All posts by Rick Hasen

Tom Cotton Wrongly Claims DOJ Selectively Going after Musk, Wrongly Claiming that RuPaul Contest and Michele Obama Sweepstakes Violate the Same Federal Law Against Vote Buying (They Don’t)

October 24, 2024, 2:23 pmfraudulent fraud squad, vote buyingRick Hasen

Senator Tom Cotton claims DOJ is engaged in targeting those on the right by going after Elon Musk’s PAC for vote buying with his contest that requires voter registation. He argues that RuPaul and Michele Obama both are running contests… Continue reading

“There Are Four Anti-Trump Pathways We Failed to Take. There Is a Fifth.”

October 24, 2024, 11:53 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Must-read NYT oped from Levitsky & Ziblatt: The U.S. establishment is sleepwalking toward a crisis. An openly antidemocratic figure stands at least a 50-50 chance of winning the presidency. The Supreme Court and the Republican Party have abdicated their gatekeeping… Continue reading

When Will We Know Election Results in the Swing States? Great New Slide Deck from Protect Democracy Explores

October 24, 2024, 11:34 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Great stuff here.

My New One at Slate: “Why the ‘Blue Shift’ Everyone Seems To Have Forgotten Might Be More Dangerous This Time”

October 24, 2024, 9:04 amchicanery, election administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: Everyone seems to expect that Donald Trump will prematurely declare victory on election night, whether or not news organizations project him the winner. NBC’s Hallie Jackson even asked Kamala Harris about… Continue reading

Cornel West is Still Trying to Get on the PA Ballot, While Voting is Already Underway

October 24, 2024, 8:55 amballot accessRick Hasen

Third Circuit motion for injunction pending appeal.

“Is America Ready to Bid the Electoral College Farewell? | The Daily Show”

October 24, 2024, 8:52 amelectoral collegeRick Hasen

Watch here about the National Popular Vote proposal.

“New Issue One investigation illuminates connections, secretive donors behind groups pushing false election-related narratives”

October 24, 2024, 7:52 amcampaign finance, chicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Release: In recent months, a network known as the “Only Citizens Vote Coalition” — which counts more than 80 organizations as members — has been amplifying the biggest myth circulating this election, that large numbers of noncitizens are going to… Continue reading

“Justice Department Announces Four Cases Brought by Election Threats Task Force”

October 24, 2024, 7:34 amchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Release: The Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force (ETTF) announced developments this week in four cases involving interstate transmissions of threats to election personnel and other victims. Teak Brockbank, 45, of Cortez, Colorado, pleaded guilty today to threatening a Colorado… Continue reading

Barton Gellman: “Your Vote is Safe”

October 24, 2024, 6:41 amelection administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Must read in TIME: As the American experiment nears its semiquincentennial, is it capable of holding a secure election with a trusted process and a widely accepted result? If the outcome is not to Trump’s liking, can democracy defend itself… Continue reading

Must-Read WaPo: “American creating deepfakes targeting Harris works with Russian intel, documents show”

October 24, 2024, 6:38 amcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

Catherine Belton for WaPo: A former deputy Palm Beach County sheriff who fled to Moscow and became one of the Kremlin’s most prolific propagandists is working directly with Russian military intelligence to pump out deepfakes and circulate misinformation that targets… Continue reading

“After news of DOJ warning, Elon Musk’s super PAC didn’t announce ‘daily’ lottery winner on Wednesday”

October 24, 2024, 6:36 amDepartment of Justice, vote buyingRick Hasen

CNN: Elon Musk’s super PAC didn’t announce a winner for its “daily” $1 million giveaway to registered swing state voters on Wednesday, the same day news broke that the Justice Department warned Musk’s group that its sweepstakes might be illegal. The pro-Trump… Continue reading

“Georgia election official says battleground state fended off cyberattack likely from a foreign country”

October 24, 2024, 6:34 amchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

CNN: Georgia’s secretary of state’s office this month fended off a cyberattack believed to have come from a foreign country against the website voters use to request absentee ballots, the office told CNN. The state’s cyber defenses — aided by tech firm Cloudflare… Continue reading

“Trump’s Allies Revive Debunked Voting Machine Theories”

October 23, 2024, 4:00 pmfraudulent fraud squad, voting technologyRick Hasen

NYT: It has been nearly four years since a parade of judges dismissed wild claims from Donald J. Trump and his associates about hacked election machines and a year and a half since a leading machine company obtained a $787.5… Continue reading

Divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court, In Case Involving Mail-In and Provisional Ballots, Tees Up Potential Independent State Legislature Theory for U.S. Supreme Court

October 23, 2024, 3:27 pmelection administration, provisional ballots, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Genser v. Butler County Board of Elections involves a very particular issue under Pennsylvania law, but it raises a potentially larger one that could make it to the Supreme Court. To simplify just a bit: voters send in their mail-in… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law