[EL] ELB News and Commentary 1/12/21

Tue Jan 12 07:53:14 PST 2021

“House Sets Impeachment Vote to Charge Trump With Incitement”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120421>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:51 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120421> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/politics/house-trump-impeachment-vote.html>

House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/11/us/articles-impeachment-trump.html> against President Trump on Monday for his role in inflaming a mob that attacked the Capitol, scheduling a Wednesday vote to charge the president with “inciting violence against the government of the United States” if Vice President Mike Pence refused to strip him of power first.

Moving with exceptional speed, top House leaders began summoning lawmakers still stunned by the attack back to Washington, promising the protection of National Guard troops and Federal Air Marshal escorts after last week’s stunning security failure. Their return set up a high-stakes 24-hour standoff between two branches of government.

As the impeachment drive proceeded, federal law enforcement authorities accelerated efforts to fortify the Capitol ahead of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The authorities announced plans to deploy up to 15,000 National Guard troops and set up a multilayered buffer zone with checkpoints around the building by Wednesday, just as lawmakers are to debate and vote on impeaching Mr. Trump.

Federal authorities also said they were bracing for a wave of armed protests in all 50 state capitals and Washington in the days leading up to the inauguration.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120421&title=%E2%80%9CHouse%20Sets%20Impeachment%20Vote%20to%20Charge%20Trump%20With%20Incitement%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“State Capitols ‘on High Alert,’ Fearing More Violence”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120419>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:50 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120419> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/politics/state-capitols-protests-trump.html>

Officials in state capitals across the country are bracing for a spillover from last week’s violent assault on the U.S. Capitol<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/politics/capitol-siege-security.html>, with legislatures already becoming targets for protesters in the tense days around the inauguration of the incoming president, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Gone is a large measure of the bonhomie that usually accompanies the annual start of the legislative season, replaced by marked unease over the possibility of armed attacks and gaps in security around statehouses that have long prided themselves on being open to constituents.

“Between Covid and the idea that there are people who are armed and making threats and are serious, it was definitely not your normal beginning of session,” said Senator Jennifer A. Jordan, a Democratic legislator in Georgia who watched the police officers assembled outside the State Capitol in Atlanta on Monday from her office window. “Usually folks are happy, talking to each other, and it did not have that feel.”

Dozens of state capitols will be on alert in the coming days, following calls among a mix of antigovernment organizations for actions in all 50 states on Jan. 17. Some of them come from far-right organizations that harbor a broad antigovernment agenda and have already been protesting state Covid-19 lockdowns since last spring. The F.B.I. this week sent a warning to local law enforcement agencies about the potential for armed protests in all 50 states.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120419&title=%E2%80%9CState%20Capitols%20%E2%80%98on%20High%20Alert%2C%E2%80%99%20Fearing%20More%20Violence%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“Fringe Groups Splinter Online After Facebook and Twitter Bans”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120417>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:48 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120417> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/technology/fringe-groups-splinter-online-after-facebook-and-twitter-bans.html>

Social media has played a crucial role in the support of Mr. Trump since he announced his intention to run for president five years ago. And the rioters who attacked the Capitol last week did much of their planning<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/us/capitol-rioters.html> in the open on sites like Facebook, Twitter and Parler, a lesser-known platform that had become popular in right-wing circles in recent months.

But after many groups were banned<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/technology/facebook-ban-boogaloo.html> from mainstream social media platforms <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/facebook-stop-the-steal.html> like Facebook<https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/addressing-movements-and-organizations-tied-to-violence/> and Twitter, the groups have been relegated to half a dozen apps and platforms to organize their next steps. Parler was also effectively taken off line on Monday<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/technology/apple-google-parler.html> when Amazon — following Google and Apple’s moves to drop Parler from their app stores — said it would no longer host the service in its data centers.

Adding to the muddle, when Twitter and Facebook kicked Mr. Trump off their platforms last week, they made it harder for organizers to rally around a singular voice. The result is an unexpected side effect of the expulsions from mainstream social media platforms: Attempts at disruption could be harder to predict and could stretch for days — and not just in Washington, D.C.

On Monday, an internal Federal Bureau of Investigation bulletin said that armed protests were being planned for all 50 state capitols beginning on Jan. 16, according to ABC News. <https://abcnews.go.com/US/armed-protests-planned-50-state-capitols-fbi-bulletin/story?id=75179771> Researchers watching the planning around those protests said there had already been detailed discussions of potential violence.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120417&title=%E2%80%9CFringe%20Groups%20Splinter%20Online%20After%20Facebook%20and%20Twitter%20Bans%E2%80%9D>
Posted in cheap speech<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

“He buried his son a week ago. Now Jamie Raskin is helping lead the impeachment charge.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120415>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:45 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120415> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Our hearts continue to go out to fellow election law prof and Member of Congress Jamie Raskin<https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/raskin-son-impeachment/2021/01/11/b9cd33d4-5420-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html> and his family. Jamie is now deeply involved in impeachment efforts.

See also this Atlantic profile<https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/01/jamie-raskin-capitol-attack/617609/> as well as Jamie’s moving tribute<https://repraskin.medium.com/statement-of-congressman-jamie-raskin-and-sarah-bloom-raskin-on-the-remarkable-life-of-tommy-raskin-f93b0bb5d184> to his son Tommy. May Tommy’s memory be a blessing.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120415&title=%E2%80%9CHe%20buried%20his%20son%20a%20week%20ago.%20Now%20Jamie%20Raskin%20is%20helping%20lead%20the%20impeachment%20charge.%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Several Capitol police officers suspended, more than a dozen under investigation over actions related to rally, riot”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120413>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:39 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120413> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/capitol-police-officers-suspended/2021/01/11/0ee0e422-545f-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html>

Several U.S. Capitol Police officers have been suspended and more than a dozen others are under investigation for suspected involvement with or inappropriate support for the demonstration last week that turned into a deadly riot at the Capitol, according to members of Congress, police officials and staff members briefed on the developments.

Eight separate investigations have been launched into the actions of Capitol officers, according to one congressional aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the status of the internal review.

In one of the cases, officers had posted what Capitol Police investigators found to be messages showing support for the rally on Wednesday that preceded the attack on the complex, including touting President Trump’s baseless contention that the election had been stolen through voter fraud, the aide said.

Investigators in another instance found that a Capitol officer had posted “inappropriate” images of President-elect Joe Biden on a social media account. The aide declined to describe the photographs.

The scrutiny of the Capitol Police comes amid intensifying recriminations over why the complex was insufficiently protected when thousands of Trump supporters converged on Washington to protest the congressional action to certify Biden’s win.

On Sunday, former Capitol police chief Steven Sund, who resigned after the attack, told <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sund-riot-national-guard/2021/01/10/fc2ce7d4-5384-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_10> The Washington Post in an interview that congressional security officials rebuffed his efforts to put the D.C. National Guard on standby before the joint session.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120413&title=%E2%80%9CSeveral%20Capitol%20police%20officers%20suspended%2C%20more%20than%20a%20dozen%20under%20investigation%20over%20actions%20related%20to%20rally%2C%20riot%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Jan. 14 Event: “Picking Up the Pieces of the 2020 Election: A Conversation among Election Law Scholars”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120410>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:33 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120410> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Virtual event<https://u.osu.edu/electionlaw/events/picking-up-the-pieces-of-the-2020-election/> at Ohio State:

The horrendous attack on the Capitol last Wednesday, and the assault upon free and fair elections that it signifies, makes this final session of our series of roundtable discussions all the more urgent. As with our previous conversations in October, November, and December, we will invite our panelists to offer “top of mind” thoughts and let the dialogue flow organically. As a result we can anticipate some hindsight-oriented inquiry into “what exactly happened and why?” as well as reform-oriented inquiry on how to fix our electoral system to prevent this kind of thing from ever happening again. We hope you are able to join us.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14

4 – 5pm (ET)

REGISTER HERE<https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WNTo4cGnR-2d3S6ukCHwZg> for the webinar
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120410&title=Jan.%2014%20Event%3A%20%E2%80%9CPicking%20Up%20the%20Pieces%20of%20the%202020%20Election%3A%20A%20Conversation%20among%20Election%20Law%20Scholars%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Sheldon Adelson, Probably the Biggest Individual Donor (with His Spouse) to Political Campaigns in American History, Has Died<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120408>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:22 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120408> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

So reports<https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/sheldon-adelson-las-vegas-convention-visionary-and-philanthropist-dies-at-87-2250326/> the Las Vegas Review Journal. Condolences to his family.

Adelson and his wife gave at least $218 million<https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donors> in contributions to federal candidates and committees just in the 2020 election cycle.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120408&title=Sheldon%20Adelson%2C%20Probably%20the%20Biggest%20Individual%20Donor%20(with%20His%20Spouse)%20to%20Political%20Campaigns%20in%20American%20History%2C%20Has%20Died>
Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

“‘An Epiphany Moment’ for Corporate Political Donors May Have Arrived”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120406>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:17 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120406> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/business/dealbook/political-donations-ibm.html?smid=em-share>

As companies from Coca-Cola to Amazon to Citigroup appear to be tripping over each other to declare<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/business/corporate-donations-politics.html> that they are “pausing” or “reassessing” donations to Republicans who sought to overturn the election — and, in some cases, suspending giving to both parties — they might want to look at a company that didn’t say anything.

That company is IBM.

It didn’t need to issue a mea culpa for a simple reason. It doesn’t donate to candidates on either side of the aisle — at all, ever.

IBM is one of only a handful of large companies in the United States that is not involved in direct political giving to candidates. It has no political action committee, or PAC. Even when it gives money to trade groups, it restricts its money from being funneled to candidates.

It was a policy put in place more than a century ago by Thomas J. Watson, the founding father of the modern IBM….

The companies speaking out in recent days — American Express, Facebook, Marriott and Morgan Stanley, to name a few more — may deserve credit for pulling back from political donations amid accusations that some funded sedition. A genuine example of leadership would be to go even further and declare that they will get out of the business of political donations completely.

“This could be an epiphany moment,” for corporate chiefs, said Bruce F. Freed, the president of the Center for Political Accountability, a nonpartisan organization that tracks political spending. “How should they engage in the political process? What do they get out of political spending? They have to take a look at the cost. Today the costs have gone way up.”
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120406&title=%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98An%20Epiphany%20Moment%E2%80%99%20for%20Corporate%20Political%20Donors%20May%20Have%20Arrived%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“The New Vote Dilution”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120401>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:14 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120401> by Nicholas Stephanopoulos<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=12>

I just posted a new article<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3763978>, forthcoming in the NYU Law Review, on the novel vote dilution claims that proliferated in the litigation about the 2020 election. The abstract is below:

We may be witnessing the emergence of a new kind of vote dilution claim. In a barrage of lawsuits about the 2020 election, conservative plaintiffs argued that electoral policies that make it easier to vote are unconstitutionally dilutive. Their logic was that (1) these policies enable fraud through their lack of proper safeguards and (2) the resulting fraudulent votes dilute the ballots cast by law-abiding citizens. In this Article, I examine this novel theory of vote dilution through fraud facilitation. I track its progress in the courts, which have mostly treated it as a viable cause of action. Contra these treatments, I maintain that current doctrine doesn’t recognize the claim that electoral regulations are dilutive because they enable fraud. However, I tentatively continue, the law should acknowledge this form of vote dilution. Fraudulent votes can dilute valid ones—even though, at present, they rarely do so.

Under my proposed approach, vote dilution through fraud facilitation would be a cognizable but cabined theory. Standing would be limited to voters whose preferred candidates are targeted by ongoing or imminent fraud. Liability would arise only if a measure is both likely to generate widespread fraud and poorly tailored to achieve an important governmental interest. And relief would take the form of additional precautions against fraud, not the rescission of the challenged policy. In combination, these points would yield a mostly toothless cause of action under modern political conditions. Should there ever be a resurgence of fraud, though, the new vote dilution claim would stand ready to thwart it.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120401&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20New%20Vote%20Dilution%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

House Republicans Who Refused to Join in Objections to AZ and PA Votes Last Week Nonetheless Endorsed State Legislatures Usurping Their Voters Votes and Appointing Alternative Electors<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120402>
Posted on January 12, 2021 7:11 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120402> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A reader highlighted this aspect<https://www.nkytribune.com/2021/01/kentuckys-thomas-massie-is-one-of-seven-conservatives-who-wont-object-to-electoral-votes/> of the joint statement issued by these representatives:
[cid:image002.png at 01D6E8B7.FA6D61E0]
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120402&title=House%20Republicans%20Who%20Refused%20to%20Join%20in%20Objections%20to%20AZ%20and%20PA%20Votes%20Last%20Week%20Nonetheless%20Endorsed%20State%20Legislatures%20Usurping%20Their%20Voters%20Votes%20and%20Appointing%20Alternative%20Electors>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

NY22: “700 votes were tossed in Oneida County. Officials ignored state law in latest mess up”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120396>
Posted on January 11, 2021 10:09 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=120396> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Syracuse.com:<https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2021/01/700-votes-were-tossed-in-oneida-county-officials-ignored-state-law-in-latest-mess-up.html>

The Oneida County Board of Elections ignored a state law in the November election, a failure that meant 700 voters’ ballots weren’t counted for President and big statewide races.

The mistake — Oneida County’s latest<https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2021/01/oneida-county-botched-2400-voter-signups-preventing-their-votes-in-brindisi-tenney-race.html> — surfaced as part of a court case between Democrat Anthony Brindisi and Republican Claudia Tenney<https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2021/01/brindisi-tenney-argue-vote-by-vote-in-epic-nail-biter-how-perfect-does-a-voter-have-to-be.html> as they fight for the 22nd Congressional District seat. The seat is the last undecided Congressional district in the country and is now divided by 29 votes of 311,695 cast for the two candidates.

The 700 voters were among about 1,800 whose affidavit ballots were initially rejected by the county elections board.

A ruling in early December from state Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte meant the 1,800 ballots were reviewed again, and that’s when the error was discovered. The votes were restored for the Congressional race, but were not in time for the presidential and other races.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D120396&title=NY22%3A%20%E2%80%9C700%20votes%20were%20tossed%20in%20Oneida%20County.%20Officials%20ignored%20state%20law%20in%20latest%20mess%20up%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

--
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20210112/273c9cd7/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2021 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20210112/273c9cd7/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 278847 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20210112/273c9cd7/attachment-0001.png>