All posts by Rick Hasen

“Pennsylvania officials plead guilty to election fraud offenses, effort to ‘steal’ election”

April 4, 2025, 7:00 amchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

ABC 27: Two Pennsylvania borough officials and one former official pled guilty to election fraud offenses after working to “steal” a local election. United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that MD Nurul Hasan, 48, MD Munsur Ali, 48, and MD… Continue reading

“Congressional Voting Rights Caucus Condemns Trump Executive Order on Elections as Unconstitutional and Illegal”

April 4, 2025, 6:47 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Release: Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) along with Congressional Voting Rights Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03), Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) and Rep. Marc Veasey (TX-33) issued a forceful rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s March 25, 2025, Executive Order entitled … Continue reading

“Wisconsin recipient of $1m from Musk was active in Republican campaigning”

April 4, 2025, 6:28 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

The Guardian: Archived social media posts from a student Republican operative, Nicholas Jacobs, who received a $1m check from Elon Musk, show that he was deeply immersed in Republican electioneering over the last year, working not only to elect … Continue reading

“US Senate confirms Trump loyalist to lead Justice Department civil rights unit”

April 3, 2025, 6:55 pmDepartment of Justice, election law bizRick Hasen

Reuters: The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed conservative lawyer Harmeet Dhillon, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a 52-45 vote. One Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, voted no along with Democrats.… Continue reading

“Now Musk Is Boosting Claims Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Was ‘Stolen’

April 3, 2025, 6:46 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Daily Beast: Here we go again. After initially trying to downplay his candidate’s loss in the Wisconsin state Supreme Court race, Elon Musk has now boosted a post on his social media platform X claiming there was “overwhelming” evidence the… Continue reading

“Democratic attorneys general sue Trump over elections executive order”

April 3, 2025, 6:34 pmelection administration, Election Assistance Commission, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Votebeat: Democratic attorneys general in 19 states are together suing Trump over his sweeping executive order on elections, saying that it is an illegal attempt to usurp state control of electionsthat “would cause imminent and irreparable harm” if the… Continue reading

My New One at Slate: “What Elon Musk Won in Wisconsin”

April 3, 2025, 1:12 pmcampaign finance, judicial elections, Plutocrats United, redistrictingRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: Democrats and progressives rightly celebrated the victory of liberal Susan Crawford over Trump-endorsed Brad Schimel for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. But the left is prematurely gloating over how… Continue reading

“New York Mayor Eric Adams to run for reelection as independent”

April 3, 2025, 7:46 amalternative voting systems, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: New York Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday that he would run for reelection as an independent, opting not to participate in the Democratic primary. In a campaign video shared on social media, Adams said that although he remains… Continue reading

“Musk to keep spending on politics despite Wisconsin loss, GOP doubts”

April 3, 2025, 7:43 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

WaPo: A loss in a high-stakes Wisconsin judicial contest has left some Republicans questioning the heavy involvement of billionaire Elon Musk, whom Democrats view as the perfect villain to galvanize their voters in races to come. But Musk and his… Continue reading

“Bice: Elon Musk group removes video from $1M winner after she says she got money to ‘vote'”

April 2, 2025, 5:26 pmvote buyingRick Hasen

Daniel Bice for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Just how nervous is billionaire Elon Musk about allegations that he may be violating the state’s bribery statute by paying people to vote? On Tuesday, Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, pulled a video from X featuring $1… Continue reading

“Senate Republicans set to bypass parliamentarian on Trump tax cuts”

April 2, 2025, 7:54 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Alexander Bolton for The Hill: Republicans are set to make the audacious play of bypassing the Senate parliamentarian and moving forward with a budget resolution based on a scoring baseline set by Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would… Continue reading

“Judge Ends Eric Adams Case, but Says U.S. Cannot Use Charges as Leverage”

April 2, 2025, 7:18 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: A judge on Wednesday dismissed federal corruption charges against Eric Adams, ending the first criminal case against a New York City mayor in modern history and underscoring how prosecutorial power is being used to advance President Trump’s agenda. In… Continue reading

“Trump Attorney Studied Options for Third Presidential Term”

April 2, 2025, 7:10 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WSJ: Donald Trump’s attorney Boris Epshteyn made a bold assertion during a meeting in late 2023: Trump wouldn’t necessarily be limited to two terms in office. Speaking to an associate in October 2023 in downtown Washington, Epshteyn pushed back on the… Continue reading

“Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, Despite Musk’s Millions”

April 2, 2025, 7:03 amjudicial elections, Plutocrats United, redistrictingRick Hasen

NYT: A liberal candidate for a pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court overcame $25 million in spending from Elon Musk and defeated her conservative opponent on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported, in a contest that became a kind of… Continue reading