Monthly Archives: August 2020

The Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project: Research and Service to Democracy During the Pandemic

August 17, 2020, 7:08 amelection administrationRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Nate Persily and Charles Stewart: The Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project: Research and Service to Democracy During the Pandemic Nathaniel Persily, Stanford University Charles Stewart III, MIT The Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project is an… Continue reading

Federal Election Commission Staffers Send Letter Calling for More Racial Diversity and Inclusion at the FEC

August 17, 2020, 7:00 amfederal election commissionRick Hasen

You can read the letter here. It begins: We the undersigned, nonpartisan staff members of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) affirm our commitment to make our workplace a model of inclusion and equal opportunity for all, regardless of racial,… Continue reading

Mark Meadows Tries to Reverse the Burden of Proof on Widespread Voter Fraud

August 17, 2020, 6:55 amElection Meltdown, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Me at Twitter: This is a common, weak attempt to flip the burden of proof. Widespread voter fraud would be easy to detect. Kris Kobach told a federal court he had shown “tip of iceberg” of voter fraud. Court said… Continue reading

“Regular Iowans can change things by voting for a constitutional convention on Nov. 3”

August 17, 2020, 6:54 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

J.H. Snider in the Des Moines Register.

Trump Administration Endorses Absentee Voting

August 17, 2020, 6:06 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Once again, the Trump administration has strongly endorsed no-excuse absentee voting – the form of voting that matters most this fall. This time the endorsement came from Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, whom Jake Tapper interviewed this Sunday. As usual,… Continue reading

“Trump’s Policies Are a Boon to the Super Rich. So Where Are All the Seven-Figure Checks?”

August 16, 2020, 10:18 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Mr. Trump is hardly lacking for cash; he has received huge numbers of small donations online from a fervent grass-roots base, and he raised a jaw-dropping $165 million in July for his campaign and the two fund-raising committees that… Continue reading

“Pelosi calls House lawmakers back to vote on post office legislation”

August 16, 2020, 10:02 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

WaPo:House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called House lawmakers back Sunday to try to prevent Postal Service changes that Democrats fear could make it harder for millions of Americans to cast mail ballots in November. Members will be expected to… Continue reading

“Trump campaign’s poll-watching plans spark fears of voter suppression”

August 16, 2020, 5:30 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Fredreka Schouten for CNN: The Trump campaign is working to dispatch tens of thousands of election monitors to battleground states in what is shaping up as the Republican Party’s largest-ever poll-watching operation.The party’s aggressive plans for poll-monitoring have sparked… Continue reading

“State officials rush to shore up confidence in Nov. 3 election as voters express new fears about mail voting”

August 16, 2020, 4:59 pmabsentee ballots, Election MeltdownRick Hasen

WaPo: President Trump’s unprecedented attacks on the U.S. Postal Service amid widespread mail delays across the country are shaking voters’ faith that their ballots will be counted, prompting a rush among federal, state and local officials to protect the integrity… Continue reading

“Traders Brace for Haywire Markets Around Presidential Election; Betting on a wave of market volatility straight through to the inauguration”

August 16, 2020, 4:54 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

WSJ reports.

The list of COVID-19 election cases hits 200

August 16, 2020, 1:54 pmelection law and constitutional law, election law biz, Election MeltdownJustin Levitt

Justin here. I’m tracking the litigation over election issues related to COVID-19 … and the list of cases just hit 200. 202, actually. The number in each state isn’t necessarily a good indication of the contentiousness of the issues:… Continue reading

“‘Ballot harvesting’ targeted amid fight over voting rules”

August 15, 2020, 12:12 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

AP: Although widely practiced and rarely found to be abused, the rule permitting a third party to collect and return multiple ballots remains a source of partisan dispute. Those fights are likely to continue up to Election Day as states… Continue reading

Ned Foley on CNN’s Smerconish Talking About “the Blue Shift” and 2020 Election Legitimacy

August 15, 2020, 12:03 pmelection administration, Election MeltdownRick Hasen

Watch here.

South Korea’s Election: Voting Nearly All in Person, High Turnout, No New Infections

August 15, 2020, 5:21 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

As a follow-up to Dr. Fauci’s comments on the safety of in-person voting, it is worth noting that, back in April, South Korea was one of the first countries to hold major national elections since the pandemic began. South Korea… Continue reading

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