Monthly Archives: November 2020

“Trump ‘army’ of poll watchers led by veteran of fraud claims”

November 2, 2020, 5:02 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AP: A veteran Republican operative who got his start in politics by helping to persuade a judge to throw out hundreds of mail-in ballots is organizing an “army” of volunteers for President Donald Trump’s campaign to monitor voting in… Continue reading

“What Will TV and Social Networks Do If Trump Prematurely Declares Victory?”

November 2, 2020, 4:55 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

Brian Stelter for CNN: If President Trump comes out and prematurely claims victory on Election Night, what will television networks and social media websites do?The scenario — undemocratic and unthinkable in the past but a very real possibility with… Continue reading

“Pennsylvania could be a center of chaos this election. It didn’t have to be this way.”

November 2, 2020, 4:52 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The Washington Post has published this new op-ed of mine. As readers here know, I made my efforts to change this situation, now all that’s left is to assign blame: Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor and Republican legislature will both deserve blame… Continue reading

“November Surprise: Fewer Ballots Rejected by Election Officials”

November 2, 2020, 4:45 pmabsentee ballotsRick Hasen

NYT: With absentee ballots flooding election offices nationwide, the officials processing them are tentatively reporting some surprising news: The share of ballots being rejected because of flawed signatures and other errors appears lower — sometimes much lower — than in… Continue reading

“Deceptively Edited Video of Biden Proliferates on Social Media”

November 2, 2020, 4:41 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

NYT: A video of Joseph R. Biden Jr. deceptively edited to make it appear as though he were admitting to voter fraud was viewed more than 17 million times on social media platforms, according to Avaaz, a progressive human-rights nonprofit… Continue reading

Rob Richie: “How to Stop Consultants from Weaponizing Voter Choice” [Corrected]

November 2, 2020, 4:38 pmalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Rob Richie of FairVote: A Super PAC called the True Kentucky Patriots has a message for Bluegrass State voters that’s been all over local TV stations: The “true conservative” in the U.S. Senate… Continue reading

“As Voting Ends, Battle Intensifies Over Which Ballots Will Count”

November 2, 2020, 4:35 pmElection Meltdown, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

NYT: With the election coming to a close, the Trump and Biden campaigns, voting rights organizations and conservative groups are raising money and dispatching armies of lawyers for what could become a state-by-state, county-by-county legal battle over which ballots will… Continue reading

“Misinformation Image on WeChat Attempts to Frighten Chinese Americans Out of Voting”

November 2, 2020, 4:15 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

ProPublica/KQED: At least two dozen groups on the Chinese-owned social media app WeChat have been circulating misinformation that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is “preparing to mobilize” the National Guard and “dispatch” the military to quell impending riots,… Continue reading

Eric Holder and Michael Mukasey: “If you can’t think of anything worse than the other side winning, imagine this”

November 2, 2020, 4:06 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

WaPo oped: Each of us served as attorney general of the United States, one for a Democratic president, the other for a Republican. Over the years, in the course of disputing matters of law and policy, each of us… Continue reading

“Changing the rules for choosing electors: Lessons from the election of 1800”

November 2, 2020, 3:06 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Gary Stein post.

“What I Learned From Training to Be a Right-Wing Poll Watcher; Rule No. 1: Don’t let the Democrats slip you laxatives.”

November 2, 2020, 1:51 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Great dispatch from Slate’s Jeremy Stahl who trained as a “True the Vote” poll watcher: Alan Vera, ballot security chairman for Texas’ Harris County GOP, wants prospective poll watchers to keep an eye on their coffee.“Here’s a tip that I… Continue reading

“How to Use (or Not Use) Social Media During the 2020 Election”

November 2, 2020, 1:40 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

From the WSJ’s excellent technology writer, Johanna Stern: The first rule of election social media is: You do not use election social media. We should all take the occasional social-media break in our lives—right now’s a great time. My… Continue reading

“One big flaw in how Americans run elections”

November 2, 2020, 1:23 pmvoting technologyRick Hasen

Kim Zetter for Politico: Stein’s experience is far from unique: Time and again, people seeking answers about perplexing results or election anomalies encounter obstacles. Often the only examination occurs if parties or candidates request a recount — which means voters… Continue reading

Breaking: Federal Court Rejects Ridiculous Lawsuit Seeking to Throw Out Over 100,000 Votes Cast Validly by Texas Voters

November 2, 2020, 12:32 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

The judge ruled that plaintiffs lacked standing, which was one of the many reasons this lawsuit was easy to resolve and garbage. My earlier analysis of why this case is so weak is here. The judge is giving an… Continue reading