All posts by Rick Hasen

“The FEC Can’t Do Anything. Congress Should Leave It That Way”

May 15, 2025, 6:59 amauthoritarian threats in US, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Trevor Potter and Adav Novi in The Fulcrum: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is vital to America’s political process. As the only federal agency dedicated solely to enforcing election laws, the FEC plays a critical role in protecting voters and… Continue reading

“Check the Box for Secure Voting”

May 14, 2025, 5:34 pmelection administrationRick Hasen

WSJ oped by retired Senator Roy Blunt: Why not transform the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which has sunk into obscurity, into the Election Security Fund? Public trust in elections is waning. The administration of our elections, along with the tens… Continue reading

“Indiana elections chief defends voting ban on ‘unsecured’ student IDs after legal challenge”

May 14, 2025, 3:35 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Indiana Capital Chronicle: Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales on Wednesday celebrated the state’s forthcoming student ID voting ban — just two days after he and other Hoosier election officials were named in a lawsuit challenging the prohibition. Since… Continue reading

My New One at Slate: “Two Supreme Court Justices Invited an All-Out Assault on the Voting Rights Act. Now It’s Here.”

May 14, 2025, 1:30 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece at Slate. It begins: On Wednesday, the Voting Rights Act suffered the second shot in a brutal new one-two punch, and some worry it could lead to a knockout blow at the Supreme Court. The… Continue reading

Laycock and Hasen, Modern American Remedies (6th Edition): Excerpts on the Debate over Universal Injunctions (at Issue at Supreme Court Thursday)

May 14, 2025, 1:28 pmRemedies, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The Sixth Edition of Laycock & Hasen, Modern American Remedies, will be published next month by Aspen publishers. In advance of the Supreme Court’s oral argument on May 15 about the propriety of universal injunctions (in the context of… Continue reading

“European democracies lead the way – with Children’s Parliaments”

May 14, 2025, 1:22 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Steven Hill: Europe democracies’ staunch belief in a pluralistic democracy is evident in other ways. I recall interviewing the deputy mayor of Bonn, Germany, who told me about a remarkable institution known as Children’s Parliaments. Several hundred cities in… Continue reading

“US justice department asks civil rights division attorneys to stay after mass exits”

May 14, 2025, 10:44 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

The Guardian: Justice department officials have asked civil rights division attorneys to reconsider their decision to leave the department in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign that the agency may have been caught off-guard by… Continue reading

Breaking: Eighth Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Holds Private Plaintiffs Cannot Enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act through a Section 1983 Action, a Ruling Which if Applied Nationally Would Devastate Voting Rights Act Enforcement in the United States

May 14, 2025, 8:34 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

The Eighth Circuit had earlier reached the remarkably wrong conclusion that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act contains no private right of action (meaning that only the U.S. Department of Justice, and not private plaintiffs, can sue for violations… Continue reading

“As Trump Courts Gifts and Dangles Access, Congress Sits on the Sidelines”

May 14, 2025, 7:24 amchicanery, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

Carl Hulse for the NYT: The president stood accused of dangling exclusive access to the White House for big bucks. Members of Congress were duly outraged, with one prominent Republican assailing him for using “probably one of the more sacrosanct… Continue reading

“When are big-money contributions to super PACs corrupting?”

May 14, 2025, 7:18 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Michael Beckel: Can contributions to super PACs be corrupting? That question is at the heart of a lawsuit being heard next week in federal court in Maine, where two super PACs are challenging a ballot measure passed by 75% of … Continue reading

“The End of the Rule of Law in America”

May 14, 2025, 7:17 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Judge Luttig in The Atlantic: The 47th president of the United States may wish he were a king. But in America, the law is king, not the president. Donald Trump may wish he could dictate his unconscionable global tariffs; dispense with… Continue reading

“DOJ ‘weaponization’ group will shame individuals it can’t charge with crimes, new head says”

May 13, 2025, 1:58 pmauthoritarian threats in US, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Ryan Reilly for NBC News: The conservative activist named by President Donald Trump as the head of the Justice Department’s “Weaponization Working Group” said Tuesday he planned to “name” and “shame” individuals the department determines it is unable to charge… Continue reading

May 20 Webinar: “Federalism and Elections 101: The Constitution and Federal Statutes”

May 13, 2025, 10:05 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Offered by NCSL.

“Trump’s Plan to Take Jet From Qatar Heightens Corruption Concerns”

May 13, 2025, 7:43 ambribery, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

Charlie Savage for the NYT: During President Trump’s first term, the idea that special interests and governments were buying meals and booking rooms at his hotels set off legal and ethical alarms about the potential for corruption. Mr. Trump’s second… Continue reading