[EL] ELB News and Commentary 1/10/20

[Daniel Tokaji]

“‘Chaos Is the Point’: Russian Hackers and Trolls Grow Stealthier in 2020”
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108899>
Posted on January 10, 2020 9:25 am <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108899>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

Must-read report in today’s NYT
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/us/politics/russia-hacking-disinformation-election.html>
:

The National Security Agency and its British counterpart issued an unusual
warning in October: The Russians were back and growing stealthier.

Groups linked to Russia’s intelligence agencies, they noted, had recently
been uncovered boring into the network of an elite Iranian hacking unit and
attacking governments and private companies in the Middle East and Britain
— hoping Tehran would be blamed for the havoc.

For federal and state officials charged with readying defenses for the 2020
election, it was a clear message that the next cyberwar was not going to be
like the last. The landscape is evolving, and the piggybacking on Iranian
networks was an example of what America’s election-security officials and
experts face as the United States enters what is shaping up to be an ugly
campaign season marred by hacking and disinformation.

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Posted in chicanery <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
“U.S. Probes If Russia Is Targeting Biden in 2020 Election Meddling”
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108897>
Posted on January 10, 2020 9:20 am <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108897>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

Bloomberg Politics
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-10/u-s-probes-if-russia-targeting-biden-in-2020-election-meddling?srnd=markets-vp>:
” U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials are assessing whether
Russia is trying to undermine Joe Biden in its ongoing disinformation
efforts with the former vice president still the front-runner in the race
to challenge President Donald Trump, according to two officials familiar
with the matter.”
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Posted in chicanery <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
Muller Op-Ed: “California’s election rules make it hard to hold politicians
accountable” <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108894>
Posted on January 10, 2020 9:13 am <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108894>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

In today’s LA Times
<https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-01-10/california-march-primary-top-two-primary>
:

[A]ll [California] primary elections, including for members of Congress,
will take place in March. California is now an outlier — all but eight
states <https://transition.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2020/2020pdates.pdf> hold
congressional primaries much closer to the general election, often in June
or August….

Early primaries have the effect of insulating incumbents. If incumbents see
no serious competitors after an early filing date, they may decide to act
without regard to constituents — for example, when called upon to vote for
or against impeachment.

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Posted in primaries <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>
“Citing errors, Iowa removes list of felon voters amid review”
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108891>
Posted on January 10, 2020 4:31 am <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108891>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

AP
<https://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/state/citing-errors-iowa-removes-list-of-felon-voters-amid-review/article_2d8b4cad-2728-562a-a3bb-94e41527a362.html>
:

Iowa election officials have stopped using a long-flawed database of felons
who are ineligible to vote as they rebuild it from scratch.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s office removed the database, which
contained more than 100,000 entries, from the statewide voter registration
system on Jan. 3.

Workers are recreating the list by reviewing each entry and adding back
those that are verified felony convictions. They hope to complete the
review before the November election.

More from the Des Moines Register
<https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/investigations/2020/01/09/iowa-felon-voter-database-scrapped-officials-check-accuracy-of-entries/4422560002/>,
which notes the challenge of verifying eligibility for participating in the
February 3 Iowa caucus.

In related news, KCAU-TV reports
<https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/local-news/iowa-felons-hope-to-have-their-right-to-vote-restored-before-iowa-caucuses/>
“a
backlog of over 300 [restoration] applications sitting on the … desk” of
Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, which she reportedly plans to get through
before the caucus.
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Posted in felon voting <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>
“The Problem with a Year of Celebrating the 19th Amendment”
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108889>
Posted on January 10, 2020 4:17 am <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108889>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

WaPo op-ed
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/01/10/problem-with-year-celebrating-19th-amendment/>
by
Andrew Joseph Pegoda: “The centennial of the 19th Amendment has arrived,
and people are preparing to celebrate this milestone granting women the
right to vote. But we should also reflect on how our entire conception of
women’s rights in America, centered around such seminal moments, is deeply
skewed.”
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Posted in 19th Amendment <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=128>
Yesterday’s Voting Equipment Hearing: Vendors Ask for More Regulation
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108886>
Posted on January 10, 2020 4:10 am <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108886>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

Bloomberg Law
<https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/chinese-technology-in-voting-machines-seen-as-emerging-threat>
:

The infiltration by foreign countries like China into election voting
equipment is emerging as a growing concern among vendors, who are actually
asking for more federal regulation as they grapple with a lack of domestic
suppliers producing critical technologies .

Top executives of the three largest voting machine vendors—Hart InterCivic,
Dominion Voting Systems and Election Systems & Software—told the House
Administration Committee Thursday they are hoping for guidance and support
from the Department of Homeland Security on how to secure their
subcontractors.

The Hill
<https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/477611-voting-equipment-companies-throw-weight-behind-election-security>
offers
a similar take, characterizing this as a “major step for an industry that
has come under close scrutiny in recent years due to election security
concerns.” Is a bipartisan bill updating HAVA to deal with these concerns a
genuine possibility?

Rep. Rodney Davis <https://thehill.com/people/rodney-davis> (R-Ill.), the
top Republican on the committee, told The Hill that he “certainly hoped”
the hearing would help move legislation forward, while noting the
opposition by Republicans to previous Democratic-backed bills that the
House has passed.

“There is a lot of agreement between Republicans and Democrats on the
committee about what needs to be addressed, we want all machines that are
manufactured to be safe and what we all consider un-hackable, but there
were some clear differences in opinion on how we get there,” Davis said.

*Update:* More coverage of the hearing from ABC
<https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/election-security-officials-brace-iran-cyber-retaliation/story?id=68174632>,
highlighting potential cybersecurity threats from Iran and other countries.
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Posted in voting technology <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>
Yesterday’s Census Hearing: Lingering Effects of the Citizenship Question
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108884>
Posted on January 10, 2020 3:57 am <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108884>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

Roll Call
<https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/citizenship-question-hangs-over-census-preparations-panel-told>
:

Although the Trump administration dropped a citizenship question from this
year’s census, minority groups told the House Oversight and Reform
Committee on Thursday that the question’s specter has haunted preparations
for a national count that could miss millions of residents.

More from NBC
<https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latinos-asian-americans-still-fear-2020-census-over-citizenship-question-n1113066>
:

There also are concerns of undercounts in rural areas
<https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/money-power-fearing-undercount-states-cities-pour-millions-2020-census-n1061961>
of
the country since the census is allowing responses online
<https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latino-commission-warns-about-accuracy-2020-census-slams-administration-n1008536>this
year and many rural areas have no access to the internet.

“Hard-to-count communities are in every state and district, from large
urban areas to rural and remote communities, including American Indian
tribal lands and reservations,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

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Posted in census litigation <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=125>
“Our Presidential Primary System Is An Accident”
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108882>
Posted on January 9, 2020 7:05 pm <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108882>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

538 podcast
<https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/our-presidential-primary-system-is-an-accident/>,
the first in its Primaries Project
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108860> series.
Great drive-time listening!
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Posted in political parties <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=25>, primaries
<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=32>
DSCC and DCCC Spending on Voting Litigation
<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108880>
Posted on January 9, 2020 6:53 pm <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=108880>
by Dan Tokaji <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=5>

>From their press release and memo
<https://www.dscc.org/press-release/memo-democratic-campaign-committees-investing-millions-to-protect-voting-rights-across-battleground-states/>:
” The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee have made an eight-figure investment in a legal strategy
across key battleground states, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas that will take on Republicans’
decades-long voter suppression crusade
<https://www.npr.org/2018/10/23/659784277/republican-voter-suppression-efforts-are-targeting-minorities-journalist-says>
and
increase access to the ballot for young people, communities of color, and
rural voters.”
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Posted in Uncategorized <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Daniel P. Tokaji

Associate Dean for Faculty | Ebersold Professor of Constitutional Law

The Ohio State University | Moritz College of Law

55 W. 12th Ave. | Columbus, OH 43210

614.292.6566 | tokaji.1 at osu.edu

>
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