All posts by Derek Muller

“A US territory’s colonial history emerges in state disputes over voting and citizenship”

June 7, 2025, 3:04 pmvoter registrationDerek Muller

Associated Press: Squeezed between glacier-packed mountains and Alaska’s Prince William Sound, the cruise-ship stop of Whittier is isolated enough that it’s reachable by just a single road, through a long, one-lane tunnel that vehicles share with trains. It’s so… Continue reading

Alabama Law Review issue dedicated to voting rights

June 7, 2025, 9:04 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActDerek Muller

A recent issue of the Alabama Law Review includes the following pieces: Michael J. Pitts, Re-Legislating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act Daniel P. Tokaji, Racist Voting Judge J. Michelle Childs, Voting Rights: Mechanisms for Social Change Daiquiri J.… Continue reading

June 2025 issue of the Election Law Journal

June 7, 2025, 9:03 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Articles include: Masaaki Higashijima, Leontine Loeber, Holly Ann Garnett, & Toby S. James, Challenges of Electoral Integrity in an Era of Overlapping Crises Carolien van Ham, Take Sipm, & Toine Fiselier, Why Do Citizens Perceive Free and Fair Elections as … Continue reading

Brahin, “Redistricting and the Origins of the Good Faith Presumption”

June 7, 2025, 9:02 amredistrictingDerek Muller

I’ll post some academic pieces over the weekend. First up, Leonard C. Brahin in the Barry Law Review: Evidentiary and substantive presumptions are a well-established tool that courts employ when addressing a variety of legal problems. These presumptions streamline… Continue reading

“Bolivia reinstates a leftist challenger but keeps former leader Morales off the ballot”

June 7, 2025, 2:51 amballot access, comparative election lawDerek Muller

Associated Press: Bolivia’s electoral tribunal on Friday included leftist Senate leader Andrónico Rodríguez on the list of presidential candidates approved for the ballot but excluded the powerful former socialist leader Evo Morales — the other major thorn in the… Continue reading

“Georgian falsely accused in ‘2000 Mules’ of voting fraud wants filmmaker to pay”

June 7, 2025, 2:48 amfraudulent fraud squadDerek Muller

Mark Niesse in the Atlanta Journal Constitution: A man falsely accused of voting fraud in the conspiracy film “2000 Mules” tried to hold its producers responsible Friday, asking a federal judge to rule in his favor. But the moviemakers,… Continue reading

“Federal vs. state power at issue in a hearing over Trump’s election overhaul executive order”

June 6, 2025, 12:41 pmelection administrationDerek Muller

Associated Press: Democratic state attorneys general and government lawyers argued Friday over the implications of President Donald Trump’s proposed overhaul of U.S. elections and whether the changes could be made in time for next year’s midterm elections, how much… Continue reading

Three-judge federal panel rejects claim of racial gerrymandering in Arkansas congressional districts

June 6, 2025, 12:40 pmredistrictingDerek Muller

The decision in Christian Ministerial Alliance v. Thurston, written by Judge Stras on the Eighth Circuit and joined by two district court judges, is here.

“What Trump ordering an investigation into Biden’s actions might mean legally and politically”

June 6, 2025, 8:21 amDepartment of JusticeDerek Muller

Associated Press: President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into pardons and other executive actions issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden — launching an extraordinary effort to show that the Democrat hid his cognitive decline and was otherwise too… Continue reading

“A Super PAC Is Encroaching on the DCCC’s Territory”

June 6, 2025, 8:20 amcampaign finance, campaignsDerek Muller

NOTUS: A super PAC with close ties to House Democratic leadership is taking a more active role with House candidates ahead of next year’s elections, expanding its political operation into the realm traditionally occupied by the Democratic Congressional Campaign… Continue reading

“Michigan House Republicans sue the secretary of state over election training materials”

June 6, 2025, 3:41 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Associated Press: Michigan Republicans are suing the battleground state’s top elections executive over access to election training materials. The lawsuit filed Thursday is the latest escalation in a brewing dispute that began when the GOP took majority control of… Continue reading

“Texas legislators refer 17 constitutional amendments for Nov. 2025 ballot—the most for a single election date since 2003”

June 6, 2025, 3:36 amballot access, election administration, voter initiativesDerek Muller

Ballotpedia.

“U.S. warns Arizona and Wisconsin over compliance with federal election law”

June 6, 2025, 3:35 amDepartment of JusticeDerek Muller

Votebeat. And in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Wisconsin Elections Commission chairwoman responds to warning letter from federal officials.”

“First Circuit wary of restoring voting ban on anti-trans Maine lawmaker”

June 5, 2025, 3:57 pmlegislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

Courthouse News Service: First Circuit panel of Joe Biden-appointed judges seemed wary about reinstating a voting ban against a firebrand Maine legislator who had criticized a transgender high school athlete. Earlier this year, Maine Representative Laurel Libby was censured… Continue reading