May 15 Event: “The FEC at 50: Broken and in Need of Reform”
May 15 Common Cause event.
All posts by Rick Hasen
Justice Souter, Democracy Champion, Has Passed Away
Justice David Souter passed away yesterday at age 85. He was nominated by a Republican president but skewing liberal in some key areas. He was smart in his questions on the bench and meticulous in his opinion-writing. I did not… Continue reading
“Trump Seeks to Strip Away Legal Tool Key to Civil Rights Enforcement”
NYT:
President Trump has ordered federal agencies to abandon the use of a longstanding legal tool used to root out discrimination against minorities, a move that could defang the nation’s bedrock civil rights law.
In an expansive executive order,… Continue reading
“How Will We Know When We Have Lost Our Democracy?”
Steve Letvitsky, Lucian Way, and Daniel Ziblatt NYT oped:
How will Americans know when we have lost our democracy?
Authoritarianism is harder to recognize than it used to be. Most 21st-century autocrats are elected. Rather than violently suppress opposition like… Continue reading
“Most Californians favor proving citizenship to vote, poll finds”
LA Times:
While California voters are sharply divided along partisan lines when it comes to election integrity and voter fraud, they broadly support a politically-charged proposal from President Trump and other Republicans to require first-time voters to provide government-issued identification… Continue reading
“2 lawsuits challenging Wisconsin’s congressional map filed with state Supreme Court”
WPR:
Two lawsuits have been filed asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to declare the state’s congressional map unconstitutional ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The lawsuits come roughly a month after liberals retained their majority on the court with the… Continue reading
“Appellate Court says NY’s Even Year Election Law is constitutional, reversing lower court”
Syracuse.com:
Five judges on an appellate court today unanimously upheld the constitutionality of New York’s so-called Even Year Election Law, reversing an Onondaga County judge’s decision.
The 2023 state law, which would move most town and county elections to even-numbered… Continue reading
“Texas Attorney General Announces Vote Fraud and ‘Harvesting’ Charges”
NYT:
A half-dozen people, including a county judge, two City Council members and a former county election administrator, were indicted in Texas on Wednesday for “vote harvesting” and tampering with evidence, elevating Attorney General Ken Paxton’s charges of voter… Continue reading
“Dark Money Hit a Record High of $1.9 Billion in 2024 Federal Races”
Anna Massoglia for the Brennan Center:
The 2024 federal election cycle was the most secretive since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010. Dark money groups, nonprofits and shell companies that spend on elections without revealing their donors, plowed more than… Continue reading
My New One in The Atlantic: “America Needs More Judges Like Judge Myers; He did the right thing in North Carolina’s Supreme Court fight, and he deserves praise.”
I have written this piece for The Atlantic. It begins:
When judges act as partisan hacks, it is important to condemn their conduct. Last month, four Republican Justices on the North Carolina Supreme Court blessed the anti-democratic attempt by fellow… Continue reading
“A New Crackdown on Ballot Initiatives Unnerves Florida Organizers”
Bolts:
Volunteers with the League of Women Voters of Florida are often seen at farmers markets, book clubs, parades, and other gathering places, collecting petitions and raising awareness on new campaigns. The League in recent years has become a… Continue reading
“Jefferson Griffin concedes North Carolina Supreme Court race”
AP:
The Republican challenger for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat has conceded last November’s election to the Democratic incumbent.
Jefferson Griffin said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday that he would not appeal a federal … Continue reading
Government Will Not Appeal Preliminary Injunction Stopping Portions of Trump Voting Executive Order from Being Enforced; Case Will Likely Go to Summary Judgment with a Ruling Likely in Late 2025 Early in 2026
See this status report (h/t Democracy Docket). The enjoined portions of the order then won’t be enforced until final judgment, and only if the government wins.
“Justice Department will switch its focus on voting and prioritize Trump’s elections order, memo says”
Missed this Nick Riccardi AP story from the other day:
The Justice Department unit that ensures compliance with voting rights laws will switch its focus to investigating voter fraud and ensuring elections are not marred by “suspicion,” according to an… Continue reading