All posts by Rick Hasen

“My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell must pay $5 million to election data debunker, federal judge confirms”

February 22, 2024, 7:02 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

CNN reports. My Pillow owner and right-wing conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell will have to pay $5 million because of a contest he initiated at one of his “cyber symposium” events after the 2020 election, a federal judge confirmed Wednesday. Robert… Continue reading

Join Trevor Potter and Me for a Free Webinar on My New Book, “A Real Right to Vote,” Feb. 29 at 3 PM ET

February 22, 2024, 6:57 amReal Right to VoteRick Hasen

Looking forward to this conversation with Trevor, brought to you by the Campaign Legal Center. (Free registration required.)

“Local Initiatives to Improve the Voting Experience”

February 22, 2024, 6:56 amelection administrationRick Hasen

New report from the Fair Elections Center.

“West Virginia’s top election official embraces conspiracy theories and election denial”

February 21, 2024, 4:47 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NBC News: The National Association of Secretaries of State Winter Conference is usually a cordial affair. It’s one of two occasions every year in which top election officials from most states gather to commiserate and share nonpartisan advice. But at… Continue reading

“Election Deniers Seek to Rewrite the Law”

February 21, 2024, 4:14 pmelection subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: In the conspiracy-soaked aftermath of the 2020 election, far-right activists clamored to inspect ballots based on elaborate — and false — theories. In Georgia, election deniers pushed for a review that might detect counterfeit ballots because they were not… Continue reading

“What Recalls Tell Us About Regular Elections”

February 21, 2024, 4:12 pmrecall electionsRick Hasen

Joshua Spivak in Governing; Most people, including elected officials, seem to believe that a recall held on a special election date is much more likely to result in removal. Their logic is clear: The recall proponents would have motivated voters,… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of My Conversation with Erwin Chemerinsky on My New Book, “A Real Right to Vote” at the Hammer Museum

February 21, 2024, 10:13 amReal Right to VoteRick Hasen

You can watch here: A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American DemocracyNow available from Princeton University Press!Read the Kirkus Review NEW! Book tour informationWatch book discussion on Morning JoeOrder at … Continue reading

Andrew Albright: “Opportunities for IE Reform in California Law in a Post-Citizens United World”

February 21, 2024, 10:09 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Andrew Albright: In Citizens United, as we all know, the Supreme Court held that independent expenditures (IEs) cannot be a source of quid pro quo corruption so long as the persons or entities publishing the IEs… Continue reading

“US appeals court to decide if Pennsylvania mail-in ballots with wrong date still count”

February 21, 2024, 7:35 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

AP: A federal appeals court must decide if Pennsylvania voters need to put accurate handwritten dates on the outside envelopes of their mail-in ballots for the votes to count, a dispute with implications for this year’s presidential contest. The 3rd… Continue reading

“At worst [Douglas Mackey’s tweets containing false information about how to vote] were calculated to cause voters to send futile text messages and then stay home on election day.”

February 21, 2024, 7:30 amchicanery, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

Pretty remarkable statement in Douglas Mackey’s reply brief in his criminal appeal before the Second Circuit. To me, the “at worst” it seems pretty bad! As a reminder, Protect Democracy and the Yale Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed … Continue reading

“Chief Justice Roberts is right. We need to fix ballot access at the front end”

February 21, 2024, 7:20 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Mark Brown oped in Cleveland Plain Dealer.

“California and New York allow for preregistration at 16. Data show neither state is fulfilling the promise of these laws.”

February 21, 2024, 7:16 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Laura Brill at her Substack.

ELB Podcast 5:6: Rick Hasen and Erwin Chemerinsky: A Real Right to Vote

February 20, 2024, 2:00 pmELB Podcast, Real Right to Vote, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

New ELB Podcast: Why doesn’t the U.S. Constitution contain an affirmative right to vote? Can constitutional reform promote political equality, defuse the voting wars, and thwart election subversion? How can we get a constitutional right to vote, if we can’t… Continue reading

“Florida man arrested for alleged Kansas election fraud in No Labels party petition”

February 20, 2024, 12:01 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

KC Star: A Florida man accused of forging signatures on petitions to get a new political party officially recognized in Kansas has been arrested. George Andrews, 30 of Dade City, Florida, was arrested on Feb. 10 and has been charged… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law