Category Archives: absentee ballots

“Determinants of Rejected Mail Ballots in Georgia’s 2018 General Election”

February 26, 2021, 6:53 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Enrijeta Shino , Mara Suttmann-Lea, and Daniel A. Smith in Political Research Quarterly: Because of the COVID-19 threat to in-person voting in the November 2020 election, state and local election officials have pivoted to mail-in voting as a… Continue reading

“Why So Few Absentee Ballots Were Rejected In 2020”

February 17, 2021, 10:28 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

538: It was the nightmare scenario for the 2020 election: With so many more people than usual casting absentee ballots, observers feared that a significant share of ballots would be rejected for not following proper procedure. One study… Continue reading

Remember that Luzerne County Thrown-Away Military Ballots Issue? “A Pennsylvania election probe that Trump falsely touted as a sign of vote-rigging ended without charges”

January 16, 2021, 2:55 pmabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

Philly Inquirer: Federal prosecutors in Harrisburg announced Friday they had found “insufficient evidence” of a crime in an election investigation that President Donald Trump and his allies had repeatedly touted as a sign of vote-rigging in Pennsylvania.The case, involving … Continue reading

“Strict absentee voting limits proposed after record Georgia turnout”

January 8, 2021, 7:16 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

AJC: Voting was never easier in Georgia than in November’s presidential election. But it might not last.Republican legislators plan to crack down on voting access after record turnout helped Democrat Joe Biden win Georgia, flipping the state after 24 years… Continue reading

Georgia: “GBI finishes signature audit in Cobb County, finds only two mismatches”

December 29, 2020, 5:55 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

WSB-TV: Channel 2 Action News has learned that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has finished the signature audit in Cobb County over the November election.Earlier in the month, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his office had investigated credible allegations… Continue reading

“How the much-litigated ballot deadlines affected the US election”

December 24, 2020, 11:01 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

The Guardian/VoteBeat: Americans shattered records for voting by mail in many states in the 2020 presidential election, a phenomenon that tested existing election laws, new pandemic-related regulations, postal service capacity, voter education efforts and voters’ own resolve.Some states had more… Continue reading

Wisconsin: “Trump Carried Counties Where Many Voters Avoided ID Rules”

December 22, 2020, 2:04 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: More Wisconsin voters were allowed to vote absentee without showing photo identification in counties Donald Trump won than in counties that backed Joe Biden, a new analysis shows…A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review shows 123,357 voters in the… Continue reading

Prosecutors Charge PA Voter with Voter Fraud in Voting His Dead Mother’s Absentee Ballot for Trump

December 21, 2020, 8:54 pmabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

This is typical; an isolated, stupid criminal act, not a vast conspiracy to change election results. “In his political frustration, he chose to do something stupid,” [the man’s lawyer said]. “And for that he is very sorry.”

“Georgia to audit one county’s signatures on ballot envelopes”

December 15, 2020, 7:09 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

AP: Georgia’s secretary of state on Monday announced an audit of signatures on absentee ballot envelopes in one county, but the outcome of the presidential race in the state will not change as a result of the audit.“Now that the… Continue reading

Justice Alito Has Moved Up the Response Time to the Rep. Kelly PA Election Petition to the Morning of Safe Harbor Day: What Does It Mean?

December 6, 2020, 8:14 amabsentee ballots, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Via Bob Barnes, comes news that Justice Alito had moved the date for the response to Rep. Kelly’s request for emergency relief from Dec. 9 to Dec. 8. I had noted in an earlier post that Justice Alito had… Continue reading

“Postal Service Delays Disenfranchised Thousands of Legally-Cast Ballots This Fall”

December 3, 2020, 11:15 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

NBC LX: US Postal Service workers likely delivered more than 99.9% of the nation’s mail ballots in-time to be counted this year, despite record participation and unprecedented pandemic-related challenges. However, it also appears the USPS disenfranchised tens of thousands… Continue reading

Breaking and Analysis: Wisconsin Supreme Court, on 4-3 Vote, Rejects Hearing Trump’s Election Challenge and Directs Him Back to Trial Court; 2 Dissenting Justices Suggest Disenfranchising Voters Not a Proper Remedy in Any Case

December 3, 2020, 10:35 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

You can find the Court’s order, a concurring opinion, and two dissenting opinions, at this link. The court’s three liberals were joined by conservative Justice Hagedorn in holding that the exclusive remedy for an election contest is to start in… Continue reading

After Losing Unanimously in Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Case Seeking to Overturn Election Results on Absurd Theory, PA Republicans Vow Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court Despite Lack of a Federal Issue

November 29, 2020, 12:37 pmabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

Fox News reports an emergency motion will be filed with SCOTUS today. My earlier coverage of this lawsuit is here.

Persily and Stewart NYT Oped: “Trump Is Wrong. There’s No Evidence of Election Fraud in Philadelphia. The Claim Itself Is Fraudulent”

November 19, 2020, 7:13 amabsentee ballots, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Must-read: Joe Biden’s lead in the presidential election results in Pennsylvania has now surpassed 81,000 votes, far exceeding Donald Trump’s 44,000-vote victory margin there four years ago. Yet the Trump campaign continues to claim in court huge but incalculable levels… Continue reading