All posts by Rick Hasen

“Trump ally pushes DoJ unit to shift civil rights focus, new messages show”

April 19, 2025, 7:42 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

Sam Levine for The Guardian: The justice department’s civil rights division is shifting its focus away from its longstanding work protecting the rights of marginalized groups and will instead pivot towards Donald Trump’s priorities including hunting for noncitizen voters… Continue reading

“Administration’s Dubious Trustworthiness Permeates Hearing On Trump Election Order”

April 18, 2025, 6:24 pmelection administration, Election Assistance Commission, election subversion riskRick Hasen

TPM: A cagey Trump administration arrived at court Thursday, where a judge presided over the early stages of a lawsuit stemming from a March executive order mandating that proof of citizenship be added to federal voting forms. As soon as… Continue reading

Pa: “Two Millbourne council members confessed to trying to steal an election. They have no plans to resign yet. “

April 18, 2025, 9:38 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Philly Inquirer: Two weeks after two Millbourne officials pleaded guilty to federal charges in a brazen scheme to steal a 2021 mayoral election, they are still sitting on the tiny Delaware County borough’s council and are poised to vote to… Continue reading

Wisconsin Supreme Court on 4-3 Ideological Vote Upholds Governor Evers’ Crazy Rewriting of State Law to Protect School Funding for 402 Years Instead of 2 Years

April 18, 2025, 7:33 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

You can find the majority decision, a concurrence, and the dissent at this link. It’s not every day I side with the conservative justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but they are surely right here. As the majority explained: “As… Continue reading

“A Startling Admission From a G.O.P. Senator: ‘We Are All Afraid'”

April 18, 2025, 6:55 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

NYT: Senator Lisa Murkowski, the moderate Alaska Republican who has routinely broken with her party to criticize President Trump, has made a startling admission about the reality of serving in public office at a time when an unbound leader in… Continue reading

“Dual Orders From Judges Edge Courts Closer to Confrontation With White House”

April 18, 2025, 6:53 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

NYT: After the Trump administration rushed nearly 240 Central American immigrants onto charter planes last month and flew them — most without hearings — to a prison in El Salvador, the courts responded with a flurry of orders more or… Continue reading

Travis Crum Primary ELB Blogger Next Week

April 17, 2025, 8:15 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Please send your tips to Travis, and wish him luck on his first full week handling the blog as an ELB contributor.

“The Instant Runoff Voting Patchwork: Handling Voter Errors and Ballot Length”

April 17, 2025, 8:13 amalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

Tait Helgaas has written this student comment in the U. Pa. L. Rev. Here is the abstract: As states and cities across the United States adopt instant runoff voting (IRV) in their constitutions and charters, they enact statutes and… Continue reading

Justice Riggs in 4th Circuit Cites Justice Scalia in Bush v. Gore to Support Her Request for Stay of “Cure” Order in North Carolina Supreme Court Election Dispute

April 17, 2025, 6:49 amBush v. Gore reflectionsRick Hasen

From the 4th Circuit motion: Proceeding with the proposed cure process also poses a serious risk of irreparable harm directly to Justice Riggs by undermining the legitimacy of her election victory. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay in… Continue reading

North Carolina: “Elections Officials Narrow Jefferson Griffin’s Path to Victory”

April 17, 2025, 6:39 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

The Assembly: Days after Republicans on the state Supreme Court created a path for Jefferson Griffin to overturn his 2024 loss to incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs, the Democratic-controlled State Board of Elections significantly narrowed it. … On April 15, the… Continue reading

“State Department eliminates key office tasked with fighting foreign disinformation”

April 16, 2025, 6:02 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced the closure of the agency’s hub for fighting foreign disinformation campaigns — the final nail in a yearslong effort to shut down the office accused by GOP lawmakers of censoring conservative… Continue reading

“Elon Musk focuses donations on GOP lawmakers targeting judges”

April 16, 2025, 5:54 pmauthoritarian threats in US, campaign financeRick Hasen

WaPo: Elon Musk targeted a flurry of money in late March to support Republican members of Congress who endorsed legislation to impeach judges or restrict their power, new filings revealed, bolstering his own push to punish judges who rule against… Continue reading

“Former Trump Official Targeted With Government Probe Vows to Fight”

April 16, 2025, 1:30 pmauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WSJ: A former top Trump administration official targeted with a federal investigation by President Trump said he would fight back against what he called an unprecedented campaign by the government to punish dissent. Chris Krebs, one of Trump’s top cybersecurity … Continue reading

“Newer Problems in an Old, Broken Campaign Finance Regime—A Post-2024 Reflection”

April 16, 2025, 12:08 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

John Martin has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, University of Pittsburgh Law Review). Here is the abstract: Money in politics is ever-increasing in the United States, and the ways in which it manifests is ever-changing. The 2024 election cycle… Continue reading