[EL] ELB News and Commentary 2/25/20

[Rick Hasen]

“Massive changes to California voting spark fears of Iowa-style primary chaos”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109704>
Posted on February 25, 2020 8:42 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109704> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Reuters reports.<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-california/massive-changes-to-california-voting-spark-fears-of-iowa-style-primary-chaos-idUSKBN20J1J7>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Pennsylvania may tweak new law to avoid vote-counting logjam”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109702>
Posted on February 25, 2020 8:38 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109702> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/news/20200225/pennsylvania-may-tweak-new-law-to-avoid-vote-counting-logjam>

Lawmakers may change Pennsylvania’s sweeping new election law to avoid a logjam of mail-in ballots that could extend vote counting in the presidential race for days afterward, a top lawmaker said Monday.

House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said the 4-month-old law may be amended to let county election officials open envelopes that contain mail-in ballots before the polls close at 8 p.m. The law currently bars that.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


First Lawsuit Filed in Georgia Claiming New BMD Machines Violate State Constitutional Right to a Secret Ballot<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109700>
Posted on February 24, 2020 4:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109700> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<https://apnews.com/5f47670cd44804451ec47c6686aa0827>

Election integrity activists are raising concerns about Georgia’s new voting machines, saying the large, bright, vertical touchscreens allow other people in the room to see a voter’s selections in violation of ballot secrecy provisions in state law.

In a petition filed Monday in Sumter County Superior Court against the five members of the county election board, the activists ask the court to order the board to have voters use hand-marked paper ballots rather than the touchscreen voting machines. They’ve asked for an emergency hearing.

The need for such an order is urgent, the petition says, because Sumter County is part of a state Senate district in which the runoff for a special election is set for March 3 and early voting in that contest began Monday. A clear violation of voters’ constitutional right to a secret ballot could create “a substantial risk that the results of this special election will be declared null and void,” the petition says.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Justices Ask Government to Weigh in on Koch-Linked Donor Case”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109698>
Posted on February 24, 2020 1:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109698> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bloomberg Law:<https://www.bloomberglaw.com/exp/eyJjdHh0IjoiTFdOVyIsImlkIjoiMDAwMDAxNmYtN2NiYy1kNmUzLWE1ZmYtN2ZiZTM5MGQwMDAwIiwic2lnIjoiSEdVTXNPdzk4L0R1aHZWcDBDQ3libTVISVl3PSIsInRpbWUiOiIxNTgyNTc4MjAzIiwidXVpZCI6IlZ6ckNCa0FaVDUrSkFMOUh2U2VTaHc9PUc1UE5UUUxRb1RZYjRoZGE4N1hHQ2c9PSIsInYiOiIxIn0=?usertype=External&bwid=0000016f-7cbc-d6e3-a5ff-7fbe390d0000&qid=6865636&cti=LSCH&uc=1320041183&et=CURATED_HIGHLIGHTS&emc=blwnw_hlt:8&context=email&email=00000170-77cf-db61-affe-7fef9d0b0000>

The U.S. Supreme Court has asked for the government’s view about if the court should hear a case about whether to nix a California law requiring disclosure of some charitable donors.

The Koch brothers-backed group Americans for Prosperity Foundation brought a challenge to a requirement that charities disclose their largest donors to state officials.

The foundation, linked to industrialists Charles Koch and his late brother, David, and joined by its unusually large<https://www.bloomberglaw.com/citation/BNA%200000016e93dadf27ad7ed3db416b0000?bna_news_filter=true> number of supporters in the case, say the law impinges on the right to freely associate with groups or organizations. They say it could expose donors to harassment if their names became public.

The state counters that the information is already disclosed to federal officials and is legally required to be kept confidential by the state.
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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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