Category Archives: legislation and legislatures

Vanna White Line-Item Veto Runs Amok in Wisconsin: “Tony Evers uses veto powers to extend annual increases for public schools for the next four centuries”

July 5, 2023, 2:43 pmlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Amazing: Gov. Tony Evers, a former public school educator, used his broad partial veto authority this week to sign into law a new state budget that increases funding for public schools for the next four centuries. The surprise move… Continue reading

“John Roberts’ Big Complaint About Elena Kagan Is Deeply Ironic”

July 5, 2023, 10:36 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece at Slate. It begins: At the end of his majority opinion for the Supreme Court striking down the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program, Chief Justice John Roberts stridently protested the scope and tone of… Continue reading

“Q&A: Is the independent state legislature theory dead? Not quite, expert says”

July 5, 2023, 7:53 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Westlaw Today: Election law expert Richard L. Hasen says the U.S. Supreme Court has adopted a weaker formulation of the independent state legislature theory, which will empower federal judges to second-guess state court rulings in politically sensitive election cases. Hasen,… Continue reading

Litman: “Anti-Novelty, the Independent State Legislature Theory in Moore v. Harper, and Protecting State Voting Rights”

July 3, 2023, 7:42 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme Court, votingRick Hasen

As soon as I read Justice Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion in Moore v. Harper, I thought of Leah Litman‘s scholarship on novelty and how Kavanaugh’s proposed rule, if it becomes law, would deter the growth of state constitutional law protecting… Continue reading

Unanimous Federal Appeals Court Rejects Challenge by Members of Congress to Covid Mask Mandate, Citing Speech or Debate Clause Immunity

June 30, 2023, 10:25 amlegislation and legislatures, Speech or Debate ClauseRick Hasen

Opinion (via Politico).

Mike Parsons: “Moore v. Harper and the ‘Anti-Arrogation Principle'”

June 30, 2023, 10:18 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Mike Parsons, Senior Counsel at ERN and Principal at Parsons Law PLLC: In this post, I offer some comments on what Moore v. Harper definitively resolved; why it’s time to move beyond… Continue reading

Breaking: Supreme Court Sends Back Congressional Redistricting Decision to Ohio Supreme Court for Further Consideration in Light of Moore v. Harper

June 30, 2023, 9:14 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Order list.

Rob Yablon: “Moore v. Harper and the Purcell Principle”

June 29, 2023, 3:35 pmelection administration, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Rob Yablon: Commentary on Moore v. Harper has not yet focused on how the Purcell principle might shape what comes next. Litigants will no doubt soon be arguing that state courts (and potentially other state actors… Continue reading

Carolyn Shapiro: “Moore v. Harper and state courts”

June 29, 2023, 2:30 pmlegislation and legislatures, statutory interpretation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Carolyn Shapiro: As others have already noted, the Supreme Court’s opinion in Moore v. Harper fortunately eliminated the most chaotic possible outcome and reiterated what has always been understood to be true… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of the Safeguarding Democracy Project Flash Webinar: “U.S. Democracy and the Independent State Legislature Theory after the Supreme Court’s Moore v. Harper Decision”

June 29, 2023, 2:20 pmelection subversion risk, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

This was a great conversation that I moderated with Carolyn Shapiro, Bertrall Ross, Rick Pildes, and Derek Muller. You can watch here:

Expect Many More Lawsuits in Federal Court Against the Actions of State and Local Election Officials after Moore v. Harper

June 28, 2023, 5:51 pmelection administration, legislation and legislatures, Supreme Court, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

(This is the first in a series of posts I plan to write about the implications of the last part of the majority opinion in Moore v. Harper that creates something of a time bomb for litigation.) Expect many more… Continue reading

ELB Podcast 4:10: U.S. Democracy and the Independent State Legislature Theory after Moore v. Harper

June 28, 2023, 5:15 pmELB Podcast, legislation and legislatures, Supreme Court, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

New ELB Podcast (the Season 4 Finale!): What are the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in Moore v. Harper for American democracy? What will the case mean for 2024 election challenges? Does the decision shut down attempts to submit… Continue reading

TODAY! Safeguarding Democracy Project Flash Webinar, Wednesday June 28: U.S. Democracy and the Independent State Legislature Theory after the Supreme Court’s Moore v. Harper Decision [bumped to top]

June 28, 2023, 7:10 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Join UCLA Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project for a free online flash webinar, Wednesday, June 28, 11 am PT/2 pm ET, featuring leading election law scholars: · Derek T. Muller, Notre Dame Law (beginning July 1) · Richard H. Pildes,… Continue reading

“Supreme Court rejects novel legislative theory but leaves a door open for 2024 election challenges”

June 28, 2023, 7:04 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Nick Riccardi and David Leib for AP: But for some critics of the theory, the danger is not entirely past. The court found that state courts still must act within “ordinary bounds” when reviewing laws governing federal elections. That… Continue reading