Category Archives: election administration

“Michigan secretary of state: Attempts to block election certification will be ‘futile'”

August 1, 2022, 7:20 amelection administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Detroit News: Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says her office will not tolerate any effort to obstruct the certification of Tuesday’s primary election based on “partisan games” or “baseless lies.”“Any attempts to block the certification of our… Continue reading

“Conservative groups raise money for voter-fraud probes as states ban election grants; States banned private money for election expenses, but a new plan to raise money for voter fraud investigations poses similar concerns.”

August 1, 2022, 7:18 amelection administration, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Carrie Levine for VoteBeat: It turns out that the much-publicized spate of new state laws banning private grants for elections may have left a route open for private money after all. It flows through law enforcement.Conservative nonprofit True the Vote… Continue reading

Bannon’s Precinct Strategy

July 17, 2022, 6:38 amcheap speech, election administration, election subversion riskDan Tokaji

For your weekend reading or listening (I won’t say pleasure): Vox’s Sean Illing has this interview with Jennifer Senior, who recently wrote an in-depth feature on Steve Bannon for the Atlantic. Here’s an especially interesting excerpt from the interview with… Continue reading

Is mandamus appropriate in the Pennsylvania certification dispute, Chapman v. Berks County Board of Elections?

July 13, 2022, 7:05 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Dan links to the dispute that’s arisen in Pennsylvania, Chapman v. Berks County Board of Elections, as three of the Commonwealth’s 67 county boards of elections have not certified results that include undated absentee ballots. News outlets like NBC … Continue reading

“Pennsylvania’s in an election results certification crisis over the primary, and the state just sued three counties”

July 13, 2022, 5:22 amelection administration, election subversion riskDan Tokaji

Philadelphia Inquirer: “Nearly two months after the May 17 primary election, three of the state’s 67 counties have refused to count “undated” mail ballots, defying both an earlier court order and the Pennsylvania Department of State’s requests.” An example… Continue reading

“Election Officials Confront Cyber Threats, False Claims Ahead of Midterms”

July 12, 2022, 4:26 amelection administration, voting technologyDan Tokaji

WSJ has this important story on the unprecedented threats and challenges that election officials are facing. It begins: “Election officials on the front lines of defending voting systems say they are preparing for a range of challenges ahead of the … Continue reading

“She won a local election in a landslide. A conservative activist launched a recount anyway”

July 11, 2022, 8:55 amelection administration, recounts, UncategorizedDan Tokaji

From the LA Times, yet another example of the difficulties that come with serving as an election official these days: Last month, Natalie Adona won her race to become the clerk-recorder and registrar of voters in rural Nevada County… Continue reading

“Can election denialism be a winning issue in November?”

July 10, 2022, 7:40 amelection administration, election subversion riskDan Tokaji

The Hill: A number of Republican candidates who have pushed dubious claims about the last election, or questioned the legitimacy of elections, are winning their respective primaries, raising questions about whether election denialism can be a winning issue in… Continue reading

Director of Florida’s New Office of Election Crimes and Security

July 8, 2022, 8:50 amelection administrationDan Tokaji

Politico’s Florida Playbook has this report on Gov. Ron DeSantis’s appointee Pete Antonacci, described as “a skilled lawyer and former general counsel for [former Gov. Rick] Scott who once worked for Democratic Attorney General Bob Butterworth.”

“Democratic alarms sound over DeSantis’s new elections overseer”

July 7, 2022, 4:38 amelection administrationDan Tokaji

Lizette Alvarez’s column in WaPo on Cory Byrd, whom Gov. DeSantis recently appointed as Florida Secretary of State.

“Kobach looks for comeback in Kansas after losing 2 big races”

July 5, 2022, 8:53 pmelection administrationDan Tokaji

AP: Kansas voters have said no to Kris Kobach twice over the past four years. But he is nonetheless betting that this can be the year he makes a political comeback.His losses, including a 2018 defeat that handed the… Continue reading

Archived Video of My Aspen Ideas Session with Chris Krebs, Kim Wyman, and Stephen Richer: “How Do You Know if Your Vote is Counted?”

July 4, 2022, 12:05 pmelection administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

You can watch here.

Two AZ Election Officials Quit, Citing Threats

July 4, 2022, 4:37 amelection administration, election subversion riskDan Tokaji

From Business Insider and WaPo, more evidence of the increased strain that conscientious local election officials have been facing since 2020 . . . and the risks that their departure poses for our democracy: The elected county recorder and… Continue reading

Mandamus works

June 18, 2022, 3:40 amelection administrationDerek Muller

As Ned highlights, the Otero County Commission saga in New Mexico that began this week is over (for now). Back in February, I blogged about “election subversion and writs of mandamus.” We don’t have many disputes like… Continue reading