All posts by Tabatha Abu El-Haj

The State Democracy Research Initiative is hiring

May 12, 2023, 11:59 amUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

The State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law is hiring. It is seeking one or more staff attorneys, including senior staff attorneys, to join their growing team. The SDRI advances multi-faceted, nonpartisan efforts to foster research… Continue reading

“No Labels taking next steps in search for presidential candidates for third-party ticket”

May 12, 2023, 11:46 ampolitical polarization, third partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Fox News reports that the emergent centrist, No Labels party will be forming a committee to start vetting potential presidential candidates. “No Labels is aiming to get on the ballot in all 50 states in order to be in the… Continue reading

“DeSantis wanted to rewrite press laws. Conservative media helped kill the effort.”

May 12, 2023, 11:35 amUncategorizedDefamation, Free Speech, Misinformation, PressTabatha Abu El-Haj

Recent years have seen an uptick in people worried that the standard set for defamation in New York Times v. Sullivan is too high. The decision, it is said with a good deal of truth, fosters reckless journalism and the… Continue reading

“Election Law in Transition: A Discussion on Fairness, Integrity, and What’s Next”

May 12, 2023, 4:39 amUncategorizedTabatha Abu El-Haj

I am very much looking forward to discussing the future of election law with Judge Restrepo, Michael R. Dimino, Rebecca Green, and Eugene D. Mazo this morning at the 2023 Third Circuit Judicial Conference in Philadelphia. We will be covering… Continue reading

New Review of Issacharoff’s “DEMOCRACY UNMOORED”

May 12, 2023, 4:32 amUncategorizedNew ScholarshipTabatha Abu El-Haj

Walter Horn reviews Sam Issacharoff’s new book, DEMOCRACY UNMOORED: POPULISM AND THE CORRUPTION OF POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY (Oxford University Press 2023).

Lone Judicial Voice Supporting Trump’s Extraordinary Theories Running for PA Supreme Court Seat

May 12, 2023, 4:26 amjudicial elections, political polarizationTabatha Abu El-Haj

Bolts Magazine has an in depth report on the candidacy of Pennsylvania, Appellate Judge Patricia McCullough, entitled “The ‘Stop the Steal’ Judge Who Wants a Seat on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court.” “‘Republican judges across the country stood up and… Continue reading

“Virginia becomes the latest GOP-governed state to quit a voter data partnership”

May 12, 2023, 4:16 amelection administration, political polarizationTabatha Abu El-Haj

NPR: Virginia on Thursday joined several other Republican-led state in withdrawing from a multistate partnership (ERIC) that until recently was viewed as a bipartisan effort to share voter information. The shift came after “[a] far-right website targeted the organization… Continue reading

“Ohio GOP passes amendment to make ballot initiatives harder, but voters get to weigh in first”

May 11, 2023, 5:41 amdirect democracyEntrenchment, independent redistricting commissions, Political ResponsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

Daily Kos: Following the playbook of several other Republican legislatures, the Ohio legislature is seeking to make the initiative process harder for voters. This is, in my view, the most pernicious iteration of the on-going anti-democratic entrenchment playbook.… Continue reading

Defamation Suit Against Maxine Waters to Proceed

May 11, 2023, 5:24 amUncategorizedDefamation, Free Speech, state courtsTabatha Abu El-Haj

A California Court of Appeals has ruled that Joe E. Collin III’s defamation suit against Representative Maxine Waters can proceed. The case arises out of the 2020 election when Collins and Waters competed to represent California’s 43rd congressional district. During… Continue reading

Voting Rights Groups Settle Racial Gerrymandering Case in Florida

May 10, 2023, 4:47 amredistrictinglocal elections, racial gerrymander, settlementTabatha Abu El-Haj

Voting rights groups reach a settlement with Jacksonville City Council, which agreed to continue using maps ordered by a federal court that provide fair representation to Black communities through the next redistricting cycle after the 2030 Census. This largely settles… Continue reading

Justice Dep’t Settles N.J. VRA Case

May 10, 2023, 4:39 amVoting Rights ActSettlements, Spanish languageTabatha Abu El-Haj

Yesterday, the Justice Department announced a proposed consent decree with Union County, New Jersey and its elections officials in a suit challenging the county’s practices with respect to the availability of election assistance and materials in Spanish for Spanish-speaking voters… Continue reading

“Texas Republicans Push New Voting Restrictions Aimed at Houston”

May 10, 2023, 4:33 amelection administrationnew vote denialTabatha Abu El-Haj

N.Y. Times: Texas’s Republican-dominated state Legislature is targeting Harris County — the newest urban area to show signs of becoming a Democratic Party stronghold in the state — for voting restrictions. If passed, the law would limit polling places,… Continue reading

Constitutionality of N.Y’s Restrictions on Write-Ins Upheld

May 9, 2023, 3:24 pmballot access, primariesTabatha Abu El-Haj

A 2021 amendment to N.Y.’s Election Law restricts the permissible universe of write-in candidates in a party primary to members of the party. Essentially applying Anderson-Burdick, the state appellate court upheld the constitutionality of the amendment. “Political parties have protected… Continue reading

“Rep. George Santos charged by Justice Department in federal probe”

May 9, 2023, 3:06 pmUncategorizedlies, political corruptonTabatha Abu El-Haj

CNN Exclusive: “Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against New York Rep. George Santos, the Republican lawmaker whose astonishing pattern of lies and fabrications stunned even hardened politicos, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Santos is… Continue reading