[EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/12/20

Tue May 12 20:43:39 PDT 2020

“Ocasio-Cortez Commits Re-election Gaffe, Losing a Progressive Ballot Line”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111335>
Posted on May 12, 2020 8:41 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111335> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/nyregion/aoc-ballot-primary-wfp.html>

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the best-known progressive politicians in the country, and her endorsement is sought by candidates running for president. Her firebrand style of politics has helped her raise millions of dollars and accumulate 6.9 million followers<https://twitter.com/AOC> on Twitter.

But Ms. Ocasio-Cortez will not be appearing on the Working Families Party ballot line in the June primary or in the November general election because she failed to collect the required number of signatures — 15.

The loss of the ballot line will make no discernible difference in her re-election bid; she is still heavily favored to win the Democratic primary and the general election.
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Posted in ballot access<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=46>

New Jersey: “Hundreds of Mail-In Votes Already Set Aside Due to Voter Fraud Claims in Paterson”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111333>
Posted on May 12, 2020 8:37 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111333> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NBC New York:<https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/hundreds-of-mail-in-votes-already-set-aside-due-to-paterson-voter-fraud-claims/2414171/>

More than 800 mail-in votes in one of New Jersey’s largest cities have already been set aside, according to a county spokesperson, as an election is marred by allegations of voter fraud<https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/potential-voter-fraud-investigated-in-paterson-nj-on-eve-of-special-election/2412302/>.

Those hundreds of votes represent about six percent of all ballots that have been sent in thus far in Paterson’s election Tuesday, the county spokesman said, which couldn’t be held through traditional in-person methods due to the coronavirus pandemic. There are claims that mass batches of ballots are being sent in after images showed bundles of mail-in votes.

A town over, in Haledon, a post office spokesman confirms a bundle of 300 Paterson city ballots bundled in a mailbox there. A statement from postal inspectors said that their findings were sent to the attorney general’s office and the Board of Elections. The mayor of Paterson says the voting problems could be criminal.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“Jared Kushner Won’t Rule Out That Trump Could Try to Delay the Election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111331>
Posted on May 12, 2020 8:34 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111331> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Vanity Fair<https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/jared-kushner-wont-rule-out-trump-delay-election-2020-coronavirus>:

Trump son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner was asked about the possibility of delaying the election Tuesday by TIME journalist Brian Bennett during a TIME100 Talks interview<https://time.com/5835342/jared-kushner-time-100-talks-highlights/>. And though Kushner acknowledged that the consequential move was “not [his] decision to make,” the First Son-in-Law didn’t dismiss the notion outright. “That’s too far in the future to tell. Nothing that I’m aware of now,” Kushner said about any possible plans to delay the election. When Bennett asked him if he could offer a commitment that the election would take place on November 3 as scheduled, Kushner again demurred. “It’s not my decision to make, so I’m not sure I can commit one way or the other. But right now that’s the plan,” Kushner said. “Hopefully, by the time we get to September or October or November, we’ve done enough with the testing and with all the different things we’re trying to do, to prevent an outbreak of the magnitude that would make us shut down again.”
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Tennessee Official: Fear of Virus Not Reason to Vote by Mail”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111329>
Posted on May 12, 2020 1:02 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111329> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP reports.<https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/05/12/us/ap-us-virus-voting-tennessee.html?smid=tw-share>
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Rep. Marcia Fudge proposes coronavirus-inspired voting changes”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111327>
Posted on May 12, 2020 12:58 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111327> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Cleveland.com<https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/05/rep-marcia-fudge-proposes-coronavirus-inspired-voting-changes.html>:

Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge joined with several of her Democratic colleagues on Tuesday to introduce legislation to expand voting options during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislation that she introduced with colleagues including Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan would require states to provide no-excuse mail-in absentee voting for the 2020 elections, maintain an early in-person voting period of at least 20 days for the 2020 elections and give states $2.5 billion to fund those programs.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Should we expand voting by mail? Can digital tools offer an alternative?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111325>
Posted on May 12, 2020 12:56 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111325> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Looking forward to participating in the R Street event<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/democracy-quarantined-tickets-104645353068?utm_medium=social&utm_source=t.co&utm_campaign=20200512_RSI-event-democracy-quarantined-tickets-104645353068_twitter&utm_content=RSI>:

Holding in-person elections in the middle of a global pandemic presents significant health risks — risks that can be mitigated by alternative forms of voting. But as the recent experience in Wisconsin exemplifies, there is dispute about whether and what alternatives to make available. Should we expand voting by mail? Can digital tools offer an alternative?

As we approach the general election in November, we must account for the real possibility that social-distancing will still be the order of the day. This will necessitate workable alternatives to in-person voting that both protect public health and ensure a free and fair election process.

The Technology, Law & Security Program at American University Washington College of Law, in collaboration with R Street Institute, will host a virtual discussion on the challenges of holding free and fair elections in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. R Street’s Paul Rosenzweig<https://www.rstreet.org/team/paul-rosenzweig/> will moderate a panel of experts to explore the alternatives to in-person voting and the attendant obstacles and risks that each presents. He will be joined by Richard L. Hasen<https://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/>, UCI Law; Nimit Sawhney<https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimsim/>, CEO of Voatz, and Bryson Bort<https://www.scythe.io/about/bryson-bort>, CEO and Founder of SCYTHE and R Street Fellow.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“‘It’s all rigged’: Trump foreshadows how he could undermine presidential election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111323>
Posted on May 12, 2020 7:12 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111323> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Guardian<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/12/trump-foreshadows-how-he-could-undermine-presidential-election>:

Donald Trump falsely accused Democrats of trying to “steal” Tuesday’s special election in California amid the Covid-19 pandemic by adding a polling place in one of the most diverse sections of a district.

But the county actually added the polling location at the request of the area’s Republican mayor.

In a move that could foreshadow his approach to November’s presidential election, Trump said Democrats were deliberately adding one of the few polling locations over the weekend in Lancaster, a city North of Los Angeles, where it was likely to benefit Democratic voters. “They are trying to steal another election. It’s all rigged out there. These votes must not count. SCAM!,” he tweeted<https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1259147372984180736?s=20>…

While Trump has long railed, without evidence<https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud>, that elections are tainted by voter fraud, the increased focus on vote-by-mail amid the pandemic could offer a new thread for him to pull on to undermine confidence in elections this year. Several studies have shown voter fraud is not a widespread problem.

“Given that the president has been making unsubstantiated voter fraud comments for years, I expect that these comments will continue,” said Richard Hasen, a professor of election law at the University of California, Irvine. “The comments are very worrisome because they increase the chances that the president’s supporters would not accept the election results as legitimate should he lose in November.”

Hasen and other experts helped author a report <https://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/2020ElectionReport.pdf> last month offering guidance on how to shore up confidence in the results of the 2020 election. The recommendations include getting states to develop emergency contingency plans well in advance and educating the public that election results might not be available on election night as officials count mailed-in ballots.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“The Cybersecurity 202: Florida becomes hot spot in the election security wars”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111321>
Posted on May 12, 2020 7:08 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111321> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2020/05/12/the-cybersecurity-202-florida-becomes-hot-spot-in-the-election-security-wars/5eb9c44888e0fa17cddf80a6/>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Ignoring Trump and Right-Wing Think Tanks, Red States Expand Vote by Mail”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111319>
Posted on May 12, 2020 7:06 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111319> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

ProPublica<https://www.propublica.org/article/ignoring-trump-and-right-wing-think-tanks-red-states-expand-vote-by-mail?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter#952484> has posted this article, which begins:

On April 23, during the same week that Kentucky’s Republican secretary of state said he was contemplating a “significant expansion” of vote by mail, the Public Interest Legal Foundation emailed one of his employees under the subject line “28 MILLION ballots lost.”

“Putting the election in the hands of the United States Postal Service would be a catastrophe,” wrote J. Christian Adams, president of PILF, a conservative organization that has long complained about voter fraud. His missive contended, with scant evidence, that “twice as many” mailed ballots “disappeared” in the 2016 presidential election than made up the margin of votes between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

The state worker forwarded the message to his supervisor, who ignored it, according to emails obtained through a public records request. Only days later, Kentucky finalized its plan for the biggest increase in vote by mail in the state’s history. Secretary of State Mike Adams (no relation to J. Christian) said he had little trouble persuading legislators to pass the measure. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised on social media and elsewhere,” he said. “Republicans and Democrats both have been supportive of what we did.”

Not long ago, such a rebuff in a reliably red state to a conservative outlet’s warnings of voter fraud would have been unusual. Think tanks like PILF and the Heritage Foundation; advocacy groups like True the Vote; and politicians like Kris Kobach, Kansas’ former secretary of state, have effectively lobbied Republicans for decades for voter ID laws and stricter registration rules. They generally favor measures that would reduce turnout and oppose those, like vote by mail, that could make it easier to vote. The Heritage Foundation has hosted confidential meetings with like-minded secretaries of state “to strategize on advancing their shared goal of ensuring the integrity of the elections they administer in their home states,” records show.

But now, even as Trump has joined these advocates in denouncing vote by mail, Republican election administrators are rejecting their concerns. In Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia, GOP officials are expanding vote by mail. Even in Alabama, where Secretary of State John Merrill has long spoken out against vote by mail, the state has added the coronavirus to the reasons for which voters can request an absentee ballot.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

Important Deep Dive by Lee Drutman on Vote-by-Mail and Partisanship at 538<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111317>
Posted on May 12, 2020 6:58 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111317> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Well done look<https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/there-is-no-evidence-that-voting-by-mail-gives-one-party-an-advantage/> at the evidence.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>

Congrats to Paul Gronke<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111315>
Posted on May 12, 2020 6:55 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=111315> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Awarded<https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/paul-gronke/> a Carnegie Fellowship. “For his Carnegie project, Dr. Gronke will focus on the beliefs and actions of 10,000 local election officials and explore the role these “stewards of democracy” might play in restoring public confidence in our elections and, by extension, in our public institutions and our democracy.”
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Posted in election law biz<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>

--
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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