All posts by Tabatha Abu El-Haj

Conservative Efforts to Re-shape School Boards

November 15, 2022, 7:05 amUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

Local elections obviously matter a great deal too: “Republican groups including the 1776 Project PAC, which steered millions of dollars into local school races this year amid predictions of a red wave.” AP News reports on the lay of the… Continue reading

Breaking: NBC Projects Arizona Governorship for Democrats

November 14, 2022, 6:25 pmUncategorized2022 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

NBC News: “Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has defeated Republican Kari Lake in Arizona’s race for governor, NBC News projected Monday.Hobbs’ victory is key for Democrats in a presidential battleground and a rebuke to a prominent election denier… Continue reading

Breaking News: ACLU Seeks to Stop Hand-Count in Nye County, NV Again

November 14, 2022, 6:09 pmelection administration2022 Election Cycle, nevadaTabatha Abu El-Haj

The ACLU of Nevada has filed a second suit asking the courts to enjoin Mark Kampf, the county clerk in Nye County, Nevada, from conducting a hand count of ballots received in the 2022 midterm elections. The ACLU of Nevada… Continue reading

Pennsylvania–Split Tickets and White Rural Voters

November 14, 2022, 6:03 pmUncategorized2022 Election Cycle, PennsylvaniaTabatha Abu El-Haj

Some of you might be interested in this thread on Twitter with Lara Putnam analyzing the votes in Pennsylvania. Two themes are worth highlighting: Split ticket voting is happening in Pennsylvania, and Josh Shapiro has been its beneficiary since he… Continue reading

“Supreme Court allows Jan. 6 committee to access Arizona GOP chair’s phone records”

November 14, 2022, 5:50 pmUncategorizedJan 6 CommitteeTabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico reports that “The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the House’s Jan. 6 select committee to obtain the phone records of Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, a key ally during Donald Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election.”… Continue reading

Election Deniers Win Races for Secretary of State in Four Red States

November 14, 2022, 5:42 pmchicanery, election administration, election subversion risk2022 Election Cycle, Secretary of StateTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bolts Magazine rounds up the wins and losses for Secretary of State positions. Four “Republicans who ran on the Big Lie” won their races for Secretary of State. They will take office in Alabama, Indiana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The… Continue reading

“Doug Mastriano concedes to Josh Shapiro, five days after Election Day”

November 14, 2022, 8:42 amchicanery2022 Election CycleTabatha Abu El-Haj

Although it has been clear since Election Day, Doug Mastriano has finally got around to conceding, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. He lost by 14 points. Still, in a world where election denying has become normal, and from an … Continue reading

“Voters of color did move to the right — just not at the rates predicted”

November 14, 2022, 5:14 amUncategorizedMidterm Election 2022, voter turnoutTabatha Abu El-Haj

With the caveat that this analysis is based on exit polls–which are not terribly reliable—Politico has an analysis of how the Democratic Party did among different racial and ethnic groups. Key themes: “[N]ew voters from 2018 and 2020,… Continue reading

Update: House Races as of Monday, Nov. 14

November 14, 2022, 4:56 amUncategorizedMidterm Election 2022Tabatha Abu El-Haj

Politico has a nice summary of the state of the House. “There are still 20 seats left uncalled, and Democrats have a legitimate — if narrow — chance of holding the lower chamber as well. In those uncalled races, Democrats… Continue reading

Eyes Turn to Georgia–and Impact of Democratic Control on Turnout in the Run Off

November 14, 2022, 4:37 amUncategorizedearly voting, Georgia 2022, run off, voter turnoutTabatha Abu El-Haj

Atlanta Journal Constitution reports on the how the Walker and Warnock campaigns are reacting to the news that Democrats have maintained their 50 seats in the Senate. The Warnock campaign is urging early voting and its allies are reframing the… Continue reading

Handing the ELB off to Franita Tolson

October 2, 2022, 2:27 pmUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

Thanks to everyone for all their tips. Handing the ELB off to Franita Tolson for the first week of the new SCOTUS term . . . and now I might have time to read her new article on the independent… Continue reading

“Laboratories of Democratic Backsliding”

October 2, 2022, 6:15 amUncategorizedNew ScholarshipTabatha Abu El-Haj

Looking forward to reading Jake M. Grumbach‘s (Department of Political Science, University of Washington) new book, Laboratories Against Democracy: How National Parties Transformed State Politics, which was profiled a few weeks ago on NPR. In the meanwhile,… Continue reading

Lower courts ruled this week in favor of easier access for voters and parties

October 2, 2022, 6:00 amballot accesselection day registration, same day registrationTabatha Abu El-Haj

BallotAccessNew reports two new cases in the lower courts: A Montana state court has ruled that the Montana Constitution bars the legislature from having repealed election-day registration.U.S. District Court has struck down Arkansas ballot access procedures for new or previously… Continue reading

Rank Choice Voting: A Scaleable Reform?

October 1, 2022, 2:19 pmalternative voting systems, votingrank choice votingTabatha Abu El-Haj

As more jurisdictions are considering introducing rank choice voting (the issue will be on the ballot in Nevada this fall), Politico offers this long-form essay on Alaska’s experience. Can Alaska “point the way to a more moderate, more nuanced way… Continue reading