Category Archives: election administration

Election Law is Local

September 30, 2022, 4:15 amelection administration, election subversion risklegal resourceTabatha Abu El-Haj

In recognition of the fact that election laws vary by states, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law and All Voting is Local have released 7 state-specific guides for election officials that explain the legal safeguards in place to… Continue reading

Cheney-Lofgren Bill to Amend the Electoral Count Act Lists Permissible Bases to Object to Counting Certain Electors, Including that Candidate is Ineligible for President Because of Participation in an Insurrection

September 19, 2022, 11:48 amelection administration, election subversion risk, electoral collegeRick Hasen

I’ve just begun reviewing the draft Cheney-Lofgren bill to reform the Electoral Count Act. It is very much in line with the spirit of the Collins-Manchin bill in the Senate, but differs in some particulars. For example, it has a… Continue reading

“How a rural Colorado county became an epicenter of Donald Trump’s Big Lie”

September 18, 2022, 12:37 pmelection administration, voting technologyRick Hasen

Steven Rosenfeld: What happened next in Mesa County gets complex. It also reveals how a rare but recurring trend among a handful of local election officials—mistakes with setting up or using their system’s computers—can be exploited by partisans who claim… Continue reading

“The Fight Against an Age-Old Effort to Block Americans From Voting”

September 13, 2022, 6:42 amelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

ProPublica: Even though federal law guaranteed the two women the right to have someone help them vote, Coley-Pearson knew too well that this right was under attack. For all of the recent uproar over voting rights, little attention has… Continue reading

“Election activists are seeking the ‘cast vote record; from 2020. Here’s what it is and why they want it; The obscure document produced by some ballot tabulators won’t prove the fraud activists think it will, experts say.”

September 10, 2022, 6:20 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

New from Votebeat.

“Opinion: Kenyans trusted the transparent election results”

September 9, 2022, 2:52 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

Jurij Toplak letter in WaPo.

“Wisconsin election clerks race to understand absentee ballot ruling”

September 9, 2022, 7:07 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Associated Press: Wisconsin’s 1,800-plus election clerks were racing Thursday to understand a judge’s ruling nine weeks before the election that some fear could lead to absentee ballots being counted in parts of the battleground state but rejected in others.A judge… Continue reading

Must Read Michael Wines NYT: “In Voter Fraud, Penalties Often Depend on Who’s Voting”

September 7, 2022, 10:00 amelection administration, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Michael Wines for the NYT: After 15 years of scrapes with the police, the last thing that 33-year-old Therris L. Conney needed was another run-in with the law. He got one anyway two years ago, after election officials held a… Continue reading

“What happens when the president calls you an ‘enemy of the people’? Election officials and public sentiment”

September 6, 2022, 11:44 amelection administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Joelle Gross, Samuel Baltz, and Charles Stewart III have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: False information about the legitimacy of recent American elections has prompted a barrage of harsh rhetoric against the officials who administer them.… Continue reading

Two Studies on Political Party Roles in Election Certification from ERN

September 6, 2022, 7:44 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Via TPM: After votes are tabulated locally, state election laws designate an individual or board to confirm the totals add up and to certify victory for the winning candidate. A new Election Reformers Network (ERN) analysis finds that in… Continue reading

“Some Republicans in Washington state cast a wary eye on an election security device”

August 28, 2022, 11:10 amelection administration, voting technologyRick Hasen

Miles Parks for NPR: In northeast Washington state, a remote region nestled against the Canadian border, the politics lean conservative and wariness of government runs high.Earlier this year, a Republican-led county commission there made a decision that rippled across Washington… Continue reading

“Michigan election officials demanded change after 2020. Their calls so far have gone unmet.”

August 23, 2022, 7:02 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Detroit Free Press: As voters across the country prepare for the upcoming midterm elections, many will contend with a whole new set of election rules from lawmakers who ushered in major changes in the wake of 2020. But… Continue reading

Injunctive relief granted, mandamus denied in Pennsylvania county certification dispute

August 20, 2022, 7:53 amelection administrationDerek Muller

About six weeks ago, I highlighted the dispute in Pennsylvania over whether to include some absentee ballots that lacked a date in the county’s certified results. I noted that mandamus struck me as inappropriate and that media or commentary comparisons… Continue reading

Pennsylvania error prompts meeting with judge over Lancaster County mail-in ballot case

August 12, 2022, 7:50 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Last month, I blogged about the mail-in ballot dispute in Pennsylvania. I noted that mandamus was not appropriate and the case was nothing like the recent Otero County, New Mexico case. That dispute took about 48 hours to resolve.… Continue reading