All posts by Derek Muller
“The expensive, daunting fight to get RFK Jr.’s name on state ballots”
Axios:
The Kennedy campaign has divided the state requirements into a tiered system based on whether they require a VP pick, the amount of signatures needed, whether there is a date for when they can begin petitioning and their… Continue reading
“Less appetite — and opportunity — to serve as fake Trump electors in 2024”
Excerpt from the Washington Post:
Another force will make it harder for electors to do what Trump’s slates did in 2020: The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022, bipartisan legislation intended to prevent the chaos surrounding the events of… Continue reading
Indiana court finds law keeping Republican Senate candidate off primary ballot violates Anderson-Burdick, 17th Amendment
You can see the Marion County Superior Court’s decision in Rust v. Morales and commentary here. More commentary from the Indianapolis Star. The law requires primary candidates either (1) voted in that party’s past two primary elections or… Continue reading
Arkansas Secretary of State blocks would-be presidential candidate Cenk Uygur from the ballot
I chronicled earlier how Nevada blocked would-be Democratic presidential Cenk Uygur from the ballot. Uygur was born in Turkey. He tried to alter the paperwork in Nevada that required him to assert, under penalty of perjury, that he was… Continue reading
RNC backs Donald Trump in ballot access dispute–when it didn’t back John McCain, Rick Perry, or Ted Cruz in years past
The Republican National Committee (joined by the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee) filed an amicus brief in support of Donald Trump in the Minnesota ballot access dispute. In one sense, I suppose, that’s not so… Continue reading
No rush to decide Section 3 cases in Michigan, Colorado
“Expedited” review of cases may be in the eye of the beholder. Appeals are pending in Section 3 cases in both Colorado and Michigan. Both states have indicated the cases ought to be resolved by the first week of January… Continue reading
First Circuit affirms dismissal of Section 3 case against Trump on ground that plaintiff lacked standing
The unanimous opinion in Castro v. Scanlan is here. It’s worth noting the appellate court only reached the standing issue. It did not address the political question doctrine issue, which I noted here that the district court reached. And… Continue reading
Divided 8th Circuit panel finds Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act does not allow private plaintiffs to sue
Judge Stras, joined by Judge Gruender, affirming the district court. From the opening in Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment: “Did Congress give private plaintiffs the ability to sue under § 2 of the… Continue reading
State power and the Term Limits v. Thornton problem in Anderson v. Griswold
The bulk of the analysis in Anderson v. Griswold, which held that Donald Trump can appear on the primary ballot in Colorado, has been a matter I’ve been puzzling this weekend. Most of the opinion is not essential to… Continue reading
Political questions and Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment
I went back to look at some of the commentary around the Supreme Court’s decision in Rucho v. Common Cause in 2019. The decision shut the door on federal constitutional challenges to partisan gerrymanders. Much of the commentary around the… Continue reading
BREAKING: Michigan judge dismisses Section 3 claim against Trump as a “political question”
Zoe Tillman has the judge’s opinion here. The judge finds that the Secretary holds no authority to exclude a candidate under state law. He goes on to find that Congress holds the power to remove the disability, which he… Continue reading
BREAKING: Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously dismisses Section 3 claim against Trump, permits him to appear on the primary ballot (but issues no decision on general election)
The Minnesota Supreme Court’s order is here. (Disclosure: I filed an amicus brief in support of neither party in the case.) Two justices recused (without explanation, but presumably due to conflicts from legal representation in their election campaigns). From… Continue reading
Commission on Presidential Debates questions: the RNC, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the CPD’s future
The Commission on Presidential Debates essentially took over responsibility for coordinating the major general election presidential debates in every cycle since 1988. There are a few points of intrigue at the moment ahead of the 2024 election.
First, the… Continue reading