Richard L. Hasen

Richard Hasen's recent book "Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy" is a worthwhile read as we head into the 2020 election cycle. There's been a lot of talk in the news recently about increasing the use of mail-in ballots, especially with the coronavirus now prevalent in the U.S. and around the world. However, at the same time, there's been much to say about the potential of stolen elections due to voter fraud, including some comments recently made by the President. Newspapers this week reported that President Trump "... has been ratcheting up his criticism of voting by mail", and was instructing Republicans in a tweet to "fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting", saying it "doesn't work out well for Republicans".

That opposition to expanding mail ballots stand in opposition to recent recommendations made by health care officials, who recommend increasing availability of mail-in ballots in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus. With these opposing recommendations being made, the stage is set for a lively debate as we approach the upcoming 2020 Presidential election.

Hansen's book discusses what risks come from voting by mail and what can be done about those risks. As a professor of law and political science at the University of California at Irvine School of Law, and someone who has studied election fraud for decades, he's in a good position to explain the issues.

First of all, he points out that actual cases of election fraud has been rare. Impersonation fraud, where one person shows up at the polling place claiming to be a voter who died or moved, is practically nonexistent. Nonetheless, some states are working to tighten voter registration rules to combat what evidence shows to be a non issue.

Secondly, he points out that there is little evidence that stolen or altered absentee ballots have had measurable impacts on statewide or national elections. Hasen points out that while there have been cases of manipulation of absentee ballots on rare occasions, they've involved local elections only, and are readily identifiable by competent election officials.

Lastly, he also discusses steps which can be taken to make voting by mail even more foolproof. So at November elections draw nearer, and last minute changes are argued in various states and election districts, Hansen's book is a good source to understand the issues and weigh-in on the debate.
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