Monthly Archives: October 2020

Ohio: “Many Franklin County voters receive wrong absentee ballots in mail; no fix is ready yet”

October 7, 2020, 10:27 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County elections officials are scrambling to figure out how many voters received the wrong ballot in the mail as thousands more lined up across the state for the first day of in-person early voting.Problems with a… Continue reading

“Voting Amid COVID-19:Your Guide to Safer Voting During the Coronavirus Pandemic”

October 7, 2020, 10:07 amelection administrationRick Hasen

New guide from the Cleveland Clinic and the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Ohio SOS Frank LaRose Says Federal Court Misunderstood His Order, Tells Cuyahoga County to Stand Down on Ballot Collection Expansion

October 7, 2020, 10:00 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

Cleveland.com: State officials have told Cuyahoga County elections officials that they still can’t proceed with their plan to set up ballot collection sites at county libraries, saying a federal judge in a written order incorrectly described a policy set by… Continue reading

Postal Carrier in New Jersey Charged with Dumping 1,875 Pieces of Mail, Including 99 Ballots

October 7, 2020, 9:58 amabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

Daily Voice: Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested a postal carrier from Kearny who they said dumped 1,875 pieces of mail — including general election ballots and campaign flyers – instead of delivering them.Nicholas Beauchene, 26, was nabbed by special… Continue reading

“DOJ Frees Federal Prosecutors to Take Steps That Could Interfere With Elections, Weakening Long-standing Policy”

October 7, 2020, 9:53 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

Very worrisome development broken by ProPublica: The Department of Justice has weakened its long-standing prohibition against interfering in elections, according to two department officials.Avoiding election interference is the overarching principle of DOJ policy on voting-related crimes. In place since… Continue reading

Celebrities Do Vote By Mail Promo About Avoiding Pitfalls Like Naked Ballots

October 7, 2020, 9:37 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Just watch this: Celebs including @SarahKSilverman, @TiffanyHaddish, and @chrisrock are stripping down to bring attention to naked ballots and encourage voters to follow vote-by-mail instructions (via @representus) pic.twitter.com/VMr3LVY2C7— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) October 7, 2020

“Two of These Mail Ballot Signatures Are by the Same Person. Which Ones?”

October 7, 2020, 8:36 amabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

NYT’s The Upshot.

Divided Texas Supreme Court Rejects Republican Party Challenge to Gov. Abbott’s Authority to Change Election Procedures

October 7, 2020, 7:34 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Chief Justice Hecht delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Justice Guzman, Justice Lehrmann, Justice Boyd, Justice Blacklock, Justice Busby, and Justice Bland joined. Justice Blacklock, joined by Justice Busby except as to Part I.C., concurring in the … Continue reading

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

October 7, 2020, 7:26 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Per curiam opinion.

“Some 2,100 L.A. County voters got ballots missing one thing: a way to vote for president”

October 6, 2020, 8:33 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

LA Times: More than 2,000 Los Angeles County voters got mail-in ballots with a very egregious flaw: no way to vote for U.S. president.The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office confirmed late Monday that about 2,100 “faulty ballots” were mailed… Continue reading

“Countering Trump, US officials defend integrity of election”

October 6, 2020, 8:29 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

AP: Four weeks ahead of Election Day, senior national security officials provided fresh assurances about the integrity of the elections in a video message Tuesday, putting them at odds with President Donald Trump’s efforts to discredit the vote.“I’m here to… Continue reading

“6 Reasons Not to Panic About the Election”

October 6, 2020, 8:23 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

Michael Waldman and Wendy Weiser in Politico: Every day we work on the policies and law underpinning our elections. We regularly point out the flaws in our electoral system. They are real. But when it comes to stealing a national… Continue reading

Montana Republicans Seek Supreme Court Order to Block Expansion of Montana Mail in Balloting

October 6, 2020, 4:04 pmabsentee ballots, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

This petition faces an uphill battle. Note the attempted distinction between “absentee” and “mail in” ballots and the attempt to argue around the Purcell principle. Note too that this does not come from state defendants objecting to the expansion of… Continue reading

Justice Breyer Rejects Republicans’ Attempt to Scuttle Maine’s Use of Ranked Choice Voting in Upcoming Presidential Vote

October 6, 2020, 3:52 pmalternative voting systems, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

He did not ask for a response. (I had thought there might be some interest at the Court in the issue presented there.)

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