All posts by Rick Hasen

I Spoke with Crooked Media’s “What a Day” About the Troubling Future of the Voting Rights Act in the Hands of the Supreme Court

August 6, 2025, 7:32 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Great conversation with Jane Coaston. You can listen here. We discussed my recent Slate piece, The Supreme Court Just Signaled Something Deeply Disturbing About the Next Term.

Quote of the Day on the Future of the Voting Rights Act in the Supreme Court (Hoping Luis is Right Handed Just in Case)

August 5, 2025, 4:58 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

“To me, this is it . . .I would bet my left arm that they will tell us that Section 2 is in violation of the Fifteenth Amendment.” –Professor Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, quoted in Democracy Docket.

Free Access to New Cambridge U Press Book: “The Future of Press Freedom: Democracy, Law, and the News in Changing Times”

August 5, 2025, 1:31 pmcheap speech, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

This is a great collection edited by RonNell Andersen Jones and Sonja West, and even better that it is open access. (Full book pdf.) I’m honored to have the final version of my chapter here, “From Bloggers… Continue reading

My New One at MSNBC Opinion: “Trump started a redistricting war. Only Congress can stop it.”

August 5, 2025, 10:33 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece for MSNBC Opinion. It begins: A sudden war over redistricting has broken out in Texas and looks to spread across the country, with California, New York and elsewhere considering tit-for-tat Democratic partisan gerrymanders to… Continue reading

My New One at Slate on the Supreme Court Potentially Killing the Remaining Pillar of the Voting Rights Act: “The Supreme Court Just Signaled Something Deeply Disturbing About the Next Term”

August 4, 2025, 7:27 amredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: Reading the tea leaves from cryptic Supreme Court orders can be perilous business because the justices are not bound by the questions they ask at oral argument, the offhand comments they… Continue reading

Yale “MFIA Clinic Report Provides Roadmap for Attorneys to Challenge Election Disinformation”

August 3, 2025, 4:20 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

Important report released by Yale Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic: Students from Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access (MFIA) Clinic have released a new white paper titled “Using the Ku Klux Klan Act to Combat Election Disinformation: … Continue reading

“Texas House Democrats flee the state in bid to block GOP’s proposed congressional map”

August 3, 2025, 4:11 pmredistrictingRick Hasen

Texas Tribune: Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state Sunday in a bid to block passage of a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House next year, raising the stakes in what’s… Continue reading

“The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine; How a single consulting firm extracted $282 million from a network of spam PACs while delivering just $11 million to actual campaigns.”

August 3, 2025, 4:10 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Must-read from Adam Bonica: The digital deluge is a familiar annoyance for anyone on a Democratic fundraising list. It’s a relentless cacophony of bizarre texts and emails, each one more urgent than the last, promising that your immediate $15 donation… Continue reading

“Trump and his allies mount a pressure campaign against US elections ahead of the midterms”

August 3, 2025, 4:06 pmelection administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Fredreka Schouten for CNN: A few weeks ago, Republican election officials in Colorado began receiving unsolicited calls and texts from a GOP consultant who said he was working with the Trump administration on “election integrity.” In a text to one… Continue reading

“After 47 years on the political beat for The Post, it’s transition time; Dan Balz writes on his retirement from full-time work at The Washington Post after 47 years.”

August 3, 2025, 4:02 pmelection law bizRick Hasen

A true legend pens his last regular column. Fortunately, Dan plans to write more, just on a less set schedule. Wishing him all the best in (semi-)retirement.

“The Trump Administration’s Campaign to Undermine the Next Election”

August 3, 2025, 3:59 pmauthoritarian threats in US, election administrationRick Hasen

Brennan Center expert brief: In 2020, 2022, and 2024, our nation held federal elections. Despite the pandemic, threats of violence, denial of results, and extraordinary pressure, these were secure and accurate. Election officials worked together across party lines. The system… Continue reading

“New Report Alerts Companies to New Level of Risk from Political Spending”

August 3, 2025, 3:57 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Bruce Freed and Jeanne Hanna: In today’s climate of heightened polarization, intensifying public scrutiny, and shifting political dynamics, companies that engage in political spending face significantly greater risks than in the past. To help companies navigate these growing risks,… Continue reading

“Former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith faces investigation by Office of Special Counsel”

August 2, 2025, 1:11 pmauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

WaPo: The U.S. Office of special counsel said Saturday it is investigating Jack Smith, the former Justice Department official who oversaw two federal prosecutions of Donald Trump, for potentially violating the law barring federal officials from political activity. The… Continue reading

“Democratic governors advise strong counteroffensive on redistricting”

August 2, 2025, 1:08 pmchicanery, redistrictingRick Hasen

Politico: A group of Democratic governors is urging its colleagues to get tough in countering Republican-backed efforts to gerrymander Texas’ congressional districts. “It’s incumbent upon Democrat governors, if they have the opportunity, to respond in kind,” outgoing Kansas Gov. Laura… Continue reading

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