All posts by Dan Tokaji

“ND Judge Won’t Throw Out Tribes’ Redistricting Suit”

July 8, 2022, 3:35 pmredistricting, Uncategorized, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Law360: “A North Dakota federal judge on Thursday denied the state’s motion to dismiss a suit claiming its new legislative districts dilute Native Americans’ voting rights, ruling the tribes’ right to seek a remedy is embedded in case law.”… Continue reading

“How The Supreme Court Could Turbocharge Gerrymandering — Just In Time for 2024”

July 8, 2022, 9:18 amelection subversion risk, redistricting, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

538 on Moore v. Harper: The independent state legislature theory is fewer than 25 years old, and for most of its life, it’s been relegated to the fringes of academia. But it was widely promoted by former President Donald … Continue reading

Director of Florida’s New Office of Election Crimes and Security

July 8, 2022, 8:50 amelection administrationDan Tokaji

Politico’s Florida Playbook has this report on Gov. Ron DeSantis’s appointee Pete Antonacci, described as “a skilled lawyer and former general counsel for [former Gov. Rick] Scott who once worked for Democratic Attorney General Bob Butterworth.”

“What a New Supreme Court Review May Mean for Albany’s Culture of Graft”

July 8, 2022, 8:39 ambribery, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

NYT: “[I]in key rulings in the past dozen years, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the law governing corruption, resulting in the overturning of the convictions of at least three prominent former New York lawmakers. And with the court’s announcement… Continue reading

“Next Time Trump Tries to Steal an Election, He Won’t Need a Mob”

July 8, 2022, 8:16 amelection subversion risk, redistricting, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Jamelle Bouie’s NYT column: Last week, the Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments in Moore v. Harper, a challenge to North Carolina’s new congressional map.The long and short of the case is that North Carolina Republicans proposed a… Continue reading

Wisconsin Supreme Court Holds That State Law Prohibits Ballot Drop Boxes

July 8, 2022, 7:23 amabsentee ballotsDan Tokaji

The 4-3 decision in Teigen v. Wisconsin Election Commission is here. From Justice Rebecca Bradley’s opinion for the majority: We hold the documents are invalid because ballot drop boxes are illegal under Wisconsin statutes. An absentee ballot must be… Continue reading

“More Republicans now call Jan. 6 a ‘legitimate protest’ than a ‘riot’”

July 8, 2022, 4:33 amelection subversion riskDan Tokaji

Aaron Blake in The Fix, on this Monmouth University poll, which finds: Nearly two-thirds (65%) of the public say it is appropriate to describe the incident at the U.S. Capitol as a riot, and half (50%) say it… Continue reading

Arizona Coalition Submits Signatures for Initiative to Expand Voter Registration and Early Voting

July 8, 2022, 4:27 amabsentee ballots, direct democracy, voter registrationDan Tokaji

WaPo: Citing efforts by Arizona’s Republican-controlled legislature to restrict access to voting, a coalition of advocacy organizations, community groups and volunteers is attempting to drastically expand voting rights in the battleground state through a ballot initiative. On Thursday, the… Continue reading

“The dangerous election theory the Supreme Court may be poised to endorse”

July 8, 2022, 4:13 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Josh Douglas in CNN Opinion: The justices have agreed to hear Moore v. Harper, a case that hinges on a technical legal issue with immense implications, and that raises the question of whether there any limits to… Continue reading

Voting Rights Lab Report, “The State of Election Law: 2022 Mid-Year Review”

July 7, 2022, 2:34 pmUncategorizedDan Tokaji

Available here. From the summary: In recent years, we’ve witnessed an onslaught of election-related legislation pulling the nation in two directions. On the one hand, many states have taken steps to erode participation in our democracy, creating hurdles to… Continue reading

Cipollone to Be Interviewed by Jan. 6 Panel

July 7, 2022, 4:43 amelection subversion riskDan Tokaji

NYT: Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel to President Donald J. Trump who repeatedly fought Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has reached a deal to be interviewed by Friday before the House committee investigating the… Continue reading

“Democratic alarms sound over DeSantis’s new elections overseer”

July 7, 2022, 4:38 amelection administrationDan Tokaji

Lizette Alvarez’s column in WaPo on Cory Byrd, whom Gov. DeSantis recently appointed as Florida Secretary of State.

“Questions arise over Warnock’s use of campaign funds to fight lawsuit”

July 7, 2022, 4:33 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Politico reports: “Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) used campaign money to cover legal expenses for a lawsuit relating to his time as a church minister — transactions that raise questions about whether the spending runs afoul of federal rules governing… Continue reading

“Tangled efforts, fraud allegations, may keep Green Party off the ballot in NC”

July 7, 2022, 4:31 amballot access, petition signature gatheringDan Tokaji

Fascinating story from WRAL, suggesting that Democratic operatives tried to persuade signers of a Green Party petition to ask that their names be removed, leading to the State Board of Elections voting not to certify the Green Party.