All posts by Derek Muller

“Shasta County Files Legal Action Over Proposed Ballot Measure to ‘Reform’ Elections”

March 18, 2025, 3:17 amelection administrationDerek Muller

The latest in this long-running saga in a northern California county: A group of five local community members have submitted paperwork to the Shasta County Elections Office in hopes of amending the County’s new charter, a document that outlines specifics… Continue reading

Candidate disqualifications and challenges for elections in Romania, Brazil

March 18, 2025, 3:16 amcomparative election lawDerek Muller

Discontent abroad as reported by Reuters. In Romania: Thousands of Romanians took to the streets of Bucharest on Saturday to show their support for the European Union, amid political disputes over a presidential election rerun scheduled for May. Romania… Continue reading

“Some Wisconsin voters received inaccurate information in the mail. The response may be a sign of the times.”

March 18, 2025, 3:15 amcampaignsDerek Muller

Wisconsin Public Radio on a cautionary tale of relying too heavily on out-of-state help: Last week, some Wisconsin voters began receiving postcards reminding them to vote in an upcoming election. The notes were backing Susan Crawford, the liberal candidate in… Continue reading

“Newsmax agreed to pay $40 million to settle Smartmatic’s 2020 election defamation lawsuit”

March 17, 2025, 2:17 pmelection administrationDerek Muller

That’s Marshall Cohen’s story over at CNN. More on the settlement reached on the eve of trial in September here. Dominion’s lawsuit with Fox Corp. was settled for $787 million, but, of course, the market cap and… Continue reading

“A bipartisan mail ballot bill in Nevada? It’s not as crazy as it sounds.”

March 17, 2025, 2:16 pmabsentee ballots, election administrationDerek Muller

The Nevada Independent: Anything is possible in the Nevada Legislature — including a bipartisan bill on the politicized issue of mail ballots. The top Democrat and Republican in the Assembly are joining forces on a bill that would require… Continue reading

“The county line is officially gone with a new primary ballot design for New Jersey, but advocates may sue again”

March 17, 2025, 9:29 amballot access, primariesDerek Muller

Philadelphia Inquirer: New Jersey has a new primary ballot design now that Gov. Phil Murphy has signed it into law — though it remains to be seen whether it the measure will be challenged in court. With the governor’s… Continue reading

“As California looks to speed up vote counting, election experts hope it won’t come at a cost”

March 17, 2025, 9:28 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Deep dive by Laura Fitzgerald over at NPR’s CapRadio.

Consent decree entered in Montana voter registration dispute

March 17, 2025, 9:27 amvoter registrationDerek Muller

After much litigation, Montana Public Interest Research Group v. Jacobsen (the RNC intervened in the case) has been resolved. Two provisions of a subsection of a voter registration statute will not be enforced, consistent with a preliminary injunction subsequently affirmed… Continue reading

By 10-5 vote, 5th Circuit opts not to take en banc decision that found Mississippi absentee ballots must be returned by Election Day to count in federal races

March 17, 2025, 4:14 amabsentee ballots, court decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

The opinions in the decision to deny the en banc petition are here, in RNC v. Wetzel. From the intro of the original panel decision, as a refresher of the issue: Congress statutorily designated a singular “day for… Continue reading

“U.S. Department of Justice Dismisses Biden-Era Lawsuit Against Alabama in order to have more Secure Elections”

March 17, 2025, 4:13 amDepartment of Justice, voter registrationDerek Muller

Press release from the Department of Justice: Today, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a dismissal of the complaint in United States v. Alabama. The previous administration had filed the action in 2024 after the Secretary… Continue reading

11th Circuit finds Florida’s closed primary statute withstands constitutional scrutiny

March 17, 2025, 4:13 amcourt decisionsDerek Muller

Three opinions from three judges in Poelle v. Florida Secretary of State. From the majority opinion by Judge Rosenbaum: Michael J. Polelle is a voter in Sarasota County, Florida, who has not registered with a political party. As a… Continue reading

Unanimous Washington Supreme Court rejects state constitutional challenge to absentee ballot signature matching practices

March 6, 2025, 9:05 amcourt decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs: This case concerns some of the most fundamental building blocks of our representative democracy: the right to vote, the legislature’s power and obligation to ensure that voters can freely exercise that right, and the… Continue reading

Divided Ninth Circuit finds Congress holds power to regulate presidential elections as it does congressional elections

February 26, 2025, 3:31 amcourt decisions, Elections ClauseDerek Muller

Justin helpfully runs through the major elements of the Ninth Circuit’s holding in Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes, but I wanted to highlight a divide in the opinion I wrote about back in 2022 just as this bill was introduced … Continue reading

Three thoughts on the 4th Circuit’s decision in the North Carolina Supreme Court dispute

February 5, 2025, 5:41 amcourt decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

Rick H. linked to the unpublished per curiam decision in Griffin v. North Carolina State Board of Elections. Three brief thoughts on it. First, last week I noted that the case potentially implicated a significant shift in what kinds… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law