1/4 “This is delusional,” said Mark Braden, ex RNC chief counsel. “I’m a professional Republican so it’s not easy for me to have to deal with...this. Look, voter fraud occurs. I’ve seen it. ... But you have to be realistic about the size and scope of it.” go.osu.edu/emb
2/4 “The Venezuelans didn’t screw around with the voting machines,” Braden said. “That’s 100% total nonsense. I don’t know what’s going on here. It’s very dangerous that we’re undermining the system. Democracy isn’t a God-given right. It’s a fragile process."
3/4 Braden: "The two most important things are that the person with the most lawful votes wins, and that the people who voted for the losing side also believe their candidate lost. This is undermining that idea and it’s a dangerous thing.”
4/4 Braden was an especially constructive adviser to the American Law Institute's Principles of Law: Election Administration project, which had strong bipartisan representation among experienced recount attorneys: go.osu.edu/ali His words were always wise then. Also now.
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1/15 This Electoral College map is my new nightmare scenario: 270towin.com/maps/mLweY I'm working on an essay to explain why, which addresses some of the legal issues arising under the Electoral Count Act, 3 USC 15, if a dispute over the election reaches Congress next January 6.
2/15 This new essay will extend beyond issues explored in previous work, including Preparing for a Dispute Presidential Election: An Exercise in Election Risk Assessment and Management, 51 Loy. U. Chi. L. J. 309 (2020): go.osu.edu/PDPE
3/15 While the Loyola article addressed the possibility of a dispute arising in a single battleground state pivotal to the Electoral College outcome, the new essay will consider the possibility that an Electoral Count Act dispute under 3 USC 15 could extend across many states.
1/4 A line in SCOTUS order is causing confusion: "in order to be counted in this election a voter's absentee ballot must be either (i) postmarked by election day [4/7/20], & received by [4/13/20] at 4:00pm, or (ii) hand-delivered as provided under state law by [4/7/20] at 8:00pm"
2/2 At first, the line seems a SCOTUS mandate not to count any ballot beside these. But that's a misreading. First, right before this quote is a qualifier: "subject to any further alterations that the State may make to state law"; this makes clear state law can count more ballots
3/4 Plus, key operative language of SCOTUS is at start: "District Court's order granting preliminary injunction is stayed to the extent it requires the State to count absentee ballots postmarked after April 7, 2020." This shows SCOTUS is only limiting what federal court can order