Category Archives: Uncategorized

“‘It’s complicated’: DC officials mark 50th anniversary of Home Rule Act, continue push for statehood”

December 25, 2023, 7:38 amUncategorizedDC StatehoodSpencer Overton

WTOP: D.C. got a unique Christmas Eve surprise from President Richard Nixon a half century ago — the right to self-governance. It came after decades of failures for the city, between 1948 and 1964, as a handful of bills… Continue reading

“‘You better pray’: Christian nationalist groups are mobilizing before the 2024 elections”

December 25, 2023, 7:37 amUncategorized2024 Election CycleSpencer Overton

The Guardian: On a cold night in November, a man named Jefferson Davis addressed a crowd of conservative activists gathered in an American Legion hall 20 miles north of Milwaukee. In his left hand, Davis brandished an unusual prop.… Continue reading

Recent research posted to SSRN

December 25, 2023, 7:35 amUncategorizeddisqualification, ranked choice votingSpencer Overton

“Section Three’s Chilling Effect on Free Speech” “Ballot Marking Errors in Ranked-Choice Voting”

“Trump Asks Appeals Court to Toss Election Case on Immunity Grounds”

December 24, 2023, 7:56 amUncategorized2020 Election Cycle, Election InterferenceSpencer Overton

Opening brief from WaPo here. NYT: Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump asked an appeals court in Washington on Saturday night to toss a federal indictment accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, arguing that he… Continue reading

“How Russian and Chinese Interference Could Affect the 2024 Election”

December 24, 2023, 7:54 amUncategorizeddisinformation, foreign interferenceSpencer Overton

More analysis on this story from NYT: ….As Washington looks ahead to the 2024 vote, U.S. intelligence agencies last week released a report on the 2022 midterm elections — a document that gives us some hints about what might… Continue reading

“Legal challenges to the Voting Rights Act continue into the new year”

December 24, 2023, 7:53 amUncategorizedVoting Rights ActSpencer Overton

Hansi Lo Wang on NPR: The landmark Voting Rights Act has had a wild year in the courts. In 2024, ongoing legal challenges are threatening to make it harder to protect the voting rights of people of color (4-minute listen).

“Reforms coming to Washington elections after three counties settle with the UCLA’s Voting Rights Project”

December 24, 2023, 7:53 amUncategorizedsignature verificationSpencer Overton

The Chronicle: Washington state’s signature-verification procedures are meant to root out exceedingly rare cases of voter fraud. But what they’ve typically done is get a lot of innocent legal votes tossed out. In 2020 alone, the state rejected more… Continue reading

“Opinion: Light at the end of the tunnel for New York’s redistricting”

December 24, 2023, 7:51 amUncategorizedredistrictingSpencer Overton

Jeffrey Wice writes.

“Arizona creates own deep-fake election hoaxes to prepare for 2024”

December 23, 2023, 7:49 amUncategorizedAISpencer Overton

Politico: Arizona’s top elections official has a novel plan to prevent artificial intelligence from supercharging election hoaxes in 2024: Test the technology on himself first. After his key swing state became a magnet for election fraud conspiracy theories in… Continue reading

Lawyers’ Committee files amicus in Murthy v. Missouri

December 23, 2023, 7:47 amUncategorizedcontent moderation, disinformationSpencer Overton

From the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: Washington, DC – Today, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed an amicus brief in Murthy v. Missouri in support of social media platforms’ ability to censor harmful… Continue reading

“Elon Musk promised an anti-‘woke’ chatbot. It’s not going as planned.”

December 23, 2023, 7:44 amUncategorizedAISpencer Overton

WaPo: Decrying what he saw as the liberal bias of ChatGPT, Elon Musk earlier this year announced plans to create an artificial intelligence chatbot of his own. In contrast to AI tools built by OpenAI, Microsoft and Google, which… Continue reading

“In Connecticut, a rare election do-over could oust a sitting mayor”

December 23, 2023, 7:43 amUncategorizedabsentee ballotsSpencer Overton

NBC News: In January, voters in Bridgeport, Connecticut, will head to the polls for an unusual contest: a court-ordered redo of the city’s Democratic mayoral primary. The Jan. 23 election will determine whether Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim fairly won… Continue reading

“Michigan Inmates Will be Allowed to Vote Upon Prison Release”

December 23, 2023, 7:40 amUncategorizedfelon disenfranchisementSpencer Overton

Black Enterprise: Votebeat reports Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed House Bill 4983, on Nov. 30, which will usher in a new era of expanded voting rights for the state’s former inmates. Effective June 2025, the first of its… Continue reading

“Hochul signs legislation shifting more local elections to even-numbered years”

December 23, 2023, 7:39 amUncategorizedlocal electionsSpencer Overton

WGRZ: More town, city, and county elections will be held during even-numbered years, after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed new legislation on Friday. The Democratic governor said in a statement that the move will “expand access to the… Continue reading