Chair of Board of Election Launches More Than 50 Tweets Attacking Critics and Reformers

Saturday, December 09, 2017

GoLocalProv News Team

 

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Steve Erickson, Chair of the Board of Elections

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.

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Over 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.

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Block's Facebook post

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.

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Mike Stenhouse, head of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity

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.

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Steve Erickson, with the Board of Elections, Tweeted the following:

 

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:

 

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