All posts by Justin Levitt
“Democracy Litigation in SCOTUS and the States”
The State Democracy Research Initiative and the Elections Research Center at U. Wisconsin are hosting an all-star panel on July 11: Miriam Seifter facilitating a conversation with Pam Karlan, Derek Muller, Gowri Ramachandran, and Rylee Sommers-Flanagan. You’ll want to save the date for this.
“Streaming: the best films about elections”
The Guardian with a list for your summer evenings.
“If Everyone Voted, Would Biden Benefit? Not Anymore.”
Nate Cohn at The Upshot with evidence supporting the dynamic I’d mentioned a few days ago: incremental restrictions on voting may be disproportionately impacting Trump supporters.
“Partisan gridlock prevents fixes to Pennsylvania’s voting laws as presidential election looms”
I can co-sign the AP’s lede:
Pennsylvania is seeing lots of action targeting gaps in its vote-by-mail laws. The problem is that it’s in the courtroom and not the legislature.
And no, I’m not suggesting that’s a problem of constitutional magnitude.
“Documents detail Republican push to force hand counts in Arizona election”
A Guardian report about the press for hand counts, the product of election denialism that led to criminal charges when supervisors refused to certify results.
I’m old enough to remember when it was the hand counting that was causing the dispute.
Carter Center pilot observation project in Missoula, Montana, primary
The Carter Center has a long history of profoundly deep expertise fielding strictly nonpartisan election observation missions across the globe. They were on the ground in the US to observe Georgia’s 2022 risk-limiting audit.
And now they’re out with preliminary findings from what they’ve described as a pilot for future observation programs: a partnership with the Montana Election Observation Initiative to monitor the Missoula primary. This sort of professionalized mission, with fulsome reporting premised on real understanding of election administration and the diversity of laws and procedures, could be a welcome model.
“Despite gains, Native Americans still face voting barriers”
An update from Voice of America that still points to an awfully long way to go.
“Illinois Republicans grapple with mail voting amid mixed signals from Trump — ‘We have to adapt'”
WBEZ has the story about trying to motivate voters in the face of very mixed messaging.
Related, I recently learned about the origin story for the VRA’s 1970 guarantee of uniform protections for absentee balloting in presidential races: none other than liberal icon Barry Goldwater. His testimony on his proposal starts at p. 277 of the Senate Judiciary hearings available here (though be warned – the file’s a hefty download). (h/t Mike Rosin)
“Transgender voters say they face photo ID barrier”
Photo ID concerns across the pond.
“Trump pledged to pardon Jan. 6 rioters. He faces pressure to name names.”
An excerpt from the WaPo piece about the law-and-order candidate:
Trump has steadily escalated his glorification of Jan. 6 defendants, often known in the MAGA movement as “J6ers,” describing them as hostages and patriots who have been mistreated. After his conviction in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records, Trump proudly adopted the term “political prisoner” for himself.
“Ohioans face voter purge before November election”
Axios with a service for the 158,000 voters on Ohio’s list maintenance roster, reminding them about the link to check (and update, if necessary) their registration.
“What Is “Fusion Voting”? Just a Way to Save the Country, That’s All”
Dan Cantor and Bill Kristol ask:
What in the world could possibly bring the two of us together? One of us is a slightly reformed Reaganite, the other a slightly chastened social democrat, each of us mugged by authoritarianism. In the 1980s and 1990s, one of us worked for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush; the other worked in the presidential campaigns of the Reverend Jesse Jackson Jr. and co-founded a progressive third party.
And yet, here we are, collaborating on a project that we believe can help restore the political health of the country we both love.
“Fulton election board puts limits on voter eligibility challenges”
Specifically, requiring substantial evidence of the basis for the challenge before effectuating the challenge, which strikes me as a very good thing.
Here’s the current Fulton County page on voter challenges, and the video of the board meeting (conversation starts at 1:11:32).