All posts by Dan Tokaji

“California governor won’t call special election for Duncan Hunter’s seat”

January 9, 2020, 4:03 amUncategorizedDan Tokaji

The Hill: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will not call for a special election in the district held by resigning Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a spokesperson confirmed Wednesday…Hunter announced Tuesday he plans to resign effective next Monday after pleading… Continue reading

“How A Raucous Convention Revolutionized Our Primary System”

January 9, 2020, 3:56 ampolitical parties, primariesDan Tokaji

A 538 video, with more to come: By casting a ballot in a primary or caucus, voters in the U.S. have the chance to decide who will vie to lead the free world. But that wasn’t always the case.… Continue reading

19th Amendment Symposium at Seattle U.

January 9, 2020, 3:37 am19th Amendment, election law bizDan Tokaji

From the announcement and call for papers for the event, scheduled for April 3, 2020: The Seattle University Law Review is excited to announce a symposium in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, in… Continue reading

“Shadow Group Provides Sanders Super PAC Support He Scorns”

January 9, 2020, 3:25 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

AP: Bernie Sanders says he doesn’t want a super PAC. Instead, he has Our Revolution, a nonprofit political organization he founded that functions much the same as one….Now, with less than one month to go before the Iowa caucuses,… Continue reading

House Hearing on Digital Manipulation and Deception

January 8, 2020, 10:55 amchicaneryDan Tokaji

The Hill on today’s hearing “Americans at Risk: Manipulation and Deception in the Digital Age,” before the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce: Facebook’s global policy chief faced tough questions before a House panel on Wednesday as lawmakers voiced… Continue reading

Wisconsin Appeals Court Declines to Intervene in Purge Case

January 8, 2020, 8:27 amvoter registrationDan Tokaji

AP reports on the yesterday’s ruling: A state appeals court will stay out of a closely watched Wisconsin case over the purging of up to 209,000 registered voters in the battleground state.The District 4 appeals court in Madison said in… Continue reading

“Republicans ‘got greedy’ in drawing Pennsylvania congressional maps, new documents say”

January 8, 2020, 8:10 amredistrictingDan Tokaji

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on documents from the trove released by Thomas Hofeller’s daughter: “GOP gerrymandering got greedy the last time and bad political climate caused it to unravel,” one of the state-by-state analysis documents in the files said of… Continue reading

Are Ballot Marking Devices Secure?

January 8, 2020, 6:39 amvoting technologyDan Tokaji

WaPo on a study by Alex Halderman and other researchers at the University of Michigan. Here’s the abstract of the paper: Ballot marking devices (BMDs) allow voters to select candidates on a computer kiosk, which prints a paper ballot that… Continue reading

“Trump judicial adviser’s ‘dark money’ network hides Supreme Court spending”

January 8, 2020, 6:29 amSupreme CourtDan Tokaji

From the Center for Responsive Politics: A secretive network spending millions of dollars to confirm President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court picks terminated multiple 501(c)(4) nonprofit nodes last year while funneling money to an even more opaque limited-liability company,… Continue reading

“Ex-Tea Party lawmakers turn heads on K Street”

January 8, 2020, 4:28 amlobbyingDan Tokaji

The Hill: A number of prominent former lawmakers associated with the Tea Party Caucus have joined the ranks of K Street in the last year, bringing their small government agendas to the lobbying world.

“Barbara Boxer joins D.C. lobbying firm”

January 8, 2020, 4:25 amlobbyingDan Tokaji

The door revolves. From Politico: The California Democrat, who spent a decade in the House and 24 years in the Senate, doesn’t plan to register as a lobbyist. Instead, she’ll advise clients of Mercury Public Affairs, which represents corporate… Continue reading

Galston on Deepfakes

January 8, 2020, 4:16 amchicanery, political polarizationDan Tokaji

From the Brookings report, “Is seeing still believing? The deepfake challenge to truth in politics,” with a nod to the Marx Brothers’ classic Duck Soup: If AI is reaching the point where it will be virtually impossible to detect… Continue reading

“California investor charged with obstructing probe of Trump inaugural donation”

January 8, 2020, 4:03 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Politico: A prolific California donor who pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations now faces a fresh charge for allegedly trying to stymie an investigation into the source of money he donated to the Trump inauguration committee. Prosecutors in the… Continue reading

Michigan’s New Voting Rules

May 6, 2019, 1:33 pmvoter registrationDan Tokaji

The Detroit News reports on the implementation of same-day registration and other new rules in tomorrow’s elections, taking place in 65 of 83 Michigan counties. Secretary of State (and former Election Law Prof) Jocelyn Benson says: “The May 7 election… Continue reading