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Category Archives: Congress

ABA Legal Fact Check details workings of the Electoral College

“An ABA Legal Fact Check on the Electoral College, which explores the history and workings of the constitutional body that formally elects the next U.S. president, is available here to assist reporters and editors working on post-election stories. In addition, the ABA Standing Committee on Election Law has subject matter experts available to help reporters… Continue Reading

Tracking COVID-19: U.S. Public Health Surveillance and Data

CRS report via LC – Tracking COVID-19: U.S. Public Health Surveillance and Data, November 2, 2020: “Public health surveillance, or ongoing data collection, is an essential part of public health practice. Particularly during a pandemic, timely data are important to understanding the epidemiology of a disease in order to craft policy and guide response decision… Continue Reading

What Is the Election Needle? And Why Will We Have 4 of Them Tonight?

The New York Times – A closer look at our election forecaster before the Iowa caucuses. “Shortly before 9 p.m. Eastern on Monday, we expect the first returns from the Iowa Democratic caucuses. If you choose to follow the results live tonight, we hope you’ll do it with us: We’ll have results, analysis from our… Continue Reading

Why there’s so much legal uncertainty about resolving a disputed presidential election

Via LLRX – Why there’s so much legal uncertainty about resolving a disputed presidential election – As stated in this article by Richard Pildes, Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University – the Constitution does not create rules or an institutional structure for resolving a modern, disputed presidential election. It provides a fail-safe mechanism for… Continue Reading

After the Voting Ends: The Steps to Complete an Election

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) – An election isn’t over when the polls close. It’s over when election administrators complete their postelection activities and the election results are certified. As with everything else related to elections, state law governs these postelection processes—and there are 51 models. (The states plus Washington, D.C.). This webpage reviews… Continue Reading

How Likely Is It that Courts Will Select the US President?

How Likely Is It that Courts Will Select the US President? The Probability of Narrow, Reversible Election Results in the Electoral College versus a National Popular Vote, Michael Geruso, Dean Spears. October 2020. University of Texas at Austin. “Extremely narrow election outcomes—such as could be reversed by rejecting a few thousand ballots—are likely to trigger… Continue Reading

Congressional Oversight Commission Publishes Sixth Report

“The members of the bipartisan Congressional Oversight Commission have published their sixth report.  It is available for review here. The Congressional Oversight Commission is a five-person panel that was established by the CARES Act. The Commission is focused specifically on the economic stabilization efforts of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. The members of… Continue Reading

Google to Offer Real-Time US Election Results in 70 Languages

PC Magazine – “YouTube is also adding more ways to find ‘authoritative information’ about the 2020 US election. Google is teaming up with The Associated Press (AP) to provide “authoritative” results leading up to and in the days following the 2020 US election. “Similar to previous elections, when people come to Search and Assistant looking… Continue Reading

The best sites to follow on election night, according to experts

Fact Company – Mark Wilson: “…So I’ve abstained as much as possible from following the latest election infographics this year. However, as we approach election night November 3—knowing full well that because of mail-in voting, we might not actually know our next president by the end of the night—I feel the itch coming back. I… Continue Reading

Federal Law Enforcement Use of Facial Recognition Technology

CRS report via LC – Federal Law Enforcement Use of Facial Recognition Technology, October 27, 2020: “Law enforcement agencies’ use of facial recognition technology (FRT), while not a new practice, has received increased attention from policymakers and the public. Some of the concerns raised revolve around the accuracy of the technology, including potential race-, gender-, and… Continue Reading

How to return your mail-in ballot without using the postal service

Popular Information: “There are 44 states that don’t require any reason to vote by mail or allow concerns about COVID-19 as a valid reason. All 44 states provide alternatives to the USPS to return your mail-in ballot. The details of these alternative return methods are listed below. Six states — New York, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi,… Continue Reading