[EL] Can North Dakota really do that?

[Derek Muller]

I also think efforts like this would backfire on such states. My
interpretation of the Compact (and someone may think I have it wrong)
requires compacting states to add up the "official statement" of the
"number of popular votes in each state" by the Safe Harbor deadline. In
this scenario, I think North Dakota's totals would simply be zero under the
Compact. It wouldn't thwart the Compact from operating, it would just strip
the state of any influence among compacting states. I blog about it here
(but perhaps others think it can achieve something else):
https://excessofdemocracy.com/blog/2020/2/can-states-thwart-the-national-popular-vote-compact-by-refusing-to-disclose-their-popular-vote-totals

Derek

Derek T. Muller
Professor of Law
University of Iowa College of Law
Iowa City, Iowa 52242
+1 319-335-1935
Google Scholar
<https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PSynZNoAAAAJ&hl=en> | SSRN
<http://papers.ssrn.com/author=464341>

On Fri, Feb 26, 2021 at 1:37 PM Adav Noti <anoti at campaignlegalcenter.org>
wrote:

> Section 4 of the bill provides that the ban on disclosing presidential
> vote totals takes effect only upon adoption of the popular vote interstate
> compact, so it seems unlikely to be tested anytime soon.
>
>
>
>
>
> *Adav Noti*
> Senior Director, Trial Litigation & Chief of Staff
>
> Campaign Legal Center
> 1101 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
>
> 202.736.2203 | @AdavNoti <https://twitter.com/AdavNoti>
>
> anoti at campaignlegalcenter.org
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> *On
> Behalf Of *Stephanie Singer
> *Sent:* Friday, February 26, 2021 2:16 PM
> *To:* Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
> *Subject:* [EL] Can North Dakota really do that?
>
>
>
>
>
> A bill
> <http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/67-2021/documents/21-0828-02000.pdf> just
> passed the ND Senate requiring
>
>
>
>
>    1. a public officer, employee, or contractor of this state or of a
>    political subdivision of
>    2. this state may not release to the public the number of votes cast
>    in the general election for the
>    3. office of the president of the United States until after the times
>    set by law for the meetings and
>    4. votes of the presidential electors in all states.
>
> Can ND really do that? My opinion is that election results should be
> easily and timely available to the public, but what does the law have to
> say?
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