[EL] ELB News and Commentary 9/11/20
Rick Hasen
rhasen at law.uci.edu
Fri Sep 11 08:06:50 PDT 2020
As Wisconsin Supreme Court at Last Minute Puts Mailing of Absentee Ballots on Hold as It Considers Whether to Include Green Party on Ballot, Election Officials Have Already Mailed 378,000 Ballots Out and Would Have to Do Second Mailing<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115028>
Posted on September 11, 2020 8:05 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115028> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
What a mess<https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2020/09/10/wisconsin-supreme-court-seeks-suspend-mailing-absentee-ballots/3459007001/>:
The state Supreme Court told election officials Thursday that absentee ballots should not be mailed for now so the justices can determine whether they should include the Green Party’s presidential ticket.
The 4-3 order<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7205891-Greenparty.html> left open the possibility of reprinting 2.3 million ballots and delaying the printing of others — moves that election officials said would cause them to miss deadlines set by state law.
The order fell along ideological lines, with the conservatives in the majority and the liberals in dissent.
In response to the order, the state Elections Commission submitted a report late Thursday that suggested as many as 378,000 ballots have already been sent to voters. But the head of the commission said there was no way to know for certain how many ballots have been sent because that duty falls to municipal clerks, not the commission.
Adding candidates to the ballots after some have been sent would be complicated. Voters who have already been sent a ballot would need to get a second one and clerks would have to make sure no one voted twice.
County officials expressed frustration with the court handling the case so near the deadline for sending ballots to voters. Those concerns were noted in a spreadsheet they filled out for the commission that was later provided to the court.
“We feel this is almost impossible at this point,” Monroe County told the commission.
Milwaukee County noted it has 475 different ballots.
“If Milwaukee County is forced to stop printing, and begin designing, testing, and printing a new ballot, we will not be able to meet the state and federal deadlines,” Milwaukee County reported.
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Posted in absentee ballots<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>
“Center for a New American Security and Penn’s Center for Ethics and the Rule Law and Annenberg Public Policy Center to Host Virtual Election Integrity Symposium”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115026>
Posted on September 11, 2020 8:02 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115026> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Release:
The Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law (CERL) and the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC), both of the University of Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), will present a virtual symposium, Protecting Democracy: Foreign Interference, Voter Confidence, and Defensive Strategies in the 2020 Elections and Beyond on Thursday, September 17, 2020. This event will engage policymakers, practitioners, and analysts from both the public and private sectors and academia on the topics of foreign election interference and election security.
The symposium will include two virtual keynote panels that are open to the public. The first panel, Patterns of Foreign Election Interference Since 2016, will take place from 9:30-10:45 a.m. EDT, and the second, Voter Attitudes and Foreign Influence: Protecting the Vote, from 11:30-12:30 p.m. EDT.
Since mid-August, the three organizations have produced and published a series of commentaries<https://www.cnas.org/protecting-the-integrity-of-the-2020-election> through a joint project: Protecting the Integrity of the 2020 Election Against Foreign Interference. Each commentary explores an issue related to foreign interference in elections and election security in Europe and the United States. The project will culminate with next week’s virtual symposium.
Who: A diverse panel of experts, including:
Panel 1 – Patterns of Foreign Election Interference Since 2016, 9:30-10:45 a.m. EDT
· Claire Finkelstein (moderator), Algernon Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, Faculty Director of CERL, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
· James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence and CERL Board Member
· Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communications, University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication; Walter and Leonore Director of APPC
Panel 2 – Voter Attitudes and Foreign Influence: Protecting the Vote, 11:30-12:30 p.m. EDT
· Carrie Cordero (moderator), Robert M. Gates Senior Fellow, CNAS
· Scott Bates, Deputy Secretary of the State, Connecticut
· Vanita Gupta, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
· Bill Kristol, Director, Defending Democracy Together; Editor-at-Large, The Bulwark
· Laura Rosenberger, Director, Alliance for Securing Democracy, German Marshall Fund
When: Thursday, September 17, 2020
Time: Panel 1 — 9:30-10:45 a.m. EDT
Panel 2 – 11:30-12:30 p.m. EDT
Where: Registration is free and required: https://sforce.co/3jZx7l6
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Alaska lawsuit calls for safer voting process during pandemic”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115024>
Posted on September 11, 2020 7:50 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115024> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Indian Country Today reports.<https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/alaska-lawsuit-calls-for-safer-voting-process-during-pandemic-jTRqs7p6O0W8aP62Eva6oA>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Prepare for election month, not election night”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115022>
Posted on September 11, 2020 7:49 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115022> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Fareed Zakaria WaPo column.<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/prepare-for-election-month-not-election-night/2020/09/10/c8ae8c16-f3a1-11ea-bc45-e5d48ab44b9f_story.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_opinions&utm_campaign=wp_opinions>
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>
“Democrats Won’t Cede the Streets This Time”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115020>
Posted on September 11, 2020 7:47 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115020> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ron Brownstein<https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/how-democrats-are-preparing-post-election-chaos/616255/> for The Atlantic:
During the long legal battle in Florida that ultimately determined the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore, the Democratic nominee, specifically discouraged Jesse Jackson, the veteran civil-rights leader, from organizing public protests to demand a full counting of the disputed ballots.
Gore wanted to fight solely in the courts, though that meant ceding the streets to Republicans, who held raucous rallies accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election from the GOP nominee, George W. Bush, including one showdown in the Miami-Dade elections-board offices that became immortalized as the “Brooks Brothers riot.”<https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/11/15/its-insanity-how-brooks-brothers-riot-killed-recount-miami/>
No one can say what exactly will happen if Donald Trump contests an apparent loss on November 3 by insisting that the results are riddled with fraud. But one prediction is safe: Democrats won’t cede the streets to the GOP again in the weeks after the election.
A wide array of progressive groups is already coordinating efforts<https://protecttheresults.com/partners/> to ensure substantial public protest after the election to defend the vote counting. Their assumption is that Trump will try to intimidate state officials tabulating mail-in ballots by mobilizing the same sort of armed supporters who poured into midwestern capitals to protest the coronavirus lockdowns in the spring and confronted Black Lives Matter protesters over the summer. The intent on the left, if it comes to that, is to meet Trump’s demonstrators with overwhelming numbers; the goal is to establish a presence more reminiscent of the street uprisings in Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the more recent prodemocracy protests in Ukraine and Hong Kong, than of anything in modern American experience….
The prospect of massive protests on both sides is only one of many ways the contest between the parties could extend beyond Election Day in an unprecedented manner—perhaps up until Inauguration Day, on January 20. If the November 3 voting produces anything less than a blowout lead for either side—and perhaps even if it produces a blowout lead for Joe Biden—the post-election period is likely to test how far both GOP leaders and rank-and-file Republican voters will go in tolerating efforts from Trump to subvert the rules of small-d democracy.
On that front, a new study<https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/08/26/2007747117> from the Vanderbilt University political scientist Larry M. Bartels offers important—and ominous—findings. Bartels found that antidemocratic and authoritarian ideas have secured a substantial foothold within the GOP’s electoral coalition. In a national survey he conducted in January, just over half of Republican voters (including both self-identified Republicans and independents who lean toward the party) strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement that “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” Just under half agreed that “strong leaders sometimes have to bend the rules in order to get things done.” About two in five agreed that “a time will come when patriotic Americans have to take the law into their own hands.” And almost three-fourths concurred that “it is hard to trust the results of elections when so many people will vote for anyone who offers a handout.”
Strikingly, less than one-fourth of Republicans disagreed with any of these statements. (No more than 8 percent strongly disagreed with any of them.) The rest described themselves as unsure.
Equally remarkable in Bartels’s research: The key predictor of which Republicans were most receptive to ditching democratic rules wasn’t age or education or any other demographic factor. Instead, hostility toward the nation’s growing racial and ethnic diversity—the central chord of Trump’s messaging—was the single best predictor of a willingness to abandon democratic precepts. Close behind was hostility toward cultural change, such as greater acceptance of gay rights.
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Posted in Election Meltdown<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>
“One IT Guy’s Spreadsheet-Fueled Race to Restore Voting Rights”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115018>
Posted on September 11, 2020 7:42 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115018> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Wired reports.<https://www.wired.com/story/election-voting-rights-spreadsheet-patriot/>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“PSAs to help voters learn to navigate election misinformation”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115016>
Posted on September 11, 2020 7:34 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115016> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Release<https://newslit.org/updates/psas-to-help-voters-learn-to-navigate-election-misinformation/>:
NLP and The Open Mind Legacy Project (OMLP) released public service announcements<https://newslit.org/election2020/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=press-release-psa-campaign&emci=944dde26-b0f2-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=ea000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&ceid=> today to educate voters on how to avoid being misinformed about the November elections. Comcast, The E.W. Scripps Company and public media stations will air the video and audio PSAs, which also will be featured in a paid and organic digital ad campaign on social media and other streaming platforms.
As the election approaches, misinformation and disinformation about the voting process by both domestic and foreign sources have the potential to undermine the democratic process. U.S. intelligence officials have issued warnings that other countries are already using such tactics to sow confusion and interfere in the election.
The initiative aims to prevent voters from being misled by false information, such as being told that they can vote by text or by phone, that the election is canceled or that polling places are closed or have been moved.
PSAs in English and Spanish
The PSAs include four 30-second and two 15-second videos in English and Spanish, as well as audio versions of the spots. They will debunk myths about voting, address the need for voters to break out of their filter bubbles and advise them to verify facts before sharing social media posts. The PSAs will drive viewers to a special webpage<https://newslit.org/election2020/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=press-release-psa-campaign&emci=944dde26-b0f2-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=ea000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&ceid=> created to help the public understand how misinformation can influence elections. The page will include real-time examples of falsehoods, free resources for the public, blog posts with tips on understanding election-related data, downloadable graphics that show people how to identify misinformation, and quizzes and other tools to help build news literacy skills in the weeks leading up to the election….
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
“Democrats build big edge in early voting”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115013>
Posted on September 10, 2020 5:37 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115013> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Politico:<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/10/democrats-early-voting-lead-412106>
Democrats are amassing an enormous lead in early voting, alarming Republicans who worry they’ll need to orchestrate a huge Election Day turnout during a deadly coronavirus outbreak to answer the surge.
The Democratic dominance spreads across an array of battleground states, according to absentee ballot request data compiled by state election authorities and analyzed by Democratic and Republican data experts. In North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Democrats have a roughly three-to-one advantage over Republicans in absentee ballot requests. In Florida — a must-win for President Donald Trump — the Democratic lead stands at more than 700,000 ballot requests, while the party also leads in New Hampshire, Ohio and Iowa.
Even more concerning for Republicans, Democrats who didn’t vote in 2016 are requesting 2020 ballots at higher rates than their GOP counterparts. The most striking example is Pennsylvania, where nearly 175,000 Democrats who sat out the last race have requested ballots, more than double the number of Republicans, according to an analysis of voter rolls by the Democratic firm TargetSmart.
Though the figures are preliminary, they provide a window into Democratic enthusiasm ahead of the election and offer a warning for Republicans. While Democrats stockpile votes and bring in new supporters, Trump’s campaign is relying on a smooth Election Day turnout operation at a time when it’s confronting an out-of-control pandemic and a mounting cash crunch<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/09/biden-outraised-trump-150-million-410832>.
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Posted in campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
--
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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