[EL] Trump Lawyer makes crazy claim (or not)

[Smith, Bradley]

For many years a primary argument against laws requiring the presentation of various forms of ID at the polls has been that many of these laws don't require it for absentee voters. Absentee voting, it was regularly pointed out, is far more likely to be a point for vote fraud. Thus, the ID laws are aimed at the wrong target. Indeed, this assertion was often used to question the good faith of ID proponents. As one expert has said, "Election fraud committed with absentee ballots is more prevalent than in person voting but it is still rare." Another expert wrote a few years back in the Post, "laws requiring ID at the polls push more people into the absentee system, where there are plenty of real dangers."

I agree that absentee fraud is rare, but more common than in-person fraud. Others disagree that fraud with absentee ballots is rare. But I had thought that, either way, there was a broad consensus that voting in person is more secure.

Even a modest amount of good faith should tell us that Clark is saying that in-person voting prevents voter fraud, not making some "crazy" claim about health safety.

A: Voting in person is far more secure and safer than voting by mail.

Q: Even in time of pandemic?

A: ... by safer, what I mean is that its' gonna be a much more secure outcome.

There is nothing crazy about that claim, even if many of us would leave out modifiers such as "far" in the first comment and "much" in the second.

To improve our political discourse we might all try to make a greater effort to interpret the comments and actions of our opponents in good faith.


Bradley A. Smith

Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault

   Professor of Law

Capital University Law School

303 E. Broad St.

Columbus, OH 43215

614.236.6317

http://law.capital.edu/faculty/bios/bsmith.aspx

________________________________
From: Law-election [law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of Rick Hasen [rhasen at law.uci.edu]
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2020 9:32 AM
To: Election Law Listserv
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 6/29/20


   ** [ This email originated outside of Capital University ] **

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In “60 Minutes” Segment on Voting Rights During the Pandemic, Trump Lawyer Makes Crazy Claim that Voting is “Safer” in Person<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2felectionlawblog.org%2f%3fp%3d112647&c=E,1,WjAGjDvCH-PYJMkYf94-KqiR-dXwA4GwDVBGODM_ZDMc8Ezb_0wagH8LHt7OXh4mvaklIBeZzLM3Tu3_Gw1PU4460XLitggIMt7zuexhgKZGTmr5bCo,&typo=1>
Posted on June 29, 2020 6:24 am<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2felectionlawblog.org%2f%3fp%3d112647&c=E,1,puU1AF1Ydn2RK9LOFluDp4vt7ziFVQd7rsssLDwduQxRQ9AjIOBqLg-zL4UiwjTohTKJR42O-tgV8cC-CPitwzhhv3WOiLyRAZf08aSGluAf8D4s-g,,&typo=1> by Rick Hasen<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2felectionlawblog.org%2f%3fauthor%3d3&c=E,1,NJa0SeFrL7WBnkKJ1T48nNF_lbpI9ALZmagV2KZbXM8e7R_GivBE3mJUdwmoqxNIdZrJnvyArTAvbmTbwjIBoJQMG_SOzDcKU7ywRkqTIk_Kqg,,&typo=1>

60 Minutes<https://www.cbsnews.com/news/election-voting-2019-20-coronavirus-pandemic-60-minutes-2020-06-28/>:

Justin Clark, senior counsel for President Donald Trump’s campaign, advised Wisconsin Republicans. He blames Democratic governor Tony Evers for the chaos and told us the Democrats are cynically using the pandemic to expand their voter base with mail in absentee ballots.

Justin Clark: We have tons and tons of different ways for people to vote if they have a fear of COVID-19. We have early vote that goes on for weeks ahead of an election in– in most places. But make no mistake. Voting in person is far more secure and safer than voting by– by mail.

Bill Whitaker: Even in the time of pandemic?

Justin Clark: By safer, what I mean is that it’s gonna be a much more secure outcome.

Neil Albrecht: In-person voting should not have happened in the state of Wisconsin on April 7th. It was dangerous. It was reckless.

Neil Albrecht is head of Milwaukee’s election commission. He told us the coronavirus scared so many poll workers – half of them over age 60 – he could man only five polling places. He usually has 180.

Bill Whitaker: Americans take great pride in our democratic system. Did that system suffer on April 7th?

Neil Albrecht: It suffered greatly. A lot of people in the state of Wisconsin had to choose between their health or casting a ballot. I don’t believe that is a good representation of democracy.

The Wisconsin health department reported 71 people tested positive for COVID-19 after voting or working at the polls, but can’t say definitively that was the cause. To avoid the virus, more Wisconsin voters cast absentee ballots in the primary than ever before.

Neil Albrecht: It was about an 800% request in absentee ballots.

Bill Whitaker: Did I hear you correctly? You had requests for 8 times more absentee ballots than normal?

Neil Albrecht: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I can tell you and I don’t think this is unique to Wisconsin. States are not equipped for that type of surge.
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