Category Archives: Uncategorized

“D.C. elected these noncitizens to office. Congress could oust them.”

June 28, 2025, 5:36 pmUncategorizedhome rule, local elections, noncitizensJustin Levitt

WaPo on three green-card holders elected to “nonpartisan, unpaid positions in D.C.’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions,” whose eligibility to hold office is tied to their eligibility to vote in local elections. DC law currently allows noncitizens to vote in local elections,… Continue reading

Calling the Court’s Actions in the Louisiana Racial Redistricting Case a “Punt” Underestimates the Stakes

June 28, 2025, 7:23 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The Court’s decision to set the case involving the interaction between the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, Louisiana v. Callais, for re-argument came as a surprise. The supplemental order we will soon get identifying the new issues the… Continue reading

Election as a Distinct Sphere Under the First Amendment

June 27, 2025, 12:48 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

The Balkinization blog is running a symposium, based on an earlier in-person conference, on “Free Speech in Crisis and the Limits of the First Amendment“. My contribution is an excerpt from an essay I published in a book… Continue reading

The Court Recognizes that Universal Relief is Required in At Least Some Election-Law Contexts

June 27, 2025, 7:57 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

In response to this recent post from Justin, I would just briefly flag note 12 in the majority opinion: “There may be other injuries for which it is all but impossible for courts to craft relief that is complete and… Continue reading

Was Mamdani the “Condorcet Winner” in NYC mayoral primary?

June 25, 2025, 7:43 amUncategorizedNed Foley

We will need to wait to see the cast vote records from the primary (they were available last time, so presumably—and hopefully—they will be again this time), but it’s conceivable that Mamdani was not the Condorcet Winner. In an election… Continue reading

The Supreme Court, The Political Parties, and the SuperPacs

June 24, 2025, 5:52 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

This post is co-written with Bob Bauer, NYU Professor of Practice who formerly represented in private practice national and state Democratic Party committees: Later this week, the Supreme Court will consider hearing a case next Term on whether the First… Continue reading

A Few Points about the Structure of NYC’s Democratic Primary for Mayor

June 23, 2025, 7:40 amUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Proponents of ranked-choice voting often say the system will lead to more moderate candidates being elected. I don’t think that’s correct or the right way to put things. RCV makes it more likely that candidates who are the preference of… Continue reading

Me again

June 22, 2025, 5:09 pmUncategorizedJustin Levitt

Hi, all. It’s Justin again. With profound thanks to Tabatha for wrestling with the news fire hose for the last week, I’m afraid you’re stuck (mostly) with me for the next week or so. Tips / suggestions / scandalous gossip… Continue reading

Yale Youth Poll of 18-29 year-olds offers some interesting findings

June 22, 2025, 5:15 amUncategorizedyouth voteTabatha Abu El-Haj

Yale Youth Poll The most intriguing finding is about partisanship (framed not as party-identification but as party-vote): “When asked whether they would vote for the Democratic or Republican candidate in the 2026 congressional elections in their district, voters aged 22–29… Continue reading

Since the Shift to Primary Elections for Choosing the Parties’ Presidential Nominees, Experience in DC Has Changed from Being a Plus to a Minus

June 15, 2025, 12:05 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

Bruce Mehlman, at Mehlman Consulting, has put together this data showing a dramatic shift that takes place in the late 1960s/1970s about whether lengthy prior experience in Washington, DC appears to be an advantage or a disadvantage in presidential elections.… Continue reading

June and July ELB Bloggers

June 13, 2025, 10:25 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Here’s the revised schedule. Please send your tips and queries to the ELB contributor on duty that week: Week of June 16, 2025Tabatha Abu El-HajWeek of June 23, 2025Justin LevittWeek of June 30, 2025Rick PildesWeek of July 7, 2025Guy CharlesWeek… Continue reading

More on The LA Redistricting Case Pending Before the Supreme Court

June 12, 2025, 1:14 pmUncategorizedRichard Pildes

In a couple of earlier posts, here and here, I explained the mix of politics and Voting Rights Act issues involved in the Louisiana v. Callais case. The specific issue is whether LA engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering when it… Continue reading

“D.C.’s Stalwart in Congress Clings to Her Seat Amid Signs of Decline”

June 11, 2025, 11:06 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: When Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Democrat and nonvoting delegate for Washington, D.C., attended a recent gala to accept an award honoring her decades-long career in Congress, she appeared to be struggling to read her brief remarks. Standing onstage… Continue reading

Thanks to Justin and Derek for ELB Blogging These Last Two Weeks….and Here’s What’s Coming

June 9, 2025, 7:14 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Always appreciate the excellent work of my fellow ELB contributors! I’m back in this week, before a big stretch of ELB contributors through June and July: Week of June 16, 2025Rick PildesWeek of June 23, 2025Justin LevittWeek of June 30,… Continue reading