[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/7/20

Tue Oct 6 20:48:23 PDT 2020

“Some 2,100 L.A. County voters got ballots missing one thing: a way to vote for president”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116370>
Posted on October 6, 2020 8:33 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116370> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

LA Times:<https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-06/presidential-candidates-left-off-about-2-100-l-a-county-absentee-ballots>

More than 2,000 Los Angeles County voters got mail-in ballots with a very egregious flaw: no way to vote for U.S. president.

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office confirmed late Monday that about 2,100 “faulty ballots” were mailed earlier that day to residents in the Woodland Hills area.

The botched effort was part of a campaign to mail 21 million ballots<https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-04/california-ballots-mailed-voters-2020-presidential-election?_amp=true> to registered California voters. About 5.6 million of those voters are in L.A. County. State law mandates that absentee ballots be mailed 29 days ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

“While this has impacted a very small number of Los Angeles County voters … we nevertheless apologize to those affected by the mistake,” said Michael Sanchez, a spokesman for the county clerk’s office.
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Countering Trump, US officials defend integrity of election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116368>
Posted on October 6, 2020 8:29 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116368> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AP:<https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2020/10/06/countering-trump-us-officials-defend-integrity-election/114234204/>

 Four weeks ahead of Election Day, senior national security officials provided fresh assurances about the integrity of the elections in a video message Tuesday, putting them at odds with President Donald Trump’s efforts to discredit the vote.

“I’m here to tell you that my confidence in the security of your vote has never been higher,” Chris Krebs, the director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said in the video message. “That’s because of an all-of-nation, unprecedented election security effort over the last several years.”
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“6 Reasons Not to Panic About the Election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116366>
Posted on October 6, 2020 8:23 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116366> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Michael Waldman and Wendy Weiser in Politico:<https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/10/05/6-reasons-not-to-panic-about-the-election-426415>

Every day we work on the policies and law underpinning our elections. We regularly point out the flaws in our electoral system. They are real. But when it comes to stealing a national election, let’s all take a deep breath.

To be sure, Trump is doing all he can to undermine the vote and foment chaos. All who care about our democracy should be angry — and ready. It’s terrifying to think about an Election Day full of chaos and disinformation, followed by false claims of victory and attempts to swap out electors. But there are strong safeguards in place, and many ways for the system to block an illegitimate power grab. There may be a plot against America, but a lot of people would have to break laws for the plot to succeed. An all-out attack can work only if all the institutional checks fail and the American people let it happen.”
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>

Montana Republicans Seek Supreme Court Order to Block Expansion of Montana Mail in Balloting<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116361>
Posted on October 6, 2020 4:04 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116361> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This petition<https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/20A61.pdf> faces an uphill battle. Note the attempted distinction between “absentee” and “mail in” ballots and the attempt to argue around the Purcell principle. Note too that this does not come from state defendants objecting to the expansion of mail-in balloting.

[This post has been updated.]
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, Supreme Court<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

Justice Breyer Rejects Republicans’ Attempt to Scuttle Maine’s Use of Ranked Choice Voting in Upcoming Presidential Vote<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116358>
Posted on October 6, 2020 3:52 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116358> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

He did not<https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/20a57.html> ask for a response. (I had thought<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115568> there might be some interest at the Court in the issue presented there.)
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Posted in alternative voting systems<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>, Supreme Court<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

7th Circuit Panel Unanimously Rejects Equal Protection and Age Discrimination (26th Amendment) Arguments Against Indiana’s Restrictive Absentee Balloting System<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116356>
Posted on October 6, 2020 3:24 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116356> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Another case<http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2020/D10-06/C:20-2605:J:Kanne:aut:T:fnOp:N:2591610:S:0> with the ridiculous line that “it’s the pandemic, not the State” to blame here. Also heavy on Purcell.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“After Trump’s call for poll watchers, officials in three states pledge to prosecute any who try to intimidate voters”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116354>
Posted on October 6, 2020 3:02 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=116354> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT reports.<https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/06/us/trump-vs-biden#after-trumps-call-for-poll-watchers-officials-in-three-states-pledge-to-prosecute-any-who-try-to-intimidate-voters>
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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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