Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Category Archives: Congress

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

Introducing the U.S. Election Twitter Network Graph Tool

“This is a blog post co-authored by Emmi Bevensee, a Mozilla Fellow hosted at the Anti-Defamation League. Emmi is co-creator of the recently-launched Social Media Analysis Toolkit (SMAT). Who does Trump most interact with on Twitter? What does sectarianism look like in political social media? Who has the most influence on our politicians online? Today,… Continue Reading

How Long Will Vote Counting Take? Estimates and Deadlines in All 50 States

The New York Times -“Although many winners may quickly be evident on election night, the increase in mail voting because of the pandemic is expected to push back the release of full results in many key states. The New York Times asked officials in every state and the District of Columbia about their reporting processes… Continue Reading

How politicians target you: 3,000 data points on every voter, including your phone number

Washington Post – “Our quest to find what politicians know about voters uncovered data troves with intimate information about income, debt, family, religion, gun ownership and a whole lot more…I’ve been on a crusade to find out what politicians know about me. So over the past few months, I’ve used California’s new data privacy law… Continue Reading

Reading the ACA’s Findings: Textualism, Severability and the ACA’s Return to the Court

Gluck, Abbe R – Reading the ACA’s Findings: Textualism, Severability and the ACA’s Return to the Court, 130 Yale L.J. F. 132 (2020). The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is back in the Court, but challengers’ “textualist” arguments are not textualist at all. They argue a findings section in the ACA is an “inseverability clause,” meaning… Continue Reading

Unemployment Rates and Household Debt During the COVID-19 Pandemic

CRS report via LC – Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic: In Brief, October 23, 2020: “The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant effect on unemployment in every state, industry, and major demographic group in the United States. This report provides information on which groups have experienced the largest increases in unemployment… Continue Reading