All posts by Rick Hasen

“Biden warns of the rise of a new American ‘oligarchy'”

January 16, 2025, 7:17 amauthoritarian threats in US, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

WaPo: President Joe Biden used his final address from the Oval Office to deliver a somber warning about the threat posed by the “dangerous concentration of power” in the hands of wealthy and well-connected individuals, a thinly veiled reference… Continue reading

“Riggs, Griffin spar over proper forum for NC Supreme Court election dispute”

January 16, 2025, 7:15 amjudicial elections, recountsRick Hasen

Carolina Journal: The two candidates in North Carolina’s recent Supreme Court election disagree about the proper forum for resolving a legal dispute involving the election. Republican Jefferson Griffin argues that the case belongs in state court. Democrat Allison Riggs… Continue reading

“‘Everyone’s trying to kiss the ring’: Trump’s inauguration devours corporate cash, smashing records”

January 16, 2025, 7:07 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Donald Trump’s first White House victory caught corporate America flat-footed. This time around, industries that his administration will soon oversee are showering his inaugural committee with record-breaking donations — and making sure both the president-elect and the public notice… Continue reading

“Training for Election Officials: A 50-State Analysis”

January 16, 2025, 6:54 amelection administrationRick Hasen

New report: Election officials learn to carry out their duties by participating in training at the national, state, and local levels. State-level training is a particularly valuable source for best practices and information on the state laws, policies, and procedures… Continue reading

“Nonprofit Founded by Stacey Abrams Admits Secretly Aiding Her 2018 Campaign”

January 15, 2025, 9:33 amcampaigns, chicanery, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: A nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat, admitted on Wednesday that it had violated state law by concealing the fact that it had campaigned for her during her 2018 run for governor. At the time of that… Continue reading

“Jack Smith’s Accountability Effort Ends With More Freedom for Trump”

January 15, 2025, 7:11 amDepartment of Justice, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: In a closing argument he never got to make to a jury, Jack Smith, the former special counsel who investigated Donald J. Trump, insisted that his thwarted prosecution was righteous and that his investigators set an example “for others… Continue reading

“Scoop: Trump’s $500 million post-election windfall”

January 15, 2025, 7:02 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Axios: President-elect Trump is being inundated with so much money from corporations and wealthy donors that his team expects to raise about $500 million by summer — even though he can’t run again, sources in his operation tell Axios. Why… Continue reading

“Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States”

January 15, 2025, 6:59 amcheap speechRick Hasen

Platformer: Last week, Meta announced a series of changes to its content moderation policies and enforcement strategies designed to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration. The company ended its fact-checking program in the United States, stopped scanning new… Continue reading

My Review of “The ‘Stench’ of Politics: Polarization and Worldview on the Supreme Court”

January 14, 2025, 4:25 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this book review for Political Science Quarterly, reviewing The “Stench” of Politics: Polarization and Worldview on the Supreme Court by Joseph Russomanno. It begins: After the disputed 2000 election that culminated in the Supreme Court’s opinion… Continue reading

The Attempt to Hold Donald Trump Responsible for Election Subversion Ends with a Whimper, and With Renewed Dangers for American Democracy

January 14, 2025, 11:25 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

The attempt to hold Donald Trump accountable for seeking to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election ended shortly after midnight on Tuesday with a whimper, as the United States Department of Justice posted online special counsel Jack Smith’s… Continue reading

“Fifteen Years Later, Citizens United Defined the 2024 Election”

January 14, 2025, 10:10 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

New analysis from the Brennan Center.

“Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case”

January 14, 2025, 8:44 amDepartment of Justice, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Jack Smith, the special counsel who indicted President-elect Donald J. Trump on charges of illegally seeking to cling to power after losing the 2020 election, said in a final report released early Tuesday that the evidence would have been… Continue reading

“How to Fix America’s Two-Party Problem”

January 14, 2025, 8:35 amalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

Jesse Wegman and Lee Drutman in NYT Opinion advocating for proportional representation for Congress.

“Jan. 6 committee members talk to White House about pardons”

January 14, 2025, 8:33 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Punchbowl: With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in less than a week, members of the Jan. 6 Select Committee and White House are privately discussing whether to issue presidential pardons to lawmakers who served on the panel, according to lawmakers and… Continue reading