All posts by Rick Hasen

“Red State AGs Keep Trying to Kill Ballot Measures by a Thousand Cuts”

February 29, 2024, 2:44 pmdirect democracy, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Bolts: When a coalition of voting rights activists in Ohio set out last December to introduce a new ballot initiative to expand voting access, they hardly anticipated that the thing to stop them would be a matter of word choice. But… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of My Conversation with Campaign Legal Center’s Trevor Potter About My New Book, “A Real Right to Vote”

February 29, 2024, 2:42 pmReal Right to VoteRick Hasen

So enjoyed this conversation:

“NY Gov. Approves Bill Directing Redistricting Suits to NY’s Major Metropolitan Courts”

February 29, 2024, 2:40 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Law.com: An amended bill that limits New Yorkers to filing redistricting lawsuits in Manhattan and Albany, Westchester and Erie counties was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday, after the Assembly approved it earlier in the day, while the… Continue reading

“The Power of the Electorate Under State Constitutions”

February 29, 2024, 2:38 pmvotingRick Hasen

Josh Douglas has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Florida Law Review). Here is the abstract: Voters are special. They are the foundation of our constitutional democracy. Everything starts with the voter. State constitutions, too, are special, as the recent… Continue reading

“Ranked-Choice Voting is MAGA’s Latest Target; Leonard Leo and other far-right power players are attacking a bipartisan election reform.”

February 29, 2024, 11:19 amalternative voting systems, political polarizationRick Hasen

Brendan Fischer writes for Documented (here’s the version at Rolling Stone): An organized and well-funded network of right-wing groups is spending countless millions attacking a bipartisan election reform that could threaten the MAGA political project. Ranked-choice voting — which… Continue reading

“Pennsylvania Plans Task Force to Combat Election Disruptions”

February 29, 2024, 7:45 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: As a fall rematch between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump becomes increasingly likely, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania is announcing an Election Threats Task Force, a federal-state partnership, in the critical battleground state. The task force,… Continue reading

“The US is bracing for complex, fast-moving threats to elections this year, FBI director warns”

February 29, 2024, 7:40 amcampaigns, cheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

AP: The United States expects to face fast-moving threats to American elections this year as artificial intelligence and other technological advances have made interference and meddling easier than before, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday. “The U.S. has confronted foreign… Continue reading

I Spoke to CNN’s Laura Coates About the Supreme Court’s Decision to Slow Walk Trump’s Immunity Appeal in the Election Subversion Case (Video)

February 29, 2024, 7:34 amelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can watch here: I posted my earlier thoughts on the Supreme Court’s surprising timing decision here.

“Florida’s New Driver’s License Rule Is Blatant Trans Voter Suppression”

February 29, 2024, 7:32 am19th Amendment, votingRick Hasen

TNR: Quietly and behind the scenes last month, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, or FLHSMV, issued a memo indicating that it will no longer honor Floridians’ requests to amend the gender marker on their driver’s licenses.… Continue reading

“Cook County judge orders Donald Trump removed from Illinois primary ballot for his role in Jan. 6 riot at US Capitol” (With link to order); What Happens Next?

February 28, 2024, 5:11 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Chicago Tribune reports. You can find the order here. It includes a stay until March 1, to give time for appeal. I expect that there will continue to be requests for a stay of this ruling, which may make… Continue reading

Why Did the Supreme Court Wait So Long to Decide to Set the Trump Criminal Immunity Case for Full Hearing and Argument? It Likely Means No Trial for Trump on Election Subversion Before the Election

February 28, 2024, 3:30 pmelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Like many other observers, I thought the relatively long lag time between Donald Trump’s attempt to stay his criminal trial after losing in the district court and the D.C. Circuit meant the Court was not going to grant the… Continue reading

“Law School clinic files brief to combat intentionally false statements about voting”

February 28, 2024, 7:46 amcheap speech, chicanery, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

Yale Daily News: Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed an amicus brief on Feb. 12 in United States v. Mackey, a case currently at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The case involves an influential… Continue reading

“Michigan Judge Orders Deposed G.O.P. Leader to Stand Down”

February 28, 2024, 7:41 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: A circuit court judge on Tuesday ordered Kristina Karamo, the deposed leader of the Michigan Republicans, to abandon her efforts to cling to power. But what that means for Saturday, when Ms. Karamo had pledged to hold a… Continue reading

“Delaware’s early voting and permanent absentee laws are unconstitutional, a judge says”

February 28, 2024, 7:39 amelection administrationRick Hasen

AP: Laws allowing early voting and permanent absentee status violate Delaware’s constitution and are invalid, a judge ruled in a lawsuit brought by a state elections inspector and a Republican lawmaker. The laws are “inconsistent with our constitution… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law