Monthly Archives: May 2020
In Detailed and Thoughtful Opinion, Federal Court Holds Florida Law Requiring Ex-Felons to Repay Fines Before Restoration of Voting Rights Unconstitutional for Those Who Cannot Afford to Pay and Those Who Cannot Know How Much They Owe
You can find the 125-page opinion at this link. Howard rounds up the news stories.
Among other things the court held that if the state of Florida cannot even tell former felons how much they owe to have their… Continue reading
My Appearance on CNN’s Smerconish Show: Why is Trump Against Mail-in Ballots
You can watch at this link.
We discussed the new report, Fair Elections During a Crisis.
“AP FACT CHECK: Faulty Trump Claims on Virus Drug, Vote Fraud”
“Republican National Committee sues California to halt vote-by-mail for November general election”
CNN:
The Republican National Committee and other Republican groups have filed a lawsuit against California to stop the state from mailing absentee ballots to all voters ahead of the 2020 general election, a move that was made in response … Continue reading
Federal District Court in South Carolina Holds It Unconstitutional to Apply Witness Requirement to Absentee Ballots for June Primary in Light of COVID; Rejects Motion to Extend Deadline for Receipt of Absentee Ballots Postmarked by Election Day
You can find the district court’s opinion at this link. On the witness requirement, the district court found that South Carolina does not use the witness requirement to ferret out voter fraud and in any case there is virtually nothing… Continue reading
“Trump Sows Doubt on Voting. It Keeps Some People Up at Night. A group of worst-case scenario planners — mostly Democrats, but also some anti-Trump Republicans — have been gaming out how to respond to various doomsday options for the 2020 presidential election.”
“With Trump threatening Michigan, lawsuit filed to expand rights of absentee voters”
Detroit Free Press:
Michigan’s statutory requirement that all absentee ballots be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted is being challenged in court.The League of Women Voters, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union… Continue reading
“Lawsuit demands easier vote-by-mail process in NC”
News & Observer:
A group of voters backed by Democratic legal groups sued North Carolina on Monday seeking to loosen rules around absentee mail-in ballots amid predictions that the coronavirus pandemic will make voting by mail a widespread practice.They… Continue reading
“Direct Democracy Denied: The Right to Initiative in a Pandemic”
I have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, University of Chicago Law Review Online). Here is the abstract:
Putting aside the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee, the case over extending the date for… Continue reading
Montana State Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring the Enforcement of Montana Law Limiting Third Party Collection of Absentee Ballots and Requiring Mail Ballots Be Received by Election Day
You can find the 17-page opinion here. Among other things the court found that the limit on third party collection of ballots would suppress voter turnout of Native Americans.
This is one of the Marc Elias lawsuits (press release… Continue reading
“Elections During a Crisis: Vote-By-Mail Is One Of Several Solutions”
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy for TPM on the Fair Elections During a Crisis committee report. Ciara was a member of the committee.
New Jersey: “Long-Time Paterson Council Member Files for Recount After Defeat in Election Plagued By Fraud Claims”
NBC:
The first formal request of a recount in Paterson was issued Friday for a city council election plagued by allegations of fraud.Long-time council member William McKoy filed the recount request after losing his reelection bid by 245 votes… Continue reading
Scheduled to Be on Smerconish on CNN, 9 am Eastern Saturday
I’ll be talking about the fairness and legitimacy of the 2020 elections, and our Fair Elections During a Crisis report, in light of recent comments of the President about voter fraud.