[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/26/20

Tue Aug 25 21:21:38 PDT 2020

“Focus on Trump’s official White House actions as part of Republican convention programming raises Hatch Act concerns”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114450>
Posted on August 25, 2020 9:19 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114450> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hatch-act-republican-convention/2020/08/25/53b72b44-e6f8-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html>

The decision by the Republican National Convention to feature President Trump conducting official business inside the White House underscores how he is leveraging the powers of his office for political gain, raising questions about whether an event featured Tuesday night violated federal law.

In a remarkable pretaped scene <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=vb9qXvGAQTA&feature=emb_logo> packaged as part of the convention’s prime time programming, Trump took part in a naturalization ceremony for five new citizens as acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf administered the Oath of Allegiance….

Kathleen Clark, a legal and government ethics professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, said that the event appeared to be designed as part of the convention, an action that would violate a criminal provision of the Hatch Act, which bars executive branch employees from participating in politics in their official capacity.

Under the act, federal employees are prohibited from using their authority to influence the election of a presidential candidate, she said, calling Trump and Wolf “breathtaking in their contempt for the law.”

A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the legal basis of the event, said it was part of the president’s official schedule that was publicized on a public website.

“The campaign decided to use the publicly available content for campaign purposes,” the official said. “There was no violation of law.”

The most widely known civil provisions of the Hatch Act do not apply to the president and the vice president. But the law applies to executive branch employees who are involved in planning or executing any political events staged at the White House, including video segments filmed there, experts said.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114450&title=%E2%80%9CFocus%20on%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20official%20White%20House%20actions%20as%20part%20of%20Republican%20convention%20programming%20raises%20Hatch%20Act%20concerns%E2%80%9D>
Posted in conflict of interest laws<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>

“GOP faces questions about vetting after abruptly canceling convention speaker who promoted anti-Semitic tweet”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114448>
Posted on August 25, 2020 9:09 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114448> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-faces-questions-about-vetting-after-abruptly-canceling-convention-speaker-who-promoted-anti-semitic-tweet/2020/08/25/d9349b52-e730-11ea-97e0-94d2e46e759b_story.html>:

The Republican Party’s choreographed coronation of President Trump at its convention this week was quickly upended Tuesday by controversial remarks — both new and in the past — by its speakers, including one who encouraged her Twitter followers to read an anti-Semitic QAnon conspiracy theory.

The missteps — particularly the speaking role assigned to Mary Ann Mendoza, whose appearance at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night was abruptly canceled — served as another distraction to the GOP’s four-day political festivities this week and raised concerns about how rigorously the speakers were vetted by party and campaign officials before the convention.

Mendoza is an “angel mom,” a term used by immigration restrictionists for mothers whose children were killed by undocumented immigrants. She has been a regular<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/victims-illegal-immigration-urge-senate-pass-legislation-save-american-lives/> presence<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-national-security-humanitarian-crisis-southern-border-2/> at the White House for events advocating limits on immigration and is on the campaign board of Women for Trump.

But earlier Tuesday, she promoted an anti-Semitic Twitter thread from a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory who claimed that in 1773, a Jewish goldsmith summoned other businessmen to his home and proclaimed that if they pooled their money, “it was possible to gain control of the wealth, natural resources, and manpower of the entire world.”

She apologized and deleted the thread after the Daily Beast and others publicized her tweet, but Mendoza in 2018 tweeted something similar about a wealthy Jewish family controlling the world: “The Rothschilds have used their globalist media mouthpiece to declare that Donald Trump is threatening to destroy the New World Order!”
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114448&title=%E2%80%9CGOP%20faces%20questions%20about%20vetting%20after%20abruptly%20canceling%20convention%20speaker%20who%20promoted%20anti-Semitic%20tweet%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Al Gore: If Trump Refuses to Concede, the Military Would Run Him Out”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114446>
Posted on August 25, 2020 9:02 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114446> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Daily Beast reports<https://www.yahoo.com/news/al-gore-trump-refuses-concede-180824981.html>. Gore also offers some thoughts on why he conceded after the Supreme Court decided Bush v. Gore.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114446&title=%E2%80%9CAl%20Gore%3A%20If%20Trump%20Refuses%20to%20Concede%2C%20the%20Military%20Would%20Run%20Him%20Out%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Bush v. Gore reflections<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=5>, Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

“Ask the Expert; How to Protect the Legitimacy of the 2020 Election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114444>
Posted on August 25, 2020 8:57 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114444> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Brendan Nyhan interview.<https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/articles/brendan-nyhan-absentee-voting-covid>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114444&title=%E2%80%9CAsk%20the%20Expert%3B%20How%20to%20Protect%20the%20Legitimacy%20of%20the%202020%20Election%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

Podcast: “How to Ensure a Free and Fair Election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114438>
Posted on August 25, 2020 3:25 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114438> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I spoke with Alexander Heffner for the Open Mind podcast<https://open.spotify.com/episode/2sZ3h9QdaYignXY3AALqSg>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114438&title=Podcast%3A%20%E2%80%9CHow%20to%20Ensure%20a%20Free%20and%20Fair%20Election%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

“Democrats sue in attempt to force Ohio to allow multiple ballot drop boxes per county”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114436>
Posted on August 25, 2020 3:05 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114436> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Cleveland.com reports.<https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/08/democrats-sue-in-attempt-to-force-ohio-to-allow-multiple-ballot-drop-boxes-per-county.html>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114436&title=%E2%80%9CDemocrats%20sue%20%E2%80%8Bin%20attempt%20to%20force%20Ohio%20to%20allow%20multiple%20ballot%20drop%20boxes%20per%20county%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan Denies Montana Ballot Access Case, Without Submitting it to Other Justices”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114434>
Posted on August 25, 2020 3:03 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114434> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

BAN <http://ballot-access.org/2020/08/25/u-s-supreme-court-justice-elena-kagan-denies-montana-green-party-request-without-submitting-it-to-other-justices/> notes there’s a separate case coming from the Green Party pending in the 9th Circuit.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114434&title=%E2%80%9CU.S.%20Supreme%20Court%20Justice%20Elena%20Kagan%20Denies%20Montana%20Ballot%20Access%20Case%2C%20Without%20Submitting%20it%20to%20Other%20Justices%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Huge numbers of primary absentee voters in swing states must reapply for a fall ballot”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114432>
Posted on August 25, 2020 12:05 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114432> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Steven Rosenfeld<https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/huge-numbers-of-primary-absentee-voters-in-swing-states-must-reapply-for-a-fall-ballot/>:

On August 20, the Wisconsin Elections Commission announced<https://elections.wi.gov/index.php/node/7039> that they would send letters to 2.6 million voters who have not yet signed up to receive an absentee ballot for the fall election, reminding them about their voting options and urging them to apply for a mailed-out ballot online or use an enclosed form.

What the announcement did not say was that a half-million of the voters getting the mailing had applied, received, and voted with an absentee ballot in April 2020’s presidential primary. But unlike 800,000 other voters who this spring checked a box on an application to receive an absentee ballot for the rest of 2020’s elections, these half-million voters had only applied for a mailed-out ballot in the primary.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114432&title=%E2%80%9CHuge%20numbers%20of%20primary%20absentee%20voters%20in%20swing%20states%20must%20reapply%20for%20a%20fall%20ballot%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Whitmer won’t weigh in on oversight of Detroit’s fall election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114430>
Posted on August 25, 2020 12:03 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114430> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Detroit News reports.<https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/08/25/gov-whitmer-covid-19-pandemic/5631159002/>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114430&title=%E2%80%9CWhitmer%20won%E2%80%99t%20weigh%20in%20on%20oversight%20of%20Detroit%E2%80%99s%20fall%20election%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Times of Israel Takes Deep Dive into Psy Group’s Connection with Trump Campaign (as Detailed in Senate Intelligence Committee Report), Including Proposal to Target Minority Communities, Suburban Female Voters, and Undecided Voters with Covert Messaging<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114427>
Posted on August 25, 2020 10:38 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114427> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Times of Israe<https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-ducks-blame-for-firm-with-ex-intel-officers-that-bid-to-meddle-in-us-vote/>l:

On August 18, the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the fifth volume<https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/press/senate-intel-releases-volume-5-bipartisan-russia-report> of its Russia investigation, which examines Russia’s attempts to meddle in US politics during the 2016 elections. An entire section of the report<https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/report_volume5.pdf> is devoted to the Israeli cyber-intelligence company, Psy-Group, which the report concludes pitched, but may not have carried out, covert influence services on behalf of the Trump presidential election campaign. “Psy Group representatives engaged with Trump Campaign senior officials in 2016 for a contract to perform work on behalf of the Campaign,” it states. “These engagements… purportedly never materialized into any Campaign work.”

The report also says that Psy-Group on separate occasions worked for at least two Russian oligarchs, including Oleg Deripaska, whom the report describes as “a proxy for the Russian state and intelligence services.”..

Later that spring and summer, according to the intelligence committee, Psy-Group pitched two influence and intelligence projects to the Trump campaign. These included offers to do opposition research on Hillary Clinton, offers to use fake social media profiles to covertly influence Republican National Convention delegates, and offers to target minority communities, suburban female voters, and undecided voters with covert messaging.

In internal company emails, employees also discussed the use of “hundreds of avatars driving negative messaging,” and “physical world ops like counter protests, hecklers, etc.”

According to Zamel, none of these campaigns were ever carried out: “Not a tweet, not a character, nothing,” Zamel told the committee. However, the committee noted that Zamel was paid over $1 million by George Nader, an adviser to the United Arab Emirates, with high-level Russian ties.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114427&title=Times%20of%20Israel%20Takes%20Deep%20Dive%20into%20Psy%20Group%E2%80%99s%20Connection%20with%20Trump%20Campaign%20(as%20Detailed%20in%20Senate%20Intelligence%20Committee%20Report)%2C%20Including%20Proposal%20to%20Target%20Minority%20Communities%2C%20Suburban%20Female%20Voters%2C%20and%20Undecided%20Voters%20with%20Covert%20Messaging>
Posted in cheap speech<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

Sept. 8 UCI Law Event: “Two Months to Election Day – Are We Prepared?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114425>
Posted on August 25, 2020 10:29 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114425> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Looking forward to this<https://calendar.law.uci.edu/event/60_days_from_election_day_-_are_we_prepared#.X0VJ1tNKiEt> (free registration required):

This webinar brings together experts in elections and election law to consider whether the United States is prepared to run a fair, safe, and legitimate election process in the midst of the pandemic. Among the topics for discussion are the role of absentee balloting, social media and election misinformation, and voter confidence in the election process.

This event is presented in conjunction with the UCI Jack W. Peltason Center for the Study of Democracy.Panelists__________________________________________________
·         Julia Azari<https://www.marquette.edu/political-science/directory/julia-azari.php>, Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Marquette University
·         Mindy Romero<https://cid.usc.edu/mindy-romero>, Founder and Director, Center for Inclusive Democracy
·         Martin Wattenberg<https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=2541>, Professor of Political Science, UC Irvine
·         Moderated by Rick Hasen<http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/>, Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Political Science, UCI Law
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114425&title=Sept.%208%20UCI%20Law%20Event%3A%20%E2%80%9CTwo%20Months%20to%20Election%20Day%20%E2%80%93%20Are%20We%20Prepared%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Managers Gave to GOP Groups Accused of Racial Gerrymander Push”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114423>
Posted on August 25, 2020 10:24 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114423> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

FundFire<https://www.fundfire.com/c/2828393/355133/managers_gave_groups_accused_racial_gerrymander_push?referrer_module=issueHeadline> (subscription only):

Asset management firms gave at least $1.5 million between 2010 and 2018 to Republican-affiliated groups that promoted redistricting efforts that were later struck down by federal courts for disenfranchising Black voters, according to data in a new report<https://politicalaccountability.net/hifi/files/Conflicted-Consequences.pdf>.

At least eight industry firms with asset management businesses backed the Republican Governors’ Association (RGA) and the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), groups accused of funding racial gerrymandering efforts in several states, according to the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a nonprofit advocate for transparency in corporate political spending.

Between 2010 and 2018, Fidelity Investments, Macquarie, MetLife, Natixis, Prudential, TD Bank, TIAA and Wells Fargo directed funds from their treasuries to the two groups, which starting in 2010 had funded redistricting efforts found to be racially linked.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114423&title=%E2%80%9CManagers%20Gave%20to%20GOP%20Groups%20Accused%20of%20Racial%20Gerrymander%20Push%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, Voting Rights Act<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>

Hillary Clinton Advises Joe Biden “Not to Concede Under Any Circumstances” on Election Night As Ballots Continue to Be Counted<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114419>
Posted on August 25, 2020 9:24 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114419> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Watch here<https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1298023931790712832>.

I’m sure this will be spun on the right as a claim that Clinton is saying that Biden should not accept the election results, but watching in context it is clear she’s talking about Biden not conceding if Trump is ahead on election night and that he should wait until all the absentee ballots are counted and any administrative or legal proceedings are concluded.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114419&title=Hillary%20Clinton%20Advises%20Joe%20Biden%20%E2%80%9CNot%20to%20Concede%20Under%20Any%20Circumstances%E2%80%9D%20on%20Election%20Night%20As%20Ballots%20Continue%20to%20Be%20Counted>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“California Republicans have less faith in mail voting, poll finds”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114417>
Posted on August 25, 2020 7:32 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114417> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico:<https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/08/24/california-republicans-have-less-faith-in-mail-voting-poll-finds-1311722?nname=california-playbook&nid=00000150-384f-da43-aff2-bf7fd35a0000&nrid=0000014e-f109-dd93-ad7f-f90d0def0000&nlid=641189>

Those partisan attacks on mail voting mirror wariness among California Republicans, according to a new poll<https://escholarship.org/content/qt51w4j5f5/qt51w4j5f5.pdf?t=qfkboc&v=lg> conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies.

The poll affirmed that mail voting is already widespread in California: pluralities of both Republican and Democratic registered voters said they had mailed in ballots during recent elections. A substantially greater share of Republican voters than Democratic voters said they had done so before.

But Republicans cited far less faith in the integrity of the process. A majority said they were less confident their vote would be counted when voting by mail versus other methods. While a majority of Republicans said they trusted the U.S. Postal Service to deliver ballots “safely and on time,” a third disagreed — far more dissenters than among Democrats.

In-person voting options will still be available throughout California on Election Day and in the days leading up, providing an outlet for mail skeptics. But the results suggest that California could see a scenario in which fewer Republicans cast mail ballots while Democrats embrace the system.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114417&title=%E2%80%9CCalifornia%20Republicans%20have%20less%20faith%20in%20mail%20voting%2C%20poll%20finds%E2%80%9D>
Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>

“As Dems push mail-in voting, Black and Latino voters wary”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114415>
Posted on August 25, 2020 7:29 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114415> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/25/black-latino-voters-mail-voting-401244?nname=playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nrid=0000014e-f109-dd93-ad7f-f90d0def0000&nlid=630318>:

In a series of recent focus groups conducted in Philadelphia and Las Vegas by iVote — a Democratic group focused on voting rights and secretaries of state — and shared with POLITICO<https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000174-2335-d0fb-aff6-b3ffc7280000>, Black and Latino voters said the experience of voting in person “has been ingrained and they feel secure their vote will be counted,” according to the report summary.

The findings are bolstered by a pair of recent polls<https://www.voterparticipation.org/latino-and-african-american-voters-in-battleground-states-express-increased-support-for-democratic-ticket-following-harris-announcement-urgently-need-more-information-on-how-to-vote-by-mail/> from the Voter Participation Center, in partnership with Latino Decisions and the African American Research Collaborative, which showed that nearly two-thirds of Latino and Black voters prefer to vote in person because “they believe their vote is more likely to be counted than if they vote by mail.”
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114415&title=%E2%80%9CAs%20Dems%20push%20mail-in%20voting%2C%20Black%20and%20Latino%20voters%20wary%E2%80%9D>
Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>

“Montana Secretary of State Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Stay Order of Montana Supreme Court that Removed Green Party from Ballot”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114413>
Posted on August 25, 2020 7:26 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114413> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

BAN reports<http://ballot-access.org/2020/08/25/montana-secretary-of-state-asks-u-s-supreme-court-to-stay-order-of-montana-supreme-court-that-removed-green-party-from-ballot/>. [Application<https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20A33/151079/20200824154710865_Pldg%208-24-20_Application%20for%20Stay_SOS.pdf> to Justice Kagan.]
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114413&title=%E2%80%9CMontana%20Secretary%20of%20State%20Asks%20U.S.%20Supreme%20Court%20to%20Stay%20Order%20of%20Montana%20Supreme%20Court%20that%20Removed%20Green%20Party%20from%20Ballot%E2%80%9D>
Posted in ballot access<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>, third parties<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=47>

--
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/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20200826/828c6f4c/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2021 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20200826/828c6f4c/attachment.png>