[EL] Blockbuster Bart Gellman Atlantic Cover Story on Potential Election Meltdown Quotes Republican Sources Saying Trump Campaign May Try to Push State Legislators to Choose Presidential Electors Directly

Wed Sep 23 13:08:09 PDT 2020

There are good things that should be clarified as best we can ahead of the
election, or in elections to come, as Ned Foley and others have worked so
hard to do. But mingled with the anonymous source reporting are some rather
dystopian projections of the counting of electoral votes. To wit:

Before Pence can move on from Pennsylvania to Rhode Island, which is next
> on the alphabetical list as Congress counts the vote, House Speaker Nancy
> Pelosi expels all senators from the floor of her chamber. Now Pence is
> prevented from completing the count “in the presence of” the House, as the
> Constitution requires. Pelosi announces plans to stall indefinitely. If the
> count is still incomplete on Inauguration Day, the speaker herself will
> become acting president.
>

> Pelosi prepares to be sworn in on January 20 unless Pence reverses his
> ruling and accepts that Biden won. Pence does not budge. He reconvenes the
> Senate in another venue, with House Republicans squeezing in, and purports
> to complete the count, making Trump the president-elect. Three people now
> have supportable claims to the Oval Office.

I confess, there are a lot of additional laws that have to be broken for
this to occur. Pence has "power to preserve order" over the meeting (3 USC
18), so I don't think Pelosi has power to "expel" anyone, even if it's
inside the House. I don't know how quorum calls in a joint meeting would
work if one side disappears. Anyway, "[s]uch joint meeting shall not be
dissolved until the count of electoral votes shall be completed and the
result declared," (3 USC 16), absent some limited exceptions for a recess,
and even then, "no further or other recess" can occur after five days. But
supposing Pelosi blasts through all those laws, the notion that she'd
resign from the House (3 USC 19(a)(1)) to claim that she should be
president over not only Trump but also Biden is, well, not high on my list
of worries.

Derek T. Muller
Professor of Law
University of Iowa College of Law
Iowa City, Iowa 52242
+1 319-335-1935
SSRN: http://papers.ssrn.com/author=464341
Twitter: http://twitter.com/derektmuller

On Wed, Sep 23, 2020 at 2:31 PM Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu> wrote:

> “I’ve Never Been More Worried About American Democracy Than I Am Right
> Now; The pre-emptive attack on the vote count is a five-alarm fire.”
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115635>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 12:24 pm
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115635> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> I have written this piece
> <https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/trump-plan-supreme-court-stop-election-vote-count.html> for
> Slate. It begins:
>
> *With less than six weeks to go before Election Day, and with over 250
> COVID-related election lawsuits filed across 45 states
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115508>, the litigation strategy of the
> Trump campaign and their allies has become clear: try to block the
> expansion of mail-in balloting whenever possible and, in a few key states,
> create enough chaos in the system and legal and political uncertainty in
> the results that the Supreme Court, Congress, or Republican legislatures
> can throw the election to Trump if the outcome is at all close or in doubt.
> It’s a Hail Mary, but in a close enough election we cannot count the
> possibility out. I’ve never been more worried about American democracy than
> I am right now….*
>
> *The Trump strategy of fighting the expansion of mail-in balloting appears
> to be two-fold. To begin with, the campaign appears to have made the
> calculation that lower turnout will help the president win reelection. This
> may explain why Pennsylvania Republicans are planning on going to the U.S.
> Supreme Court <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115580> to argue against a
> state Supreme Court ruling allowing the counting of ballots arriving soon
> after election day without a legible postmark. They argue that doing so
> unconstitutionally extends Election Day beyond November 3 and takes power
> away from the Pennsylvania Legislature to choose presidential electors.*
>
> *The first argument is not a particularly strong one: a decision to accept
> ballots soon after election day without a legible postmark does not extend
> election day as much as it implements how election officials determine if a
> mailed ballot was timely mailed. It recognizes the reality that many
> ballots have been arriving without postmarks and uses proximity to the
> election as a proxy for timely voting. Virginia and Nevada recently adopted
> similar rules,
> <https://www.npr.org/2020/08/18/903490612/another-post-office-election-challenge-makings-sure-ballots-are-postmarked> in
> light of pandemic-related mail delays. The Trump-allied Honest Elections
> Project is fighting a consent decree
> <https://www.honestelections.org/news/voters-file-new-lawsuit-against-minnesota-to-restore-election-safeguards/> over
> a similar extension in Minnesota.*
>
> *The argument about the state Supreme Court’s ruling usurping legislative
> power to set federal election rules echoes a parallel claim that was made
> during the disputed election in 2000. The question is whether a state
> supreme court usurps legislative power when it interprets election rules in
> line with both state statutes and the state Constitution. The argument that
> a state Supreme Court applying a state constitution in a voting case usurps
> legislative power is weak to me, but it was convincing enough for the more
> conservative members of the Supreme Court that decided Bush v. Gore.*
>
> *The fighting over things like postmark rules are fights on the edges, the
> kind of trench warfare that will only matter if the election comes down to
> hundreds of ballots in a key swing state essential for the electoral
> college outcome. But there’s a second play here as well, one that is far
> more worrisome.*
>
> *The idea is to throw such much muck into the process and cast so much
> doubt on who is the actual winner in one of those swing states because of
> supposed massive voter fraud and uncertainty about the rules for absentee
> ballots that some other actor besides the voter will decide the winner of
> the election. That could be the RBG-less Supreme Court resolving a dispute
> over a group of ballots. Indeed, on Tuesday, Vice President Mike
> Pence suggested
> <https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2020/09/pence-suggests-unnamed-trump-scotus-nominee-should-skip-committee-and-just-be-confirmed-before-election-issues-arise/> that
> Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement needs to be seated, possibly
> without so much as a hearing, in order to decide “election issues [that]
> may come before the Supreme Court in the days following the election”
> including questions involving “universal unsolicited mail” and states
> “extending the deadline” for ballot receipt. (Never mind that a 4-4 split
> on the Court on an election issue is unlikely.)
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115503> It could be a Republican
> legislature in a state saying it has the right under Article II of the
> Constitution to pick the state’s winner in the face of uncertainty. Bart
> Gellman in The Atlantic
> <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/> recently
> quoted a Republican operative imagining these state legislatures saying,
> “‘All right, we’ve been given this constitutional power. We don’t think the
> results of our own state are accurate, so here’s our slate of electors that
> we think properly reflect the results of our state.” And it could be
> Republicans in the Senate—if they keep their majority—not counting
> electoral college votes that were cast for Biden based upon manufactured
> uncertainty. This would lead to a dispute with the Democratic House and
> lead to a political struggle over the presidency
> <https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/electoral-college-tie-democrats.html?via=recirc_recent>.*
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115635&title=%E2%80%9CI%E2%80%99ve%20Never%20Been%20More%20Worried%20About%20American%20Democracy%20Than%20I%20Am%20Right%20Now%3B%20The%20pre-emptive%20attack%20on%20the%20vote%20count%20is%20a%20five-alarm%20fire.%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in Election Meltdown <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>, The
> Voting Wars <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
>
>
>
>
> “In North Carolina, Black Voters’ Mail-In Ballots Much More Likely to Be
> Rejected Than Those From Any Other Race”
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115633>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 12:05 pm
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115633> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> ProPublica and WRAL report.
> <https://www.propublica.org/article/in-north-carolina-black-voters-mail-in-ballots-much-more-likely-to-be-rejected-than-those-from-any-other-race?utm_source=comms_outreach&?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=comms>
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115633&title=%E2%80%9CIn%20North%20Carolina%2C%20Black%20Voters%E2%80%99%20Mail-In%20Ballots%20Much%20More%20Likely%20to%20Be%20Rejected%20Than%20Those%20From%20Any%20Other%20Race%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in Uncategorized <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
>
>
>
>
> “Fact check: Trump Jr. touts baseless rigged-election claims to recruit
> ‘army’ for his dad” <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115630>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 12:01 pm
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115630> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> CNN
> <https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/politics/donald-trump-jr-baseless-rigged-election-fact-check/index.html>
> :
>
> *Donald Trump Jr. is touting baseless election-rigging claims in videos
> posted to Facebook
> <https://www.facebook.com/officialteamtrump/videos/2640587549523836> and Twitter
> <https://twitter.com/TeamTrump/status/1308179513755435009> asking
> “able-bodied” people to join an election security “army” for his father.*
>
> *Facebook and Twitter affixed labels to the video pointing to accurate
> information about voting, but neither company said the video violated its
> election integrity rules in a way that would result in it being removed.*
>
> *Twitter labeled the video only after being asked about it by CNN on
> Wednesday. The video had been on its site since Monday.*
>
> *“The radical left are laying the groundwork to steal this election from
> my father,” Trump Jr. said in the video posted by the Trump campaign. He
> added, “Their plan is to add millions of fraudulent ballots that can cancel
> your vote and overturn the election.”*
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115630&title=%E2%80%9CFact%20check%3A%20Trump%20Jr.%20touts%20baseless%20rigged-election%20claims%20to%20recruit%20%E2%80%98army%E2%80%99%20for%20his%20dad%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in cheap speech <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, fraudulent
> fraud squad <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>
>
>
>
>
> “Rep. Matt Gaetz: Bloomberg may face criminal probe for paying felons’
> fines” <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115628>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 11:58 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115628> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Just wow.
> <https://nypost.com/2020/09/23/rep-gaetz-bloomberg-may-face-criminal-probe-for-paying-felons-fines/>
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115628&title=%E2%80%9CRep.%20Matt%20Gaetz%3A%20Bloomberg%20may%20face%20criminal%20probe%20for%20paying%20felons%E2%80%99%20fines%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in felon voting <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=66>
>
>
>
>
> I Was on CNN Talking About Potential Delays in Election Results and
> Concerns About Election Legitimacy <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115626>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 11:56 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115626> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Here’s the clip:
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snnqQireTNM&feature=youtu.be>
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115626&title=I%20Was%20on%20CNN%20Talking%20About%20Potential%20Delays%20in%20Election%20Results%20and%20Concerns%20About%20Election%20Legitimacy>
>
> Posted in Uncategorized <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
>
>
>
>
> “Vote by mail, or on Nov. 3? Neither: Here’s the best option for you and
> America” <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115624>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 9:14 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115624> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Jerry Goldfede
> <https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-vote-early-20200923-ado4be4rtrad7mpum43pinhs5q-story.html>r
> for the NYDN.
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115624&title=%E2%80%9CVote%20by%20mail%2C%20or%20on%20Nov.%203%3F%20Neither%3A%20Here%E2%80%99s%20the%20best%20option%20for%20you%20and%20America%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in Uncategorized <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>
>
>
>
>
> Blockbuster Bart Gellman Atlantic Cover Story on Potential Election
> Meltdown Quotes Republican Sources Saying Trump Campaign May Try to Push
> State Legislators to Choose Presidential Electors Directly
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115622>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 8:19 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115622> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Bart Gellman
> <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/>
> :
>
> *There is a cohort of close observers of our presidential elections,
> scholars and lawyers and political strategists, who find themselves in the
> uneasy position of intelligence analysts in the months before 9/11. As
> November 3 approaches, their screens are blinking red, alight with warnings
> that the political system does not know how to absorb. They see the obvious
> signs that we all see, but they also know subtle things that most of us do
> not. Something dangerous has hove into view, and the nation is lurching
> into its path.*
>
> *The danger is not merely that the 2020 election will bring discord. Those
> who fear something worse take turbulence and controversy for granted. The
> coronavirus pandemic, a reckless incumbent, a deluge of mail-in ballots, a
> vandalized Postal Service, a resurgent effort to suppress votes, and a
> trainload of lawsuits are bearing down on the nation’s creaky electoral
> machinery.*
>
> *Something has to give, and many things will, when the time comes for
> casting, canvassing, and certifying the ballots. Anything is possible,
> including a landslide that leaves no doubt on Election Night. But even if
> one side takes a commanding early lead, tabulation and litigation of the
> “overtime count”—millions of mail-in and provisional ballots—could keep the
> outcome unsettled for days or weeks.*
>
> *If we are lucky, this fraught and dysfunctional election cycle will reach
> a conventional stopping point in time to meet crucial deadlines in December
> and January. The contest will be decided with sufficient authority that the
> losing candidate will be forced to yield. Collectively we will have made
> our choice—a messy one, no doubt, but clear enough to arm the
> president-elect with a mandate to govern.*
>
> *As a nation, we have never failed to clear that bar. But in this election
> year of plague and recession and catastrophized politics, the mechanisms of
> decision are at meaningful risk of breaking down. Close students of
> election law and procedure are warning that conditions are ripe for a
> constitutional crisis that would leave the nation without an authoritative
> result. We have no fail-safe against that calamity. Thus the blinking red
> lights.*
>
> *“We could well see a protracted postelection struggle in the courts and
> the streets if the results are close,” says Richard L. Hasen, a professor
> at the UC Irvine School of Law and the author of a recent book
> called Election Meltdown. “The kind of election meltdown we could see would
> be much worse than 2000’s Bush v. Gore case.”*
>
> *A lot of people
> <https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/when-does-trump-leave-white-house/613060/>, including
> Joe Biden
> <https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-trump-election-military-escort-office/>,
> the Democratic Party nominee, have misconceived the nature of the threat.
> They frame it as a concern, unthinkable for presidents past, that Trump
> might refuse to vacate the Oval Office if he loses. They generally conclude
> <https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/trump-election-refusal-leave.html>,
> as Biden has
> <http://www.cc.com/episodes/orrm1w/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-june-10--2020---joe-biden-season-25-ep-25114>,
> that in that event the proper authorities “will escort him from the White
> House with great dispatch.”*
>
> *The worst case, however, is not that Trump rejects the election outcome.
> The worst case is that he uses his power to prevent a decisive outcome
> against him. If Trump sheds all restraint, and if his Republican allies
> play the parts he assigns them, he could obstruct the emergence of a
> legally unambiguous victory for Biden in the Electoral College and then in
> Congress. He could prevent the formation of consensus about whether there
> is any outcome at all. He could seize on that uncertainty to hold on to
> power….*
>
> *We are accustomed to choosing electors by popular vote, but nothing in
> the Constitution says it has to be that way. Article II provides
> <https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/article/article-ii> that
> each state shall appoint electors “in such Manner as the Legislature
> thereof may direct.” Since the late 19th century, every state has ceded the
> decision to its voters. Even so, the Supreme Court affirmed
> <https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/531/98/> in Bush v. Gore that
> a state “can take back the power to appoint electors.” How and when a state
> might do so has not been tested for well over a century.*
>
> *Trump may test this. According to sources in the Republican Party at the
> state and national levels, the Trump campaign is discussing contingency
> plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground
> states where Republicans hold the legislative majority. With a
> justification based on claims of rampant fraud, Trump would ask state
> legislators to set aside the popular vote and exercise their power to
> choose a slate of electors directly. The longer Trump succeeds in keeping
> the vote count in doubt, the more pressure legislators will feel to act
> before the safe-harbor deadline expires.*
>
> *To a modern democratic sensibility, discarding the popular vote for
> partisan gain looks uncomfortably like a coup, whatever license may be
> found for it in law. Would Republicans find that position disturbing enough
> to resist? Would they cede the election before resorting to such a ploy?
> Trump’s base would exact a high price for that betrayal, and by this point
> party officials would be invested in a narrative of fraud.*
>
> *The Trump-campaign legal adviser I spoke with told me the push to appoint
> electors would be framed in terms of protecting the people’s will. Once
> committed to the position that the overtime count has been rigged, the
> adviser said, state lawmakers will want to judge for themselves what the
> voters intended.*
>
> *“The state legislatures will say, ‘All right, we’ve been given this
> constitutional power. We don’t think the results of our own state are
> accurate, so here’s our slate of electors that we think properly reflect
> the results of our state,’ ” the adviser said. Democrats, he added, have
> exposed themselves to this stratagem by creating the conditions for a
> lengthy overtime.*
>
> *“If you have this notion,” the adviser said, “that ballots can come in
> for I don’t know how many days—in some states a week, 10 days—then that
> onslaught of ballots just gets pushed back and pushed back and pushed back.
> So pick your poison. Is it worse to have electors named by legislators or
> to have votes received by Election Day?”*
>
> *When The Atlantic asked the Trump campaign about plans to circumvent the
> vote and appoint loyal electors, and about other strategies discussed in
> the article, the deputy national press secretary did not directly address
> the questions. “It’s outrageous that President Trump and his team are being
> villainized for upholding the rule of law and transparently fighting for a
> free and fair election,” Thea McDonald said in an email. “The mainstream
> media are giving the Democrats a free pass for their attempts to completely
> uproot the system and throw our election into chaos.” Trump is fighting for
> a trustworthy election, she wrote, “and any argument otherwise is a
> conspiracy theory intended to muddy the waters.”*
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115622&title=Blockbuster%20Bart%20Gellman%20Atlantic%20Cover%20Story%20on%20Potential%20Election%20Meltdown%20Quotes%20Republican%20Sources%20Saying%20Trump%20Campaign%20May%20Try%20to%20Push%20State%20Legislators%20to%20Choose%20Presidential%20Electors%20Directly>
>
> Posted in election administration <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, Election
> Meltdown <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>, The Voting Wars
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
>
>
>
>
> “Pennsylvania election officials warn of 2000 Florida redux; A court
> ruling on so-called naked ballots ‘is going to cause electoral chaos’ in
> one of the nation’s biggest swing states.”
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115620>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 8:08 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115620> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Politico reports.
> <https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/22/pennsylvania-officials-warn-2000-florida-redux-420275>
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115620&title=%E2%80%9CPennsylvania%20election%20officials%20warn%20of%202000%20Florida%20redux%3B%20A%20court%20ruling%20on%20so-called%20naked%20ballots%20%E2%80%98is%20going%20to%20cause%20electoral%20chaos%E2%80%99%20in%20one%20of%20the%20nation%E2%80%99s%20biggest%20swing%20states.%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in absentee ballots <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=53>, election
> administration <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>
>
>
>
>
> “Justice Department asks Congress to weaken social media companies’
> liability protection” <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115618>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 8:02 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115618> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> WaPo
> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/23/trump-doj-censorship-section-230/>
> :
>
> *The Department of Justice asked Congress on Wednesday to adopt a new law
> that would hold Facebook, Google and Twitter legally accountable for the
> way they moderate content on the Web, as the Trump administration ratchets
> up its attacks on social-media sites as the 2020 election approaches.*
>
> *The new request from the Justice Department came in the form of a rare,
> legislative proposal that specifically seeks to whittle down Section 230, a
> decades-old provision of federal law that spares websites from being held
> liable for content posted by their users — and immunizes some of their own
> decisions about what posts, photos and videos to leave up or take down.*
>
> *“For too long Section 230 has provided a shield for online platforms to
> operate with impunity,” said Attorney General William P. Barr in a
> statement. “Ensuring that the internet is a safe, but also vibrant, open
> and competitive environment is vitally important to America.”*
>
> *The proposal also seeks to ensure social-media companies moderate their
> sites and services in a clear and consistent way. For years, President
> Trump and other top Republicans have attacked tech giants including
> Facebook, Google and Twitter for censoring conservatives online, something
> the U.S. government now may have the ability to police if the Justice
> Department’s proposal were to become law.*
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115618&title=%E2%80%9CJustice%20Department%20asks%20Congress%20to%20weaken%20social%20media%20companies%E2%80%99%20liability%20protection%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in cheap speech <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, social
> media and social protests <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=58>
>
>
>
>
> “Duggan plans to shut down most of Detroit city govt. for 2 days to
> process ballots” <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115616>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 7:54 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115616> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Michigan Advance
> <https://www.michiganadvance.com/2020/09/22/duggan-plans-to-shut-down-most-of-detroit-city-govt-for-2-days-to-process-ballots/>
> :
>
> *Citing concerns that President Donald Trump could attempt to declare
> victory prior to all absentee votes being counted in the Nov. 3
> presidential election, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Tuesday that he will
> “basically be shutting down city government for two days” in order to place
> “all city employees at the city clerk’s disposal” to process an expected
> surge of mail-in ballots.*
>
> *“We all know what Donald Trump is capable of,” Duggan said Tuesday
> afternoon during an online forum organized by the Center for American
> Progress Action Fund, a liberal policy institution and advocacy
> organization. “If we do not make a commitment to get the mail-in votes
> counted quickly and accurately, I really am concerned about: Will we have a
> claim of victory based on the people at the polls?”*
>
> *“We also know the people who go to the polls will tend to vote for Donald
> Trump
> <https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-supporters-more-likely-than-trumps-to-vote-by-mail-poll-shows-11597683600>,
> and the people who mail in will tend to vote for [Democratic presidential
> nominee] Joe Biden,” Duggan continued. “If we do not across this country
> find ways to count the mail-in ballots quickly and accurately, there’s
> going to be a real question of legitimacy with the election. That’s
> something that weighs on every big city in the country.”*
>
> *Faced with a mounting death toll from COVID-19
> <https://www.michiganadvance.com/blog/michigan-sees-1500-new-covid-19-cases-since-saturday/>,
> the majority of voters across the United States are turning to absentee
> ballots for November’s election: some 60% of the country’s registered
> voters are expected
> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-americans-plan-early-vote/2020/09/10/4f782536-f037-11ea-bc45-e5d48ab44b9f_story.html> to
> cast their votes by mail. *
>
> *In Michigan, about 2.4 million voters have so far requested absentee
> ballots — a little less than one-third of the state’s 7.7 million
> registered voters, according to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office.
> A Benson spokesperson said Tuesday they are estimating as many as 3 million
> Michiganders will cast absentee ballots in this year’s presidential
> election. *
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115616&title=%E2%80%9CDuggan%20plans%20to%20shut%20down%20most%20of%20Detroit%20city%20govt.%20for%202%20days%20to%20process%20ballots%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in election administration <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>
>
>
>
>
> “Facebook Takes Down Fake Pages Created in China Aimed at Influencing U.S.
> Election” <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115614>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 7:45 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115614> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> NYT:
> <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/us/politics/facebook-china-election-interference.html>
>
> *Facebook has detected limited Chinese operations intended to both help
> and hurt President Trump’s re-election chances, the company announced on
> Tuesday, the first public disclosure of Chinese efforts to influence the
> presidential election in November.*
>
> *The Chinese activity, while modest and not directly attributed to the
> government in Beijing, could undercut Mr. Trump’s repeated contention that
> China is intervening in the election to support former Vice President
> Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic candidate. While the intelligence
> community has assessed that China opposes Mr. Trump’s re-election,
> officials said this week that the actions on Facebook so far were small and
> Beijing had not yet decided to mount a large-scale influence operation
> comparable to Russian efforts in 2016 and this year.*
>
> *Facebook identified a range of fake accounts pushing information about
> American and Philippine politics and Chinese activity in the South China
> Sea. Though much of the activity outlined by China was centered on the
> Philippines, some was more directly relevant to American politics.*
>
> *Facebook said it was removing the accounts for violating its policy
> against “inauthentic behavior.” The activity was coordinated and originated
> in China, though Chinese officials, including the ambassador to the United
> States, have denied allegations they are seeking to influence the vote in
> November.*
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115614&title=%E2%80%9CFacebook%20Takes%20Down%20Fake%20Pages%20Created%20in%20China%20Aimed%20at%20Influencing%20U.S.%20Election%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in campaigns <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, cheap speech
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, chicanery
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>
>
>
>
>
> “Streaming Services Are A ‘Wild West’ For Political Ads, Mozilla Finds”
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115612>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 7:42 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115612> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Video Insider
> <https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/356119/streaming-services-are-a-wild-west-for-political.html>
> :
>
> *Political ads have followed consumers to popular streaming services. But
> unlike traditional TV broadcasters, streamers are not required to disclose
> how ads are targeted or who is viewing them. *
>
> *And while social media platforms have begun to come under public and
> government scrutiny, streaming services seem to be flying under the radar. *
>
> *Online political ads have enormous influence because of their abilities
> to “microtarget, manipulate and misinform voters at a level unmatched by
> any other form of political speech,” yet these ads “are subject to almost
> no regulation and oversight, especially in the domain of streaming
> platforms,” sums up Mozilla researcher Becca Ricks. “It’s a worrying
> combination.” *
>
> *Mozilla, as part of the Mozilla Foundation’s efforts to ensure that the
> internet remains a public resource “open and accessible to all,” has just
> released a study on this state of affairs — and it’s not pretty*
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115612&title=%E2%80%9CStreaming%20Services%20Are%20A%20%E2%80%98Wild%20West%E2%80%99%20For%20Political%20Ads%2C%20Mozilla%20Finds%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in campaign finance <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>,
> campaigns <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
>
>
>
>
> “Wall Street fears meltdown over election and Supreme Court”
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115610>
>
> Posted on September 23, 2020 7:39 am
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?p=115610> by *Rick Hasen*
> <https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
>
> Axios
> <https://www.axios.com/wall-street-election-supreme-court-fears-e8e0420f-74a3-4c90-9127-064b8be322ee.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top>
> :
>
> *The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and President Trump’s vow to
> name her replacement to the Supreme Court before November’s election are
> amplifying Wall Street’s worries about major volatility and market losses
> ahead of and even after the election.*
>
> *The big picture: **The 2020 election is the most expensive event risk on
> record, per Bloomberg
> <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-01/u-s-election-priced-as-worst-event-risk-in-vix-futures-history> —
> with insurance bets on implied volatility six times their normal level,
> according to JPMorgan analysts. And it could take days or even weeks
> <https://www.axios.com/2020-election-mail-voting-abe8dfda-1d44-4d2e-bb8c-534defa8b734.html> to
> count the record number of mail-in ballots and declare a winner.*
>
> *What we’re hearing: **“Not getting the election results in a timely
> manner will be destabilizing,” Lou Brien, rates strategist at DRW Trading,
> tells Axios. “Especially in light of how divided the country appears to be
> now.”*
>
> [image: Share]
> <https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D115610&title=%E2%80%9CWall%20Street%20fears%20meltdown%20over%20election%20and%20Supreme%20Court%E2%80%9D>
>
> Posted in Election Meltdown <https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=127>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> 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
>
> http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
>
> http://electionlawblog.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Law-election mailing list
> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
> https://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
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