All posts by Derek Muller

“Michigan lawmakers use maneuver to delay Benson’s new absentee signature rules”

March 23, 2022, 4:56 amabsentee ballots, legislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

Beth LeBlanc in the Detroit News: Michigan Republican lawmakers used a rule-making maneuver Tuesday to delay the adoption of rules that would govern signature verification and online applications for absentee ballots. The six GOP members of the Joint Committee… Continue reading

“With 6 weeks until Ohio’s primary, many voting districts still haven’t been decided”

March 23, 2022, 4:49 amredistrictingDerek Muller

NPR: Voters in Ohio are supposed to be able to vote in the state’s May 3 primary – up and down the ballot – but with just six weeks to go, the voting districts for the state legislature haven’t… Continue reading

Adam Laxalt, Senate Candidate, Says He’s Already Gearing Up to Fight Election Fraud

March 22, 2022, 5:28 pmvotingDerek Muller

Nick Corasaniti, Blake Hounshell and Leah Askarinam in the New York Times: Nevadans still have 231 days until they head to the polls in November. But Adam Laxalt, the former attorney general of Nevada and a Republican candidate for… Continue reading

New book details White House friction over voting rights push

March 22, 2022, 5:25 pmvoting, Voting Rights ActDerek Muller

Politico excerpts portions of Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns’s This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future: Harris did ask to lead the administration’s push to shore up federal voting rights. But as the effort stalled… Continue reading

“California Legislature upended by new political maps”

March 22, 2022, 5:23 pmlegislation and legislatures, redistrictingDerek Muller

Associated Press: “New political maps have upended the California Legislature this year by prodding more than two-dozen state lawmakers into early retirement or career changes, while others are forced into unfamiliar new districts ahead of the November election.”

Federal judge finds Wyoming’s campaign disclosure and disclaimer requirements violate First Amendment

March 22, 2022, 8:36 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

Order granting in part motion for summary judgment by a Wyoming federal district court in Wyoming Gun Owners v. Buchanon, a case building on Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta (and as applied to the plaintiffs in this case): WyGO… Continue reading

“Ted Cruz’s Latest Troll? Turning His Campaign Into a Super PAC”

March 22, 2022, 8:36 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

Daily Beast investigation: Federal law says candidates can only give other candidates $2,000 per election. But Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)—in classic Cruz fashion—may have found a loophole.Last month, Cruz poured a staggering $137,183 into the House campaign for Cassy Garcia,… Continue reading

“Iowa Supreme Court to hear challenge from subpoenaed legislators in voting rights case”

March 22, 2022, 8:36 amelection administration, votingDerek Muller

William Morris in the Des Moines Register: Republican legislators facing subpoenas seeking their emails and other documents will get the chance to make the case to the Iowa Supreme Court that their communications should be private.Iowa’s highest court has granted… Continue reading

“Alaska’s first ranked-choice election will be a special vote to replace Rep. Don Young”

March 22, 2022, 4:53 amalternative voting systems, legislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

Anchorage Daily News: The new election system approved by Alaska voters in 2020 will get an unexpected first test this summer with a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Congressman Don Young, Alaska’s… Continue reading

“Genesee County elections supervisor on unpaid leave after ballot tampering charges”

March 22, 2022, 4:50 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Not great: Funk was charged on Friday, March 11, with purposely breaking a seal on a ballot container while she worked as the Flint Township clerk following the Aug. 4, 2020, primary election.Because of the broken seal, the votes… Continue reading

“Colorado Democrats look to crack down on insider election threats and misinformation”

March 22, 2022, 4:49 amcheap speech, election administrationDerek Muller

NPR: Eight months after a Colorado clerk allegedly compromised her county’s election machines while searching for proof of fraud in the 2020 election, Democratic lawmakers in the state want to make it illegal for those who run elections to… Continue reading

Absentee ballot envelope design, the Texas debacle, and the one coming to Georgia

March 21, 2022, 6:07 pmabsentee ballots, election administrationDerek Muller

Georgia’s SB 202, enacted in 2021, included a provision to change how it verified absentee ballot submissions. Instead of relying on signature verification, which had been the subject of extensive litigation ahead of the 2020 election, the state would… Continue reading

“How Brian Kemp Resisted Trump’s Pressure to Overturn the Georgia Election Results”

March 21, 2022, 6:00 pmelectoral college, legislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

Long read in Politico Magazine from Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. An excerpt: Ahead of a Dec. 3 fundraiser at Truist Park, Kemp called a meeting with the two senators and three of their top aides to hash the… Continue reading

“Philadelphia judge turned Congressional candidate who accepted rival’s cash suspended”

March 21, 2022, 5:59 pmcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

Reuters: A former Philadelphia municipal judge who accepted $90,000 from another candidate to abandon his congressional campaign has been hit with a four-year suspension by Pennsylvania’s high court, according to a new order.The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law