Election Help Desk: 11/19/20
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The latest election result updates  Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help DeskNovember 19, 2020Welcome to Ballotpedia's Election Help Desk Newsletter. We're following results for more than 9,000 elections held on Nov. 3. Today, we cover:
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Election Results ProgressClick here to read how Ballotpedia calls races. Click here for Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Ballotpedia is tracking results in 9,755 elections, including each state in the presidential election. Here's the status of these elections as of 5 p.m. on Nov. 19, subject to change as more results come in:
Presidential Election UpdateAs of 5 p.m. on Nov. 19:
Noteworthy DisputesHere's the latest on noteworthy recounts, lawsuits, and other election disputes. RecountsGeorgia: On Nov. 19, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) was expected to announce the results of the hand-count audit of Georgia's election returns. We'll have full details in our next edition. Wisconsin: On Nov. 18, President Donald Trump (R) and Vice President Mike Pence (R) petitioned the Wisconsin Elections Commission for recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties. In their petition, Trump and Pence allege that "mistakes and fraud were committed throughout the state of Wisconsin, including particularly in the city of Madison, the city of Milwaukee, and throughout Dane County and Milwaukee County." The Trump campaign wired the state elections commission $3 million to pay for the costs of the recounts. Late in the evening on Nov. 18, after deadlocking on a number of procedural points, the commission's three Democrats and three Republicans voted unanimously to approve the recount, which began on Nov. 19. The recount must be completed by Dec. 1. LawsuitsWe are tracking 43 post-election lawsuits, 17 of which directly involve at least one of the two major presidential campaigns. For complete details on all of the lawsuits we're tracking, click here. Nevada: On Nov. 17, Clark County Commission candidate Ross Miller (D) sued the commission over its decision to conduct a special election for the District C seat. Preliminary general election returns showed Miller leading Stavros Anthony (R) by 10 votes out of 153,162 total votes cast. On Nov. 16, the commission declined to certify the results for the District C seat after Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria reported 139 ballot discrepancies in the district. Instead, the commission decided to conduct a special election for the seat, asking Gloria to present a plan for the special election at the commission's first December meeting. A ballot discrepancy occurs when the number of voter check-ins at a polling site does not match the number of votes recorded as having been cast at that site. Clerical error is the source of most discrepancies. They can also occur when a voter attempts to vote in person after having already cast an absentee/mail-in ballot. Miller's attorneys allege the commission has taken "the unprecedented and unlawful step of wiping clean all votes from the record in their entirety," breaking from the "legislatively mandated process to go forward, which permits the unsuccessful election opponent to seek a recount and/or judicially challenge the outcome." Miller is asking the Clark County District Court to order the commission to cancel the special election and certify the results of the general election. In response, county spokesman Dan Kulin said, "We disagree with [Miller's] analysis but look forward to a prompt resolution so that both candidates can move forward." Pennsylvania: On Nov. 17, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court voted 5-2 to reinstate the Philadelphia election board's rule requiring observers of the canvassing and precanvassing processes to remain 6 feet away from election workers. Justice Debra Todd (D), joined by Justices Max Baer (D), Christine Donohue (D), Kevin M. Dougherty (D), and David N. Wecht (D), wrote: [We] conclude the Board did not act contrary to law in fashioning its regulations governing the positioning of candidate representatives during the precanvassing and canvassing process, as the Election Code does not specify minimum distance parameters for the location of such representatives. Critically, we find the Board’s regulations as applied herein were reasonable in that they allowed candidate representatives to observe the Board conducting its activities as prescribed under the Election Code. Chief Justice Thomas Saylor (R) and Justice Sallie Mundy dissented (R). Background: On Nov. 3, the Trump campaign challenged this requirement in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, which ruled in favor of the election board. The Trump campaign appealed, and on Nov. 5, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Christine Fizzano Cannon (R) ordered Philadelphia election officials to allow "all candidates, watchers, or candidate representatives ... [to be] permitted to observe all aspects of the canvassing process within 6 feet, while adhering to all Covid-19 protocols, including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing." Also in Pennsylvania: On Nov. 18, the Trump campaign amended its complaint in Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Boockvar. In the new complaint, the campaign alleges that "a substantial portion of the approximately 1.5 million absentee and mail votes in [Allegheny, Centre, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia] counties should not have been counted, and the vast majority favored Biden, thus resulting in returns indicating Biden won Pennsylvania." The campaign is asking that the court either order election officials to omit the challenged ballots from the official tally or grant the state legislature the authority to choose a slate of presidential electors. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania with Judge Matthew Brann, a Barack Obama (D) appointee, presiding. Other developmentsMichigan: On Nov. 17, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted unanimously to certify the county's election results after deadlocking 2-2 earlier in the day. Wayne County is home to Detroit, Michigan's most populous city. There have been several developments in the story since. The canvassing board has four members: two Democrats and two Republicans. When the board took its first vote, the Republican members – chairwoman Monica Palmer and William Hartmann – voted against certifying the results. The Republicans pointed to discrepancies in the number of absentee/mail-in ballots recorded in Detroit precincts' poll books and the number of actual ballots counted. In this election, 94 of Detroit's 134 absentee/mail-in vote counting boards recorded discrepancies. Eighty-five Election Day precincts also recorded discrepancies, which ranged "from one to more than four votes," according to The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. After hearing public comments, the board voted again, this time unanimously certifying the results. The board also unanimously passed a resolution asking Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) to conduct an independent audit of all Wayne County precincts with ballot discrepancies. Subsequent developments: On Nov. 19, Palmer and Hartmann signed affidavits recanting their votes to certify the results. It is not clear whether these affidavits have legal effect. On Nov. 20, the Trump campaign voluntarily dismissed its federal lawsuit seeking a postponement of statewide certification, citing the Palmer and Hartmann affidavits. Upcoming certification deadlinesOne state (California) has an upcoming secondary receipt deadline for absentee/mail-in ballots. Ballots must have been postmarked on or before Election Day, but they will be accepted if they are received by Nov. 20. For coverage of all dates, deadlines, and requirements, click here. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia are scheduled to certify their election results between Nov. 19 and Nov. 26.
Twelve states have already certified their election results: Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. And a Dose of Calm
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