[EL] ELB News and Commentary 3/9/20

[Rick Hasen]

“The media is blowing its chance to head off an Election Day debacle”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109904>
Posted on March 8, 2020 9:08 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109904> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Margaret Sullivan<https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/the-media-is-blowing-its-chance-to-head-off-an-election-day-debacle/2020/03/06/2df3dc8a-5fc2-11ea-9055-5fa12981bbbf_story.html> for WaPo:

If Election Day 2020 turns into a full-blown disaster, no one can say there weren’t plenty of warning signs.

There were the Iowa caucuses, when glitches with an untested new app delayed the state’s election results for havoc-filled days that turned into weeks. Or the Texas Democratic primary, where some Super Tuesday voters waited in line to vote for more than six hours while others simply gave up. Or the California primary that same day, when faulty new touch-screen voting equipment triggered hours-long waits in Los Angeles County.

If comparable disaster in November robs well-intentioned voters of their chance to be heard — or worse, gives bad-faith partisans an excuse to undermine the credibility of the vote — then the news media will bear a share of the blame.

Unless we move quickly.

As it stands, journalists aren’t paying enough attention to this huge story in front of their eyes. Instead, news organizations are obsessed, as always, with horse-race coverage.

Political reporters scrutinize every public-opinion poll as if it were the I Ching. Cable pundits blather about the potential impact of the candidates’ latest gaffes, despite how notoriously bad they are at such prognostications.

What they are not obsessed with, sadly, is the very core of Election Day: voting itself.

“The media has a huge role to play in helping things to go well,” said Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California at Irvine and the author of “Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust and the Threat to American Democracy.”<https://www.amazon.com/Election-Meltdown-Distrust-American-Democracy-ebook/dp/B0849NPC95>
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>


“Florida Woman Changed Voters’ Party Affiliations, Officials Say”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109902>
Posted on March 8, 2020 9:04 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109902> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/us/Cheryl-hall-voter-registration-fraud.html>

A Florida woman was charged on Thursday after officials said she filled out 10 voter registration forms with false information, at least six of which enrolled Democratic and independent voters in the Republican Party without their consent.

The woman, Cheryl A. Hall, 63, of Clermont, Fla., worked for Florida First, a voter registration group heavily funded by America First Policies<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/us/politics/pro-trump-fundraising-trump-hotel.html>, which supports President Trump.

America First Policies announced plans<https://www.americafirstpolicies.org/updates/america-first-policies-kicks-off-voter-registration-drive/> last year to spend more than $20 million on voter registration efforts in at least four battleground states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Alan Hays, the supervisor of elections in Lake County, Fla., near Orlando, said that although Ms. Hall was charged with submitting 10 false voter registration forms, he believes she might have submitted another 109 forms with false information.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


Daniel Moskowitz Reviews “Election Meltdown”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109900>
Posted on March 8, 2020 8:53 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109900> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here<https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/mar/7/book-review-election-meltdown/>, in the Wash. Times.
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>


Initial Round of Election Meltdown Interviews, Opeds, and Podcast Episodes<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109898>
Posted on March 7, 2020 3:19 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109898> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I have now had a chance to update this page<https://sites.uci.edu/electionmeltdown/podcasts-interviews-and-opeds/> related to Election Meltdown<https://www.amazon.com/Election-Meltdown-Distrust-American-Democracy/dp/0300248199/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hasen+election+meltdown&qid=1565015345&s=digital-text&sr=1-1-catcorr> appearances and discussion.

Podcasts, Interviews and Opeds
Interviews

NPR Fresh Air<https://www.npr.org/2020/01/29/800778189/election-meltdown-is-a-real-possibility-in-2020-presidential-race-author-warns>
Politics and Prose<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV5B1ePQxlk> (with Pam Fessler)
Patt Morrison<https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-01-29/column-will-the-2020-elections-be-fair-and-safe-from-meddling-fasten-your-seat-belts-its-going-to-be-bumpy>, Los Angeles Times
Pod Save the People<https://crooked.com/podcast/know-your-limit-with-prof-richard-l-hasen/>
Vox<https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/30/21058609/2020-election-donald-trump-voter-fraud>
UCLA Hammer Museum<https://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2020/election-meltdown-richard-l-hasen-kristen-clarke> (with Kristen Clarke and Adam Winkler)
Good Law/Bad Law podcast<https://www.goodlawbadlawpodcast.com/podcasepisodes/2020/1/31/good-law-bad-law-174-can-we-survive-2020-a-conversation-w-rick-hasen>
Brennan Center<https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/warning-iowa?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialmedia> (with Victoria Bassetti)
UCI Law <https://livestream.com/accounts/867536/events/8936576> (with Henry Weinstein)
Bloomberg Law<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2020-02-06/election-meltdown-in-the-iowa-caucuses-podcast>
All of It<https://www.wnyc.org/story/iowa-cautionary-tale-election-meltdown>, WNYC
What Next?<https://slate.com/podcasts/what-next/2020/02/election-meltdowns-are-avoidable>, Slate
Texas Tribune<https://www.texastribune.org/2020/02/07/messing-elections-messes-democracy/>
Lawfare<https://www.lawfareblog.com/lawfare-podcast-special-edition-election-meltdown-iowa> (with Ben Wittes)
Left, Right, and Center<https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/left-right-center/iowa> (KCRW)
Airtalk with Larry Mantle<https://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2020/02/11/65308/election-meltdown-addresses-failures-in-american-e/> (KPCC)
The Takeaway<https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/should-we-be-concerned-about-election-security-us> (WNYC)
KCBS In Depth<https://omny.fm/shows/kcbs-in-depth/rick-hasen-warns-of-election-meltdown>
Texas Public Radio<https://www.tpr.org/post/us-vulnerable-election-meltdown>
Politics and Polls podcast<http://wws.princeton.edu/news-and-events/news/item/politics-polls-173-our-elections-we-trust-featuring-rick-hasen> (Princeton; Julian Zelizer)
Chris Riback’s Conversations<https://chrisriback.com/rick-hasen-can-america-run-a-fair-election/>
WABE<https://www.wabe.org/episode/1614019/> (with Rose Scott)

________________________________
Election Meltdown Podcast (in Conjunction with Slate Amicus)

Episode 1<https://megaphone.link/SLT6839728202>, The voter fraud that wasn’t, the voter suppression that is.
Episode 2<https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/02/administrative-incompetence-undermines-elections>, Paper jams, lost forms, and lost boxes—incompetence and elections
Episode 3<https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/02/dirty-tricks-to-disenfranchise-voters>, Delving into the big bag of dirty tricks ahead of the 2020 election
Episode 4<https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/02/election-meltdown-harsh-words>, Rhetoric and reality: When is it OK to say an election was ‘stolen’?
Episode 5<https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/02/election-meltdown-harsh-words>, Doomsday scenarios and hopeful actions in the final part of our voting-rights series.

Bonus Episode 1 <https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/01/widespread-voter-fraud> (Slate Plus) (Interview with Matt Dunlap)
Bonus Episode 2<https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/02/election-meltdown-michigan> (Slate Plus) (Interview with Jocelyn Benson)
Bonus Episode 3<https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/02/not-just-russians-hacking-us-elections> (Slate Plus) (Interview with Brendan Nyhan)
Bonus Episode 4<https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/02/fish-v-kobach-state-of-voting-rights> (Slate Plus) (Interview with Dale Ho)
Bonus Episode 5<https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/02/election-meltdown-debrief> (Slate Plus) (Debrief with Dahlia Lithwick)

________________________________
Book-Related Opeds

How to Prevent the Next Election Meltdown<https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-prevent-the-next-election-meltdown-11581091661>, Wall Street Journal Saturday Review Cover Essay
The loser of November’s election may not concede. Their voters won’t, either<https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-loser-of-novembers-election-may-not-concede-their-voters-wont-either/2020/01/23/4d81be8c-3d6c-11ea-baca-eb7ace0a3455_story.html>, Washington Post Outlook
Trump’s Jokes About Defying Election Results Could Create Chaos<https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/02/trump-jokes-rigged-elections-chaos.html>, Slate
What the impeachment ordeal can tell us about the 2020 election<https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/opinions/trump-impeachment-senate-hasen/index.html>, CNN Opinion
The Alarming Prospect of the Supreme Court Deciding the 2020 Election<https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/supreme-court-elections/605899/>, The Atlantic
Can’t Call Super Tuesday Vote? Be Patient<https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-03-03/2020-election-confidence-absentee-ballot-security>, L.A. Times
How The Trump Admin’s Attempt To Perpetuate The Voter Fraud Myth Failed Miserably<https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/how-the-trump-administrations-attempt-to-perpetuate-the-voter-fraud-failed-miserably>, Talking Points Memo
Why Trump and the RNC are spending $10 million to fight Democrats’ voting rights lawsuits<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/05/why-trump-rnc-are-spending-10-million-fight-democrats-voting-rights-lawsuits/>, Washington Post (The Monkey Cage)
If Democrats Fight Right-Wing ‘Fake News’ Fire with Fire, We All Los<https://www.salon.com/2020/02/23/if-democrats-fight-right-wing-fake-news-fire-with-fire-we-all-lose/>e, Salon

Balkinization symposium response<https://balkin.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-election-meltdown-paradox-and.html>
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>


“Dallas County asks for Super Tuesday recount after discovering it missed some ballots”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109896>
Posted on March 7, 2020 2:07 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=109896> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Texas Tribune:<https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/07/dallas-county-asks-super-tuesday-recount-after-it-missed-ballots/>

Dallas County officials are seeking a recount of the March 3 primary results after discovering that an unknown number of ballots were not initially counted.

In a petition filed late Friday in state district court, Dallas County election administrator Toni Pippins-Poole said her office has discovered that ballots from 44 tabulating machines were not accounted for in the election results reported by the county on Super Tuesday. It’s unclear how many ballots were missing from the county’s tally of votes.

The issue turned up after county officials were unable to reconcile the number of voters who checked in to cast ballots at some polling places and the number of ballots received from those sites.
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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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