Jennifer Cohn, Attorney
PROTECTING OUR VOTING RIGHTS
With Two Speakers:
JENNIFER COHN, Election Integrity Advocate &
JOSHUA CLARK, Haas Institute Researcher
Thursday, January 24, 2018
6:00 Networking; 6:30 Dinner
($28 members; $33 nonmembers)
Crow Canyon Country Club
711 Silver Lake Drive, Danville
Please RSVP president@srvdems.org
Jennifer Cohn, Attorney
The San Ramon Valley Democratic Club will focus on our voting rights and how to protect them with two expert speakers. Jennifer Cohn will speak on “Voting Machines: What Could Go Wrong?” She will explain the many potential attack vectors that make America’s computerized elections vulnerable to electronic vote tally manipulation, debunk some of the myths spread by voting machine vendors, election officials, and even the media about election security, and identify potential solutions and how to advocate for those solutions.
Jennifer Cohn is an election integrity advocate, writer, and journalist. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1989 and Hastings College of the Law in 1993. Since the 2016 election she has focused her professional efforts exclusively on investigating and exposing our country’s insecure computerized elections. She was a law partner at Nielsen Haley & Abbott in Marin County for many years, where she specialized in insurance coverage and civil appeals. Before that she specialized in criminal appellate law. Josh Clark, Haas Institute
Our second speaker, Joshua Clark, will speak on “Voter Suppression and Power: The 2018 Midterm Elections, Before, and After.” The presentation will begin by reviewing some of the most significant legal and administrative causes of voter suppression in the 2018 midterm election cycle. It will review available evidence on the impact these had on elections, while explaining some of the challenges researchers face in attempting to quantify voter suppression. These challenges pose barriers to fighting voter suppression in the courts, but open up a wider view on how to fight it politically. Taking note of some signs that public support for fairer voting laws and ballot access is increasing, Dr. Clark will conclude with recommendations on how civic organizations, donors, and engaged citizens might push back against continuing attacks on voting rights.
Joshua Clark is the Political Participation Analyst and lead researcher on electoral politics and civic engagement at the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, UC Berkeley. He is also a research fellow at Tides Advocacy in San Francisco. Josh is an interdisciplinary social scientist who holds a Ph.D. in anthropology (UC Irvine), M.A. in Latin American studies (U Texas), and B.A. in political science (Butler U). Since assuming his role at the Haas Institute in May 2017, his research has focused on the political behavior and motivations of different demographic segments of the electorate, and the policy and structural conditions shaping voter participation.
Please join us at 6:00 pm to talk about the latest political news or to just socialize and have fun.
We have dinner meetings.
Members and Invited Guests: $28
Non-members: $33,
Please email Brodie that you are coming by Thursday, January 17 (we need a ‘head count’ for the dinner). Thank you for your help.
RSVP: To make certain there is a seat available please RSVP.
Please make checks payable to Brodie Hilp, and send to 130 Bridgeside Circle, Danville, 94506.