[EL] ELB News and Commentary 6/3/21

[Rick Hasen]

“Harris Asked to Lead on Voting Rights. She Has Her Work Cut Out for Her.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122443>
Posted on June 3, 2021 7:45 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122443> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/us/politics/harris-voting-rights.html>

Vice President Kamala Harris did not come to her role with a list of demands. She wanted to be a generalist, in large part to learn the political rhythms of a president she was still getting to know. In the first few months of her tenure, some of her portfolio assignments were just that: assignments.

But on the matter of protecting voting rights, an issue critically important to President Biden’s legacy, Mr. Harris took a rare step. In a meeting with the president over a month ago, she told him that she wanted to take the lead on the issue.

Mr. Biden agreed, two people familiar with the discussions said, and his advisers decided to time the announcement<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/politics/kamala-voting-rights.html> of Ms. Harris’s new role to a speech he delivered on Tuesday in Tulsa, Okla<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/politics/biden-tulsa-race-massacre.html>. In his remarks, the president declared the efforts of Republican-led statehouses around the country to make it harder to vote as an “assault on our democracy, ” and said Ms. Harris could help lead the charge against them.

He also gave a blunt assessment of the task: “It’s going to take a hell of a lot of work.”

Back in Washington, the president’s announcement has not clearly illuminated a path forward for Ms. Harris, whose involvement in the issue stands to become her most politically delicate engagement yet. Her new role comes as the Senate enters a crucial month in the Democratic drive to enact the farthest-reaching elections overhaul<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/politics/voting-rights-congress.html> in a generation, including a landmark expansion of voting rights that is faltering in the Senate….

“It’s an interesting move given the long odds of anything getting passed and signed into law,” said James P. Manley, who served as a senior aide to former Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader before Mr. Schumer. “There’s not a lot of cards to play right now, so it shows me they are going to try to raise the public temperature of this thing.”
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Trump has grown increasingly consumed with ballot audits as he pushes falsehood that election was stolen”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122441>
Posted on June 2, 2021 5:30 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122441> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-2020-election-audits/2021/06/02/95fd3004-c2ec-11eb-8c34-f8095f2dc445_story.html>

Former president Donald Trump remains relentlessly focused on the false claim that the November election was stolen from him and is increasingly consumed with the notion that ballot reviews pushed by his supporters around the country could prove that he won, according to people familiar with his comments.

Trump has rebuffed calls from some advisers to drop the matter, instead fixating on an ongoing Republican-commissioned audit in Arizona and plotting how to secure election reviews in other states, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Georgia, according to advisers. He is most animated by the efforts in Fulton County, Ga., and Maricopa County, Ariz., according to two advisers who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

Trump’s interest has been fueled by conversations he has had with an array of figures who have publicly touted false claims of election fraud. Among them, according to advisers, is Christina Bobb, a host at the One America News network who has privately discussed the Arizona audit with the former president and his team; Mike Lindell, the chief executive of the company MyPillow; and Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), who urged the state’s congressional delegation to reject Biden’s victory there last fall.ADVERTISING

Trump has become so fixated on the audits that he suggested recently to allies that their success could result in his return to the White House this year, according to people familiar with comments he has made. Some advisers said that such comments appear to be just offhand musings.

A Trump spokesman declined to comment on the record.

Trump’s deepening preoccupation with post-election audits has created a singular situation, one in which a former president is regularly attacking the electoral legitimacy of his successor. And it comes as a coterie of his most devoted supporters have intensified their own rhetoric, making allusions to undemocratic actions that could result in Trump’s return.
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Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


“‘Up is down and down is up.’ Report examines misinformation on Miami Spanish talk radio”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122439>
Posted on June 2, 2021 5:22 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122439> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Miami Herald:<https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article251855918.html>

Thousands of dead people and noncitizens voted in the 2020 presidential election. There were more votes cast than registered voters. Black Lives Matter and Antifa infiltrated the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Those are just some of the conspiracy theories compiled in a new media monitoring report published Wednesday, revealing the extent to which misinformation pervaded the airwaves of Miami Spanish-language talk radio in the immediate lead-up to, and aftermath of, the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Scrutinizing a week’s worth of early to mid-January<https://www.nomasdisinfo.com/> pre-recorded programming, the report shows how a group of radio hosts across two popular local AM stations, Radio Mambi and Actualidad Radio, mischaracterized the events of Jan. 6 and continued amplifying baseless claims of voter fraud, sometimes with the tacit endorsement of high-ranking guests, including U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Miami-Dade.

Leaders of the organizations that produced the report — including progressive-leaning advocacy groups Florida Rising and Miami Freedom Project as well as communication firms ProsperoLatino and Latina Comunica — told the Herald that the aim of the media monitoring initiative is to better understand, and expose, how misinformation is disseminated on Spanish-language radio, a key component of an influential misinformation ecosystem targeting Hispanics<https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/14/florida-latinos-disinformation-413923> in South Florida.

“For us, it’s not just monitoring for monitoring’s sake. It’s about capturing and documenting what’s being said to sound the alarm but also hold these outlets accountable,” said Andrea Mercado, co-executive director of Florida Rising, a nonprofit organization that works to increase the voting and political power of minority groups in Florida.

“It’s really important to capture the kind of disinformation that is being spread across media outlets in South Florida.”
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


“Republicans and Democrats alike are abandoning one of their favorite — and bogus — fundraising gimmicks. A Vegas scammer’s guilty plea has them spooked.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122437>
Posted on June 2, 2021 3:08 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122437> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Dave Levinthal:<https://www.businessinsider.com/campaign-matching-donations-democrats-republicans-bogus-gimmick-2021-5>

Amid late May’s crush of hyperbolic and histrionic political fundraising solicitations, a familiar gimmick, widely used just days ago, has all but disappeared: those messages promising to magically “triple match” or “quadruple match” contributions.

What gives?

A line buried in a recent Department of Justice guilty-plea announcement<https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pelosi-emails-spam-fundraising-match-donations-doj-2021-5>, which used the word “matched,” has so spooked most Republicans and Democrats alike that they’ve all but abandoned this popular — and decidedly bogus — fundraising ploy, say several political operatives, speaking to Insider on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential legal advice.

Out of more than 150 political-committee solicitations Insider reviewed in late May, only a handful still used “match” gimmicks. Just a month before, at least three dozen of the same committees did.

“Stop for now,” is the guidance one Republican political operative said she received from her attorney.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>


“Dems’ dark-money bid aimed to paint Josh Hawley as an anti-gun lefty”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122435>
Posted on June 2, 2021 2:34 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122435> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Axios:<https://www.axios.com/democrats-pac-dark-money-josh-hawley-anti-gun-bd77366c-35f6-4ac0-802a-538e0bb7c1d8.html>

A dark-money group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer helped pay for deceptive ads aimed at depressing Republican general election turnout in 2018, newly released records show.

Why it matters: These contests were decided more than two years ago, but the details show how partisan operatives exploited gaps in campaign finance laws to attack their rivals while obscuring their true motives — tactics both sides may adopt in next year’s pivotal midterms.

Republicans Josh Hawley and Mike Braun, now U.S. senators, were among those targeted. So were then-Sen. Dean Heller and now-Rep. Matt Rosendale, who lost their races.

Details: Majority Forward is the nonprofit arm of Senate Majority PAC, a high-dollar super PAC affiliated with Senate Democrats. Newly released tax records<https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/474368320_201905_990O_2020092117315069.pdf> show that Majority Forward gave nearly $2.7 million in 2018 to another nonprofit called the Coalition for a Safe and Secure America (CSSA).

That was the majority of the $4 million CSSA raised<https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/822980298_201812_990O_2020061617191749.pdf> that year….

Background: CSSA’s ads ran on a handful of state-specific Facebook pages. They hit those Republican candidates from the right, accusing them of caving on issues central to the conservative political brand.

Nevada’s Heller “allowed almost 200,000 foreign workers a backdoor entry into our country,” one ad declared<https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&view_all_page_id=2376510002377566&sort_data%5bdirection%5d=desc&sort_data%5bmode%5d=relevancy_monthly_grouped&search_type=page&media_type=all>.

Missouri’s Hawley, the group charged<https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&view_all_page_id=2211246082450361&sort_data%5bdirection%5d=desc&sort_data%5bmode%5d=relevancy_monthly_grouped&search_type=page&media_type=all>, “sides with Washington liberals against gun owners.”

“Tax-hike-Mike Braun,” is what the group dubbed<https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&view_all_page_id=1317216951751840&sort_data%5bdirection%5d=desc&sort_data%5bmode%5d=relevancy_monthly_grouped&search_type=page&media_type=all> the former Indiana state representative.

Rosendale, then a GOP candidate for Senate in Montana, “supports drone monitoring,” the ads in that race claimed<https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&view_all_page_id=754817541529540&sort_data%5bdirection%5d=desc&sort_data%5bmode%5d=relevancy_monthly_grouped&search_type=page&media_type=all>.

Between the lines: These attacks came not during GOP primaries, but within weeks of the 2018 general election, asDemocrats explored ways to drive a wedge between Republican candidates and their most ideologically committed voters.

The timing suggests CSSA was seeking to depress GOP election day turnout or push Republicans to support third parties (some of the group’s ads promoted Libertarian Party candidates).
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


June 9 Event: “Should we amend or abolish the Electoral Count Act?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122433>
Posted on June 2, 2021 2:17 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122433> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

This AEI event<https://www.aei.org/events/should-we-amend-or-abolish-the-electoral-count-act/?mkt_tok=NDc1LVBCUS05NzEAAAF9bRLF_LGGxRndLZlwXbKHcIGd83FMh5vIywTaiodbik9WCN_ih8vLjFe-QrxhyGAzT68T2-sVzAHk6K1YpFPJRiFwyqLfiMdm8ZU-HEp4DssyyA> looks great:

The Electoral Count Act of 1887 was adopted to ensure Congress counted only valid slates of electors during a presidential election. But scholars and election experts have warned that it was poorly drafted and invited confusion.

The problems with this statute erupted in full view on January 6, 2021, when members of the House of Representatives and Senate challenged the electoral slates of two states. Some of these same legislators, along with President Donald Trump, asked Vice President Mike Pence not to certify these votes, which would have tipped the presidential election results from Joe Biden to Trump.

Please join AEI’s Kevin R. Kosar and a panel of scholars to discuss the Electoral Count Act and whether it can be improved through amendment or should be abolished.

LIVE Q&A: Submit questions to Elayne.Allen at aei.org<mailto:Elayne.Allen at aei.org> or on Twitter with #AEIElectoralCountAct<http://www.twitter.com/hashtag/AEIElectoralCountAct>.

Agenda

10:00 AM
Introduction:
Kevin R. Kosar, Resident Scholar, AEI

10:05 AM
Discussion

Panelists:
John C. Fortier, Resident Scholar, AEI
Andrew C. McCarthy, Senior Fellow, National Review Institute
Matthew Seligman, Special Counsel, Campaign Legal Center

Moderator:
Kevin R. Kosar, Resident Scholar, AEI

10:45 AM
Q&A

11:00 AM
Adjournment
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Posted in electoral college<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=44>


“Legislative Focus Shifts from Voter Experience to Everything Else”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122431>
Posted on June 2, 2021 2:14 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122431> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Very useful recap of legislative efforts to change voting rules from NCSL’s The Canvass<https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/the-canvass-june-2021.aspx>.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Pressure mounts on Manchin as ‘panic’ sets in among Democrats over voting rights”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122429>
Posted on June 2, 2021 10:52 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122429> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/manchin-voting-rights/2021/06/02/103db892-c320-11eb-93f5-ee9558eecf4b_story.html>

Democratic leaders and activists are urgently stepping up pressure on Sen. Joe Manchin III to support legislation to fight Republican-led voting restrictions across the country, with party officials increasingly concluding that the battle over voting rights could come down to what the centrist Democrat from West Virginia does.

In a rare show of public frustration with his own party on Tuesday, President Biden appeared to lash out at Manchin when he accused a pair of unnamed senators of aligning too closely with Republicans and stalling efforts to pass sweeping voting standards<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ahead-of-tulsa-trip-biden-to-unveil-new-plans-to-reduce-black-white-wealth-gap/2021/05/31/b80c9c4e-c269-11eb-8c18-fd53a628b992_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_4>.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently announced that his chamber would vote this month on a House-passed elections bill co-sponsored by every Democratic senator except Manchin — a move that would force Manchin to pick a side in a fight that has taken on new urgency in recent weeks.

Even some of Manchin’s Democratic colleagues are beginning to prod him more aggressively to join their cause, while activists and civil rights leaders are loudly decrying his hesitation.

“That is a problem with the Democratic Party. What you see with Republicans — they stick together no matter what,” said the Rev. William J. Barber II, a civil rights leader who attended the Tuesday speech in Tulsa where Biden appeared to criticize Manchin. “They need to let Manchin understand we elected Joe Biden — not Joe Manchin — to be president.”
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Biden allies urge Facebook to review spread of election fraud claims”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122427>
Posted on June 2, 2021 10:50 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122427> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Politico:<https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/02/building-back-together-facebook-election-fraud-491545?nname=playbook-pm&nid=0000015a-dd3e-d536-a37b-dd7fd8af0000&nrid=0000014e-f109-dd93-ad7f-f90d0def0000&nlid=964328>

A nonprofit advocacy group with close ties to President Joe Biden on Wednesday joined calls for Facebook to review whether its actions contributed to the spread of unfounded election fraud claims leading up to the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol.

Building Back Together, an outside coalition formed by top Biden allies and campaign advisers, urged Facebook in a letter reviewed by POLITICO to commit to an internal probe of the matter, something the company’s oversight board recommended last month.

Requirements vs. suggestions: The panel, which recently upheld Facebook’s decision to suspend former President Donald Trump<https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/05/trump-still-blocked-from-facebook-for-now-485428>, also called on the company to carry out “a comprehensive review of Facebook’s potential contribution to the narrative of electoral fraud and the exacerbated tensions that culminated in the violence in the United States on January 6.”

While the ruling on Trump’s suspension is binding, the board’s recommendations for changes to Facebook’s policies and for follow-up actions, such as the review, are not. Facebook is required to respond to the suggestions by Friday, though, and Biden’s allies are pressuring the tech giant to make good on the guidance ahead of the deadline.
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Posted in cheap speech<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=130>


“Biden Assigns Harris Another Difficult Role: Protecting Voting Rights”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122425>
Posted on June 2, 2021 10:40 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122425> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/politics/kamala-voting-rights.html>

President Biden said on Tuesday that he had directed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead Democrats in a sweeping legislative effort to protect voting rights, an issue that is critical to his legacy but one that faces increasingly daunting odds<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/politics/voting-rights-congress.html> in a divided Senate.

“Today, I’m asking Vice President Harris to help these efforts, and lead them, among her many other responsibilities,” Mr. Biden said during a trip to Tulsa, Okla. “With her leadership and your support, we’re going to overcome again, I promise you, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot of work.”

The president was in Oklahoma<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/politics/biden-tulsa-race-massacre.html> to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa massacre<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/24/us/tulsa-race-massacre.html>, when a white mob destroyed a vibrant Black business district and killed as many as 300 people. The massacre was one of the worst outbreaks of racist violence in American history, and it has gone largely ignored in history books<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/30/arts/television/tulsa-race-massacre-documentaries.html>.

Mr. Biden told the crowd that he saw the protection of voting rights as one of the most fundamental — and most endangered — pathways to ensure racial equity.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Observers of Arizona’s GOP-led election audit document security breaches, prohibited items on counting floor”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122423>
Posted on June 2, 2021 10:33 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122423> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-election-arizona-audit/2021/06/02/56de9282-c3af-11eb-9a8d-f95d7724967c_story.html>:

Observers of Arizona’s Republican-led recount have found security gates left open, confidential manuals left unattended and quality-control measures disregarded, according to the Arizona secretary of state’s office.

In one instance, a software update caused so many errors that the company handling the recount abandoned the update and went back to the old software. In other instances, prohibited items including cellphones and pens with black or blue ink were allowed onto the counting floor.

And in an incident last week, audit spokesman and former state Republican Party chairman Randy Pullen told an observer that the pink T-shirt he was required to wear while watching the proceedings made him “look like a transgender.”

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) and election security experts have long criticized the audit as error-riddled. Now, Hobbs’s office is documenting the alleged infractions online<https://azsos.gov/about-office/media-center/documents/coliseum-observer-notes-2021>.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


“Haberman: Trump pressing conservative writers to push election conspiracy theories”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122421>
Posted on June 2, 2021 10:31 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122421> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Hill:<https://thehill.com/homenews/media/556500-haberman-trump-pressing-conservative-writers-to-push-election-conspiracy>

Former President Trump<https://thehill.com/people/donald-trump> wants conservative media to legitimize his conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election being stolen and that he’ll soon be reinstated, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman<https://thehill.com/people/maggie-haberman> said Wednesday.

“He has been trying to get conservative writers to publish, you know, in a more mainstream way that this election was, quote unquote, stolen from him,” Haberman told CNN “New Day” co-host John Berman, without naming any writers.

She said Trump has been “laser focused” on the Arizona election audit and reaching out to other conservative politicians and commentators for support, hoping they’ll help promote the idea that the elections will be overturned.

“And none of that is possible. But this is the kind of thing that he is trying to flush into the conservative media ecosystem,” Haberman said. “And I expect it to get more intense the more he is under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney and the state attorney general in New York and the threat of indictment<https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/555445-trump-lashes-out-after-grand-jury-seated-for-new-york-criminal-probe> over the coming months.”
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>


“Leading money-in-politics data nonprofits merge to form OpenSecrets, a state-of-the-art democratic accountability organization “<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122419>
Posted on June 2, 2021 10:28 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122419> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Huge news about two amazing organizations whose work I rely upon regularly:

The nation’s two leading money-in-politics data organizations have joined forces to help Americans hold their leaders accountable at the federal and state levels, they said today.

The combined organization, OpenSecrets, merges the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP), each leading entities for three decades. The merger will provide a new one-stop shop for integrated federal, state and local data on campaign finance, lobbying and more, that is both unprecedented and easy to use.

“This merger brings together decades of expertise, massive data sets, and the kind of analysis that researchers, journalists, advocates and individuals rely on to understand the influence of spending on politics,” said OpenSecrets Executive Director Sheila Krumholz, who previously led CRP.  “At a time when our country is being tested, this is a good day for democracy.”

For nearly 40 years, CRP has made best-in-class data and analysis about spending in federal races available to those seeking to unveil and analyze political influence. NIMP has provided similar gold-standard data and analysis for state politics. Now their work will be combined to provide an unparalleled window on money in American politics.

“Transparency fuels the accountability that’s necessary to ensure the healthy evolution of our fragile democracy,” said OpenSecrets Executive Advisor Edwin Bender, who previously led NIMP. “Combining our work into a singularly robust and comprehensive tool will be invaluable for helping all of us take the measure of who our elected officials truly represent.”

The new OpenSecrets tools and analysis are expected to be especially beneficial to reporters covering statehouse politics, as media consolidation and declining news revenues have cut resources to cover state offices.

The new OpenSecrets website will debut later in 2021. The current URL for CRP (OpenSecrets.org<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=vsbDr5oK2NWBrWcBs6SmrU2rNQCjJrXGKEeuKYLKYt4-3DhlJp_LYw3uDP5U2cmeBBe07KqI8AzZYA0AXw8fCnkHEVTP6A2alsIgMDEZK5-2BwN9FSk7C5JwNP6k8qa3FrbMrqWexTp9K4v8H7VJ9mKCjVyeyAFNpJUMYCpw2VQ7w11ghF-2FGRFAXnQ8ENvLPiWKdtiMZVSzUGzH8SsKGV9wJeCGQAe16FzJgekuIiMRccfUW7P2mWJaB9Da71wr8HAHhfLJEoSuohf9KtUJwOUZVuOagQHaB8zaWAU9bdz2-2BQpBrVyTGF0o717TzXoEsI4tkq1woJ5BRoypIcqv-2Bl9eykjz1ehbp3rd3TZ2ob7bnOY005rdXCS1M1jklyZPVYD-2BW140kyfO2S-2BiQnYCkX8ZE69vC5hUY-3D>) will be retained and the NIMP website at followthemoney.org<https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=IXpWEgevNLSukxaiYCwbUIo4gDd8oEN6P85cj0AARJQaZ8CXPpZHMkDRmC7vmPaoaH-R_LYw3uDP5U2cmeBBe07KqI8AzZYA0AXw8fCnkHEVTP6A2alsIgMDEZK5-2BwN9FSk7C5JwNP6k8qa3FrbMrqWexTp9K4v8H7VJ9mKCjVyeyAFNpJUMYCpw2VQ7w11ghF-2FGRFAXnQ8ENvLPiWKdtiMZVSzUGzH8SsKGV9wJeCGQAe16FzJgekuIiMRccfUW7P2mW18heDr3liLdvKWPMOHuiy-2B-2BQVj2F90XO8f6ObSSyp5I30ThrA5h2LaNnXzZfKurFvy4nd4y4FGPvq9tCx25eaRjVQHzHDoN7kBHCIwhT3648wH9PE9jtQ4CBxji1WvPX3xSX-2BmGnIO9mSy7Ixp5ZT2-2BpEqz0aalakXLicM7595M-3D> will continue to be updated until the new site is launched.

The array of benefits for journalists, researchers, activists and engaged members of the public includes:
·         New tools that will let users track and analyze how donors, lobbyists and other forces work to wield influence across federal and state lines.
·         A concise integrated data-set that encompasses wide-ranging information in one, easily accessible location.
·         Resources for anyone looking to present a broader perspective on the wide-ranging career of a politician, lobbyist or revolver.
·         Databases that incorporate racial and gender information, putting analyses of these important aspects of democratic representation just a mouse-click away.
·         A continuation of CRP’s stellar reporting section, now incorporating stories focused on state-level and local data.
·         A combined response team, ready to answer any question a user may have on federal, state and local data.

In the months ahead, OpenSecrets will provide CRP and NIMP users with previews of the new data and capabilities, as well as trainings on how to make the most of the new tools and analysis.

Critical support for the merger review and organizational integration process was provided by the Hewlett Foundation.
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Posted in election law biz<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>


“Dark Money Darker? IRS Shutters Collection of Donor Data”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122417>
Posted on June 2, 2021 10:18 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122417> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Philip Hackney has posted this draft<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3855543> on SSRN (forthcoming Florida Tax Review). Here is the abstract:

The IRS ended a long-time practice of requiring most nonprofits to disclose substantial donor names and addresses on the nonprofit annual tax return. It is largely seen as a battle over campaign finance rather than tax enforcement. Two of the nonprofits involved, social welfare organizations and business leagues, are referred to as “dark money” organizations because they allow individuals to influence elections while maintaining donor anonymity. Many in the campaign finance community are concerned that this change means wealthy donors can avoid campaign finance laws and have no reason to fear being discovered. In this Article, I focus on whether the information is needed for the enforcement of the tax law and/or to support ancillary legal goals. I contend the IRS ought to collect this substantial donor information as it did for over 79 years. Though the collection of donor information may not be essential for groups such as social clubs, fraternities and sororities, and mutual ditch companies, the collection of this information non-publicly by the IRS is important in both enforcing tax-exempt requirements and in enforcing the tax law generally. Tax law prohibits the distribution of earnings from a nonprofit to those who control the organization. Substantial donors are classic suspects for seeking such improper receipts through their control. Thus, the information is key to IRS auditors. Considering the deficient budget of the IRS to ensure a properly enforced Code, the failure to collect that information puts the IRS in a disadvantaged position. While as a democratic matter, there may be some modest benefit from alleviating donors from the worry that the government will know about their political contributions, the harm to those who are not able to make use of these structures, the harm to those who are deprived of information regarding the biases associated with particular political activity, and the harm to the belief that the tax, campaign finance, and nonprofit law will be enforced equally upon all, is more significant. With these considerations in mind, the IRS and Treasury ought to rescind its most recent guidance on this matter. If not, Congress ought to require this information be disclosed by law.
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Posted in tax law and election law<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22>


How RCV Is Changing the Dynamics of Campaigning in NYC’s Democratic Mayoral Primary<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122415>
Posted on June 1, 2021 3:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122415> by Richard Pildes<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=7>

From Politico<https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/01/new-york-mayoral-race-491509>:

Candidates competing in the June 22 primary are banking on support in New York’s traditional battleground areas. But the advent of a ballot system allowing voters to rank up to five people in an eight-way field — with six first-time candidates who have no proven bases of support — has scrambled political conventions. Contenders are hitting low-turnout neighborhoods they would ordinarily bypass, while also trying to secure support on their opponents’ turf, with the hope of being ranked second or third.

Garcia and Wiley are trying to cut into Stringer’s base on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, while all three also compete in Brownstone Brooklyn. Adams expects to outperform his rivals in Central Brooklyn, though Wiley is refusing to cede that ground. Adams and Ray McGuire, a former finance executive, are dueling for support in the predominantly Black neighborhoods of Southeast Queens. And Yang, the former presidential candidate, is banking on piecing together a coalition of white moderates, Asians and Orthodox Jews — eating into voting blocs Adams had been counting on to expand his base.

And all are making a play for Latino voters<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/31/nyregion/latino-voters-nyc-mayors-race.html>, who are politically diverse, growing in numbers and have never had representation in the city’s highest elected office.

“The need to compete everywhere is magnified by ranked-choice voting,” Alex Navarro-McKay, who prepared the voter analysis for BerlinRosen, said. “In that respect, this election will look different than past multi-candidate primaries, where candidates focused on consolidating and mobilizing their bases.”
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Can The Federal Government Stop States’ Restrictive Voting Laws?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122413>
Posted on June 1, 2021 1:38 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122413> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I talked about this issue on NPR’s All Things Considered. Listen<https://www.npr.org/2021/06/01/1002219075/can-the-federal-government-stop-states-restrictive-voting-laws>.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D122413&title=%E2%80%9CCan%20The%20Federal%20Government%20Stop%20States%E2%80%99%20Restrictive%20Voting%20Laws%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


FEC Fines AMI, Owner of National Enquirer, $187,500 For Violating Campaign Finance Laws by Making $150,000 Payment to Karen McDougal to Keep Her Affair with Trump Quiet to Help 2016 Trump Campaign<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122411>
Posted on June 1, 2021 11:57 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122411> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AMI had already admitted the criminal conduct in the matter, and now settled<https://twitter.com/ThePaulSRyan/status/1399800400363073546> the fine after a Common Cause complaint. The FEC split on going after others, but we will await the release of more paperwork.

Details.<https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/MUR-7324-Closing-Packet-to-Complainant-Common-Cause.pdf>
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>


“Georgia absentee ID law has outsized impact on Black and metro voters”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122409>
Posted on June 1, 2021 11:32 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122409> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

AJC:<https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-absentee-id-law-has-outsized-impact-on-black-and-metro-voters/ZFAZVG46EZEL5MUICUQI6SHQ44/>

Over 272,000 registered voters don’t have a driver’s license or state ID on file with election officials, meaning they’d have to submit additional documents to vote by mail under Georgia’s new voting law, state election records show.

The ID requirements disproportionately affect Black voters, who are much less likely than white voters to have ID numbers matched to their voter registrations, according to election data.

Voters who lack a driver’s license or state ID number linked to their registrations will have to verify their identities to vote absentee. Georgia’s voting law requires<https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-moves-toward-id-numbers-to-verify-absentee-voters/K3XW5WYNCJHKDJ7BWG3CLMIHIY/> them to provide a utility bill, bank statement or other form of ID in future elections.

Overall, about 3.5% of Georgia’s 7.8 million registered voters are missing a driver’s license or state ID number, according to records obtained from the secretary of state’s office under Georgia’s open records law. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution analyzed the state’s list of voters without ID by comparing it with their registration information, including race, address and voting history.

More than half are Black. Most live in large, Democratic-leaning counties. Some are homeless or poor. And roughly 80,000 of them actually may have IDs but their information isn’t yet matched to election data, an issue state election officials are working to correct.
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Posted in Voting Rights Act<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


“A frantic warning from 100 leading experts: Our democracy is in grave danger”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122407>
Posted on June 1, 2021 7:56 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=122407> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Greg Sargent:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/06/01/frantic-warning-100-leading-experts-our-democracy-is-grave-danger/>

Democrats can’t say they weren’t warned.

With yet another GOP effort to restrict voting underway in Texas<https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/31/republicans-are-fighting-against-democracy-future/?itid=lk_inline_manual_3>, President Biden is now calling on<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/05/29/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-texas-senate-bill-7/> Congress to act in the face of the Republican “assault on democracy.” Importantly, Biden cast that attack as aimed at “Black and Brown Americans,” meriting federal legislation in response.

That is a welcome escalation. But it remains unclear whether 50 Senate Democrats will ever prove willing to reform or end the filibuster, and more to the point, whether Biden will put real muscle<https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/05/biden-manchin-gop-voting-rights/619003/> behind that cause. If not, such protections will never, ever pass.

Now, in a striking intervention, more than 100 scholars of democracy have signed a new public statement of principles<https://www.newamerica.org/political-reform/statements/statement-of-concern/> that seeks to make the stakes unambiguously, jarringly clear: On the line is nothing less than the future of our democracy itself.ADVERTISING

“Our entire democracy is now at risk,” the scholars write in the statement<https://www.newamerica.org/political-reform/statements/statement-of-concern/>, which I obtained before its release. “History will judge what we do at this moment.”

And these scholars underscore the crucial point: Our democracy’s long-term viability might depend on whether Democrats reform or kill the filibuster to pass sweeping voting rights protections.

“We urge members of Congress to do whatever is necessary — including suspending the filibuster — in order to pass national voting and election administration standards,” the scholars write, in a reference to the voting rights protections enshrined in the For the People Act<https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SIMPLE-SECTION-BY-SECTION_S.-11.pdf>, which passed the House and is before the Senate.

What’s striking is that the statement is signed by scholars who specialize in democratic breakdown, such as Pippa Norris, Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky. Other well-known names include Francis Fukuyama and Jacob Hacker.
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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
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http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>




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