All posts by Derek Muller

“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

“Appeals court halts certification of votes in narrow Lehigh County judicial race during appeal over mail-in ballots”

March 21, 2022, 11:46 amabsentee ballots, election administrationDerek Muller

The Morning Call: A federal appeals court has halted the final count and certification of votes in a narrow race for Lehigh County judge while voters ask the court to reverse a decision throwing out their lawsuit to have… Continue reading

Poll: “Very Few Voters Understand What’s Happening With Redistricting”

March 21, 2022, 11:41 amredistrictingDerek Muller

Some fascinating responses in this Morning Consult survey about public awareness and perception about redistricting and thoughts on redistricting rationales.

Jerry Goldfeder To Direct Fordham Law Voting Rights Project

March 21, 2022, 11:41 amUncategorizedDerek Muller

News from Stroock and Fordham here. Congrats to Jerry, and a great opportunity at Fordham!

Supreme Court oral argument today on whether state legislators can intervene in North Carolina voter ID dispute

March 21, 2022, 4:45 amSupreme Court, voter idDerek Muller

Following up on earlier ELB coverage (here and here), the SCOTUSblog page is here. Oral argument takes place today around 11 am ET. The questions presented are procedural issues, but they are the kind that keep cropping… Continue reading

“Time to retool census? Some think so after minorities missed”

March 21, 2022, 4:38 amcensus litigationDerek Muller

Story from the Associated Press. Similar pieces have been popping up this month, including in the New York Times. 2030 may seem like a long time away, but fitting into the legal framework will take some time. The… Continue reading

What does a law firm that wins a pro bono voting rights lawsuit do with the legal fees it earns?

March 21, 2022, 4:31 amVoting Rights ActDerek Muller

Interesting details in this Reuters story: Latham got its $3.9 million pro bono fee award for work on a Voting Rights Act lawsuit that challenged the at-large method for electing board members of the East Ramapo Central School District in… Continue reading

“What’s next for the Iowa caucuses? ‘Odds are stacked against us,’ state’s Democratic chair says”

March 21, 2022, 4:31 amprimariesDerek Muller

Brianne Pfannenstiel in the Des Moines Register: Iowa Democrats are preparing to “fight like hell” to make their best — and possibly final — case for their first-in-the-nation caucuses as members of the national party set an aggressive schedule… Continue reading

Is a majority of the Supreme Court willing to revisit U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton?

March 16, 2022, 3:20 pmlegislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

I blogged last month about the Tennessee Senate committee’s decision to advance a bill adding a multi-year residency requirement to congressional candidates. The bill’s gone through some machinations since then in the two houses about what the residency requirement looks… Continue reading

Timing and procedural morass hit Cawthorn disqualification challenge

March 16, 2022, 9:32 amelection administration, legislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

After a district court concluded March 4 that a disqualification challenge to Madison Cawthorn’s candidacy in North Carolina could not proceed, the case has been hit with timing issues and procedural complexity. (The district court issued a written order March … Continue reading

“Attorney asks Oklahoma Supreme Court to halt special election to replace Inhofe”

March 11, 2022, 7:02 amelection administrationDerek Muller

Last month, I wondered whether the Seventeenth Amendment allowed Oklahoma to hold a special election for the future vacancy of Senator Jim Inhofe. Now, details of a lawsuit from the Tulsa World: One of Oklahoma’s best-known attorneys is asking… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law