[EL] ELB News and Commentary 7/11/20

Fri Jul 10 20:44:43 PDT 2020

“Facebook Said to Consider Banning Political Ads”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112976>
Posted on July 10, 2020 8:42 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112976> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/technology/facebook-politcal-ads-ban.html>

Facebook is considering banning political advertising across its network before the November general election, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions, after facing intense pressure for allowing hate speech and misinformation to flourish across its site.

The decision has not been finalized, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential, and the company could continue with its current political advertising policy. Discussions on potentially banning political ads have simmered since late last year, they said, as insiders weighed the idea while reaching out to political groups and candidates for feedback.

But the issue has come to the forefront in recent weeks, with the November election looming and as Facebook grapples with intensifying scrutiny over content posted to its platform. The core of the debate is whether banning political ads would help or harm “giving users a voice,” said the people with knowledge of the discussions. Stopping ads could stifle speech for some groups, they said, though allowing political ads to run could also allow more misinformation that could disenfranchise voters.

A Facebook spokesman declined to comment. Bloomberg News earlier reported<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-10/facebook-considers-political-ad-blackout-ahead-of-u-s-election?utm_source=twitter&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-politics&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=politics> the potential change in policy.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Election Fortnight?<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112974>
Posted on July 10, 2020 4:13 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112974> by Richard Pildes<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>

Sixteen days after Election Day, the winner of the Democratic primary in NY’s CD #1 has now<https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2020/07/scientist-nancy-goroff-wins-democratic-primary-will-challenge-lee-zeldin-in-november/> been determined. The race involved 36,500 absentee ballots, which, as a result of NY laws on absentee ballot casting and processing, accounts for this length of time. That’s for a low turnout primary election with far fewer voters that will vote this fall in a general, presidential election.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Editorial: California’s independent redistricting commission has no Latinos? That’s an embarrassment”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112972>
Posted on July 10, 2020 1:50 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112972> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

LAT editorial.<https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-07-10/editorial-latinos-shut-out-of-independent-redistricting-commission-that-needs-to-change>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

California Appeals Court Smacks Down Trial Court in Case over Governor’s Authority to Issue Mail-in Ballot Order<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112970>
Posted on July 10, 2020 1:37 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112970> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The appeals court rejected <https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/C092070.PDF> trial court emergency order against Gov. Newsom’s executive orders when plaintiffs failed to give proper notice to the governor and there was no showing of imminent harm
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Darrell Issa Quietly Drops Lawsuit over Gov. Newsom’s Mail-in Election Order”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112968>
Posted on July 10, 2020 10:53 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112968> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Times of San Diego<https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2020/07/09/darrell-issa-quietly-drops-lawsuit-over-gov-newsoms-mail-in-election-order/>:

Three weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a November 2020 vote-by-mail election, former U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa<https://www.darrellissa.com/> and Republican co-plaintiffs dropped their lawsuit over the issue.

On Thursday, Issa’s legal team wrote federal Judge Morrison C. England Jr<http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/index.cfm/judges/all-judges/5019/senior-united-states-district-judge-morrison-c-england-jr-mce/>. in Sacramento that “as a result of the enactment of AB 860,<https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB860> Defendants will not rely upon Executive Order N-64-20<https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/05.08.2020-EO-N-64-20-text.pdf> in connection with the November 2020 election.”

It was Newsom’s order of May 8 that sparked the suit backed by the right-leaning Judicial Watch<https://www.judicialwatch.org/>. It contended the governor couldn’t legally order all counties to send every registered voter an absentee ballot.

But AB 860 meant the suit was moot — since Issa’s team agreed that the Legislature itself could pass a mail-ballot mandate. Intervenors including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the California Democratic Party also noted the mootness.

I’ve been having a bit of a tussle<https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/1281593114965078016> over what the lawsuit accomplished<https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/1281605779586379777> with GOP officials.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Trump Falsely Says Absentee Ballots Will Lead Election Results to Be Delayed for Months, Falsely Suggests 20 Percent Rate of Fraudulent Ballots, Falsely Draws Distinction Between Absentee and Mail-In Ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112966>
Posted on July 10, 2020 10:44 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112966> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CNN<https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/10/politics/fact-check-trump-absentee-versus-mail-ballots/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_allpolitics+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Politics%29>:

President Donald Trump<https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/candidate/trump> has railed against “mail-in voting” while defending “absentee voting,” baffling experts who say those voting systems are essentially the same thing.Trump made the claims in a series of tweets Friday morning, which included some of his previously debunked claims <https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/politics/fact-check-trump-lying-voter-fraud/index.html> about voter fraud. There is no widespread fraud in US elections.”

Mail-In Ballot fraud found in many elections. People are just now seeing how bad, dishonest and slow it is. Election results could be delayed for months. No more big election night answers? 1% not even counted in 2016. Ridiculous! Just a formula for RIGGING an Election,” Trump<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1281556745211523072>tweeted<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1281556758457188352>. “Absentee Ballots are fine because you have to go through a precise process to get your voting privilege. Not so with Mail-Ins. Rigged Election!!! 20% fraudulent ballots?”

Facts First: Trump is inventing a distinction where none exists, and also peddling baseless claims of rigged elections and fraudulent ballots. Different states use different terms, but “absentee ballots” are “mail-in ballots,” and vice versa. Regardless, there are strict measures in place across the country to verify the authenticity of all ballots cast in the mail. These measures are very successful — more than 99.9% of votes in US elections are legitimate.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

“‘Epic failure’: U.S. election officials warn of November chaos due to budget crunch”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112964>
Posted on July 10, 2020 10:32 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112964> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Reuters<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-budgets/epic-failure-u-s-election-officials-warn-of-november-chaos-due-to-budget-crunch-idUSKBN24B17U>:

Presidential nominating contests held this year in states from Wisconsin to Georgia have exposed massive challenges in conducting elections during the worst public health crisis in a century. Closed or understaffed polling venues led to long lines, there were problems delivering absentee ballots, and the votes took days, even weeks, to count.

But instead of receiving more money for the all-important contest between Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, officials face budget cuts after tax revenues plunged in the virus-stricken economy, two dozen election officials across several battleground states told Reuters.

The consequences, they warn, go beyond practical headaches to the risk voters’ faith in the process will be undermined.

“What kind of price tag are you going to put on the integrity of the election process and the safety of those who work it and those who vote?” said Tina Barton, the city clerk and chief elections official in Rochester Hills, Michigan, a state where Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 by fewer than 11,000 votes. “Those are the things at risk.”
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

Justice Thomas Asks Florida to Respond to Emergency Supreme Court Petition in Felon Reenfranchisement Case<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112962>
Posted on July 10, 2020 10:30 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112962> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Docket<https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/19a1071.html>.
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Posted in felon voting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>, Supreme Court<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

“Republicans press again to require photo ID at NC polls this year”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112960>
Posted on July 10, 2020 10:27 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112960> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WRAL<https://www.wral.com/republicans-press-again-to-require-photo-id-at-nc-polls-this-year/19181945/>:

 Legislative Republicans called on the courts Thursday to lift an injunction and require voter to present photo identification at the polls this November, saying a bill they passed earlier this year should satisfy the last arguments against the rule.

“It is past time for activist courts to stop blocking another commonsense elections policy that is required by North Carolina’s constitution and a strong majority of other states,” House Speaker Tim Moore<http://wral.com/14549734/?ncga_id=157> said in a statement.

There are two lawsuits seeking – so far, successfully – to block the state’s voter ID requirement: one state and one federal. Republican lawmakers filed a motion<https://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/document/19181947/> in the state case Thursday, asking judges to drop their injunction against the state’s voter ID law.

They argued that a provision included in House Bill 1169 earlier this year should satisfy the court.
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Posted in voter id<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=9>

“Two major Texas counties are trimming polling locations as workers pull out over coronavirus”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112958>
Posted on July 10, 2020 10:25 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=112958> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Texas Tribune<https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/09/texas-voting-coronavirus/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social>:

A lack of workers willing to run polling sites as Texas continues to report record coronavirus infections is forcing election officials in two major counties to scale back plans for the July 14 primary runoff elections.

Citing a drop-off spurred by fear of the virus, Bexar County, the state’s fourth largest, is expected to close at least eight of its planned 226 voting locations for next Tuesday, according to County Judge Nelson Wolff.

In Tarrant County, the third largest, election officials learned Thursday that the local Republican and Democratic parties had agreed to shutter two of 173 sites planned for election day voting after the parties were unable to find election judges to run the polling places.

Although poll workers are generally being provided with protective gear, Gov. Greg Abbott<https://www.texastribune.org/directory/greg-abbott/>‘s decision to not require voters to wear masks when they show up at polling locations is driving some poll workers away, Wolff said.

All because Texas is fighting tooth and nail to prevent its own voters under 65 from being able to safely vote by mail. It is tragic, and avoidable, and disgusting.
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

--
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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