[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/22/20

Fri Aug 21 20:22:38 PDT 2020

Republican Party Officials Seek to Distance Themselves from Trump Statement About Sending Law Enforcement to the Polls<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114352>
Posted on August 21, 2020 5:25 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114352> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-suggestion-of-deploying-law-enforcement-officials-to-monitor-polls-raises-specter-of-intimidation/2020/08/21/4ff6407a-e3bb-11ea-8dd2-d07812bf00f7_story.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wp_politics>

Mike Reed, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said that law enforcement officers are not part of the RNC’s new poll-watching program. “Our program consists of volunteers and attorneys,” he said.

Other Republican officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal strategy said they were unaware of plans to deploy law enforcement officers to polling places, adding that the president’s comments were inaccurate and unhelpful to the party’s efforts to expand its poll-watching program through appropriate and legal measures.

Matthew Morgan, general counsel for Trump’s reelection campaign, said in a statement that “Republicans will be ready to make sure the polls are being run correctly, securely, and transparently as we work to deliver the free and fair election Americans deserve.”…

Justin Riemer, the RNC’s chief counsel, said volunteers will be trained on local rules and on looking for potential voting problems or fraud. At times, he said, the ballot watchers may confront issues directly with poll workers or may call their problems in to a team of election lawyers back at state headquarters. He said volunteers also will be trained to observe local officials as they count mail-in votes.

Some GOP poll watchers will be stationed in communities that have traditionally seen long lines or other voting day problems, which Riemer acknowledged would be likely to include some Democratic-leaning urban polling sites with many voters of color.

“Where do you see those lines wrapped around the block on Election Day?” he said. “Those are the kinds of places we are going to be. There is usually something wrong.”

Riemer said other poll watchers would focus on GOP-leaning areas, where they can monitor who has not yet voted as the day progresses to help the party better target its get-out-the-vote efforts.

RNC officials say they have developed training programs for poll watchers, though they declined to provide details or copies of the materials.

The consent decree significantly hampered the party’s political activities for years , Riemer said, and, as a result, the RNC plans to be extremely careful not to run afoul of laws against intimidation.

“People here are so vigilant that we are not put under another consent decree,” he said. “Our volunteers will be beaten over the head that they need to be compliant with all applicable laws, and they need to be respectful and courteous when they are engaging in their operations.”
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“For Election Administrators, Death Threats Have Become Part of the Job”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114350>
Posted on August 21, 2020 3:02 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114350> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Jessica Huseman for ProPublica<https://www.propublica.org/article/for-election-administrators-death-threats-have-become-part-of-the-job>:

In a polarized society, the bureaucrats who operate the machinery of democracy are taking flak from all sides. More than 20 have resigned or retired since March 1, thinning their ranks at a time when they are most needed.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Agreement Waives Ballot Witness Requirement in LWV Virginia Case for November Election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114348>
Posted on August 21, 2020 2:45 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114348> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Release<https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/agreement-waives-ballot-witness-requirement-lwv-virginia-case-november?utm_source=PressRelease&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=08212020>:

Parties in League of Women Voters of Virginia, et al. v. Virginia State Board of Elections have agreed to waive the witness requirement for absentee ballots in the November general election. The agreement was accepted by a federal judge today, essentially extending the previous ruling from the primary election<https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/federal-judge-waives-ballot-witness-requirement-lwv-virginia-case?utm_source=PressRelease&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=05052020> to the general election.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

The Guardian Obtains and Posts Trump Campaign’s (Paltry) Evidence of Election Fraud to Support Its Attack on Mail-In Voting in Pennsylvania<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114345>
Posted on August 21, 2020 2:16 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114345> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Guardian<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/21/trump-campaign-voter-fraud-pennsylvania>:

Donald Trump’s campaign failed to produce any evidence of vote-by-mail fraud in Pennsylvania after a federal judge ordered it do so, according to a 524-page court filing<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JeeAhsMhS-02_7plXmbkpWQCN5c0MKoz/view?usp=sharing> obtained by the Guardian.

The order<https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/Order%20Granting%20Motions%20to%20Compel.pdf> came from US district judge Nicholas Ranjan, a Trump appointee, earlier this month amid a lawsuit in Pennsylvania over several voting policies. The Trump campaign is suing<https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/Plaintiffs%27%20Amended%20Complaint.pdf> to block the widespread use of official ballot dropboxes in the state in locations other than an election office, and to allow poll watchers to work in counties other than the ones they live in.

The campaign also wants to block election officials from counting mail-in ballots if a voter forgets to put their mail-in ballot in a secrecy sleeve within the ballot return-envelope. The campaign argued in court that the current practices will lead to voter fraud without these changes….

The campaign’s filing consisted of a half-dozen news articles. Two of the stories dealt with the conviction of Domenick DeMuro, a former Philadelphia election judge who pleaded guilty earlier this year<https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-philadelphia-judge-elections-convicted-conspiring-violate-civil-rights-and-bribery> to illegally taking bribes and ringing up votes at the polls.

A third news story highlighted the conviction of Ozzy Myers, a former congressman who bribed <http://demuro/> DeMuro. DeMuro and Meyers are both Democrats.

The campaign also included a 2018 news release<https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/04/concerns-over-voter-fraud-takes-center-stage-at-hearing-with-lawmakers-on-upcoming-primary.html> about four election workers who had been charged in 2017 with intimidating and harassing voters at the polls. It also included a news story about legislative hearing earlier this year<https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/04/concerns-over-voter-fraud-takes-center-stage-at-hearing-with-lawmakers-on-upcoming-primary.html> that quoted two Republican lawmakers asking questions about how to prevent fraud in mail-in voting, but did not offer evidence of it.

The final piece in the document was a 20 May<https://www.foxnews.com/media/lawsuit-claims-pennsylvania-counties-have-over-800000-ineligible-voters-on-voter-registration-lists> Fox News story highlighting a lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative group, alleging that 800,000 ineligible voters could be on the state’s voting rolls. The group has a reputation for distorting data to make inaccurate claims <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/03/judicial-watch-misinformation-iowa-caucus-voters> about voter rolls. Pennsylvania and the counties being sued say Judicial Watch’s claims are inaccurate.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

“‘It was great’: In leaked audio, Trump hailed low Black turnout in 2016”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114343>
Posted on August 21, 2020 2:13 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114343> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico:<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/21/trump-black-voters-turnout-2016-398520>

In a private meeting inside Trump Tower days before his inauguration, Donald Trump told a group of civil rights leaders something most Republicans wouldn’t dare publicly acknowledge: lower turnout among Black voters did, in fact, benefit him in the 2016 presidential election.

“Many Blacks didn’t go out to vote for Hillary ‘cause they liked me. That was almost as good as getting the vote, you know, and it was great,” the president-elect said, according to an audio recording of the meeting shared with POLITICO.

Three-and-a-half years later, those comments take on new weight, as Democrats and Republicans battle over restrictions on voting amid an historic pandemic.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Ohio State Technology Law Journal Symposium on Elections in the Era of Technological Threats and Opportunities<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114341>
Posted on August 21, 2020 11:41 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114341> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Dig in<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/current-issue/>!

Symposium on Elections in the Era of Technological Threats and Opportunities

Introduction: The Danger of Democracy’s Self Doubt<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/08/11/the-danger-of-democracys-self-doubt>, Prof. Edward B. Foley<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty/edward-b-foley/>

Keynote Address

The Virus and the Vote: How to Prevent the Infection of our Election<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/07/27/the-virus-and-the-vote-how-to-prevent-the-infection-of-our-election>, Prof. Nathaniel Persily<https://law.stanford.edu/directory/nathaniel-persily/>

Technology and the Communication Environment for Campaign-Related Discourse

Protecting Elections From Disinformation: A Multi-Faceted Public-Private Approach To Social Media And Democratic Speech<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/08/11/protecting-elections-from-disinformation-a-multi-faceted-public-private-approach-to-social-media-and-democratic-speech>, Dr. Yasmin Dawood<https://www.law.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/full-time-faculty/yasmin-dawood>

Internet Service Provider Liability For Disseminating False Information About Voting Requirements And Procedures<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/08/18/internet-service-provider-liability-for-disseminating-false-information-about-voting-requirements-and-procedures>, Prof. William Marshall<https://law.unc.edu/people/william-p-marshall/>

Strike & Share: Combating Foreign Influence Campaigns On Social Media<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/08/11/strike-share-combating-foreign-influence-campaigns-on-social-media>, Commissioner Ellen Weintraub<https://www.fec.gov/about/leadership-and-structure/ellen-l-weintraub/> & Carlos A. Valdivia

Technology and the Architecture of the Electoral Process

On the Security of Ballot Marking Devices<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/08/18/on-the-security-of-ballot-marking-devices>, Prof. Daniel Wallach<https://www.cs.rice.edu/~dwallach/>

Protecting the Perilous Path of Election Returns: From the Precinct to the News<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/08/11/protecting-the-perilous-path-of-election-returns-from-the-precinct-to-the-news>, Dr. Stephen Pettigrew<https://www.stephenpettigrew.com/> & Prof. Charles Stewart III<https://polisci.mit.edu/people/charles-stewart-iii>

Self-Regulation of Political Communication by Online Platforms

Democratic Tradeoffs: Platforms and Digital Political Advertising<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/08/11/democratic-tradeoffs-platforms-and-digital-political-advertising>, Dr. Daniel Kreiss<http://hussman.unc.edu/directory/faculty/daniel-kreiss> & Bridgett Barrett<https://citapdigitalpolitics.com/?page_id=9>

Facilitating Accountability for Online Political Advertisements<https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/ostlj/2020/08/11/facilitating-accountability-for-online-political-advertisements>, Dr. Abby K. Wood<https://gould.usc.edu/faculty/?id=71046>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Potential Challenges to a President’s Attempt to Deploy Law Enforcement to the Polls on or Around Election Day”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114339>
Posted on August 21, 2020 11:27 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114339> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Protect Democracy explainer<https://protectdemocracy.org/resource-library/document/law-enforcement-at-the-polls-on-election-day/>.
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

“Is Vote-by-Mail a Trap for Democrats? An Exchange.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114336>
Posted on August 21, 2020 10:31 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114336> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roy Greenwald and Robert Kuttner debate<https://prospect.org/politics/is-vote-by-mail-a-trap-for-democrats-postal-service-crisis/> at The Prospect.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>

D.C. Circuit Strikes FEC Rule Which Limited Disclosure of Contributions Funding Independent Expenditures<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114334>
Posted on August 21, 2020 9:51 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114334> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Big win<https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/DCEFA4F3D6438109852585CB005860AC/$file/18-5261-1857631.pdf> for more effective disclosure rules.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal election commission<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

Federal District Court Rejects Challenges to Indiana’s Excuse-Only Absentee Ballot System for November<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114331>
Posted on August 21, 2020 9:04 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114331> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A federal district court has rejected arguments<https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/indiana-order.pdf> that the system violates equal protection or the 26th amendment (which was made on the grounds that older voters can vote without an excuse but others cannot). It will not issue a preliminary injunction.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, court decisions<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=129>

“Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results; The world’s biggest social network is working out what steps to take should President Trump use its platform to dispute the vote.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114329>
Posted on August 21, 2020 7:31 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114329> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/21/technology/facebook-trump-election.html?smid=tw-share>

Facebook spent years preparing to ward off any tampering<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/technology/facebook-google-twitter-november-election.html> on its site ahead of November’s presidential election. Now the social network is getting ready in case President Trump interferes once the vote is over.

Employees at the Silicon Valley company are laying out contingency plans and walking through postelection scenarios that include attempts by Mr. Trump or his campaign to use the platform to delegitimize the results, people with knowledge of Facebook’s plans said.

Facebook is preparing steps to take should Mr. Trump wrongly claim on the site that he won another four-year term, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Facebook is also working through how it might act if Mr. Trump tries to invalidate the results by declaring that the Postal Service lost mail-in ballots or that other groups meddled with the vote, the people said.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, and some of his lieutenants have started holding daily meetings about minimizing how the platform can be used to dispute the election, the people said. They have discussed a “kill switch” to shut off political advertising after Election Day since the ads, which Facebook does not police for truthfulness<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/business/zuckerberg-facebook-free-speech.html>, could be used to spread misinformation, the people said….

Alex Stamos, director of Stanford University’s Internet Observatory and a former Facebook executive<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/facebook-alex-stamos.html>, said Facebook, Twitter and YouTube faced a singular situation where they “have to potentially treat the president as a bad actor” who could undermine the democratic process.

We don’t have experience with that in the United States,” Mr. Stamos added.

Facebook may be in an especially difficult position because Mr. Zuckerberg has said the social network stands for free speech<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/technology/zuckerberg-defends-facebook-trump-posts.html>. Unlike Twitter, which has flagged Mr. Trump’s tweets<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/technology/twitter-trump-dorsey.html> for being factually inaccurate and glorifying violence, Facebook has said that politicians’ posts are newsworthy and that the public has the right to see them. Taking any action on posts from Mr. Trump or his campaign after the vote could open Facebook up to accusations of censorship and anticonservative bias.
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Posted in cheap speech<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

Now Down to Six States That Will Require a Specific Justification for Voting Absentee<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114327>
Posted on August 21, 2020 6:50 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114327> by Richard Pildes<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>

With New York predictably<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/06/we-all-support-absentee-ballots-now-focus-that/> moving<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114297> to no-excuse absentee voting for this fall, we are now down to six states that will not permit all voters to vote by mail: IN, MS, SC, TN, TX, WV. In those states, voters will need a specific justification, specified by law, for voting absentee, such as that they will be out of the state on election day. That list might still shrink further.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Our View: Another argument against ranked-choice voting goes down As the latest federal ruling shows, the idea that voters are disenfranchised is wrong”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114325>
Posted on August 21, 2020 6:15 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114325> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Portland Press Herald editorial:<https://www.centralmaine.com/2020/08/21/our-view-another-argument-against-ranked-choice-voting-goes-down/>

Ranked-choice voting has twice won the backing of a majority of Maine voters. It meets the demands of the U.S. Constitution. It is used in every race that the state constitution allows, and it will continue to be until the Legislature or the people say otherwise.

That’s the upshot of a decision last week<https://www.pressherald.com/2020/08/14/judge-tosses-lawsuit-challenging-maines-ranked-choice-voting-law/?rel=related> in U.S. District Court, where Judge Lance E. Walker denied a request by four Maine voters — backed by state and national Republicans — to prohibit the use of ranked-choice voting in the U.S. Senate election in November.

The plaintiffs were three registered Republicans and an independent. In trying to set aside the ranked-choice law approved twice at the polls, they in part argued that Maine voters who decline to rank candidates, either out of confusion or dislike for the law<https://www.pressherald.com/2020/08/13/federal-judge-again-hears-arguments-against-maines-ranked-choice-voting-law/?rel=related&rel=related>, are given less of a voice in the election than those who do, and thus are essentially disenfranchised.

We hear this argument a lot. As Walker’s ruling shows, it’s hogwash.
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Posted in alternative voting systems<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>

“Why Kanye West Makes the Case for Ranked Choice Voting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114323>
Posted on August 21, 2020 6:13 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114323> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Washington Monthly oped<https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020/08/21/why-kanye-west-makes-the-case-for-ranked-choice-voting/> by Rob Richie and Dave Daley.
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Posted in alternative voting systems<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>

“Op-Ed: One fix could change U.S. politics, government and elections for the better: Make voting mandatory”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114321>
Posted on August 21, 2020 6:10 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114321> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Miles Rapoport and Janai Nelson LAT oped<https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-08-20/2020-election-mandatory-voting-australia>.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Angelo Genova, Lawyer for DNC in the RNC Consent Decree Case for 40 Years, Sends Along Thoughts on Trump’s Comments About Sending Law Enforcement to the Polls in November<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114319>
Posted on August 21, 2020 6:05 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114319> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Angelo Genova, speaking for himself and not the DNC, writes:

Rick : I read your piece<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114313> today. I  too have  watched and heard with great disappointment , but no surprise , the recurring narrative emanating from President Trump and the RNC leadership to conduct a replay of the NJ 1981 voter suppression game plan this November on a grander scale, now 40 years later. As special  counsel in that litigation on behalf the DNC for the life of that consent order, and having negotiated with others the terms of the consent order, I have known first hand its awesome power as a deterrent to voter suppression. The federal district court’s decision to decline further discovery in the 2016 post election litigation was a  travesty as that discovery  would have revealed that these tactics are the modus operandi and part of the fabric of the Republican party and this presidency only to be repeated. What we hear and see today spewed from the President’s mouth in my view would have been forecasted and captured early in his presidency by that discovery never allowed to proceed. And if I am right, maybe that consent order would have survived. But it didn’t.  It’s importance as a tool to chill acts of voter suppression by the RNC and it’s agents was only heightened after Shelby was decided accompanied by the chipping away of the VRA and the proliferation of state laws purportedly designed to check illusory voter fraud.  We are back to an environment I experienced and litigated as a very young lawyer back in 1981….. “it certainly is deja vu all over again” … a very bad place for our democracy to be. …
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114319&title=Angelo%20Genova%2C%20Lawyer%20for%20DNC%20in%20the%20RNC%20Consent%20Decree%20Case%20for%2040%20Years%2C%20Sends%20Along%20Thoughts%20on%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Comments%20About%20Sending%20Law%20Enforcement%20to%20the%20Polls%20in%20November>
Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

New Yorker’s Eric Lach Deep Dive: “What Happens If Donald Trump Fights the Election Results?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114317>
Posted on August 21, 2020 5:44 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114317> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A chilling read<https://www.newyorker.com/news/campaign-chronicles/what-happens-if-donald-trump-fights-the-election-results>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114317&title=New%20Yorker%E2%80%99s%20Eric%20Lach%20Deep%20Dive%3A%20%E2%80%9CWhat%20Happens%20If%20Donald%20Trump%20Fights%20the%20Election%20Results%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

--
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
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http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>

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