dominated by Republicans or Democrats in presidential elections. But West’s expected addition to the ballot in Wisconsin means the rapper will likely be a choice for voters in a battleground state that is key to both Trump and Biden’s path to winning in November.

“I like Kanye very much,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday evening. “I have nothing to do with him being on the ballot. I’m not involved.”

Democrats in Wisconsin and beyond called it a blatant attempt to appeal to young Black voters who may be unenthused about the Biden campaign. Any downturn in turnout for Biden among young black voters, a group the Trump campaign has tried to target in the race against the former vice president, could impact the outcome in states with traditionally narrow margins, like Wisconsin….

West’s first campaign event, a rally in South Carolina last month, was an unusual affair that looked nothing like a traditional campaign. The rapper — clad in what looked like a protective vest — made erroneous comments about Harriet Tubman and at one point broke down crying at the North Charleston event. The appearance led many to voice concerns about his well being. And a few days later his wife made a public statement acknowledging West’s bipolar diagnosis and asking for compassion and empathy.

“Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions,” she wrote.

Trump’s campaign strategy with black voters is two-fold: Court younger black men, especially in cities like Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest city, and suppress support for Biden.
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Posted in ballot access<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


“Will We Know Who Is Elected President on Election Night? A Guide to Possible Delays”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113822>
Posted on August 6, 2020 6:50 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113822> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WSJ reports.<https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-we-know-who-is-elected-president-on-election-night-a-guide-to-possible-delays-11596629410>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“More states are using ballot drop boxes for absentee voters, but the boxes are already drawing skepticism”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113820>
Posted on August 6, 2020 6:49 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113820> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/more-states-are-using-ballot-drop-boxes-for-voters-who-dont-trust-the-mail-but-the-boxes-are-already-drawing-skepticism/2020/08/06/4165e7c4-d68a-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html?wpmk=MK0000200>:

Elections officials across the country are accelerating their efforts to install ballot drop boxes, a move they hope will make absentee voting simple and safe for those wary of the mail or fear exposure to the novel coronavirus<https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1> at polling places.

The efforts come as voters voice concerns about timely delivery of mail ballots. Already, postal workers are reporting days-long backlogs of mail across the country<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/postal-service-backlog-sparks-worries-that-ballot-delivery-could-be-delayed-in-november/2020/07/30/cb19f1f4-d1d0-11ea-8d32-1ebf4e9d8e0d_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_3>, calling into question whether ballots will arrive at elections offices in time to be counted in November. President Trump has also ramped up attacks on the integrity of mail voting, in a year when more voters than ever are expected to choose that method because of the pandemic.

But the use of these boxes — which often look similar to a mailbox and are typically under video surveillance or guarded — has come under attack in states newly adopting them this year. Some skeptics worry the boxes may not be properly monitored to prevent tampering, or that voters will not know how to use or find them. In the battleground state of Pennsylvania, these drop boxes are now in the center of a Trump campaign lawsuit raising similar concerns.

Some see drop boxes as a safer and more reliable way to cast ballots than the mail. For instance, Michigan elections officials urged absentee voters to use drop boxes rather than the Postal Service after mail delivery backlogs led some to receive their ballot as late as one day before Tuesday’s primary election.

“Once it leaves the voter’s hand, the elections official has no control over it until it’s back in their hand. I think that’s why these drop boxes give them a little bit more of a sense of … ‘If you put this in the drop box by the appropriate time on Election Day, it’s going to count,’ ” said Matthew Weil, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Elections Project. “That’s a good feeling for an elections official, and I think voters should feel confident in that option, too.”
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>


Must-Read Interview with NV Deputy Secretary of State About the New Nevada Voting Law, Access and the Potential for Fraud<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113813>
Posted on August 5, 2020 2:37 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113813> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

At the Nevada Independent.<https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy-qa-deputy-secretary-of-state-wayne-thorley-on-what-nevadas-controversial-elections-bill-does-and-doesnt-do>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“November election could be a ‘disaster’ if changes aren’t made, Michigan advocates warn Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113811>
Posted on August 5, 2020 2:33 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113811> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Detroit Free Press<https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/05/michigan-absentee-ballots-november-election/3298698001/>:

More than 2 million Michiganders mailed in ballots or voted in person for the primary election Tuesday<https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/05/michigan-primary-election-2020-results-congress/3297166001/>, requiring many clerks to scramble for staff during a pandemic and spend late-night hours tallying a record number of absentee ballot.

Overall, clerks and voters echoed Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s statement that the primary went well. But the anticipated turnout was less than half the number expected to take part in November, when control of the presidency and Congress are at stake.

Problems arising this week in Detroit and elsewhere are harbingers of potential calamity if changes are not made before the general election, voting rights advocates said Wednesday. ..

Much of the concern centered on Detroit, with fears that the problems seen in the state’s largest city may became more pronounced throughout the state in the fall.

At least several polling places in Detroit <https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/04/michigan-primary-election-2020-detroit/5580678002/> did not open on time Tuesday morning because they did not have enough election workers. The Michigan Secretary of State’s office ended up sending 50 extra poll workers to the city, along with 30 additional people to Flint and other municipalities that needed help.

Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey said coronavirus concerns — and not training or logistical problems — led to the “abnormal” number of workers no-showing on Election Day. Other clerks said they were able to open polling places but only with the bare minimum number of election workers.

As anticipated by Benson and others, results continued to trickle in Wednesday.

Winfrey warned a week before the election that Detroit needed an additional 900 poll workers<https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/07/23/detroit-primary-election-poll-workers/5493999002/>. Edevbie and other advocates stressed the need to recruit more poll workers far in advance of the next election.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Instagram Displayed Negative Related Hashtags For Biden, But Hid Them For Trump”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113809>
Posted on August 5, 2020 1:03 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113809> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Buzzfeed<https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/instagram-related-hashtags-favoring-trump-over-biden>:

For at least the last two months, a key Instagram feature, which algorithmically pushes users toward supposedly related content, has been treating hashtags associated with President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in very different ways. Searches for Biden also return a variety of pro-Trump messages, while searches for Trump-related topics only returned the specific hashtags, like #MAGA or #Trump — which means searches for Biden-related hashtags also return counter-messaging, while those for Trump do not.

Earlier this week, a search on Instagram for #JoeBiden would have surfaced nearly 390,000 posts tagged with the former vice president’s name along with related hashtags selected by the platform’s algorithm. Users searching Instagram for #JoeBiden might also see results for #joebiden2020, as well as pro-Trump hashtags like #trump2020landslide and #democratsdestroyamerica.

A similar search for #DonaldTrump on the platform, however, provided a totally different experience. Besides showing 7 million posts tagged with the president’s name, Instagram did not present any related hashtags that would have pushed users toward different content or promoted alternative viewpoints.
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Posted in campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, cheap speech<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>
“Iowa Governor Expands Voting Rights”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113807>
Posted on August 5, 2020 12:10 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113807> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Kira Lerner for The Appeal<https://theappeal.org/politicalreport/iowa-governor-expands-voting-rights/>:

In the latest victory in the movement against criminal disenfranchisement<https://theappeal.org/political-report/disenfranchisement-states/>, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued an executive order Wednesday restoring voting rights to most people convicted of felonies who have completed their sentences. The order will enable tens of thousands of disenfranchised Iowans to register to vote by the November elections.

State advocates have long called<https://theappeal.org/iowa-felon-voting-rights-poll-tax/> for Iowa to expand voting rights. In recent months, Black Lives Matter activists protested in the state capitol<https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/29/black-lives-matter-holds-rally-iowa-capitol-felon-voting-rights/3280616001/>, urging Reynolds to take action.

The order is a temporary fix since a future governor could rescind it. Reynolds has called on the legislature to adopt a constitutional amendment to expand voting rights, to no avail.

It is also a partial one. The order keeps people convicted of certain crimes disenfranchised for life, a practice the vast majority of states have ended, and it requires people to finish all terms of their sentence, including incarceration, probation and parole, before their rights can be restored.
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Posted in felon voting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>


“Facebook’s fact checkers have ruled claims in Trump ads are false — but no one is telling Facebook’s users”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113805>
Posted on August 5, 2020 10:06 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113805> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo<https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/08/05/trump-facebook-ads-false/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wp_politics>:

Fact checkers were unanimous in their assessments when President Trump began claiming in June that Democrat Joe Biden wanted to “defund” police forces. Politifact<https://www.politifact.com/> called the allegations “false,”<https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/jun/09/donald-trump/biden-campaign-says-he-doesnt-want-defund-police/> as did CheckYourFact.<https://checkyourfact.com/2020/06/15/fact-check-joe-biden-defund-police-donald-trump/> The Associated Press detailed “distortions”<https://apnews.com/598cefa02edc5d367248f4e1e488531d> in Trump’s claims. FactCheck.org<https://www.factcheck.org/> called an ad airing them “deceptive.”<https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/trumps-deceptive-ad-on-biden-and-defunding-the-police/> Another site, The Dispatch<https://thedispatch.com/>, said there is “nothing currently to support”<https://factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/does-joe-biden-want-to-defund-the> Trump’s claims.

But these judgments, made by five fact-checking organizations that are part of Facebook’s independent network for policing falsehoods on the platform, were not shared with Facebook’s users. That’s because the company specifically exempts politicians<https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/10/facebook-policy-political-speech-lets-politicians-lie-ads/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4> from its rules against deception. Ads containing the falsehoods continue to run freely on the platform, without any kind of warning or label.

Enabled by Facebook’s rules, Trump’s reelection campaign has shown versions of the false claim on Facebook at least 22.5 million times, in more than 1,400 ads costing between $350,000 and $553,000, a Washington Post analysis found based on data from Facebook’s Ad Library. The ads, bought by the campaign directly or in a partnership with the Republican National Committee, were targeted at Facebook users mainly in swing states such as Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113805&title=%E2%80%9CFacebook%E2%80%99s%20fact%20checkers%20have%20ruled%20claims%20in%20Trump%20ads%20are%20false%20%E2%80%94%20but%20no%20one%20is%20telling%20Facebook%E2%80%99s%20users%E2%80%9D>
Posted in cheap speech<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, social media and social protests<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=58>


“Wanted: Young People To Work The Polls This November”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113802>
Posted on August 5, 2020 9:56 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113802> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NPR reports.<https://www.npr.org/2020/08/05/894331965/wanted-young-people-to-work-the-polls-this-november?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=politics&utm_term=nprnews>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113802&title=%E2%80%9CWanted%3A%20Young%20People%20To%20Work%20The%20Polls%20This%20November%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Trump Campaign Sues Nevada Over Bill Expanding Mail-In Voting for General Election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113798>
Posted on August 5, 2020 7:35 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113798> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Nevada Independent:<https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/trump-campaign-sues-nevada-over-bill-expanding-mail-in-voting-for-general-election>

President Donald Trump’s campaign has sued Nevada over a contentious bill recently approved in the ongoing special session of the Nevada Legislature that expands mail-in voting for the 2020 general election, saying it would make voter fraud “inevitable.”

The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Nevada against Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, comes after the president spent the past three days criticizing the move to a mostly mail election through tweets accusing Democrats of “an illegal late night coup” and in a press conference calling the measure a “disgrace.” Plaintiffs say the bill forces Republicans to expend resources educating people about the changes and encouraging them to participate.

“The RNC has a vital interest in protecting the ability of Republican voters to cast, and Republican candidates to receive, effective votes in Nevada elections and elsewhere,” the suit says. “Major or hasty changes confuse voters, undermine confidence in the electoral process, and create incentive to remain away from the polls.”

The bill, AB4<https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/32nd2020Special/Bill/7150/Overview>, passed on party lines over the last few days and was signed into law on Monday. It specifies that in the November general election, and any others that happen in the wake of a statewide emergency or disaster directive, election officials will send all active registered voters a mail-in ballot.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge to enjoin implementation of the bill, saying it “upends Nevada’s election laws and requires massive changes in election procedures and processes, makes voter fraud and other ineligible voting inevitable.”

“Many of AB4’s provisions are head-scratching — particularly given the stark irregularities in Nevada’s June 2020 primary election, and because AB4 changes so many election laws so close to the 2020 general election,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims that the bill unconstitutionally extends the deadline for Election Day through a provision allowing ballots with unclear postmark dates to be accepted up to three days after Election Day. The complaint says that most mail carriers deliver postmarked mail within one to two days and that the law “effectively extends the congressionally established Election Day.”
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113798&title=%E2%80%9CTrump%20Campaign%20Sues%20Nevada%20Over%20Bill%20Expanding%20Mail-In%20Voting%20for%20General%20Election%E2%80%9D>
Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>


“Hackers Get Green Light to Test U.S. Voting Systems; After years of keeping security researchers at bay, election-equipment makers open their devices to testing”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113796>
Posted on August 5, 2020 7:26 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113796> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WSJ:<https://www.wsj.com/articles/hackers-get-green-light-to-test-u-s-voting-systems-11596628099>

Election Systems & Software LLC, the top U.S. seller of voting-machine technology, is calling a truce in its feud with computer-security researchers over the ways they probe for vulnerabilities of the company’s systems.

With the U.S. presidential election less than three months away, ES&S Chief Information Security Officer Chris Wlaschin on Wednesday will unveil the company’s outreach effort to security researchers at the annual Black Hat hacker convention that is taking place virtually this year, according to ES&S.

Mr. Wlaschin will detail a new vulnerability disclosure policy, which spells out, for example, the “safe harbor” protections that ES&S will provide legitimate researchers if they identify and notify the company of bugs in its systems, ES&S said. Those provisions are standard across many industries, from computer equipment to cars to medical devices, as manufacturers seek outside help to ensure their systems are secure. But the makers of election equipment, ES&S in particular, have been reluctant to allow outside security experts to test their systems, researchers have said.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113796&title=%E2%80%9CHackers%20Get%20Green%20Light%20to%20Test%20U.S.%20Voting%20Systems%3B%20After%20years%20of%20keeping%20security%20researchers%20at%20bay%2C%20election-equipment%20makers%20open%20their%20devices%20to%20testing%E2%80%9D>
Posted in voting technology<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>


“Trump lets on that his attack on voting-by-mail is fake”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113794>
Posted on August 5, 2020 7:13 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113794> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jennifer Rubin WaPo column<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/05/trump-lets-that-his-voting-by-mail-attack-is-fake/>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113794&title=%E2%80%9CTrump%20lets%20on%20that%20his%20attack%20on%20voting-by-mail%20is%20fake%E2%80%9D>
Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>


Kansas Files Supreme Court Cert Petition in Schwab v. Fish (Formerly Fish v. Kobach), Seeking Right to Require Voters to Prove Their Citizenship with Birth or Naturalization Certificate Before Registering to Vote<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113792>
Posted on August 5, 2020 7:06 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113792> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The cert. petition is here.<https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-109/148881/20200728135053814_Fish%20Petition.pdf>

I wrote extensively about this case, and the lack of evidence that such a law is justified by a problem with noncitizen voting, in 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>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113792&title=Kansas%20Files%20Supreme%20Court%20Cert%20Petition%20in%20Schwab%20v.%20Fish%20(Formerly%20Fish%20v.%20Kobach)%2C%20Seeking%20Right%20to%20Require%20Voters%20to%20Prove%20Their%20Citizenship%20with%20Birth%20or%20Naturalization%20Certificate%20Before%20Registering%20to%20Vote>
Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>, The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>


“Conducting Safe Elections During a Pandemic What are states’ voting policies? And how can they prepare for a COVID-19 election?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113790>
Posted on August 5, 2020 7:01 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113790> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The RAND Corporation<https://www.rand.org/research/projects/truth-decay/elections-during-a-pandemic.html?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=NPA:2522:6254:Aug%205,%202020%205:47:27%20AM%20PDT&utm_campaign=NPA:2522:6254:Aug%205,%202020%205:47:27%20AM%20PDT> is out with analyses in this series:
·         REPORT
·         An Assessment of State Voting Processes: Preparing for Elections During a Pandemic<https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA112-8.html>
·         To conduct elections safely this fall, states need registration and voting options that can happen remotely or can enable social distancing. Based on their policies, which states are most and least prepared to do this?
·         TOOL
·         Are States Ready for a COVID-19 Election?<https://www.rand.org/research/projects/truth-decay/elections-during-a-pandemic/state-voting-processes.html>
·         Is there automatic voter registration? Can citizens vote by mail without an excuse? Are there options to cast ballots early? Answering questions such as these can help determine how prepared states are to conduct elections safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
·         REPORT
·         Options for Ensuring Safe Elections Amid COVID-19<https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA112-10.html>
·         The pandemic poses a serious threat to state election plans in 2020. There is still time for states to make policy changes, but those changes come with potential risks to public safety, and to election integrity, access, and logistics.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113790&title=%E2%80%9CConducting%20Safe%20Elections%20During%20a%20Pandemic%20What%20are%20states%E2%80%99%20voting%20policies%3F%20And%20how%20can%20they%20prepare%20for%20a%20COVID-19%20election%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“An Election Like No Other”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113788>
Posted on August 5, 2020 6:55 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=113788> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Axios<https://www.axios.com/2020-election-mail-voting-abe8dfda-1d44-4d2e-bb8c-534defa8b734.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top> canvasses the landscape.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D113788&title=%E2%80%9CAn%20Election%20Like%20No%20Other%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


--
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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