All posts by Ned Foley

New WaPo op-ed on need for Section 3 statute

February 1, 2022, 6:47 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

Following up on my earlier post, I now see this Washington Post op-ed by attorneys Cliff Sloan and Brendan Gants. They argue, as do I, that before the 2024 election Congress needs to enact a statute giving DOJ power… Continue reading

Ackerman & Magliocca on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment

February 1, 2022, 3:59 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

Bruce Ackerman and Gerard Magliocca have co-authored a piece for Politico on the chaos that could ensue over efforts to disqualify Trump from becoming president again pursuant to section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. I’ve addressed this topic previously for … Continue reading

Pence’s Particular Responsibility to Denounce Trump’s “Electoral McCarthyism”

February 1, 2022, 6:13 amelection subversion riskNed Foley

Yes, we all should be grateful that Pence ultimately did the right thing on January 6. And, yes, we all should feel sympathy for Pence and his family given the grave personal threat he faced from the “Hang Mike Pence”… Continue reading

“Schumer gives Electoral Count Act group breathing room”

January 27, 2022, 5:49 amUncategorizedNed Foley

Significant news from Politico on dynamics in the Senate concerning potential ECA revision.

Lawfare podcast on ECA reform

January 24, 2022, 5:55 amUncategorizedNed Foley

I very much enjoyed talking with Scott Anderson about the need to revise the Electoral Count Act in order to mitigate the risk of Congress, in a future joint session under the Twelfth Amendment, subverting a valid Electoral College victory… Continue reading

“Opinion: When Biden imitates Trump, he is on a dangerous path”

January 21, 2022, 3:26 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

Washington Post columnist James Hohmann forcefully echoes the point Rick Hasen made in the aftermath of President Biden’s press conference remarks about the upcoming midterms. There are a lot of good lines in the piece, but I found this… Continue reading

“McCarthy open to Electoral Count Act reform”

January 20, 2022, 12:45 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

Politico’s report also includes some amplified support from Leader McConnell: ‘“As I’ve said before, I think it needs fixing, and I wish them well, and I’d be happy to take a look at whatever they come up with,” the Kentucky… Continue reading

“As Giuliani coordinated plan for Trump electoral votes in states Biden won, some electors balked”

January 20, 2022, 9:52 amUncategorizedNed Foley

Washington Post deep dive.

Alaska Supreme Court upholds electoral reform

January 19, 2022, 5:35 pmalternative voting systemsNed Foley

This order, with an opinion to follow, makes clear that Alaska will be using its new electoral system (nonpartisan primary, with top four candidates on the general election ballot and the winner based on ranked-choice ballots using Instant Runoff… Continue reading

Oral argument in Alaska RCV case

January 18, 2022, 4:18 pmalternative voting systems, primariesNed Foley

As Rick blogged earlier today, the Alaska Supreme Court heard oral argument in an important case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new electoral system, which has a nonpartisan primary that sends the top four candidates to the general… Continue reading

“Time to start over on voting rights and election security”

January 16, 2022, 11:41 amUncategorizedNed Foley

Doyle McManus in L.A. Times. Also, I missed El Kilgore’s Intelligencer column from a few days ago, A Plan to Fix the Electoral Count Act Is Taking Shape, which quoted this ELB post. The Washington Post today… Continue reading

“The Case for Reforming the Electoral Count Act”

January 14, 2022, 9:10 amUncategorizedNed Foley

The National Constitution Center, as part of its “We the People Podcast” hosted this discussion moderated by Jeff Rosen, NCC president, with Brad Smith and me. The discussion built on the Washington Post op-ed that Brad and I co-wrote with… Continue reading

“Chairperson Lofgren Releases Staff Report On The Electoral Count Act”

January 13, 2022, 3:52 pmelection subversion riskNed Foley

Press release & link to the report. Given today’s filibuster-related news, is it possible now that discussions will more forward in Congress on seeking bipartisan ECA (and potentially closely related) reform, tailored specifically to protections for vote-counting and… Continue reading

How to guarantee the right to cast a ballot?

January 12, 2022, 4:05 pmelection subversion risk, NVRA (motor voter), provisional ballots, voter registration, votingNed Foley

I have seen a lot a skepticism lately about relying on courts to protect the equal right of eligible voters to participate in an election by casting a ballot and having it counted accurately. But unless Congress is going to… Continue reading