A local Republican election official in Michigan has promised to certify the results of the November presidential election after being sued for stating that he wouldn’t sign off on the results if he disagreed with how the election was run.
The lawsuit, filed last week by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, came after a Detroit News article quoted Kalamazoo County Board of Canvassers member Robert Froman saying he believed the 2020 election was “most definitely” stolen and that he wouldn’t certify the upcoming November presidential results if a similar situation occurred this year. In a sworn affidavit signed Monday, Froman agreed to certify the results of the 2024 election based solely on vote returns and that he would not “refuse to certify election results based on information extrinsic to the statements of return.”…
A Michigan law passed in 2023 makes clear that canvassers have a “ministerial, clerical, and nondiscretionary duty” to certify election results based solely on the election returns.
Still, some Republican officials have attempted to take matters in their own hands. In May, two Republican members of a county canvassing board in the state’s Upper Peninsula refused to sign off on the results of an election that led to the recall of three GOP members of the county commission. They eventually relented after receiving a letter from state Elections Director Jonathan Brater, which reminded them of their duties and warned them of the consequences of failing to certify.
The Top Stories on Google News Right Now When You Search for “Voter Fraud”
Marc Elias Attacks the Pro-Voter Campaign Legal Center for Sticking Up for Campaign Finance Disclosure and Transparency (Because It Filed a Complaint Against a Democratic Super PAC)
The Campaign Legal Center does excellent, non-partisan work supporting voters’ rights, regardless of party.
Rep. Byron Donalds Demands that PA Permit Election Officials to Pre-Process Absentee Ballots
In the first one to two minutes of this clip, Republican Rep. Donalds lambasts PA for not permitting officials to start processing absentee ballots before Election Day. He notes that his state of Florida, along with Georgia and many others, permit this, which is why they can get to a more complete count more quickly than PA. Rep. Donalds is right about this( the way @atrupar excerpts the dialogue does not capture this part of the conversation) .
The Republican controlled Senate has refused to permit this unless the Democrats, including the Governor, agree to accept a voter ID law. This same partisan gamesmanship is why PA failed to permit pre-processing last time around, which is part of the reason PA’s vote count could not get closer to completion earlier in 2020 — with all the consequences that followed.
JD Vance Would Not Have Certified the 2020 Presidential Election as VP, Would Have Tried to Subvert Election Outcome
Sept. 17 Live Event from Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA Hammer Museum: “Democracy and Risks to the 2024 Elections”
Very much looking forward to moderating this event (recording will be made available after the event):
| Sept. 17: Democracy and Risks to the 2024 Elections |
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| Tuesday, September 17, 7:30pm PT at the UCLA Hammer Museum, (Recording to Follow) Co-presented with the Hammer Forum and the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy, UCLA Law Can the United States conduct a free and fair election in November in which the public will have confidence? Are concerns about foreign interference, deep fakes, and disinformation serious or overblown? Is participation equally open to minority voters? What are the risks to U.S. democracy if significant portions of the public do not accept the election results as legitimate? Moderated by Rick Hasen, UCLA Law. Panelists: Leah Aden, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; John Fortier, American Enterprise Institute; Justin Levitt, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; Yoel Roth, The Match Group. |
“Only Citizens Vote Coalition Partners Claimed the 2020 Election Was Stolen–And Their Push for the SAVE Act is Laying the Groundwork for a 2024 Election Challenge”
New report from Accountable.US.
Must-Read NYT: “Trump Steps Up Threats to Imprison Those He Sees as Foes; The former president is vowing to prosecute those he sees as working to deny him a victory, while laying the groundwork to claim large-scale voter fraud if he loses”
NYT:
Donald J. Trump has long used strongman-style threats to prosecute people he vilifies as a campaign tactic, dating back to encouraging his 2016 rallygoers to chant “lock her up” about Hillary Clinton. And during his term as president,… Continue reading
“Elon Musk’s misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials”
WaPo:
The chairman of the board of elections in Montgomery County, Pa., was well acquainted with the regular attendees at his monthly meetings who peddled old,debunked voting conspiracy theories.
But something changed after April 4, the chairman,Neil Makhija, explained in… Continue reading
Divided North Carolina Supreme Court Orders RFK Jr. Name off the Ballot the Ballot, Requiring the Reprinting of Millions of Ballots
CNN:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name will be removed from the North Carolina ballot, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.
In a 4-3 decision, with both of the Democratic members and one Republican dissenting, the GOP-controlled court wrote… Continue reading
“Police are questioning Florida voters about signing an abortion rights ballot petition”
AP:
State police are showing up at Florida voters’ homes to question them about signing a petition to get an abortion rights amendment on the ballot in November, and a state health care agency has launched a website targeting the… Continue reading
Codrington: “Unprincipled All the Way Down”
Wilfred Codrington has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Washington and Lee Law Review). Here is the abstract:
In 2006, the Supreme Court issued an emergency stay order in Purcell v. Gonzalez. Sparing in words and inattentive to the realities on… Continue reading
“Justice Department Issues New Guidance on Federal Law Regarding Voter Registration”
DOJ release:
The Justice Department announced today that it has published a new guidance addressing limits on when and how jurisdictions may remove voters from their voter lists. The guidance document reflects the department’s commitment to ensuring that every eligible… Continue reading
“Crosspartisan coalition calls on presidential candidates to embrace transparency, disclose their campaign ‘bundlers'”
Release:
In an effort spearheaded by Issue One, 13 organizations from across the ideological spectrum are urging Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to publicly… Continue reading