All posts by Rick Hasen

“Law firms refuse to represent Trump opponents in the wake of his attacks”

March 25, 2025, 7:40 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WaPo: President Donald Trump’s crackdown on lawyers is having a chilling effect on his opponents’ ability to defend themselves or challenge his actions in court, according to people who say they are struggling to find legal representation as a result… Continue reading

“Madison’s missing-ballot mess leads to an unusual claim for monetary damages”

March 25, 2025, 7:36 amvotingRick Hasen

Votebeat: Election officials in Madison are already facing a state and city investigation into the series of errors that resulted in nearly 200 absentee ballots not being counted in last fall’s election. Now officials there face a claim for compensation… Continue reading

“GOP legislators ask US Supreme Court to let them sue over Mich. election rules”

March 25, 2025, 7:32 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Michigan Public Radio: A group of Republican state lawmakers is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to clear the way for them to challenge two voter-approved amendments to the Michigan Constitution. This is a last-ditch effort by the GOP legislators to… Continue reading

“US Supreme Court turns away casino mogul Wynn’s bid to challenge NY Times v. Sullivan defamation rule”

March 25, 2025, 7:29 amFirst Amendment theory, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

John Kruzel for Reuters: The U.S. Supreme Court turned away on Monday a bid by casino mogul Steve Wynn to roll back defamation protections established in its landmark 1964 ruling in the case New York Times v. Sullivan – a… Continue reading

March 31 Safeguarding Democracy Project Webinar: “Combatting False Election Information: Lessons from 2024 and a Look to the Future”

March 25, 2025, 7:21 amcheap speech, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Looking forward to this (free registration required): Monday, March 31, 12:15pm-1:15pm PT, WebinarAlice Marwick, Director of Research, Data & Society, UNC Chapel Hill, Kate Starbird, University of Washington, and Joshua Tucker, NYU.Richard L. Hasen, moderator (Director, Safeguarding Democracy… Continue reading

“Georgia is planning one of the largest cancellations of voter registrations in U.S. history”

March 25, 2025, 7:09 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

AJC: Georgia election officials plan to cancel about 455,000 inactive voter registrations this summer, one of the largest registration removals in U.S. history. More than half the registrations scheduled for cancellation were identified by a 24-state organization called ERIC, which… Continue reading

The Retirement of Michael Wines from the New York Times Leaves a Big Hole in the Democracy Beat That the Times Must Fill

March 24, 2025, 4:19 pmelection law bizRick Hasen

Over the last eight years, veteran journalist Michael Wines did some of the most important reporting in the New York Times on the democracy beat. Rather than report on the latest day-to-day political food fights, Michael’s reporting was deep and… Continue reading

Travis Crum: Callais Oral Argument Recap

March 24, 2025, 2:52 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a post from Travis Crum: Here’s a recap of today’s oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais. At the outset, a short summary of what Callais is about. Callais is an old-school, 1990s-style Shaw challenge. The Callais… Continue reading

Election Litigation Hits Record, Increasing More than 14 Percent in the 2024 Election Cycle Compared to the 2020 Election Cycle, Despite End of Covid Pandemic

March 24, 2025, 7:58 amBush v. Gore reflections, legislation and legislatures, political polarization, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

As described in my forthcoming Essay, the results of updating my data on the rates of election litigation to include 2023 and 2024: The voting wars also brought a significant increase in litigation. The rate of election administration has… Continue reading

My New Draft: “Bush v. Gore’s Ironic Legacy”

March 24, 2025, 7:57 amBush v. Gore reflections, legislation and legislatures, Real Right to Vote, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this draft for a symposium issue of the Florida State University Law Review on 25 Years after Bush v. Gore. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court framed its holding in its 2000 case, Bush v. Gore,… Continue reading

“Musk and Trump ratchet up involvement in Wisconsin Supreme Court race”

March 24, 2025, 7:57 amjudicial elections, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

WaPo: President Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk are going all-in on flipping control of Wisconsin’s top court, with Trump endorsing the conservative in the race and Musk’s PAC hunting for votes by offering state residents cash for their… Continue reading

“Law Firms Scramble to Avoid Being Trump’s Next Target”

March 24, 2025, 7:30 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WSJ: The White House, on the heels of a successful pressure campaign against law firm Paul Weiss, is escalating its attacks on the legal industry and leaving some firms scrambling to stay out of the crosshairs. President Trump took… Continue reading

Travis Crum: The Consequences of Overturning Shaw and the Continuing Relevance of Section 2

March 24, 2025, 7:23 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Travis Crum: Over the weekend, Rick Pildes published a response to my post—which built on a recent essay—calling on the Supreme Court to overturn Shaw’s racial gerrymandering cause of action in Louisiana … Continue reading

“Report: Deficiencies in Recent Research on Ranked Choice Voting Ballot Error Rates”

March 24, 2025, 7:20 amalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

New from Alan Parry and John Kidd: This report discusses recent research on ranked choice voting (RCV) and ballot error rates. Several studies indicate that ballot error in RCV elections follows the same patterns as error in non-RCV elections. However,… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law