Category Archives: chicanery

Kris Kobach’s effort to amend the NVRA

October 6, 2017, 3:46 pmchicanery, NVRA (motor voter)Justin Levitt

In this post, I mentioned that we now had a (redacted) look at the “first 365 days” agenda Kris Kobach was photographed holding after his meeting with President-Elect Trump back in November. A number of outlets have picked up… Continue reading

Facebook and Russia

October 6, 2017, 12:26 amchicaneryJustin Levitt

WSJ: Facebook Inc. cut references to Russia from a public report in April about manipulation of its platform around the presidential election because of concerns among the company’s lawyers and members of its policy team, according to people familiar… Continue reading

“The ‘unique’ nature of the US voting system could help Russia tip the scales of future elections, experts say”

October 5, 2017, 7:11 pmchicaneryJustin Levitt

The Electoral College meets Russia meets the Business Insider.

“Prosecutor asked to investigate case of Trump nominee who apparently voted illegally”

October 5, 2017, 7:06 pmchicaneryJustin Levitt

Following up on this story, local elections officials have asked prosecutors to investigate fraud by the current nominee for deputy US trade representative: specifically, the potential misrepresentation of his home residence on voter registration forms.

Remember the picture of Kris Kobach and his plans for the year ahead?

October 5, 2017, 7:04 pmchicanery, NVRA (motor voter), UncategorizedJustin Levitt

Specifically, remember this document? This one? Well, here it is. (Sort of.) And here are the non-redacted NVRA amendments Kobach was apparently proposing. The AP has more context.

“Exclusive: Russian-linked Facebook ads targeted Michigan and Wisconsin”

October 3, 2017, 7:42 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNN: A number of Russian-linked Facebook ads specifically targeted Michigan and Wisconsin, two states crucial to Donald Trump’s victory last November, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the situation. Some of the Russian ads appeared highly sophisticated in… Continue reading

“Russians took a page from corporate America by using Facebook tool to ID and influence voters”

October 3, 2017, 7:38 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Russian operatives set up an array of misleading Web sites and social media pages to identify American voters susceptible to propaganda, then used a powerful Facebook tool to repeatedly send them messages designed to influence their political behavior, say… Continue reading

10 Million People Saw Russian-Paid Ads From Fake Divisive Groups

October 2, 2017, 6:17 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: The Russians who posed as Americans on Facebook last year tried on quite an array of disguises. There was “Defend the 2nd,” a Facebook page for gun-rights supporters, festooned with firearms and tough rhetoric. There was a rainbow-hued page… Continue reading

“How to stop Russian robots from attacking the next election”

October 2, 2017, 4:13 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Senator Amy Klobuchar WaPo oped.

“Federal authorities didn’t tell Wisconsin for a year about Russian involvement in hacking attempts”

September 29, 2017, 12:36 pmchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Wisconsin officials for a year were not told about specific attempts by the Russian government to gain access to the state’s voter registration database, the leaders of the state Elections Commission said Friday. Friday’s statement from the… Continue reading

“Menendez’s Actions on a Donor’s Behalf Were ‘Unusual,’ Witnesses Say”

September 29, 2017, 8:09 ambribery, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: In one instance, Mr. Menendez, according to testimony, met with two former high-ranking Democratic senators — Tom Harkin of Iowa and Harry Reid of Nevada — to discuss a Medicare billing dispute that would have cost Dr. Melgen millions… Continue reading

“Twitter, With Accounts Linked to Russia, to Face Congress Over Role in Election”

September 28, 2017, 7:22 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: For three weeks, a harsh spotlight has been trained on Facebook over its disclosure that Russians used fake pages and ads, designed to look like the work of American activists, to spread inflammatory messages during and since the… Continue reading

“Exclusive: Russian-bought Black Lives Matter ad on Facebook targeted Baltimore and Ferguson”

September 28, 2017, 7:17 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNN: At least one of the Facebook ads bought by Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign referenced Black Lives Matter and was specifically targeted to reach audiences in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, sources with knowledge of the ads told CNN.