Chair of Board of Election Launches More Than 50 Tweets Attacking Critics and Reformers
Saturday, December 09, 2017
The Chair of the Board of Election has launched more than 50 Tweets attacking critics of the board of election, those who are urging reform, and complainants who now have issues pending before the Board.
SEE MORE THAN 25 OF TWEETS AT BOTTOM OF THE ARTICLE
Steve Erickson, a former top aide to Governor Ed DiPrete and former District Court Judge in Rhode Island, heads the Board of Election. He is also an adjunct professor of law at Roger Williams Law School and was once a member of the RI House of Representatives.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTOver the past month, Erickson has launched attacks claiming everything from critics are funded by "dark money" to calling others "fraud alarmist."
“This is why I will not stop calling out those, such as @Kenblockri, who are working with this “fraud” commission. Protecting our democracy is a vital mission. This commission is a threat to the right to vote.
http://, Erickson Tweeted on December 6.
In another Tweet, Erickson criticized Michael Stenhouse of the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity after he appeared on GoLocal LIVE, “Mike: You think that segment helped your cause? You were backtracking like crazy. You could not defend anything you said, you blatantly misrepresented my positions on the issues, and you sounded whiny about the fact you are not getting any traction.”
Erickson’s posts have not been limited to Twitter. He has also posted a number of comments on Facebook.
On Thursday, former GOP candidate for Governor Ken Block is one of the targets of Erickson’s social media posts. Block has filed a number of complaints with the Board of Election and has alleged over the past few months that the Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea is falling to enforce RI’s voting laws.
“I have just blocked out of control Board of Elections Commissioner Erickson here on Facebook. As I have explained before, I feel that he is violating his responsibility to "faithfully and impartially to administer the duties of his or her office without regard to partisan or political considerations". The end of that last sentence is the oath he had to swear when joining the Board. I do not want to encourage his continuing violation of that oath. His impartiality vis a vis me is completely blown” wrote Block in a Facebook post on Thursday.
It should be noted that this is not Block's first social media conflict. He got into a social media battle with former TV reporter Jim Taricani as well as one with U.S. Army Major Matt Fecteau -- a MINDSETTER™ for GoLocal.
Erickson Dismisses Block's Charges
But, Erickson dismissed Block’s complaints, defended the use of social media and admitted it is an imperfect communication tool.
“Social media is a terrible means to communicate meaningful information. Unfortunately, it is also a necessary tool, given the nature of the news cycle these days. The idea that I intimidate people that come before the board is absurd. Mr. Block certainly does not appear to be the type to be intimidated -- he is an experienced politician who founded a political party and ran for governor unsuccessfully twice. He would not know of others because, frankly, he has shown little or no interest in the work of the Board of Elections until quite recently, said Erickson.
Erickson claims that Block fails to understand how the Board of Election functions. “He has not attended meetings of the board to see how we function, and how we work with other agencies of government, the public, and advocacy groups. My understanding is that he did not even send representatives to the board to review the mail ballot process with us -- in 2010 and certainly not in 2014, when I was involved as a member of the board. Over the last eighteen months, since we installed an acting (and now permanent) executive director, we have made great strides in providing an open, transparent decision process where everyone's opinions are welcome and respected,” said Erickson.
Erickson also questioned Block’s claims about voter fraud, “Mr. Block seems more annoyed that I challenge his faulty analysis of issues that are, in fact, peripheral to the core functions of the board -- to enforce the campaign finance law and run elections fairly and efficiently. There are literally too many changes we have adopted to mention, and more are on the way. When Mr. Block says "intimidate people" he is really saying that he dislikes being contradicted.”
Another target of Erickson’s Tweets, Stenhouse said that the Tweeting is not the issue. He says that the Tweets unveil Erickson’s bias.
"The Center has called for the resignation of a number of officials at the BOE, including Mr. Erickson. Not so much because of his unprofessional tweeting habits, a growing national trend these days, it seems ... but because, in those tweets, he appears to be uninterested in the fact that his organization has established a voter registration process that is in violation of federal election law,” said Stenhouse.
“Every American has the right to tweet what they choose, when they choose ... but no official of any public or quasi-public agency should ever be tolerant of non-compliance with established law,’ added Stenhouse.
Erickson strongly disagreed with Stenhouse’s claim, “I have spoken out from day one of my service on the board about board policies and election issues that need to be addressed. That is our right as a board, and my First Amendment right as a citizen volunteer member (note: not public employee, because I serve without pay). We are NOT quasi-judicial when it comes to policy. The board and its members have always spoken out about matters of election policy, and my social media presence is a mere extension of that practice. I was appointed to the term left open by the passing of Susan Farmer. She certainly never had any hesitation about speaking out on issues of policy.”
And Erickson took the chance to question Block’s motivation and the quality of his research.
“Mr. Block seems more annoyed about the fact that I have contested his recitation of facts and statements of policy than he is about the quasi-judicial nature of the board when it hears cases. There are a legion of cases and precedents for speaking out as a member of a regulatory board on issues of policy. This is accepted practice, and I am surprised Mr. Block does not understand the distinction between our policy/regulatory function and our quasi-judicial hearing of contested cases’” said Erickson.
According to the Rhode Island Board of Elections, the office does not have a social media policy for employees or board members of the agency.
Steve Erickson, with the Board of Elections, Tweeted the following:
FYI the BOE staff is in the final stages of an update report on the allegation of 225 misregistered voters. Remember that is .0003% of voting list. Under law, responses to BOCs asking for info are voluntary. Do not allow alarmists to lump "no response" in with "fraud" cases
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 8, 2017
Tomorrow I will outline the parts of the so called election reform bill that will be proposed by the fraud alarmists and why they would be harmful to democracy instead of reform. Stay tuned
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 7, 2017
The NJ case that the fraud alarmists rely on says the opposite of what they say it says. Particularly the part that says the state "shall ensure" that voters w/out PII can vote, and the state must assign them an ID number and enroll them. Read it here: https://t.co/vklNJX2q4k
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 7, 2017
No evidence has been presented at all that our HAVA rule, which is not all that unusual among the states, is an opportunity for fraud. None.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 7, 2017
No data base is perfect. Data entry errors are a fact of life. But the "fraud alarmists" see human error as criminal felony conspiracy. We should concentrate on system improvements, not witch hunts to find evidence of a nonexistent problem
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 7, 2017
People move from place to place, often within the same town (think renters). They may move between precincts and not realize it. They vote on election day. Should we treat these people as felons? NO. But the "fraud alarmists" would, instead of seeing this as inadvertent error.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 7, 2017
This is why I will not stop calling out those, such as @Kenblockri, who are working with this “fraud” commission. Protecting our democracy is a vital mission. This commission is a threat to the right to vote. https://t.co/r40PcX3wrD
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 7, 2017
I will not be able to attend BOE meeting tonight for family medical reasons. If I were there I would advocate for further review, opportunity for @kenblockri to give us access to the "six lawyers" he said supported his simple approach to the question.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 6, 2017
I said that the fraud alarmists - @senjpag and @kenblockri -- would try to hobble and politicize the BOE -- now @SENJPAG suggests doing just that in is so called reform bill. Easy to predict. https://t.co/Sth7XK0A6y
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 1, 2017
We have made massive improvements at BOE over last eighteen months. We will continue to do that, despite some people's efforts to use board for political purposes. @senjpag involved in politics of personal destruction. Very unfortunate.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) December 1, 2017
The double voting information he gave us was based on a third party SSN match. We do not know the reliability of his source, but most of these cases prove to be clerical errors or mistakes.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 30, 2017
At Ken Block meeting this morning, he asked us to investigate ONE possible case of double voting. Asked us to do felony investigation. That has to be done by SP or AG if felony. We have civil investigatory power and some misdemeanor authority. He would not commit to SP or AG
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 30, 2017
At meeting with Ken Block this morning he acknowledged that the chart with all those third party registrations in CF was misleading. CF had essentially the same number of 3rd party registrations as other towns its size. Bad data representation
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 30, 2017
4/ If pressed on his assumptions and facts, he claims you are bullying him. Never been in a meeting with him before. Interesting experience. So now he will undoubtedly complain about me again. Just asking hard questions, he is apparently not used to that.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 30, 2017
3/ He seemed to think that it was his meeting and I should not be there. But, obviously, BOE members are the governing authority, and have a right to know what is happening and respond. Very curious position on his part -- very defensive in tone.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 30, 2017
2/ What I learned from that is that the BOE staff is devoting an incredible amount of time to chasing trivial issues raised by Ken. It starts to impact on our ability to perform our regular functions. Most of his requests are time consuming wild goose chases.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 30, 2017
1/Just finished a good meeting with Ken Block (via Skype) with BOE staff. I think we answered all his questions. There was general agreement that a lot of the issues are clerical in nature and do not impact elections. He seemed a little miffed at first that I was in the meeting..
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 30, 2017
Erickson had also gone on blast against Mike Stenhouse with the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity in November, following Stenhouse's appearance on GoLocal LIVE:
You want the BOE elected? Seriously? Have you thought that through?
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 16, 2017
Mike: You think that segment helped your cause? You were backtracking like crazy. You could not defend anything you said, you blatantly misrepresented my positions on the issues, and you sounded whiny about the fact you are not getting any traction.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 16, 2017
Wiping out the comments again, I see. You are still a dark money group making reckless and false charges with no factual backup.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 16, 2017
Because of course you want a partisan election for people that run partisan elections
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 16, 2017
Always good to watch a fact free alternative reality. Dark money people will say anything I guess.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 16, 2017
and you row in the same direction casting doubt on honest elections and honest people for political purposes. Shame on you. Is that what happens when you are a dark money astroturf group?
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 16, 2017
Yet this means nothing to you, but is the real danger: https://t.co/eAt14YkD8l
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 16, 2017
FYI the Board did not do anything except to initiate a regulatory review process. Get your facts straight at least.
— Steve Erickson (@sericksonri) November 15, 2017
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