Category Archives: absentee ballots

President Trump Arguably Broke North Carolina Law in Suggesting That Voters Try to Vote by Mail and In Person

September 2, 2020, 4:24 pmabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

President Trump made some worrisome comments today that seemed to encourage double voting in the state of North Carolina. You can watch the short interview here. Here’s the transcript (my emphasis): (Q) 600,000 people could vote by absentee in… Continue reading

“This Is Democrats’ Doomsday Scenario for Election Night: What if early results in swing states on Nov. 3 show President Trump ahead, and he declares victory before heavily Democratic mail-in votes, which he has falsely linked with fraud, are fully counted?”

September 2, 2020, 10:11 amabsentee ballots, Election MeltdownRick Hasen

Trip Gabriel for the NYT: In Michigan, Ms. Benson predicted that three million votes would be cast by mail this year, 60 percent of the total. She has called for changes to let election clerks process absentee ballots early —… Continue reading

Texas Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Harris County from Sending Out Absentee Ballot Applications to Voters

September 2, 2020, 9:42 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

The stay is in effect as the court considers whether to grant emergency relief.

“Postal Service Watchdog Outlines ‘Concerns’ Surrounding Election Readiness”

September 1, 2020, 4:41 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

NPR: The U.S. Postal Service’s inspector general has outlined a number of ongoing concerns about the agency’s ability to manage the influx of mailed ballots for the 2020 election — separate from the recent controversial actions by the postmaster general.The… Continue reading

Federal District Court Rejects Challenge to Georgia Law on Limits to Third Party Collection of Absentee Ballots, But Extends Deadline for Receipt of Postmarked Absentee Ballots

August 31, 2020, 3:32 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Here is the opinion. The court rejected other challenges to Georgia law as well, but the extension of the time for receipt of ballots is significant given how late Georgia voters can request and receive absentee ballots and given potential… Continue reading

“Will You Have Enough Time to Vote by Mail in Your State? Yes But It’s Risky to Procrastinate”

August 31, 2020, 10:08 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

NYT reports.

“Texas tells Harris County to halt plan to send all voters applications for mail-in ballots”

August 28, 2020, 12:55 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Texas Tribune: Until now, the fight over voting by mail in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic has focused on which voters are eligible to cast an absentee ballot. Now, the battle has progressed to an argument between the state… Continue reading

“Fearing Delays and Chaos, Swing States Weigh Early Counting of Mail-In Ballots”

August 28, 2020, 11:48 amabsentee ballots, election administration, Election MeltdownRick Hasen

AP: The cumbersome and sometimes slow counting of an expected record number of mail-in ballots — especially in some crucial swing states — could delay results and open the door to challenges in this year’s elections.In 13 states and… Continue reading

“Judge voids 50,000 absentee ballot requests in Iowa county”

August 27, 2020, 8:06 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

AP: A judge ordered an Iowa county Thursday to invalidate 50,000 requests for absentee ballots, agreeing with President Donald Trump’s campaign that its elections commissioner overstepped his authority by pre-filling them with voters’ personal information.Judge Ian Thornhill issued a… Continue reading

Georgia: “State Investigation Finds Failures In Fulton County’s Absentee Process”

August 27, 2020, 5:06 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

GPB: A Georgia State Election Board investigation Thursday found that Fulton County’s absentee ballot request process failed in the run-up to the June 9 primary, leaving hundreds of voters without the ballots they requested and contributing to long lines… Continue reading

New Study: Vote by Mail Increases Voter Turnout But Does Not Alter Election Outcomes

August 27, 2020, 2:47 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

The participatory and partisan impacts of mandatory vote-by-mail View ORCID ProfileMichael Barber1,* and View ORCID ProfileJohn B. Holbein2,* See all authors and affiliationsScience Advances 26 Aug 2020:Vol. 6, no. 35, eabc7685DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc7685 Article Figures … Continue reading

“How likely is it that your mail-in ballot won’t get counted? It’s riskier than voting in person.”

August 27, 2020, 8:26 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Charles Stewart at the Monkey Cage: In an article forthcoming in the Harvard Data Science Review, I have worked to quantify how much riskier it is for someone to vote by mail than in person. Depending on the state in… Continue reading

“Don Jr. robocall urges supporters to vote by mail”

August 26, 2020, 4:30 pmabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Politico: Donald Trump Jr. is urging voters to cast absentee ballots in robocalls detected across the nation Wednesday — even as his father continues to rail against widespread mail-in voting.The robocalls, which reference this week’s Republican National Convention have… Continue reading

Michigan: “Judge: Benson has power to mail absentee ballot applications”

August 26, 2020, 8:25 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Detroit News: A Michigan Court of Claims judge dismissed Wednesday a suit challenging Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s decision to mail absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in Michigan ahead of the August and November elections. The court in… Continue reading

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