Hurricane Helene has caused significant disruptions for election officials in North Carolina and across the Southeast, scrambling preparations for early and mail voting that have been in the works for months.
In western North Carolina, one of the areas hit hardest by the storm, election officials were working Monday to evaluate what changes needed to be made in a key presidential battleground state where mail ballots started going out last week and early in-person voting is scheduled to begin in three weeks.
North Carolina officials mailed 190,000 ballots last week, some of which may be delayed or destroyed by flooding. Mail service is suspended to many areas, which will halt the transport of the ballots. And there’s more pressure for voters to get their ballots in early this year: State legislators recently eliminated a grace period that allowed ballots with on-time postmarks to be counted even if they arrived three days after the election.
At least 14 county election offices are closed and are expected to be for several days, said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections.
“At this point in time as we know it, all the members of our elections community are safe and sound and preparing themselves to serve all eligible voters in North Carolina,” Brinson Bell said, noting that the officials were working through challenging circumstances with power outages, limited cell service and impassable roads. One staffer in Buncombe County walked more than 4 miles to work Monday, she said.
Officials in Buncombe County are assessing polling sites and working to account for staff and board members. Some staffers are stranded, Corinne Duncan, the county’s election services director, said in an update shared by a spokesperson. The county’s election offices have power but no water, but staffers still managed to drop off 200 mail ballots at the post office Monday….
Monthly Archives: September 2024
“Despite federal court ruling, Arizona has power to ensure counties certify election results”
A federal judge has blocked an Arizona rule aimed at enforcing timely finalizing of election results, ruling that the state can’t simply exclude a county’s results if local officials there refuse to certify them, and noting the various legal alternatives that should make the rule unnecessary.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes had added the rule to the state’s most recent Election Procedures Manual, giving the secretary the power to move forward with the statewide certification without a county’s results.
But following a challenge to the rule led by conservative groups, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi ruled Friday that Fontes’ office did not address why the additional rule was needed when there are “various alternatives available to the State to ensure finality and prevent disenfranchisement of all voters.”
Liburdi’s order included a detailed explanation of those options to ensure all votes are counted on time.
For example, Fontes, a Democrat, can sue county supervisors and ask a judge to immediately force them to certify, and the state can bring criminal charges against the supervisors personally — both of which happened in connection with the 2022 election….
“Pennsylvania Republicans Lag Democrats in Early Mail Ballot Requests”
In the past two election cycles, Republicans have been far less eager to vote by mail than Democrats — and their candidates have suffered because of it. This year, Republicans made Pennsylvania their target for flipping the trend, pledging more than $10 million to persuade G.O.P. voters there to vote by mail in the November election.
Early data from the secretary of state’s office shows that they still have a long way to go.
As of Monday, Democrats in the state had requested about 881,000 mail ballots, and Republicans had requested 373,000, less than half of the Democratic total and only about a quarter of the total mail ballots requested in the state.
While it is still early (the last day to request a mail ballot is Oct. 29), such a large gap shows it is extremely unlikely that Republicans will come close to parity with Democrats in voting by mail in Pennsylvania. It is stark evidence that former President Donald J. Trump’s longstanding criticism of mail-in voting — including misinformation that it is rife with fraud — has had a stubborn and lasting impact.
“Fact check: 12 election lies Trump is using to set the stage to dispute a potential 2024 defeat”
Marshall Cohen and Daniel Dale for CNN.
October 16 Event: “Connecting Research with Policy: Foreign Influence, Disinformation, and Generative AI”
This looks great:
Over the past decade, immense research and policy efforts have focused on understanding digital media’s impact on democracy, particularly around foreign influence campaigns and disinformation. However, the online environment has shifted radically over the last few years as generative AI intersects with a fragmenting social media ecosystem. Ahead of a critical 2024 election, this rapidly evolving landscape presents new challenges to measuring the impact of foreign influence campaigns and disinformation, as well as safeguarding the integrity of our electoral system.
This half-day, in-person event in Washington, D.C., will convene experts from the research and policy communities to explore pressing questions and identify priorities on foreign influence campaigns, mis/disinformation, and generative AI.
- How can we measure the reach and impact of foreign influence operations, including those powered by generative AI?
- How do we address the loss of trust in government, media, and other institutions?
- How can rigorous research inform policymaking and legislation on these topics and vice versa?
- And how can more data be available to help researchers, policymakers, and the public better understand this environment?
By bringing together a mix of researchers and policymakers, this event will serve as a unique opportunity for these parties to learn and connect, align on priorities, and chart a path forward for digital media research and policy.
***
Co-sponsored by NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics, the Knight-Georgetown Institute, Princeton University’s Center for the Study of Democratic Politics, and the NYU Brademas Center
Princeton SPIA in DC
1333 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
“AI Could Still Wreck the Presidential Election”
Nathan Sanders and Bruce Schneir in The Atlantic.
“Democrats sue to block new Georgia rule requiring hand-count of Election Day ballots”
CNN:
Democrats sued Georgia’s State Election Board on Monday over a new rule that requires counties to hand-count the number of ballots cast at polling places on Election Day, arguing it will allow “for bad-faith actors to claim that fraud has affected election results.”
The new lawsuit escalates an ongoing legal battle between the Democratic Party and Georgia’s GOP-controlled elections board over a series of controversial rules passed in recent weeks that critics say will bring post-election “chaos” into the state.
Backed by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, the lawsuit argues that the hand-counting rule conflicts with state law and that the board overstepped its authority when it approved it. Three Donald Trump allies on the board approved the new rule earlier this month in a 3-2 vote.
“Advocacy groups urge Congress to commit to certifying election results”
A broad coalition of advocacy groups called on every member of Congress to commit to certifying the results of the presidential election on Jan. 6, 2025, warning lawmakers in a letter sent Monday that “our most fundamental rights and freedoms will be jeopardized once again” if they don’t accept the outcome.
The letter, first obtained by The Washington Post, comes days after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hedged when asked if he would commit to certifying the results if former president Donald Trump loses to Vice PresidentKamala Harris. Johnson answered that he would do so “if we have a free, fair and safe election.”
The House GOP leader’s response echoes Trump’s position that he would accept the outcome only if he considers it fair to him. Trump and his allies continue to falsely insist that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and have been laying the legal and rhetorical groundwork to undermine the results of this year’s contest if he loses. At a campaign rally Friday night, Trump said that the “only way we’re going to lose, because they cheat.”
The letter to lawmakers serves as a reminder that in less than 100 days, Congress will gather to once again certify the presidential election. The largely ceremonial task turned chaotic and deadly when a mob of pro-Trump rioters, trying to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
More than two dozen groups signed the letter, including voting rights organizations, pro-democracy nonprofits, labor unions and issue advocacy groups. Signatories included Common Cause, Public Citizen, the National Education Association and the League of Conservation Voters.
Trump, Once Again Lying, Back to Blaming Cities with Large Minority Populations–Atlanta, Detroit, and Philadelphia–for Cheating in Elections
“Trump Allies Bombard the Courts, Setting Stage for Post-Election Fight”
Republicans have unleashed a flurry of lawsuits challenging voting rules and practices ahead of the November elections, setting the stage for what could be a far larger and more contentious legal battle over the White House after Election Day.
The onslaught of litigation, much of it landing in recent weeks, includes nearly 90 lawsuits filed across the country by Republican groups this year. The legal push is already more than three times the number of lawsuits filed before Election Day in 2020, according to Democracy Docket, a Democratically aligned group that tracks election cases.
Voting rights experts say the legal campaign appears to be an effort to prepare to contest the results of the presidential election after Election Day should former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee, lose and refuse to accept his defeat as he did four years ago. The lawsuits are concentrated in swing states — and key counties — likely to determine the race. Several embrace debunked theories about voter fraud and so-called stolen elections that Mr. Trump has promoted since 2020.
In Montgomery County, Pa., the state’s third-largest county, the party is seeking to force local officials to count ballots by hand, evoking debunked conspiracy theories about corrupted voting machines. A case filed by the Republican National Committee in Nevada this month falsely asserts that nearly 4,000 noncitizens voted in the state in 2020, a claim that was rejected at the time by the state’s top election official, a Republican.
If successful, the Republicans’ lawsuits would shrink the electorate, largely by disqualifying voters more likely to be Democrats. They seek purges of voter rolls, challenge executive orders from President Biden aimed at expanding ballot access and create stricter requirements to voting by mail.
Election experts, including some Republicans, say a vast majority of the cases are destined to fail, either because they were filed too late or because they are based on unfounded, or outright false, claims.
The volume and last minute timing of the cases, along with statements from party officials and Trump allies, suggest a broader aim behind the effort: Laying the groundwork to challenge results after the vote. The claims in the lawsuits may well be revived — either in court or in the media — if Mr. Trump contests the outcome.
“Many of these cases reinforce particular narratives, particularly those about immigrants and voting,” said Jessica Marsden, a lawyer at Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan group that monitors elections. “Putting false claims in the form of a lawsuit is a way to sanitize and add legitimacy.”
Republican lawyers involved said their work was aimed at creating more confidence in elections.
“Our legal efforts are fighting to fix the problems in the system, hold election officials accountable, protect election safeguards and defend the law,” Gineen Bresso, who is running the election integrity operation for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign, said in a statement. “While Democrats want a system open to fraud without safeguards, that counts illegal votes, we are committed to securing the election so every legal vote is protected.”…
“Conservative Christians were skeptical of mail-in ballots. Now they are gathering them in churches”
With Election Day just a few weeks away, longtime church members Lucky Hartunian and Janie Booth sat outside the Revival Christian Fellowship’s sanctuary in Menifee, California, inviting congregants to register to vote.
The women urged those streaming into the evangelical church’s Saturday morning civic engagement event to “make their voices heard as Christians.” After mail-in ballots go out statewide, Booth and Hartunian will be among church volunteers collecting completed, sealed ballots and dropping them off at the county office the next day.
It’s a practice known as ballot gathering – or ballot harvesting — that’s been a source of national controversy over the years.
Booth said her task is a big responsibility, but she’s not nervous.
“A lot of people don’t trust the mail,” she said. “So I feel honored and privileged to do this. I’m doing this for my kids and grandkids.”
Conservative voters who have been skeptical of mail voting and ballot gathering – a strategy often used by Democrats – are now warming up to it. Evangelical Christians, in particular, are embracing it this year.
Leading conservative figures Charlie Kirk and Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump have called on Christians and conservatives to collect ballots. Megachurches like Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Southern California are leading the charge, urging – even training – congregations to collect ballots. They praise it as a valuable tool to raise voter turnout and elect candidates who align with their views on issues such as abortion, transgender rights and immigration.
Robert Tyler, a California-based attorney who represents conservative churches and pastors, said he still believes “ballot harvesting and universal vote by mail creates opportunities for fraud.”
“But the rules of the game have changed,” he said. “Until the law changes, we have to get out and gather ballots like they are doing.”…
Ninth Circuit tosses part of Arizona voter registration election case in broad standing decision, citing FDA v. AHM
In June, I noted that the Supreme Court’s decision in FDA v. AHM might result in an uptick in election law cases where plaintiffs would lose cases for lack of standing for plaintiffs who claimed a “diversion of resources” theory of injury, often citing a case called Havens Realty. In July, I noted this happened quickly in some courts. Last week, a Ninth Circuit panel in Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans v. Mayes tossed one claim under FDA v. AHM, with a divided panel questioning the future of FDA v. AHM for standing doctrine. (The panel also found against the plaintiffs on the merits of another claim unanimously.) The claim related to an Arizona law, which is, as the majority put it, “a provision that allows the cancellation of a voter’s registration if a county receives ‘confirmation from another county’ that the voter has moved and is registered in that new county (‘Cancellation Provision’).” If it stands, it could have significant consequences, in election law cases and beyond, in a large part of the federal judiciary.
Judge Lee, joined by Judge Collins, wrote (lightly edited):
Continue reading Ninth Circuit tosses part of Arizona voter registration election case in broad standing decision, citing FDA v. AHM“On private call, Arizona’s top Democrats debated a ‘dire’ ballot dilemma”
rizona’s Democratic leaders knew they had no good options when they jumped on a phone call this month. They had just learned tens of thousands of residents had been registered to vote for decades, even though there was no record they had provided proof of citizenship — a requirement under state law.
Their predicament was “an urgent, a dire situation,” Gov. Katie Hobbs said, according to audio of the call obtained by The Washington Post.Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said critics would “beat us up no matter what the hell we do.” Attorney General Kris Mayes worried they would be accused of rigging the 2024 election in a crucial state.
Changing the voting status of these Arizonans risked disenfranchising legitimate voters six weeks before the election. Letting them vote as they had in the past could violate the law. Even though the problem predated these officials by 20 years, it was on them to fix. And though it affected only state and local races, not the presidential or Senate elections, they knewafter four years of attacks on the state’s election systems that no matter what they did, critics would have a ready-made issue to seize on if they didn’t like the outcome in November.
“When this goes public, it is going to have all of the conspiracy theorists in the globe — in the world — coming back to re-litigate the past three elections, at least in Arizona,” Hobbs said. “And it’s going to validate all of their theories about illegal voting in our elections, even though we all know that’s not true.”…
“Can you imagine telling 67,000 Republicans they can’t vote on the abortion initiative,” Mayes asked, her tone incredulous. “I mean, Katie, I understand your point about not politicizing this, but the reality is that if we let this happen, all of these elections are challengeable. They’re going to be calling for a new election.”
Responded Hobbs:“They’re going to be calling for new 2020 and ’22 elections as well.”
Fontes reiterated that he wanted voters to receive full ballots, and Hobbs shifted her stance to back him
“I hear you,” the governor said. “I agree with you. It’s your position to do that, not mine, and I’m going to support your call.”
But, she noted, they would face a wave of criticism. “It’s still going to create just this s— storm of ‘told you so, all these illegals are voting,’ from the other side,” said the governor, referring to Republicans.
Fontes argued that no matter what they say or do, Republicans are “going to beat us up.”
Hobbs had suggested that the issue would be best solved with a court decision. “That would provide that cover, that legal cover,” the governor said. She suggested that the litigation should come “from someone who’s friendly to us,” who would align with their desire to keep the solution nonpartisan.
That notion within days evolved into what Fontes called a “friendly lawsuit” that Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) brought against the secretary of state. Richer, like the three Democrats, has faced years of threats and harassment for doing his job. He lost his July primary election to another Republican and had little to lose by initiating a legal fight.
Fontes and Richer asked the state Supreme Court to quickly give them an answer. Around the same time, Hobbs announced the computer issues at the division of motor vehicles that caused the problem had been quickly fixed. Soon after, the court issued a ruling that said the voters’ eligibility to cast full ballots should remain in place. Richer declined to comment Saturday….
“Misinformation spreads after 750k names removed from NC voter rolls. Here are the facts.”
The News and Observer reports.