Cleta Mitchell Wants Every Lawyer in the Voting Section (and Likely in the Civil Rights Division) of the Department of Justice to Be Terminated
We’ll see how much sway her argument has with Trump and the new AG.
All posts by Rick Hasen
“Jack Smith Plans to Step Down as Special Counsel Before Trump Takes Office”
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”
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
“10 most-cited Election Law faculty in the U.S., 2019-2023”
Brian Leiter:
Based on the latest Sisk data, here are the ten most-cited election law faculty in the U.S. for the period 2019-2023 (inclusive) (remember that the data was collected in late May/early June of 2024, and that… Continue reading
Sad News: Ted Olson Has Passed Away
Leading attorney Ted Olson of Gibson Dunn has passed away. He argued many important cases at the Supreme Court, including (most relevant to election law) Bush v. Gore and Citizens United. He was an excellent lawyer, serving as well… Continue reading
“The Internal Law of Democracy”
Kevin Stack has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Vanderbilt Law Review). Here is the abstract:
The conventional focus of election law is the constitutional, statutory, and judicial constraints on election officials. But the operation of elections also depends on… Continue reading
Vladeck: “Nor, assuming he abides by the 22nd Amendment limiting a president to two terms, does Mr. Trump have to worry about running for re-election.”
Quite the aside from Steve Vladeck today in the NYT!
Republican Party Appeal of Lower Court Order Requiring the Counting of Misdated/Undated But Timely Absentee Ballots Reaches Pennsylvania Supreme Court
You can read the petition in Baxter at this link.
Republicans raise the independent state legislature theory at page 34 of the brief, potentially teeing up this issue for eventual review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Trump Allies Gain Power Over Elections in Arizona’s Largest County”
Bolts:
Justin Heap, an Arizona lawmaker who has pushed for severe voting restrictions and whose campaign was led by an indicted 2020 “fake elector” for Donald Trump, has won control of one of the country’s most important local elections offices. … Continue reading
Bluesky, Smiling at Me: Why I Plan to Post Substantive Commentary at Blue Sky (rickhasen.bsky.social) Rather than Threads or X (Twitter) (Automated Postings Still Will Appear on Threads and X)
I pulled back a few years ago from posting on X once the platform under Elon Musk became more toxic and as it turned from fighting the spread of election disinformation to becoming a main vector for it. I still… Continue reading
“Why Was There a Broad Drop-Off in Democratic Turnout in 2024?”
NYT:
Voters in liberal strongholds across the country, from city centers to suburban stretches, failed to show up to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris at the levels they had for Joseph R. Biden Jr. four years earlier, contributing significantly… Continue reading
“Schumer invites McCormick and Gallego to Senate orientation”
Politico:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has extended Senate orientation invitations to Pennsylvania Republican Dave McCormick and Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego after previously withholding them while their respective races remained unsettled.
Schumer previously insisted the Pennsylvania race had not yet … Continue reading
“Decision on whether to overturn Trump’s New York hush money conviction is delayed”
CNN:
Donald Trump’s lawyers and the Manhattan district attorney’s office have agreed to delay activity in the hush money case until November 19 to give the president-elect’s lawyers time to make new arguments on how his election victory impacts the… Continue reading
“Many in government are worried about Trump’s return. At DOJ, they’re terrified.”
Politico:
A collective sense of dread has taken hold at the Department of Justice, which drew Donald Trump’s rage like no other part of the federal government during his campaign.
Some career attorneys at DOJ are already considering heading for… Continue reading