All posts by Rick Hasen

“Pennsylvania Election Code needs fixes, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt says”

March 7, 2025, 6:44 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Votebeat: Pennsylvania lawmakers need to update the century-old Election Code to fix the most labor-intensive processes and make the voting experience as uniform as possible, the state’s top election official said. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schimdt made the comments… Continue reading

“Despite Musk, progressives are winning the ad war in Wisconsin”

March 7, 2025, 6:32 amcampaign finance, campaigns, judicial electionsRick Hasen

The Downballot: Despite Elon Musk’s multi-million dollar spending spree, progressives retain an advantage on the airwaves in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race—and now they’re making an issue of Musk’s involvement, too. At the same time, a rare poll shows liberal Judge… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of Safeguarding Democracy Project Event, “What Do Documentary Proof of Citizenship Laws Accomplish?” (with Adrian Fontes, Walter Olson, & Nina Perales)

March 6, 2025, 4:26 pmelection administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

You can watch this discussion, which took place on March 4, 2025 at UCLA Law, at this link:

“Trump expands clash with law firms with order against Perkins Coie”

March 6, 2025, 3:24 pmauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Reuters with this chilling story: U..S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would strip Perkins Coie employees of federal security clearances over the law firm’s diversity practices and political activities, as he launched a probe into other legal firms.… Continue reading

“‘People Are Going Silent’: Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves”

March 6, 2025, 11:37 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

NYT: The silence grows louder every day. Fired federal workers who are worried about losing their homes ask not to be quoted by name. University presidents fearing that millions of dollars in federal funding could disappear are holding their fire.… Continue reading

“A test for judicial independence in Wisconsin; Elon Musk is spending big on the state’s Supreme Court race while expressing contempt for independent courts. That’s a worrisome combination.”

March 6, 2025, 7:20 amcampaign finance, judicial electionsRick Hasen

Rob Yablon for The Contrarian.

“ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos”

March 6, 2025, 6:55 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: ActBlue, the online fund-raising organization that powers Democratic candidates, has plunged into turmoil, with at least seven senior officials resigning late last month and a remaining lawyer suggesting he faced internal retaliation. The departures from ActBlue, which helps raise… Continue reading

“Voting Rights Act Enforcement Increases Turnout”

March 6, 2025, 6:46 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

New Brennan Center report: Inequities are a persistent feature of U.S. elections. As our colleagues have documented, the gap in voter participation between white and Black Americans has increased since the Supreme Court, through its 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision,… Continue reading

Morgan Kousser: “A New Coverage Scheme for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act”

March 6, 2025, 6:42 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The great Morgan Kousser has written this article for ELJ. Here is the abstract: Ever since the coverage scheme for Section 5, the preclearance section of the Voting Rights Act, was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the… Continue reading

“Drawing Representation from Taxation: A Tax-Based Approach to Redistricting”

March 6, 2025, 6:40 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Jacob Hooper has written this student note for the George Mason Law Review. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court’s 2023 Allen v. Milligan decision upheld Thornburg v. Gingles from 1986. Gingles established preconditions creating majority-minority districts to protect a… Continue reading

“Alabama’s Racial Turnout Gap Hit a 16-Year High in 2024”

March 5, 2025, 1:22 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Brennan Center: Sixty years ago, civil rights activists seeking to peacefully march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to demand equal access to the ballot were brutally assaulted by police. The events of what became known as Bloody Sunday were a… Continue reading

“Election security aid is on the chopping block, rattling local officials”

March 5, 2025, 1:20 pmchicanery, election administration, voting technologyRick Hasen

NBC News: State and local election officials who have grown to rely on the federal government’s cybersecurity assistance fear that the Trump administration may permanently block that aid by Thursday. Such funding, which began in President Donald Trump’s first… Continue reading

Rob Richie: “Introducing Expand Democracy; My new organization will promote pro-democracy ideas by helping others succeed”

March 5, 2025, 9:31 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Congrats to Rob Richie on this announcement, and the new organization, Expand Democracy. Here is their list of “Democracy Topics” from their website: Ranked choice voting: We help to grow and sustain ranked choice voting in the United States… Continue reading

“‘Election integrity’ still top of mind for some House Republicans”

March 5, 2025, 7:42 amThe Voting WarsRick Hasen

Roll Call: After a cycle that delivered them full power in Washington, Republicans are still pushing to change federal election law — and some Democrats are sounding a renewed alarm. A proposal that aims to bar noncitizens from voting could… Continue reading