Walter Olson
Number 21 in our series of occasional roundups on election law and policy:
Federal seizure of Fulton County, Georgia, voting records was based on fraud theories long since refuted. [Alex Woodward, The Independent; Sam Levine and George Chidi, The Guardian] Not ready for prime time: The federal SAVE tool, promoted as implementing the administration’s plans on citizenship verification, is making persistent mistakes, especially in mislabeling foreign-born persons who were naturalized after appearing in some database. [Jen Fifield and Zach Despart, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune] From last year: A federal ban on mail ballot systems would “kneecap Utah’s success” with procedures that raised turnout by fitting the needs of busy families while maintaining strong security. [Amelia Powers Gardner, Deseret News] A study backs the idea that GOP claims of “rigging” may have blown control of the US Senate in 2021 by discouraging their own voters. “Election denial dampened the likelihood of voting in the 2021 Georgia Senate runoffs, and particularly among respondents aligned with President Trump.” [McKee, Hood, and Pittman, American Politics Research via Election Law Blog] Just when you think you’ve figured out the SAVE Act or Save America Act, colleague Stephen Richer analyzes the MEGA Act, which would extend federal control over many additional elements of election administration, by, for example, banning all-mail voting and ranked-choice voting in federal elections. Wisconsin maintains an ever-growing list of “inactive” voters such as those who’ve died or moved out of state. Election theft buffs, including some in high places, have applied persistent creative misreading to this mundane fact. [Alexander Shur, Votebeat]
