[EL] Census TRO/ELB News and Commentary 9/6/20
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Sat Sep 5 20:23:00 PDT 2020
“Civil Rights Groups Secure Court Order to Stop Trump’s Rushed and Incomplete Census Count”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114826>
Posted on September 5, 2020 8:05 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114826> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Release:
(SAN FRANCISCO) – The Trump administration’s last-minute move to terminate 2020 census operations would likely lead to a massive undercount of millions of people in the United States – many of them African-American, immigrants and other people of color – a federal court judge ruled today when she granted a temporary restraining order<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZca-2FLDMQC6luOOns3U2kmf64oMHH6Kqo4Ib5LvJAQTWIA3Y7WXV1n9wSIOH1q-2Fge-2FIk3WevHfr0dqz3nahm-2B-2Bw2kqy1Kj4HaZpWwEtW3YsNOw0G_LYw3uDP5U2cmeBBe07KqI8AzZYA0AXw8fCnkHEVTP6CkfRLHjg1cuOsDjSq4rOK2frZFOU9MKjFaw4dPHVdUzeE1pYlmhF6fDBaKBZuSK9XxyJW5-2FKkF0lNnd1g-2FRSEgwwE7RGVzZFeUsTC69L656wnfix2L1-2F1FsrJqTZFjqnXDIBpTFEih85BcizHSWAxeXBF259ovSCyUMlvCQhlHfdNclf2-2BYaXp633reDAT2-2F2yEF-2BlHlYv-2FgNUYnwUj7MhlwjXOuCqsvt8tjNCSBUuzEhe6Tfl0NwtjKL3B-2BmbRrDqhXvpBpOZ8GuZOjau-2Frl4v6wj1oCgp7-2FUPH-2FAKooK3OIzNnlgCfGAjUGadAopSLk-3D> in a lawsuit<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZca-2FLDMQC6luOOns3U2kmf64oMHH6Kqo4Ib5LvJAQTWfXMuUZbHvj5xGSOesjybzubge1DeIokDgSmjaFExvIv9jN02lyV7OAqWqkvdSaPeaOsr_LYw3uDP5U2cmeBBe07KqI8AzZYA0AXw8fCnkHEVTP6CkfRLHjg1cuOsDjSq4rOK2frZFOU9MKjFaw4dPHVdUzeE1pYlmhF6fDBaKBZuSK9XxyJW5-2FKkF0lNnd1g-2FRSEgwwE7RGVzZFeUsTC69L656wnfix2L1-2F1FsrJqTZFjqnXDIBpTFEih85BcizHSWAxeYdZaHUTT-2BwscVr8E1uohuzFLg-2FTz5ZOjb-2FPKwZT1j0eXwjlJtCRhMaL9LFI1gHB6ppDGJspb-2BT3GGo9ndRa2zGifrbG7VxwkXfYRl5lX0C1-2FQPQgdwAcYhUh1cQ5nZTe055EQT6khENFti-2BmngPtcHSU9GIuKk4eulum1IXy6-2FU-3D> filed against Commerce Secretary Wilbur L. Ross and Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham.
The lawsuit was filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Urban League, the Brennan Center for Justice, Latham & Watkins, LLP and Public Counsel, on behalf of the NAACP, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the Navajo Nation, Gila River Indian Community, the League of Women Voters, the city of Chicago, the city of Houston, Harris County, Texas, King County, Washington, the city of Salinas and San Jose, California, and Los Angeles County, Calif., to block the Trump Administration’s plan to force the Census Bureau to cut the 2020 Census count short.
“The court rightfully recognized the Trump administration’s attempted short-circuiting of our nation’s census as an imminent threat to the completion of a fair and accurate process,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “President Trump and Secretary Ross’ decisions to undermine the process may have deprived vulnerable communities of fair representation and fair allocation of funds for the next 10 years or more.”
District Judge Lucy Koh ruled after considering a temporary restraining order<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZca-2FLDMQC6luOOns3U2kmf64oMHH6Kqo4Ib5LvJAQTWIA3Y7WXV1n9wSIOH1q-2Fge0vkA8NfWERvm9yFsslJP4bbG8nNBmMhiRxe7Aq96J2ftNWsRZGBkPjJRfg3RcN9-2Fba5-2BrI82ruSnPgI9p0G3-2FQ-3DRcvQ_LYw3uDP5U2cmeBBe07KqI8AzZYA0AXw8fCnkHEVTP6CkfRLHjg1cuOsDjSq4rOK2frZFOU9MKjFaw4dPHVdUzeE1pYlmhF6fDBaKBZuSK9XxyJW5-2FKkF0lNnd1g-2FRSEgwwE7RGVzZFeUsTC69L656wnfix2L1-2F1FsrJqTZFjqnXDIBpTFEih85BcizHSWAxeHIOIAgGgcNxAw-2BvaN8TRkUAdpMBLdyhaat7r9sKXicaP2qI-2FYL-2BGDxPI1PZ-2F-2Bk5M07lRbEErhaWjWLigzmVFKmoslZQ3KXNuPZpP9-2F09Rfz6U0weBe8d5pgNmCQfMJEw2Ckcw9lXPa-2FQ-2Bj20P2QflckQ0DFdhfF-2FqOr7CTyVgQU-3D> filed by the plaintiffs last Thursday. Lawyers for the government recently revealed that the Census Bureau had begun stopping the census count, well ahead of the end of September.
“We appreciate the Court’s swift action to issue a Temporary Restraining Order as we proceed towards the September 17 hearing on the preliminary injunction,” said Melissa Sherry, partner, at the law firm of Latham & Watkins, LLP. “Ensuring that the count continues during this period is of critical importance to ensure the accuracy of the 2020 Census, and we look forward to addressing the need to further extend the count at that upcoming hearing.”
“Today’s ruling is a necessary and encouraging first step toward saving the 2020 Census from a massive undercount that will disproportionately affect our country’s communities of color,” said Thomas Wolf<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUQn7HFwKYVxeOA1FiRc8e78lfhx-2FvzzBqaAPcr9Kx1d490TLZQnf0RDa7qldUJoTnQ-3D-3DKkCJ_LYw3uDP5U2cmeBBe07KqI8AzZYA0AXw8fCnkHEVTP6CkfRLHjg1cuOsDjSq4rOK2frZFOU9MKjFaw4dPHVdUzeE1pYlmhF6fDBaKBZuSK9XxyJW5-2FKkF0lNnd1g-2FRSEgwwE7RGVzZFeUsTC69L656wnfix2L1-2F1FsrJqTZFjqnXDIBpTFEih85BcizHSWAxe5PzJviNTFEOTFXzjljcqAPK079g0PDHRhilEJT-2BSGU-2FNdU5-2F4CvIQ0Tb-2BKFhvmBTwdnZwxj4LFPndRPSiBq-2FEPRf-2FKDNO-2BNm2zUUCgUI3m12UJhCQGheNx4to-2FKEA5DwXT42SbZUPRXiNxj4tiYxiRy92mjLmAdy5dJA0DqnsJg-3D>, senior counsel and Spitzer Fellow with the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program. “The 2020 Census needs more time than the Trump administration is offering if we are going to get the full, fair, and accurate count that the Constitution guarantees. Today’s ruling buys the census some precious and indispensable time by barring the administration from shutting down the count while the federal courts are still considering our request for relief.”
The basis for the judge’s decision was that plaintiffs have raised serious questions about the constitutionality and lawfulness of the Census Bureau’s decision to rescind the COVID-19 operational plan and institute an alternative that would cut enumeration and non-response follow-up activities by a month and cut data analyses by 2 months. The court believes those actions would irreparably injure the plaintiffs in this case if the order was not granted. The latter was based on a finding in an affidavit from a Census Bureau official Al Fontenot Jr., who had said that it would be impossible to resuscitate activities if the court acted later in the month.
The groups’ original lawsuit ties the bureau’s reversal to President Trump’s issuance of an executive memorandum<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUcq5iSMOfgAZM6sWI1P8lD-2BT5XAv-2FU12Ak70K4Eg-2BZdRpGLe-2FrIknD3hN1YES8ngYza-2B84yZW82MQwSlf5cC650xdni53fPaCIy7RtgOHJoK6e61ILWReJXBbeaMvOl-2FIVFtHTRBg8tBW0oQRf4SWvKBj95Wt1I3cEVTyELWIXnhCuyT_LYw3uDP5U2cmeBBe07KqI8AzZYA0AXw8fCnkHEVTP6CkfRLHjg1cuOsDjSq4rOK2frZFOU9MKjFaw4dPHVdUzeE1pYlmhF6fDBaKBZuSK9XxyJW5-2FKkF0lNnd1g-2FRSEgwwE7RGVzZFeUsTC69L656wnfix2L1-2F1FsrJqTZFjqnXDIBpTFEih85BcizHSWAxebdvdacH7b-2BYqPk1Dty-2Fwyj-2BUoSPEZID6AlRl6lfyPwyxNWGrxAX7p2yRY4yvoC3Bu6iSWnzl8I5hZqr8zl2zW7V7eRjRfeHVutsk0gbZNpZ2JTPGOgKKRjvM9471vf5HeJF-2FvusSsXpqd3QidxL6KZDEljG2uUPNFvwIwp-2F2FAI-3D> issued earlier this summer which seeks to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment numbers that determine states’ seats in the House of Representatives.
The Trump administration’s attempted abrupt change flouts the census bureau’s own plans for dealing with the hardships imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, undermining the quality and accuracy of the census as well as guaranteeing a substantial undercount of communities of color.
Read the order here<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZca-2FLDMQC6luOOns3U2kmf64oMHH6Kqo4Ib5LvJAQTWIA3Y7WXV1n9wSIOH1q-2Fge-2FIk3WevHfr0dqz3nahm-2B-2Bw2kqy1Kj4HaZpWwEtW3YsNKj0y_LYw3uDP5U2cmeBBe07KqI8AzZYA0AXw8fCnkHEVTP6CkfRLHjg1cuOsDjSq4rOK2frZFOU9MKjFaw4dPHVdUzeE1pYlmhF6fDBaKBZuSK9XxyJW5-2FKkF0lNnd1g-2FRSEgwwE7RGVzZFeUsTC69L656wnfix2L1-2F1FsrJqTZFjqnXDIBpTFEih85BcizHSWAxeom-2FOsSMxu7CIVx-2F-2F-2BYE4Is7VMkAMztDAVx5-2FFrVutMvShkGDT0Gj4w9SwuaN959809rCu-2F8QgjgVpBVIM72neMJcL2iiR5mP3XS4w7ysv0ThbN3DTbDyJaVEnlUbKqeQoOZDpy12AiYN-2FnaSli80-2BZyJJOvcGhA7ywojK-2BBal-2Bw-3D>.
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Posted in census litigation<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=125>
“Voters Face a Complicated Election as the Pandemic Remakes Voting; Mail-in voting, Covid-19, disinformation and a possibly lengthy wait for results make the 2020 election unlike others”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114832>
Posted on September 5, 2020 8:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114832> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Important deep dive<https://www.wsj.com/articles/voters-face-a-complicated-election-as-the-pandemic-remakes-voting-11599298200?st=qbjliuo8c3viq4p&reflink=article_copyURL_share> by the WSJ:
In a year of uncertainties, one thing seems certain: This November’s general election is shaping up to be one of the most complicated in U.S. history.
States are racing to make changes to voting procedures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Voters are expected to cast an unprecedented deluge of mail-in ballots. President Trump has questioned the integrity of widespread mail-in voting and the fairness of the electoral process—and whether he will accept the results. His Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, has accused Mr. Trump of trying to steal the election by alleging voting by mail invites fraud. Foreign governments such as Russia are again waging online disinformation campaigns to influence the outcome, according to U.S. intelligence agencies.
Even after the vote, the outcome of the presidential election might not be known for days or weeks<https://www.wsj.com/articles/will-we-know-who-is-elected-president-on-election-night-a-guide-to-possible-delays-11596629410>. Election officials are likely to need more time to count the historic numbers of mail ballots.
“I’m old. I’ve seen a lot of elections. I’ve never seen a situation where I’m as worried about having a valid, successful election,” said former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat, during a University of Pennsylvania law school panel discussion this week. The 79-year-old cited the pandemic, which is making many people change their usual method of voting, and the country being as divided as any time “maybe since the Civil War.”
As the voting season kicks off—North Carolina began mailing ballots to voters Friday—Republican and Democratic election officials are advising people to vote early, either by mail or in person. “We want people to get ahead of the curve,” said Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican.
Doing so, they say, will help prevent local election officials from becoming overwhelmed close to Election Day and help counter the following challenges and uncertainties.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>
“A Win Against Dark Money Eight Years in the Making”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114830>
Posted on September 5, 2020 8:16 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114830> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ciara Torres-Spellscy:<https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/win-against-dark-money-eight-years-making>
Good news is infrequent when you’re on the anticorruption beat. Notable recent incidents, for example, have included the sentencing of a former U.S. congressman’s wife for misuse of campaign funds<https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/margaret-hunter-due-for-sentencing-for-misusing-campaign-funds/2391695/> and the resignation of a North Carolina state legislator who had pled guilty<https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/politics/north-carolina-david-lewis-federal-charges-resign/index.html> to tax evasion charges. However, in a rare positive development, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/21/dark-money-donors-ruling-400079> last month that the Federal Elections Commission (FEC)’s disclosure rules on dark money were too weak.
In the case at hand, CREW v. FEC<https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/DCEFA4F3D6438109852585CB005860AC/$file/18-5261-1857631.pdf> (which should not be confused with other cases<https://www.fec.gov/updates/district-court-issues-opinion-crew-v-fec-20190329/>, including a 2018 case<https://campaignlegal.org/cases-actions/crew-v-fec-chgo> of the same name), the plaintiffs were led by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington<https://www.citizensforethics.org/> (CREW), a nonpartisan nonprofit organization whose mission is to hold government officials accountable to ethics rules, campaign finance laws, and the Constitution. Meanwhile, the defendant was the FEC, the agency responsible for administering federal campaign finance laws, including transparency rules. CREW sues the FEC often because the agency is known for failing to achieve its main objective — the enforcement of campaign finance laws. While many critics scream at the FEC, “you had one job!”, CREW actually does the hard work of litigation in order to prompt the agency toward action.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
“How Trump Draws on Campaign Funds to Pay Legal Bills”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114828>
Posted on September 5, 2020 8:11 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114828> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
NYT<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/us/politics/trump-campaign-funds-legal-bills.html>:
Mr. Trump’s tendency to turn to the courts — and the legal issues that have stemmed from norm-breaking characteristics of his presidency — helps explain how he and his affiliated political entities have spent at least $58.4 million in donations on legal and compliance work since 2015, according to a tally by The New York Times and the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute.
By comparison, President Barack Obama<https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00431445&committee_id=C00451393&committee_id=C00494740&min_date=01%2F01%2F2007&max_date=08%2F30%2F2012&disbursement_description=compliance&disbursement_description=legal> and the Democratic National Committee<https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00010603&two_year_transaction_period=2008&two_year_transaction_period=2010&two_year_transaction_period=2012&two_year_transaction_period=2014&min_date=07%2F01%2F2008&max_date=12%2F31%2F2012&disbursement_description=legal+&disbursement_description=compliance> spent $10.7 million on legal and compliance expenses during the equivalent period starting in 2007. President George W. Bush<https://transition.fec.gov/press/summaries/2000/tables/presidential/Pres2_2000_24m.pdf> also spent much less<https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00343509&committee_id=C00386987&committee_id=C00388579&committee_id=C00404343&min_date=01%2F01%2F2001&max_date=12%2F31%2F2004&disbursement_description=compliance&disbursement_description=legal>, even taking into account his legal spending on the recount fight<http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/noaccess.aspx> that went to the Supreme Court, records show.
The spending on behalf of Mr. Trump covers not only legal work that would be relatively routine for any president or candidate and some of the costs related to the Russia inquiry and his impeachment, but also cases in which he has a personal stake, including attempts to enforce nondisclosure agreements and protect his business interests.
Many of the bills being paid by donors to Mr. Trump and his party have come from the Republican National Committee’s “recount account.” It is a special fund created after 2014<https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/registering-political-party/national-party-accounts-certain-expenses/> when Congress — at the request of campaign finance lawyers and leaders of both parties — allowed much larger contributions<https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/contribution_limits_chart_2019-2020.pdf> by individuals to the political parties, totaling $106,500 per person, compared with the normal $2,800 limit.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>
Karl Rove on “What Could Go Wrong on Election Day”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114804>
Posted on September 5, 2020 5:08 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114804> by Richard Pildes<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>
This WSJ piece<https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-could-go-wrong-on-election-day-11599087053> makes several important points about the absentee voting process. In particular, Rove strongly endorses a crucial policy change that should be made now, particularly in six battleground states: permit election officials to start the processing of verifying absentee ballots before Election Day. This might sound like a small, in-the-weeds detail, but making this policy change — particularly in WI, MI, and PA — could be critical to avoiding the worst-case scenarios this fall.
Election officials in most of these states have been urging their legislatures to make this change. But in several of these states, it is Republican-controlled legislatures that have been resisting. That’s what makes Rove’s piece especially significant. Many of us have been urging<https://lawreviewblog.uchicago.edu/2020/06/26/pandemic-pildes/> this change for months, but if significant Republican voices back this change, perhaps that will move the ball forward in these critical states. Bipartisan support for this change is good to see. I hope Rove’s piece (@KarlRove) gets circulated widely in these key states (he has one sentence on the fraud issue, from which I feel obligated to note my dissent).
Here is the most important excerpt:
The bigger issue is when states are allowed to start matching signatures on the ballots to those on voter rolls and verifying that each ballot is valid. This is time-consuming and difficult. Seven states in contention let authorities begin verification early: Georgia, Minnesota and Nevada on a ballot’s receipt, Florida starting 22 days before the election, Arizona 14 days ahead, and North Carolina and Ohio on the discretion of local election boards.
Six battleground states don’t allow verification to begin until the day before Election Day (Iowa) or on Election Day itself (Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin). Real problems will emerge here, especially when there’s a big increase in mail-in ballots over 2016.
Take Pennsylvania. In the 2016 primaries, 84,000 people voted by mail; this year 1.5 million did so—and that’s without a strongly contested Republican primary. Pennsylvania’s secretary of state wants the Legislature to allow ballot verification to begin earlier. That would be wise.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Facebook Says Trump’s Misleading Post About Mail-In Voting Is OK. Employees Say It’s Not.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114799>
Posted on September 4, 2020 5:04 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114799> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
BuzzFeed:<https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/facebook-trump-post-voting-twice>
Hours before Trump’s post, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced<https://about.fb.com/news/2020/09/additional-steps-to-protect-the-us-elections/> new policies intended to protect the upcoming US election from disruption. Zuckerberg said the company had expanded its voter suppression policy to forbid content containing explicit and “implicit misrepresentations about voting.”
Some Facebook employees felt Trump’s post contained, at the very least, implicit misrepresentations about the voting process. Roughly an hour after Trump’s post appeared, an employee flagged it on the company’s internal discussion forum, Workplace.
“Seems like this already violates our extended policies on voter suppression by misrepresenting how or when to vote. Intentionally voting twice is a felony, right?” they wrote in a Workplace group focused on policy and communications issues.
A person on Facebook’s policy team responded to say Trump’s post was being reviewed by the company’s “Voter Interference subject matter expert[s].”
Multiple employees expressed confusion that the post hadn’t already been deemed violative and removed.
“This is voting misinformation,” said an employee. “Your polling place will not be able to track if your vote had been received.”…
Rather than remove Trump’s post, Facebook eventually decided to add a generic label with information about voting<https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/facebook-trump-post-voting-twice>. It later changed that to a label emphasizing the security of mail-in voting. “Voting by mail has a long history of trustworthiness in the US and the same is predicted this year. (Source: Bipartisan Policy Center),” the second label reads.
Separately, Facebook said it had removed posts containing video footage of a Trump speech on Wednesday where he suggested people vote twice.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
New York: “Judge blocks Dana Balter from third-party ballot line in campaign for Congress”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114797>
Posted on September 4, 2020 4:59 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114797> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Syraucuse.com:<https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2020/09/judge-blocks-dana-balter-from-third-party-ballot-line-in-campaign-for-congress.html>
A judge’s ruling Friday blocked Dana Balter<https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2020/06/balter-on-rematch-with-katko-what-ill-do-differently-this-time.html> from gaining a third-party ballot line in her campaign for Congress against Rep. John Katko <https://www.syracuse.com/topic/24th%20Congressional%20District/> and could keep a candidate in the race who has no interest in running.
The Working Families Party had given its nomination to Syracuse lawyer Steve Williams before the Democratic primary election between Balter and Francis Conole.
Williams was viewed as a placeholder for the Democratic nominee. After Balter won the Democratic primary on June 23, the Working Families Party decided to give her its ballot line.
To legally remove Williams from the ballot under New York election law, the party nominated him to run on the ballot for a state Supreme Court justice’s seat in Queens.
But that move was challenged by Onondaga County Republican Chairman Tom Dadey and Katko supporters.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Some, but not all, felons win back the right to vote in NC 2020 elections”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114795>
Posted on September 4, 2020 4:56 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114795> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
News & Observer:<https://www.newsobserver.com/article245500600.html>
A new judicial ruling will open the door for some felons on probation or parole to vote in North Carolina’s elections this fall.
The ruling isn’t final, so it’s possible that it could still change between now and November. But on Friday, a panel of three judges from different areas of the state ruled that part of the state’s felon disenfranchisement law appears to be unconstitutional. The judges issued a 2-1 ruling stopping the state from enforcing that part of the law, at least temporarily.
“It’s time to eradicate this vestige of Jim Crow,” said Daniel Jacobson, a lawyer for the challengers, last month when the judges heard the arguments from both sides.
Some states let felons regain the right to vote once they leave prison, but not North Carolina. People here don’t get back their rights until they have finished their entire sentence, including probation or parole.
The judges didn’t extend voting rights to everyone on probation or parole for a felony, as the challengers including Durham’s Community Success Initiative had asked.But they did rule in favor of people who would have already finished their time under supervision, except for not paying court costs and fees.
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Posted in felon voting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>
“Texas Matters: Election Misinformation And Voter Suppression”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114793>
Posted on September 4, 2020 2:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114793> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
I spoke with Texas Public Radio’s “Texas Matters.” Listen<https://www.tpr.org/post/texas-matters-election-misinformation-and-voter-suppression>.
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>
Politifact Debunks Widely Shared Facebook Post Falsely Stating People Can Vote Both by Mail and In Person without Election Officials Knowing (Hint: They Will Catch You and You Can Be Charged with a Crime)<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114791>
Posted on September 4, 2020 12:40 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114791> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politifact.<https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/aug/31/facebook-posts/dont-believe-facebook-claim-states-have-procedures/>
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>
“In Barr, Trump has powerful ally for challenging mail voting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114789>
Posted on September 4, 2020 12:37 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114789> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
AP reports.<https://www.boston25news.com/news/politics/barr-trump-has/J7WZQDWRRCGMVSTLHXSF63INPM/>
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>
“Trump’s New Election Law Pitbull Goes to War With Transparency Groups; Trey Trainor is accusing groups like Common Cause and CREW of trying to force the FEC into enacting a liberal agenda.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114787>
Posted on September 4, 2020 8:56 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114787> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Daily Beast<https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-new-election-law-pitbull-goes-to-war-with-transparency-groups>:
Donald Trump’s first addition to the nation’s top election regulator has launched a broadside against anti-corruption groups that, he claims, are trying to advance a left-wing agenda by attempting to spur enforcement of federal election laws.
Trey Trainor, the Federal Election Commission’s newest commissioner and its current chairman, released a blistering statement<https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/Trainor_Statement_on_FEC_Procedural_Disfunction_REDACTED.pdf> Wednesday going after a number of those nonprofits by name. “There are several organizations dedicated to limiting the free-speech rights of Americans by changing the nation’s campaign-finance laws,” Trainor wrote. “They seek to change policy not by making the most persuasive case, but by seeking to silence those with whom they disagree by whatever means necessary.”
The 11-page statement was a remarkable broadside not just against the groups themselves, but also against fellow FEC commissioners past and present, whom Trainor accused of conspiring with the transparency organizations he singled out—Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, and Democracy 21—to undermine the commission and impose ideologically driven restrictions on American free-speech rights.
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Posted in federal election commission<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>
“Vote early and often? That’ll just slow down the ballot count. Most states would catch any duplicate votes. But it will strain the electoral system.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114785>
Posted on September 4, 2020 8:53 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114785> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Nice Ned Foley piece at WaPo.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/09/04/trump-vote-twice-states/>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D114785&title=%E2%80%9CVote%20early%20and%20often%3F%20That%E2%80%99ll%20just%20slow%20down%20the%20ballot%20count.%20Most%20states%20would%20catch%20any%20duplicate%20votes.%20But%20it%20will%20strain%20the%20electoral%20system.%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>
Science Magazine Special Issue: Democracy In the Balance<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114783>
Posted on September 4, 2020 8:49 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114783> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This looks terrific:<https://science.sciencemag.org/>
Democracy in the Balance
· INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE
o In flux and under threat<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1174>
o BY TAGE RAI, BRAD WIBLE
o SCIENCE
o 04 SEP 2020 : 1174-1175
§ Full Text <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1174.full>
§ PDF<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1174.full.pdf>
· POLICY FORUM
o Racial authoritarianism in U.S. democracy<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1176>
o BY VESLA M. WEAVER, GWEN PROWSE
o SCIENCE
o 04 SEP 2020 : 1176-1178
o One segment of the population experiences different rules and differential citizenship.
§ Summary <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1176.summary>
§ Full Text <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1176.full>
§ PDF<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1176.full.pdf>
o Human-centered redistricting automation in the age of AI<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1179>
o BY WENDY K. TAM CHO, BRUCE E. CAIN
o SCIENCE
o 04 SEP 2020 : 1179-1181Human-machine collaboration and transparency are key
§ Summary <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1179.summary>
§ Full Text <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1179.full>
§ PDF<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1179.full.pdf>
· PERSPECTIVE
o Campaigns influence election outcomes less than you think<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1181>
o BY DAVID W. NICKERSON, TODD ROGERS
o SCIENCE
o 04 SEP 2020 : 1181-1182Campaigns have small effects but are built to win close races
§ Summary <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1181.summary>
§ Full Text <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1181.full>
§ PDF<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1181.full.pdf>
· REVIEWS
o Diversity and prosocial behavior<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1183>
o BY DELIA BALDASSARRI, MARIA ABASCAL
o SCIENCE
o 04 SEP 2020 : 1183-1187
§ Abstract <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1183.abstract>
§ Full Text <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1183.full>
§ PDF<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1183.full.pdf>
o Can democracy work for the poor?<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1188>
o BY ROHINI PANDE
o SCIENCE
o 04 SEP 2020 : 1188-1192
§ Abstract <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1188.abstract>
§ Full Text <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1188.full>
§ PDF<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1188.full.pdf>
o Democracy’s backsliding in the international environment<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1192>
o BY SUSAN D. HYDE
o SCIENCE
o 04 SEP 2020 : 1192-1196
§ Abstract <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1192.abstract>
§ Full Text <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1192.full>
§ PDF<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1192.full.pdf>
o False equivalencies: Online activism from left to right<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1197>
o BY DEEN FREELON, ALICE MARWICK, DANIEL KREISS
o SCIENCE
o 04 SEP 2020 : 1197-1201
§ Abstract <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1197.abstract>
§ Full Text <https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1197.full>
§ PDF<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6508/1197.full.pdf>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Russia is working to undermine confidence in voting-by-mail, DHS warns”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114781>
Posted on September 4, 2020 7:55 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114781> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/voting-by-mail-russia-trump-barr/2020/09/04/e3f0e500-ee60-11ea-99a1-71343d03bc29_story.html>
Russia is seeking “to undermine public trust in the electoral process” by spreading false claims that mail-in-ballots are riddled with fraud and susceptible to manipulation, according to a new intelligence bulletin by the Department of Homeland Security.
Many of the claims made by Russian sources are identical to repeated, unsupported public statements aired by President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr, who have said that mailed ballots aren’t trustworthy while warning of the potential for rampant fraud in November’s elections.
Homeland Security’s intelligence office has assessed that Russian actors “are likely to promote allegations of corruption, system failure, and foreign malign interference to sow distrust in Democratic institutions and election outcomes,” the bulletin states. Russia spreads these claims through a network of state-controlled media, proxy websites and social media trolls, it adds.
The document doesn’t identify any of those media sources by name. But current and former officials who have seen it said the assessment is based in part on classified intelligence about the Russian government’s efforts to interfere with the 2020 elections, in a repeat of its operations four years ago, which intelligence agencies have unanimously concluded were designed to help Trump win.
The intelligence on Russian efforts to undermine voting-by-mail has been assessed as credible and was deemed important enough to share in an unclassified form on Thursday with state and local officials so that they can take steps to protect elections from manipulation, the current and former officials said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the information was not intended to be shared publicly.
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Posted in cheap speech<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>
WaPo Fact Checker Gives AG Barr “Four Pinocchios” for His False Statements on CNN About Fraud and Vote By Mail<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114779>
Posted on September 4, 2020 7:33 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114779> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/04/attorney-general-barrs-false-claims-about-voting-by-mail/>
Barr stated on CNN: “Elections that have been held with mail have found substantial fraud and coercion. For example, we indicted someone in Texas — 1,700 ballots collected from people who could vote, he made them out and voted for the person he wanted to.”
Neither claim is true. Elections held by mail in the United States have been almost entirely free of fraud. Ask the five states that use mail ballots as their primary method of voting. None reports any issues. The Texas case Barr cited as proof involves one fraudulent ballot, which was caught, not 1,700.
Barr earns Four Pinocchios.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>
“Political group tied to Kanye West campaign law firm sent misinformation on Biden with mail-in ballot applications to battleground state voters”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114777>
Posted on September 4, 2020 7:28 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114777> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
CNN:<https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/politics/pennsylvania-minnesota-mailers-misinformation/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_allpolitics+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Politics%29>
An Ohio-based political advocacy group that shares a Republican-allied law firm with Kanye West’s political campaign<https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/politics/kanye-west-ballot/index.html> is sending unsolicited mail-in ballot applications containing misinformation on Democratic candidates to voters in Pennsylvania and Minnesota — both key battleground states for the 2020 election<https://www.cnn.com/election/2020>.
Common Sense Voters of America LLC, which was registered in June by the same law firm representing West in his suit to get on the Ohio ballot, sent mailers in August containing images of fake headlines about Democratic nominee Joe Biden<https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/candidate/biden>.
.While the mail-in ballot applications sent to voters appear to be legitimate, the mailers also include misinformation about Democratic candidates including Biden, his running mate California Sen. Kamala Harris<https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/28/us/kamala-harris-fast-facts/index.html> and Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, while positively portraying positions taken by President Donald Trump<https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/candidate/trump> and Republicans.Trump and his supporters have railed against mail-in voting, particularly of mass mail ballots that are sent unsolicited<https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1298256297431666688?lang=en>, and falsely claim that it is plagued by widespread fraud. In reality<https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/27/app-politics-section/donald-trump-mail-in-voter-fraud-fact-check/index.html%20or%20another>, there is no evidence that mail-in voting leads to fraud.
CNN obtained pictures of the mailers from registered voters in both Pennsylvania and Minnesota. The Philadelphia Inquirer<https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/trump-pennsylvania-mail-ballots-common-sense-voters-of-america-20200901.html> first reported on the Pennsylvania mailers.
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Posted in campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
I Did a Q and A with CNN’s Paul LeBlanc on Election Night Issues and Election Legitimacy<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114775>
Posted on September 4, 2020 7:22 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114775> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Read it here.<https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/politics/what-matters-vote-by-mail-presidential-election-2020/index.html>
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>
Chemerinsky in ABA Journal on the Purcell Principle Applied in SCOTUS Covid-Related Election Cases<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114773>
Posted on September 4, 2020 7:18 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=114773> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Read it here.<https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/chemerinsky-will-supreme-court-rulings-help-decide-the-2020-election>
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Supreme Court<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>
--
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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