Election Help Desk: 11/11/20
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Preheader text  Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help DeskNovember 11, 2020Welcome to Ballotpedia's Election Help Desk Newsletter. We're following results for more than 9,000 elections held on Nov. 3. This morning, we cover:
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive your copy here. Days Since the Election: 8
Election Results ProgressClick here to read how Ballotpedia calls races. Click here for Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Ballotpedia is tracking results in 9,745 elections, including each state in the presidential election. Here's the status of these elections as of 5 p.m. on Nov. 11, subject to change as more results come in:
Presidential Election UpdateAs of 5 p.m. on Nov. 11:
Noteworthy DisputesHere's the latest on noteworthy recounts, lawsuits, and other election disputes. RecountsConnecticut: On Nov. 12, election officials will conduct an automatic recount for House of Representatives District 90. Preliminary returns show incumbent Craig Fishbein (R) leading Jim Jinks (D) by 21 votes. Georgia: On Nov. 11, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) announced that Georgia would conduct a hand-count audit of its presidential election results. The target date for completing the audit is Nov. 20, the state's certification deadline. On Nov. 10, Rep. Doug Collins (R), the Trump campaign's recount manager in Georgia, and David Shafer, chairman of the state Republican Party, sent a letter requesting that Raffensperger order a statewide hand recount in advance of the certification of results. About recounts in Georgia: Georgia state law does not provide for automatic recounts. A candidate can request a recount if the margin separating the top two finishers is equal to or less than 0.5 percent. An election official can also order a recount at his or her discretion if it appears there is a discrepancy or error in the returns. State law does not specify deadlines for recounts. For more information, click here. New Hampshire: On Nov. 10, election officials completed their recount for House of Representatives Merrimack District 17. Results did not change as a result of the recount. Incumbent Safiya Wazir (D) defeated Dennis Soucy (R), although final vote totals were unavailable as of Nov. 11. A scheduled recount for Senate District 9 was subsequently called off. LawsuitsWe are tracking 26 post-election lawsuits, 17 of which deal directly with the presidential election. For complete details on all of the lawsuits we're tracking, click here. Michigan: On Nov. 10, the Trump campaign sued Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) and Wayne County election officials in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. The campaign alleges that Republican poll watchers were denied the opportunity to observe the processing and counting of absentee/mail-in ballots. The campaign also alleges that some election workers altered ballot receipt dates and counted otherwise ineligible ballots over the objections of Republican challengers. Attorneys for the campaign argue that these alleged breaches of state election law violate the Equal Protection and Elections and Electors Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. They are asking the court to order Benson and the state board of canvassers not to certify election results "until they have verified and confirmed that all ballots that were tabulated and included in the final reported election results were cast in compliance with the provisions of the Michigan Election Code." Nevada: On Nov. 10, the Trump campaign withdrew its appeal of a state court's order allowing the Clark County registrar to use artificial intelligence to verify mail-in ballot signatures and make copies of ballots whose originals could not be machine-processed. On Nov. 3, the Nevada Supreme Court declined Republicans' request to block the lower court's order, finding that they had not demonstrated "a sufficient likelihood of success to merit a stay or injunction." Although the court agreed to hear the case at a later date, the campaign's withdrawal effectively closes the case. Pennsylvania: On Nov. 9, the Trump campaign filed suit in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, alleging that county election officials had illegally accepted and counted 2,175 absentee and mail-in ballots with printed name and/or address deficiencies. The campaign also challenged the validity of 76 ballots that were either delivered in unsealed privacy envelopes or with stray markings. On Nov. 7, the campaign lodged its objections to these ballots with the Bucks County Board of Elections, which rejected the campaign's claims. The campaign is asking the court to reverse the election board's decision. Upcoming deadlinesUpcoming absentee/mail-in voting deadlinesSix states and the District of Columbia have upcoming secondary receipt deadlines for absentee/mail-in ballots. In these states, ballots generally must have been postmarked on or before Election Day, but they will be accepted if they are received within a certain number of days after Nov. 3. These secondary receipt deadlines are listed below in chronological order.
For coverage of all dates, deadlines, and requirements, click here. Upcoming certification deadlinesEight states are scheduled to certify their election results between Nov. 10 and Nov. 17.
Five states (Delaware, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Vermont) have already certified their election results.
And a Dose of Calm
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