ACS Hosts Post-Election Voting Issues Call

The American Constitution Society hosted a call on Nov. 6 in which voting rights experts discussed voting issues that occurred before and during the election, as well as what happens now that the election is over. The panelists were Allison Hayward, a George Mason Law Professor and former Chief of Staff and Counsel for Federal Election Commissioner Bradley Smith, Pamela Karlan, a Stanford Law Professor and voting expert, and Daniel Tokaji, an Ohio State Law Professor and Associate Director of OSU's Election Law Project. Tokaji discussed election administration issues, such as voter registration and voter suppression. Tokaji said that the big issue surrounding voter registration is not voter fraud, but rather the amount of voters who omitted from voter lists. He also discussed the role that Election Day voter registration has in the reduction of the use of provisional ballots. Tokaji said that he would like to see more Election Day registration because it increases turnout and decreases the use of provisional ballots. He added that there is no proof that Election Day registration results in voter fraud. Haywood discussed various topics including how this election illustrated that a well-designed website can raise money and how the election will impact the possibility of new rules surrounding publicly and privately funded campaigns. In responding to a question about how the role of the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission will change under a new administration, she said that Justice Department will probably be more aggressive in voter registration at DMV and social service agencies. Karlan, responding to a question about how the role of the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission will change under a new administration, said that the Inspector General is still investigating voter fraud and there has been little effort to help those who have been erroneously excluded from voting. She said that a new administration would probably focus more on those excluded from voting. She also discussed the impact that small donations may have on federal election law.
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