All posts by Rick Hasen

“A federal appeals court considers who should decide whether NC votes are thrown out”

January 28, 2025, 7:31 amjudicial electionsRick Hasen

NC Newsline: In a pivotal hearing in the North Carolina Supreme Court elections case, the lawyer representing the state Board of Elections faced a barrage of questions from a federal court of appeals judge about the appropriateness of calling back… Continue reading

“They Followed North Carolina Election Rules When They Cast Their Ballots. Now Their Votes Could Be Tossed Anyway.”

January 28, 2025, 7:28 amchicanery, judicial electionsRick Hasen

ProPublica: A Republican judge has spent more than two months trying to overturn his narrow defeat for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat by arguing that around 60,000 ballots should be tossed out. But many residents have only recently learned… Continue reading

“White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion”

January 28, 2025, 7:26 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: he White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government, according to an internal memo sent to agencies Monday, creating significant confusion across Washington. In a two-page document, Matthew J.… Continue reading

“One of 2025’s Biggest Battles Over Abortion Rights Has Already Begun” (Wisconsin Supreme Court Election)

January 27, 2025, 7:37 amjudicial electionsRick Hasen

NYT: Tens of millions of dollars flooding into a state election. A nakedly political candidate for a judgeship. Huge policy stakes for a key battleground state. Two years ago, a race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court vividly demonstrated how local… Continue reading

“Is Trump’s Plan to End Birthright Citizenship ‘Dred Scott II’?”

January 27, 2025, 7:35 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Adam Liptak in the NYT: The right should embrace that legacy, John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former official in the George W. Bush administration, wrote in 2018, after Mr. Trump… Continue reading

“Cruel and unusual? Supreme Court declines to review Mississippi voting ban for convicted felons”

January 27, 2025, 7:29 amfelon voting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

USA Today: The Supreme Court declined Monday to decide whether a permanent voting ban on people convicted of felonies in Mississippi is cruel and unusual punishment. The court, in 2023, had also rejected a different challenge to the state’s voting… Continue reading

“‘People Will Be Shocked’: Trump Tests the Boundaries of the Presidency”

January 27, 2025, 7:27 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Peter Baker for the NYT: On his first full day back in the White House, President Trump reveled in his return to power and vowed to do what no president had ever done before. “We’re going to do things that… Continue reading

“To Counter Trump’s Election Denial, We Need Nonpartisan Reform”

January 27, 2025, 7:20 amelection administrationRick Hasen

Kevin Johnson in The Fulcrum: The time is right for a whole new approach to the governance of elections in America. We have a system dominated by the two parties when most voters no longer affiliate with either. We have… Continue reading

“‘Stop this attack’: New ad features NC Republican challenging GOP-backed effort to toss ballots”

January 26, 2025, 8:44 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WRAL: A new political ad just started airing this week in North Carolina — focusing on an election that’s been over for nearly three months. It’s unusual for a political ad to air long after ballots have been counted. But… Continue reading

“Trump ousts at least 14 independent inspectors general in late-night purge”

January 25, 2025, 9:00 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WaPo: The White House late Friday fired the independent inspectors general of at least 14 major federal agencies in a purge that could clear the way for President Donald Trump to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud,… Continue reading

“Trump third-term amendment ‘impossibly difficult’ to pass, Harvard Law professor says”

January 24, 2025, 2:58 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

CNBC: A newly introduced constitutional amendment that would allow President Donald Trump to be elected to a third term in the White House faces very long odds — at best — of getting approved, a Harvard Law School professor said… Continue reading

“Louisiana argues parts of Voting Rights Act are unconstitutional in redistricting case”

January 24, 2025, 2:17 pmDepartment of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

When I heard the news of the DOJ backing away from its position in the Callais redistricting case out of Louisiana before the Supreme Court, I realized that I had failed to link to this important story from Jan. 7… Continue reading

“Trump Seeks Pause of Supreme Court Cases, Disavows DOJ Stance on Voting Rights Act “

January 24, 2025, 2:14 pmDepartment of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Jimmy Hoover for the NLJ: In Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court will soon hear appeals to uphold the remedial map by an unlikely alliance of the state of Louisiana and the NAACP Louisiana State Conference and other supporters of… Continue reading

Scholars of Democratic Backsliding File Amicus Brief in 4th Circuit Warning About Judge Griffin’s Attempt to Overturn the Results of the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court Election

January 24, 2025, 11:45 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

From the introduction to this brief: Democracies do not necessarily live forever. Sometimes, they die. Amici’s scholarship shows that they often erode from within, through the degradation of free and fair elections and the capture of independent courts or electoral… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law