All posts by Rick Hasen

Pennsylvania: “Dave McCormick once fought to have undated mail ballots counted. Now, in tight race with Bob Casey, he’s suing to block them.”

November 14, 2024, 1:51 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

Philly Inquirer: As vote counting continues this week in Pennsylvania’s tight Senate race, attention is once again shifting toward the largest and most hotly contested tranche of remaining votes that could help incumbent Democrat Bob Casey make up his… Continue reading

Ed Whelan: “Mike Johnson must block Trump’s scheme on recess appointments”

November 14, 2024, 1:49 pmauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WaPo: President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to turn the Constitution’s appointment process for Cabinet officers on its head. If what I’m hearing on the conservative legal grapevine is correct, he might resort to a cockamamie scheme that would require House … Continue reading

I Spoke to the “Speech Matters” Podcast About the 2024 Election and U.S. Democracy’s Future

November 14, 2024, 1:25 pmElection Meltdown, election subversion risk, First Amendment theoryRick Hasen

You can listen here.

CORRECTED LINK to FILING: Breaking: Republicans File Lawsuit Directly in Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Asking Court to Issue Order Today Directing All 67 PA Counties Not to Count Undated/Misdated But Timely Absentee Ballots (Relevant to McCormick-Casey Senate Race)

November 14, 2024, 8:12 amabsentee ballots, recountsRick Hasen

See this filing. (Corrected link to filing) Whatever one can say of the merits of the counting of such ballots and of this lawsuit (which makes a bizarre Purcell Principle argument), this issue, and statewide uniformity, needs to be… Continue reading

“Clashes, confusion and secrecy consume the Harris campaign’s finances”

November 14, 2024, 7:54 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NBC News: If Kamala Harris’ campaign was known for anything, it was its blockbuster fundraising. In just a matter of months, it crossed the $1 billion mark, in a stunning and record-breaking pace. Now, less than a week since… Continue reading

“Republicans Ran a Dysfunctional House. Voters Shrugged and Re-elected Them.”

November 14, 2024, 7:43 amlegislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

NYT: A historically long and divisive fight to choose one speaker. A near default on the federal debt, followed by a mutiny on the House floor and multiple government shutdown scares. The ouster of the speaker, followed by weeks of… Continue reading

“Prosecutors say they mistakenly gave jurors access to evidence in Menendez case”

November 14, 2024, 7:35 ambribery, Speech or Debate ClauseRick Hasen

Politico: Jurors in former Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial had access to evidence they should not have seen, federal prosecutors disclosed Wednesday in a surprise legal filing. During Menendez’s two-month corruption trial, a federal judge ruled that certain evidence could… Continue reading

PA GOP Senate Candidate McCormick Files Suit Against Bucks County for Counting Misdated/Undated But Timely Mail-In Ballots, as McCormick-Casey Race Goes to Likely Recount

November 14, 2024, 7:11 amabsentee ballots, recountsRick Hasen

Here is the complaint. AP: The U.S. Senate election in Pennsylvania between Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick is headed for a statewide recount, as counties continued Wednesday to sort through outstanding ballots and the campaigns… Continue reading

Read PA State Court Opinion Concluding Elon Musk Did Not Engage in an Illegal Lottery with His $1 Million Giveaway to a Registered Voter (Opinion Does Not Discuss Legality Under Federal Anti-Vote Buying Law)

November 13, 2024, 11:08 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

You can read it at this link.

“As Trump Refers to Third Term, Democrat Wants to Leave No Constitutional Loophole”

November 13, 2024, 11:03 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: When President-elect Donald J. Trump met with House Republicans on Wednesday morning, he suggested he might need their help to try to circumvent the Constitution and run for a third term in the future — a comment that was… Continue reading

“Hovde tells talk radio host he lost, but stops short of conceding to Baldwin”

November 13, 2024, 8:48 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Wisconsin Examiner: Breaking a six-day silence after unofficial returns showed him losing to Sen. Tammy Baldwin, whom AP declared the winner of the Wisconsin U.S. Senate race by less than 1 percentage point, Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde on Tuesday… Continue reading

Cleta Mitchell Wants Every Lawyer in the Voting Section (and Likely in the Civil Rights Division) of the Department of Justice to Be Terminated

November 13, 2024, 7:53 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

We’ll see how much sway her argument has with Trump and the new AG.

“Jack Smith Plans to Step Down as Special Counsel Before Trump Takes Office”

November 13, 2024, 7:21 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: Jack Smith, the special counsel who pursued two federal prosecutions of Donald J. Trump, plans to finish his work and resign along with other members of his team before Mr. Trump takes office in January, people familiar with his… Continue reading

“Injunction Halting Kansas Election Law Reversed on Appeal”

November 13, 2024, 7:15 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Bloomberg Law: An injunction blocking a Kansas law barring organizations from sending mail ballot applications to voters containing personalized information was reversed by the Tenth Circuit on Tuesday, The court upended a ruling of the US District Court for the… Continue reading