All posts by Rick Hasen

“True the Vote fails to reveal evidence of Georgia voting fraud claims”

February 14, 2024, 7:54 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AJC: Bombastic claims of voting fraud in the right-wing conspiracy movie “2000 Mules” sounded alarming, and Georgia election officials wanted to get to the bottom of it. If there really was a massive plot to stuff ballot drop boxes and… Continue reading

“The Supreme Pressure Campaign: Trump Attorneys Gamed Out Which Supreme Court Justices Might Help Them Steal the Election”

February 14, 2024, 7:26 amelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

TPM: Donnald Trump’s attorneys in 2020 thought that they had one advantage which nobody — not the Democrats, not lower-court judges, not Congress — could outmatch: the Supreme Court. At their most feverish, attorneys for Trump believed that the Supreme… Continue reading

“Trump’s pick to lead the RNC is facing skepticism from some Republicans”

February 14, 2024, 6:02 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

AP: In pushing Michael Whatley as the next leader of the Republican National Committee, Donald Trump zeroed in on the North Carolina GOP chairman’s dedication to “election integrity,” baselessly suggesting he would ensure the 2024 race “can’t be stolen.” Some… Continue reading

“Wisconsin Republicans vote to weaken their lock on the legislature”

February 14, 2024, 5:41 amredistrictingRick Hasen

Patrick Marley for WaPo: Wisconsin Republicans approved maps Tuesday that would weaken their ironclad grip on the state legislature, backing new district lines supported by the Democratic governor out of fears that the state’s top court could impose ones that… Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: Ann Southworth: “$peech”

February 14, 2024, 5:35 amcampaign finance, ELB Book Corner, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I am pleased to welcome Ann Southworth to the ELB Book Corner, author of the new book, Big Money Unleashed: The Campaign to Deregulate Election Spending (Chicago). The discount code for ELB readers is BIGMONEY2023. This is the first… Continue reading

“The US supreme court may turn this election into a constitutional crisis”

February 14, 2024, 5:34 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Sidney Blumenthal for The Guardian: Imagine it is 6 January 2025. The bell tolls for the day of electoral college certification again. All the events of 2024 converge: The US supreme court’s likely ruling in Trump v Anderson denying Colorado’s… Continue reading

“The Case for Removing Trump From the Ballot Has a Fatal Originalist Flaw”

February 13, 2024, 2:17 pmballot access, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Brook Thomas in Slate: Oral arguments in the Supreme Court for Donald Trump v. Norma Anderson last week exposed a historical issue that none of the excellent amicus briefs by historians anticipated. Briefs led by Jill Lepore and Vernon Burton convincingly show that the framers of Section… Continue reading

“Election Denial Can’t Overcome Election Certification Protections”

February 13, 2024, 2:16 pmchicanery, election administration, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Lauren Miller: Election certification has long been an unfamiliar term to most Americans, and for good reason. Certification, the statutory process by which officials sign off on the accuracy and completion of election results, usually serves as an important but… Continue reading

“Why a Supreme Court easy out in Trump ballot battle could lead to post-election chaos”

February 13, 2024, 12:06 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

John Fritze and Marshall Cohen for CNN: When it comes to deciding whether former President Donald Trump should be booted from Colorado’s ballot, the easiest path the Supreme Court could take now may wind up causing the most… Continue reading

Danforth, Luttig et. al SCOTUS Amicus Brief Stresses the Risk of Presidential Immunity for President Accused of Election Subversion

February 13, 2024, 12:01 pmelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

From the excellent just-filed brief: Here, one dispositive basis that fully sustains the judgment of the D.C. Circuit is that a President does not have immunity to engage in federal statutory crimes to subvert presidential election results and prevent the… Continue reading

My New One in The Atlantic: “How to Actually Guarantee the Right to Vote: A Six-Point Checklist”

February 13, 2024, 7:39 amReal Right to VoteRick Hasen

I have written this piece for the Atlantic, which is adapted from my book out next week, A Real Right to Vote. It begins: As election season begins and Americans head to the polls, many would be shocked to learn… Continue reading

Our Amicus Brief in United States v. Mackey: Lying About When, Where or How People Vote Violates Federal Law (18 USC 241) and Prosecution is Consistent with the First Amendment

February 13, 2024, 7:27 amcheap speech, chicanery, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

Protect Democracy and the Yale Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed this Second Circuit amicus brief (with me as client and co-counsel) in United States v. Mackey. Mackey was convicted “under 18 U.S.C. § 241 for conspiring “to use… Continue reading

“Trump Asks Supreme Court to Pause Ruling Denying Him Absolute Immunity”

February 13, 2024, 7:04 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

NYT: Former President Donald J. Trump asked the Supreme Court on Monday to pause an appeals court’s ruling rejecting his claim that he is absolutely immune from criminal charges based on his attempts to subvert the 2020 election. Unless the… Continue reading

“Compulsory Voting’s American History”

February 12, 2024, 1:16 pmvotingRick Hasen

Very excited to read this Harvard Law Review student note by Aidan Calvelli. Here’s the Introduction: Voter turnout was higher in the 2020 U.S. presidential election than it had been in 120 years.1 Nearly sixty-seven percent of citizens over… Continue reading