On Friday (April 19), Rick Pildes is delivering the Dunwody Lecture, sponsored by the Florida Law Review. His topic is “Combatting Political Extremism,” something I’ve been very fortunate to work with him (among others) on over the last few years. (Along with Larry Diamond, he and I are in the process of editing a volume of papers that grows out of a task force devoted to this topic that emerged in the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the Capitol; and he and I had a hand in drafting a couple of those papers.) I’m also fortunate to be participating in the Law Review’s symposium that accompanies–and precedes on Thursday (April 18)–Rick’s lecture. (Participant bios are here.) For those unable to attention in person, there’s a link to register for the zoom presentation. It should be a great set of discussions.
“Constitutional amendments will come, but only after this”
Rick LaRue in the Fulcrum. This piece echoes the one earlier this year by Larry Schwartztol and Justin Florence in The Atlantic: “Amending the Constitution Is Impossible Until Suddenly It’s Not.” It is also possible that the threat of a constitutional convention could spur the adoption of specific amendments, as it did with the Seventeenth Amendment’s adoption of direct election of U.S. senators. But Alex Keyssar’s important book Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? is an important cautionary tale concerning the immense difficulty of electoral reform by means of constitutional amendment, even when America’s voters overwhelmingly want the reform in question.
“Voting rights groups sue to allow electronic voting for disabled voters”
“Supreme Court divided over key charge against Jan. 6 rioters and Trump”
Detailed discussion of yesterday’s oral argument in the Washington Post. Another politically divided ruling seems likely, unfortunately, on an issue that would be better to decide unanimously, if at all possible.
“Prosecutions of Fake Electors for Trump Gain Ground in Swing States”
Update from the N.Y. Times. Subtitle: “Georgia, Michigan and Nevada have already brought charges against people who posed as electors for Donald Trump, and Arizona and Wisconsin have active investigations.”
Also this snippet:
“Mr. Chesebro, who pleaded guilty to a felony last year in Georgia, later told investigators in Michigan that he had been misled by the Trump campaign and had not known that it was “trying to create chaos in state legislatures.”
“In December, Andrew Hitt, who was head of the Wisconsin Republican Party during the 2020 election, told a local ABC affiliate that he and other fake electors “were tricked” by the Trump campaign and thought they were only acting as a contingency, in case litigation succeeded.”