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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday handed a loss to Republicans by allowing Pennsylvania voters who sent mail-in ballots that were flagged as being potentially defective to submit a separate provisional in-person ballot. The justices rejected, with no noted dissents, a Republican request to put on hold a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling from last week. The Supreme Court action does not definitively resolve the legal issue, which could yet return to the justices. Many of Pennsylvania's counties, which administer elections, already allowed for voters to cast provisional ballots if their mail-in ballots lacked a secrecy envelope even before the recent state Supreme Court ruling. Genser and Matis lost in a trial court, but an intermediate appeals court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in their favor, prompting Republicans to appeal again to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Ben Geffen, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Alito, Geffen, Rick Hasen, Harris, Walz, Donald Trump, encroaches, Donald Trump’s, Faith Genser, Frank Matis, Genser, Matis, Joe Biden Organizations: Republicans, Pennsylvania, Republican, Supreme, Democratic, Pennsylvania Supreme, UCLA School of Law, NBC, Democratic National Committee, Republican National, U.S, U.S . Constitution, Trump, Butler, Republican National Committee Locations: Pennsylvania, Butler County, Pennsylvania's, U.S .

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a Mississippi law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if they are postmarked before Election Day — but received up to five days after Election Day — is pre-empted by federal law. It does, however, pave the way for a possible challenge that could go up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could have ramifications for states that do allow ballots postmarked before Election Day to be counted. The appeals court ruling says that no such ballots should be counted. "Federal law requires voters to take timely steps to vote by Election Day. And federal law does not permit the State of Mississippi to extend the period for voting by one day, five days, or 100 days," the ruling said.

Persons: —, Trump, James Ho, Kyle Duncan, Andrew Oldham, Rick Hasen, ” Hasen, “, ”, Michael Whatley Organizations: U.S, Circuit, Supreme, statutorily, District of Columbia, University of California, Democracy, NBC, Mississippi, Republican National Committee, RNC Locations: Mississippi, Los Angeles

The 2020 campaign may have also suffered from a lack of imagination about how big the turnout would be and what Democrats were doing in the courts to expand the vote, a Trump campaign adviser said. Other familiar names from 2020 election lawsuits have been spotted this year too. One is Karen DiSalvo, who after the 2020 election helped force an audit in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The RNC and Trump campaign have focused what they call their election integrity effort on 18 states including the key swing states. An RNC lawsuit in Michigan challenging voter registration procedures is one of the cases the firm has worked on.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Donald Trump’s, Alex Kaufman, Trump, Brad Raffensperger, Julie Adams, ”, Sophia Lin Lakin, “, Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell —, Joe Biden’s, Kaufman, Cleta Mitchell, Mitchell, ensnared Giuliani, Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Karen DiSalvo, Erick Kaardal, Kurt Olsen, Biden, Bruce Castor, Michael van der Veen, Christina Bobb, Biden’s, Gineen Bresso, ” Gates, Michael Whatley, Rick Hasen, Consovoy McCarthy, Jones, Don McGahn, Dhillon, Harmeet Dhillon, David Warrington, ” Marc Elias, Harris, Lakin Organizations: Republican, Georgia, Fulton County, Registration, Republican National Committee, RNC, American Civil Liberties Union, Raffensperger, Eastman, DeKalb County Republican Party, Dominion, Supreme, Trump, United Sovereign Americans, Fulton County Republican Party, Republicans, UCLA School of Law, NBC, Dhillon, Federal, Commission, U.S, Circuit, White, Capitol Locations: Georgia, Atlanta, Fulton, Pennsylvania, Lycoming County , Pennsylvania, DeKalb County, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Mississippi

Elon Musk’s daily $1 million lottery for registered swing state voters who sign his super PAC’s petition falls into a legal gray area and could potentially violate election law, three experts told NBC News. Paying someone to vote or to register to vote is explicitly illegal under federal law. “This is at best very questionable legally,” said Michael Morse, an assistant professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. But none of the experts who spoke with NBC News believed law enforcement is likely to stop the lottery or fine Musk before the election. “You can only register to vote in Pennsylvania until today.

Persons: “, ”, John Fortier, Elon Musk, Michael Swensen, Michael Morse, ” “ I’ve, Nate Persily, it’s, Musk, Rick Hasen, Hasen, Justice Department’s, it’s “, Josh Shapiro, Morse, Trump, Kristine Fishell, Penn Organizations: Elon, NBC News, Musk’s America PAC, America PAC, American Enterprise Institute, NBC, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, “, Stanford Law School, Musk’s PAC, UCLA School of, Democracy, Justice, ”, ” Pennsylvania Gov, Press Sunday, Department, Justice Department, Pennsylvania, Federal, Trump, Republican, New York Times Locations: Pittsburgh, ” Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Michigan

Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has forcefully ramped up his efforts to help re-elect former President Donald Trump, raising eyebrows across the political world and inviting questions about the legality of some of his tactics. Meanwhile, news reports have chronicled some of the issues facing America PAC, a political action committee funded by Musk to help boost Trump in the home stretch of the campaign. The two men rallied together earlier this month in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president survived an assassination attempt over the summer. The giveaway plan was met with immediate pushback from some election law experts. Rick Hasen, a law professor at UCLA and an NBC News election law analyst, wrote in a post on his website Saturday that the payments were “clearly illegal.”“Essentially what you’re doing is you are creating a lottery.

Persons: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Musk, —, Trump, “, MAGA, ”, Jocelyn Benson, ” Musk, Rick Hasen, ” Hasen, Josh Shapiro, Kamala Harris, ” Trump, Harris, Mark Cuban, Cuban Organizations: Republican, America PAC, Trump, SpaceX, Tesla, GOP, Reuters, Guardian, PAC, NBC News, Systems, Dominion, UCLA, NBC, . Pennsylvania, Democrat, Press, Federal, Democratic, Cuban Locations: Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Butler , Pennsylvania, Michigan, U.S, Folsom , Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Maricopa County, Philadelphia County, Harrisburg , Pennsylvania

AdvertisementElon Musk's latest gambit to help elect former President Donald Trump may be illegal, some election law experts say. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2024In this instance, the problem may be that giveaway participants are required to be registered voters. According to the America PAC website, the giveaway program is "exclusively open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Other election law experts also said that Musk is either barely toeing the line or has outright broken the law. Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote on his blog that the giveaway constitutes "clearly illegal vote buying."

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Elon, Donald Trump, It's, Musk, Richard Briffault, Briffault, he's, Rick Hasen, Hasen, Matthew Alvarez, Tucker, Alvarez, Trump, We're, Josh Shapiro, Shapiro, Tim Walz Organizations: Service, America, Trump, America PAC, Department, Justice Department, Columbia Law School, Department of Justice, University of California, Rutan, DOJ, Musk's America PAC, Pennsylvania, Business, Gov Locations: Harrisburg , Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania , Georgia, Nevada , Arizona , Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Los Angeles

☆ Elon Musk's $1 million giveaway may not be legal
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk is giving away $1 million each day to a voter who signs a petition. AdvertisementElon Musk's latest gambit to help elect former President Donald Trump may be illegal, according to election law experts. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2024In this instance, the problem may be that giveaway participants are required to be registered voters. Other election law experts also said that Musk is either barely toeing the line or has outright broken the law. Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote on his blog that the giveaway constitutes "clearly illegal vote buying."

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Elon, Donald Trump, It's, Musk, Richard Briffault, Briffault, I'm, he's, Rick Hasen, Josh Shapiro, Tim Walz Organizations: Service, America, Trump, America PAC, Department, Justice Department, Columbia Law School, Department of Justice, University of California, Musk's America PAC, Pennsylvania, Gov Locations: Harrisburg , PA, Pennsylvania , Georgia, Nevada , Arizona , Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Los Angeles

Josh Shapiro on Sunday said that tech mogul Elon Musk's plan to give money to registered voters in Pennsylvania is "deeply concerning" and "it's something that law enforcement could take a look at" during an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press." Elon Musk in Pennsylvania announced that he would give away $1 million per day to a registered voter until Election Day. Chesnot / Getty Images fileQuestions about the legality of these cash payments abounded on Saturday night, as elections law experts pointed to various provisions in federal law that prohibited making cash payments to voters. Musk and a representative for America PAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this story. "It seems like if this law is going to be enforced, it needs to be deterred," Hasen said.

Persons: Josh Shapiro, Elon Musk's, Musk, Shapiro, Donald Trump, He's, Elon, Chesnot, Rick Hasen, ” Hasen, Hasen Organizations: NBC, Press, PAC, Democrat, University of California, Democracy, America PAC Locations: Pennsylvania, Los Angeles

☆ Elon Musk offers $1 million a day to entice swing state voters to sign petition
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Speaking at an America PAC event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Musk said, "I have a surprise for you," adding that the prize money is available "every day from now until the election." "How Pennsylvania goes I think is how the election goes," Musk said. The deadline to sign the petition is Monday night, which is the day Pennsylvania's voter registration closes. "We get crazy things," Musk said, "like SpaceX got fined $140,000 for dumping potable drinking water on the ground at Starbase." Musk only mentioned Trump sparingly throughout the evening, and didn't discuss his policies or record as president in any detail.

Persons: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Rachel Wisniewski, Reuters Elon Musk, Musk, John Dreher, Rick Hasen, Hasen, NBC's, Josh Shapiro, Biden, Kamala Harris, Kamala, I'm, Trump, he's, Chandan Khanna, Tesla, It's, didn't Organizations: PAC Town Hall, Reuters, Trump, America PAC, SpaceX, Republican, NBC, CNBC, Pennsylvania Democratic Gov, Federal Communications Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, SpaceX Falcon, Clipper, Kennedy Space Center, Afp, Getty, NOAA Fisheries, White Locations: Folsom , Pennsylvania, U.S, Harrisburg , Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Arizona , Georgia, Michigan, Nevada , North Carolina , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Harrisburg, Starbase, Boca Chica , Texas, Florida

☆ Elon Musk’s daily $1 million giveaway to registered voters could be illegal, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“We want to try to get over a million, maybe 2 million voters in the battleground states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment. … We are going to be awarding $1 million randomly to people who have signed the petition, every day, from now until the election,” Musk said at a campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “This is a one-time ask,” Musk told the crowd shortly after announcing the $1 million prize. “When you start limiting prizes or giveaways to only registered voters or only people who have voted, that’s where bribery concerns arise,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert who teaches at Notre Dame Law School. Regardless of the long odds of a Musk prosecution, other respected election law experts strongly condemned the billionaire’s behavior.

Persons: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, ” Musk, “, ”, Trump, Josh Shapiro, ” Shapiro, Derek Muller, Muller, David Becker, Becker, ” Becker, Rick Hasen, Jocelyn Benson Organizations: Washington CNN, Trump, PAC, Press, ”, Democrat, Notre Dame Law School, CNN, Justice Department, Election Innovation, Research, “, UCLA School of Law, Democratic Locations: Harrisburg , Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania , Georgia, Nevada , Arizona , Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, ” Pennsylvania, Michigan

That law, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), requires that states allow eligible Americans who live overseas to vote in federal elections. Heckel pointed out that the suit was filed two weeks after counties Pennsylvania began mailing ballots to military and overseas voters "and baselessly challenges Pennsylvania law, which provides clear procedures for processing applications by overseas voters." The lawsuits come as former President Donald Trump and his allies have begun to sow doubts about overseas voting. Last month, Trump claimed on Truth Social that Democrats would use overseas voting laws to "cheat," a baseless theory Elon Musk also shared on X last week. “Traditionally, we think of overseas voters as military voters who might skew Republican.

Persons: Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Glenn Thompson, Lloyd Smucker, Mike Kelly, Al Schmidt, Schmidt, —, Jocelyn Benson, who’ve, Michael Whatley, Patrick Gannon, ” Gannon, ”, Angela Benander, it’s, Matt Heckel, Heckel, Donald Trump, Trump, Elon Musk, Kamala Harris, “, Jonathan Diaz, Diaz, scapegoating, ” Diaz, Democrats —, Rick Hasen, Hasen, ” Hasen Organizations: Republican National Committee, Republican, North Carolina State Board, Michigan Democratic, Republicans, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens, North, Michigan Department of State, PR, Pennsylvania Department of, Pennsylvania, Social, ” Overseas, Democrats, Democratic, UCLA School of Law, NBC Locations: Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, U.S

CNN —The Trump campaign on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission arguing money raised for President Joe Biden’s reelection bid cannot be transferred to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. But, he added, “that doesn’t mean it can’t get tied up in FEC proceedings for years.”An FEC spokesperson declined to comment, citing the agency’s policy on not discussing enforcement matters. “If President Biden is committed to passing the torch to his vice president, and wants to be able to seed her campaign with the current Biden for President campaign war chest, he’ll first have to become his party’s legal nominee,” Spies wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal before Biden’s exit from the race. And Federal Election Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum, a Democrat viewed as a swing vote on the evenly divided commission, has said Harris could access what Biden raised through the campaign committee because it is registered for both the president and vice president. Lindenbaum wrote on X, “If Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic Party nominee, she gets access to the Joe Biden campaign funds.”This story has been updated with additional reporting.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Kamala Harris ’, David Warrington, ” “ Kamala Harris, Harris, Keana Spencer, “ flagrantly, ” Harris, Charles Kretchmer Lutvak, Donald Trump, MAGA, ”, “, ” Rick Hasen, Charlie Spies, Biden, he’ll, ” Spies, Dara Lindenbaum, Lindenbaum, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Trump, Federal, Commission, Biden, Republican, Democratic Party

Now, with Biden facing an increasingly uncertain political future amid the fallout from his shaky debate performance, Republicans are trying to determine what the Democratic incumbent stepping aside would actually mean for the Trump campaign. “Chaos is our friend,” a person close to Trump said. Even if Biden is not the Democratic nominee, the Trump campaign believes the issues likely to decide the election will remain the same. After Carlson suggested Harris would replace Biden on the Democratic ticket, Trump predicted: “Not really. One Trump adviser told CNN the Democratic handwringing had been expected to blow over within a week.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, ”, Kamala Harris, MAGA, Harris, Chris LaCivita, Susie Wiles, ’, pollster, Gretchen Whitmer, Arizona Sen, Mark Kelly, Josh Shapiro, Gavin Newsom, they’re, “ We’re, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, didn’t, Tucker Carlson, Carlson, Trump’s, Democratic handwringing, “, Crooked Joe Biden, ” LaCivita, Wiles, Joe Biden’s, “ I’m, Mike Howell, ” Howell, Rick Hasen, ” Hasen, “ Joe Biden, Betsy Klein, Kate Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Biden, Trump, Inc, “, Republican National Committee, Michigan Gov, California Gov, Republicans, Florida Gov, South Carolina Gov, Heritage Foundation, Wisconsin –, UCLA Locations: New Jersey, Arizona, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin

☆ Fact checking Trump and Johnson’s election integrity announcement
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Facts First: The system, as it is currently set up, is working, and effectively prevents mass voting by non-citizens in US elections. Despite Johnson’s focus on this topic, it is extremely rare, according to decades of voting data and nonpartisan experts. In federal and state elections, where voting by non-citizens is illegal, it occurs on a microscopic level. This system, as shown from decades of data, is very effective at stopping non-citizens from registering and voting in federal elections. Further, from a common-sense perspective, there’s little to gain for an undocumented immigrant who theoretically wants to vote in a presidential election.

Persons: Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, ”, Johnson, ” Johnson, David Becker, Brennan, There’s, they’d, Rick Hasen, you’re, Trump, Hillary Clinton, CNN’s Marshall Cohen, ” Trump, Trump’s, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Daniel Dale Trump, Biden, Trump baselessly, “, Matthew Colangelo, Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Colangelo, Joe Biden, Gainor Trump, ’, Roe, Wade, Roe V, Wade ”, Read, Daniel Dale Organizations: CNN, Election Innovation, Research, Brennan Center for Justice, UCLA School of Law, Trump, Democratic, Mar, Manhattan District Attorney, Biden, Justice Department, US Customs Locations: United States, Venezuela, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, York, Manhattan, Mar

☆ GOP leaders pursue new lawsuits over 2024 election rules – including attacking methods of voting they want supporters to use
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Fredreka Schouten | Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“What he has said is that we would like ultimately there to only be voting on Election Day. Republican attorneys have filed an assortment of lawsuits across the county that vary in both what types of election rules they target and how seriously election law experts believe the case should be taken. The legal fight against mail voting has taken GOP lawyers to states beyond the typical presidential battlegrounds. In addition to the case targeting Mississippi’s post-election day mail ballot receipt deadline, Republicans filed a lawsuit challenging the major expansion of mail voting enacted by New York lawmakers last year. To arrive at the claim that the states’ voter rolls are bloated, Republicans are using a formula that has previously been rebuked in federal court.

Persons: Donald Trump, baselessly, Trump, Mike Johnson, “, ” Michael Whatley, that’s, ” Whatley, Whatley –, –, Rick Hasen, don’t, ” Hasen, Derek Muller, ” Muller, litigators don’t, ”, Justin Levitt, Muller, CNN’s Ariel Edwards, Levy, David Wright Organizations: CNN, Republican, Republican National Committee, Mississippi Republican Party, Magnolia, GOP, Republicans, Democrats, Trump, Trump’s, Fox News, Republican Party, RNC, University of Notre Dame, Fox, New, National Conference of State Legislatures, Pew Research Center, Democratic, Pew, The New, The New York City Council, Vermont, Loyola Law School, Biden White Locations: Magnolia State, Pennsylvania, Ohio , Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin, “, California, Colorado, Hawaii , Nevada , Oregon , Utah , Vermont, Washington, Mississippi, New York, Michigan , Wisconsin , Ohio, Arizona, New York City, United States, The New York, – Nevada, Michigan, Nevada

☆ Takeaways from the latest controversial and contentious Supreme Court term
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

In his opinion blocking the student debt program, Roberts insisted he is concerned about criticisms of the court. “Make no mistake: Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the Court participates in the process or not,” he warned. In June, the court sided with a cement mixing company that sought to bypass federal labor law and sue a union in state court for the destruction of property caused by striking workers. On Tuesday, when Roberts announced the court’s opinion in Moore v. Harper, liberals and even some conservatives exhaled, relieved that the court was rejecting a controversial Trump-backed election law theory. “Justice Jackson has a different view,” he said at one point.

Persons: John Roberts, Roe, Wade, ” Roberts, Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, he’d, Joe Biden’s, Roberts –, –, It’s, Donald Trump’s, ”, Gorsuch, Neil Gorsuch, Bostock, Lorie Smith, ” Alito, Alito, Dobbs, Jackson, Brett Kavanaugh’s, hadn’t, Paul Singer, Singer, ProPublica, “ we’d, “, ” ProPublica, Thomas, Dick Durbin, Elena Kagan, KBJ, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Dr, Adam Feldman, ” Feldman, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, Thomas couldn’t, ” Jenny Hunter, ” Jackson, ‘, Harper, exhaled, Barack Obama, Rick Hasen –, Hasen, Moore, Thomas Long, Kevin Merida, Michael Fletcher, “ Justice Jackson, Thomas ’ “, ” Thomas Organizations: CNN, Civil, Creative, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Street, GOP, Illinois Democrat, pounced, University of North, National Labor Relations, Independent, Trump, Federal, “, UNC Locations: Colorado, Washington , DC, United States, “, Rome, Illinois, American, Moore, North Carolina

☆ Fact Check-Noncitizens cannot vote in California congressional elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Noncitizens are not eligible to vote in California congressional elections, despite the claim resurfacing online ahead of November’s midterm elections. “By law noncitizens cannot vote in California elections. California law requires that voters be both U.S. and California citizens,” Joe Kocurek, a spokesperson for the California Secretary of State told Reuters via email. Noncitizens cannot vote in congressional elections in California. San Francisco voters passed an ordinance allowing noncitizens to vote in school board elections only.

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