Report: more than 220,000 mail-in ballots in Nevada primary "sent to outdated addresses." "The Public Interest Legal Foundation, an election integrity group, reviewed the 1.3 million mail-in ballots Nevada's Clark County sent during the June primary. It found that more than 223,000 of the ballots were sent to outdated addresses, leading the postal service to designate them as 'undeliverable.' The undeliverable ballots accounted for 17 percent of all ballots mailed to registered voters." (Washington Free Beacon) • What's happening: More than 223,000 mail-in ballots for Nevada's June primary were "sent to outdated addresses" and therefore labeled undeliverable by the post office, according to a new watchdog report. Nevada, like most states, has seen a dramatic increase in voting by mail.
• What's at stake: Get ready for November!
The media and the left accuse President Trump and Republicans of scare tactics when they raise concerns about dramatically expanding vote-by-mail -- or going to an all-mail election -- just a few months out from November. But the stories keep coming.
Americans should be able to vote absentee and by mail, but state primaries with above-average amounts of mailed ballots due to COVID-19 have had troubling issues -- like more than 200,000 undeliverable ballots in June in Nevada.
Combined those issues may be:
-- outdated voter rolls (i.e. voter records) as people move and don't update addresses -- as seems to be the issue in this story
-- issues with postal delivery, either getting to or from the voter in time and with the proper postmarks (check out this NPR story on how "at least 65,000 absentee or mail-in ballots have been rejected" as of mid-July this year)
-- time spent processing and tallying mailed in ballots -- as we saw with the six-week delay in some New York primary results
That doesn't even begin to address potential concerns for voter fraud, especially in the states that will automatically mail ballots to all registered voters -- as Nevada plans to do for the November election.
Bottom line: the stakes this November are much higher. The margins of victory will be much closer. And there will be far, far, far more votes cast than have been in any state primary this year.
So why is President Trump the only one talking about concerns with mail-in voting, while the media and the left (but we repeat ourselves!) criticize him?
• What else to know: Nevada recently passed legislation to automatically mail all registered voters a ballot ahead of the November presidential election. President Trump and the Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit earlier this week in response.
Two new lawsuits could change election integrity protections in Ohio ahead of the 2020 election. "Two recent lawsuits in Ohio highlight the growing difficulties of balancing election security and equal access to voting with the pandemic-fueled effort to rapidly expand mail-in voting this November. Both lawsuits were filed on July 31, one by the Ohio Democratic Party and the other by the League of Women Voters, and challenge existing security measures for mail-in ballots." (Real Clear Politics) • What's happening: Two lawsuits filed last week in Ohio could dramatically transform voting in the important swing state this November. In separate suits, the Ohio Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters challenged existing state policies for mail-in ballots.
• What's at stake: Potentially the security and integrity of Ohio's mail-in ballots in November!
There are two new lawsuits that challenge key parts of Ohio's existing voter integrity policies with mail-in ballots. As you'll recall, every state anticipates a large uptick in voting by mail due to COVID-19 this fall.
(1) The Ohio Democratic Party wants voters to be able to submit requests for absentee ballots by email. The Democrats listed off other states in which this is normal practice.
But the spokesman from the Ohio Secretary of State's office told Real Clear Politics: "If other states want to allow tens of thousands of voters emailing insecure attachments to their county boards of elections – essentially providing our nation’s enemies an unprecedented opportunity to insert a computer virus into our county boards of elections in the huge mass of emails they will receive and thus, greatly increase the chances of the presidential election being disrupted – well, that’s up to them."
(2) The League of Women Voters challenges the use of signature matching to verify voters' identification by mail. Right now, voters' signatures on their mailed ballots are compared to their signatures on-file; a mismatch could lead to a rejection of the ballot.
• What else to know: Law professor Justin Levitt has continued to update his list of election-related lawsuits across the country. As of yesterday, it's up to 192 cases in 42 states plus the District of Columbia. Check out his full list (and bookmark it!) right here.
An early preview of the Democratic National Convention speakers includes Bernie Sanders but potentially no AOC. "Planning a Democratic convention without Democrats who are actually convening is the main challenge for the Democratic National Committee and the Biden campaign, and organizers are under intense pressure to produce a four-day television event that is engaging and entertaining but one that also conveys the gravity of the choice for voters in November." (POLITICO) • What's happening: POLITICO has an early preview of the confirmed speakers for the Democratic National Convention. The all-virtual event will run from August 17 to 20; there's only two hours of "programming" (i.e. prime-time speeches) versus the usual six at a traditional convention available each day.
• What's at stake: Given the deep split in the Democratic Party right now, it's interesting to analyze the line-up that the Democratic National Committee -- with heavy influence from the Biden campaign, we presume -- have chosen.
-- Barack and Michelle Obama -- Bill and Hillary Clinton -- Jill Biden And others are high-profile leaders from 2016 and 2020: -- Bernie Sanders -- Kamala Harris -- Elizabeth Warren -- John Kasich, former Republican governor of Ohio and 2016 presidential primary candidate
What we've found most interesting:
(1) Bernie Sanders and John Kasich are reportedly set to speak on the same night. That won't be lost on the far-left progressives, who already feel snubbed by the "establishment" of the party.
(2) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) may not have a speaking role. Again, that won't be lost on the far-left progressives, and it may further their anger toward Biden and the party.
(3) Some think having Harris and Warren on the list is a sign they're out of VP contention. But it's 2020, so we'd presume anything can happen before Joe Biden's announcement.
• What else to know: Plans for the Republican National Convention continue apace. Axios reported that each night of the Republican convention will include an American theme: -- land of heroes (Monday) -- land of promise (Tuesday) -- land of opportunity (Wednesday) -- land of greatness (Thursday)
President Trump doesn't get his debate request. The presidential debate schedule will remain unchanged. "The Commission on Presidential Debates shut down the Trump campaign’s request to either add an extra debate before the first early-voting ballot are cast, or to move one of the three debates to the first week of September." (Daily Wire) • What's happening: Despite a request from President Trump, the presidential debate schedule will remain unchanged. President Trump wanted to move up the debate schedule and/or add an additional debate.
• What's at stake: First, President Trump is widely expected to have the upper hand in the presidential debates, and it's no surprise he is now pressing his advantage.
While President Trump's team requested additional presidential debates, the left has started to suggest Biden should skip them altogether.
Second, the presidential debates are traditionally scheduled close to Election Day for the benefit of undecided voters.
But this year, many voters will cast ballots by mail far ahead of November, which means the presidential debates will play a smaller role in voters' decision-making. That's good news for Joe Biden.
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