[EL] ICYMI: National Task Force on Election Crises Issues Report on Primary Elections and Implications for November’s General Election

[Ben Raderstorf]

Hi all,

In case you missed it (I think it was on the blog, but not sent over the
list) the National Task Force on Election Crises
<https://www.electiontaskforce.org/>, which includes a number of folks on
this listserv, released a report
<https://www.electiontaskforce.org/s/PostPrimaryReport.pdf> last week on
the primary elections with analysis on what worked well and what didn’t,
along with recommendations for how these learnings can be applied to the
election in November. The goal of the report—“Lessons Learned from the
Primaries: Recommendations for Avoiding a Crisis in November”—is to help
state and local officials, as well as the media, prepare for potential
crises during this year’s general election.


The Task Force is a pretty exceptional group
<https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members> of notable people spanning the
ideological spectrum, so hopefully it's a helpful, convincing, and
comprehensive one-stop document for all your advocacy needs. Press release
is below. Time Magazine also wrote a summary article here
<https://time.com/5878957/election-crises-how-to-fix/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=politics_2020-election&linkId=97042673>.



Cheers,


-Ben



____________

Ben Raderstorf

Policy Advocate

Protect Democracy



[image: A picture containing food Description automatically generated]



*National Task Force on Election Crises Issues Report on Primary Elections
and Implications for November’s General Election *



*Washington, DC – August 13, 2020 – *Today, the National Task Force on
Election Crises <https://www.electiontaskforce.org/> released its “Lessons
from the Primary Elections: Recommendations for Avoiding a Crisis in
November.” <https://www.electiontaskforce.org/s/PostPrimaryReport.pdf> This
report on the primary elections features analysis on what did and did not
work well, along with recommendations for how these lessons can be applied
to secure a free and fair election in November. The goal of the report is
to help prepare state and local officials, as well as the media and general
public for the general election.



The Task Force found that while many state and local officials rose to the
occasion and managed to conduct primary elections with relative success,
there were also significant failures that left many voters disenfranchised
and risked the health of voters and election workers alike. Conducting
elections under extraordinary circumstances—including a global pandemic, a
related economic crisis, and civil unrest—presented myriad challenges that,
if not addressed, could negatively impact voting and ballot counting in
November.



“The nation has an opportunity to learn from its experiences during the
primaries and improve for the general election. In fact, it is imperative
that we do so in order to ensure safe and secure participation in the
election and maximize confidence in the outcome,” the Task Force states in
the report. “While we cannot know precisely what challenges November will
bring, or predict what else might happen between now and then, it is
imperative that we prepare for the worst. But with Election Day just months
away (and early and absentee voting starting soon in many places), there is
no time to waste.”



The report identifies the following key lessons from the primary elections:

   - *Early voting was an important element of making voting safer and more
   accessible*.
   - *Absentee voting* *played a central role in voting during a
   pandemic.  *
   - *In-person voting on Election Day* *continued to be a crucial option
   for many voters.*
   - *Official communications and media coverage* *were critically
   important*.



Based on these lessons, the report includes recommendations for election
officials regarding early voting, absentee/mail voting, in-person voting on
Election Day, and official communications in the general election. In
addition, the Task Force offers recommendations for media, including how
best to report critical election information and manage public expectations
about the timing of election results.



As the report concluded, “Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of
our democracy. No citizen should have to choose between exercising their
right to vote and protecting their health or safety. Yet the general
election may force exactly that choice if we do not act soon to mitigate
the potential for a crisis. With November fast approaching, there is no
time to waste. State and local officials should be preparing now to conduct
the general election in a way that ensures safe and secure participation by
all eligible voters and maximizes confidence in the outcome.”



The full report, “Lessons from the Primary Elections: Recommendations for
Avoiding a Crisis in November,” can be found here
<https://www.electiontaskforce.org/s/PostPrimaryReport.pdf>, along with an
Executive Summary posted here
<https://www.electiontaskforce.org/s/PostPrimaryExecSummary.pdf>.



Please see below for quotes from Task Force members:



“We’ve never seen a primary season like we did this year, and November’s
general election is likely to face many of the same challenges,” said *Task
Force member Jennifer Morrell, and Partner at Elections Group and the
former Deputy of Elections in Arapahoe County, Colorado*. “Our democracy
requires that we address these challenges head on now, so that every
eligible voter is able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted in the
general election.”



“Our nation has faced adversity before, and we will again, but we should
also be as prepared as possible. Applying the lessons from the primaries to
November’s general election is necessary, and crucial for the health of our
democracy,” said *Task Force member Trey Grayson, Former Secretary of State
of Kentucky and the Former President of the National Association of
Secretaries of State*. “Elections are the foundation of our democracy, we
have to get this right.”



“Primary season showed that election operations are under stress, and that
stress can be mitigated in significant ways by learning from both our
successes and our mistakes to build resilience for the General Election,”
said *Task Force member Ryan Macias, Former Acting Director of Testing and
Certification, U.S. Election Assistance Commission.* “Many of the same
risks to a free and fair election will remain in November, and it’s
paramount that we ensure every eligible voter can access the ballot box
safely and securely.”



“With so many hard working public servants racing against the calendar to
secure a free and fair general election in November, these recommendations
can serve as a road map for how to be effective,” said *Task Force member
Michael Steele, Chair of U.S. Vote Foundation and the Former Chair of the
Republican National Committee*. “Working together, across professional and
partisan divides, we’re doing everything we can to support that effort.”

“No voter should have to choose between her health and her democracy,
because voting is fundamental to our responsibility as citizens of a
democracy, and to the health of our democracy,” said *Task Force member
Virginia Kase, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States*.
“We’ve seen the impact that multiple crises have had on the primary
elections, and we have the chance now to make improvements in time for the
general election.”

*About the National Task Force on Election Crises*



The mission of the cross-partisan National Task Force on Election Crises is
to ensure a free and fair 2020 election by recommending responses to a
range of election crises. The Task Force is a diverse group of more than 50
experts in election law, election administration, national security,
cybersecurity, voting rights, civil rights, technology, media, public
health, and emergency response. A full list of the Task Force members can
be found here <https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members> and you can
follow the Task Force on Twitter here <https://twitter.com/electiontask>.



#
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20200817/0c593555/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 39110 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20200817/0c593555/attachment.png>