Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Emil Bove Starts Judicial Career With a Sneer”

October 25, 2025, 7:35 amUncategorizedvote-by-mailSpencer Overton

TPM: …After Trump won, [Emil[ Bove became the president’s personal enforcer in the DOJ….Bove is [now] serving in the rarified role of a federal judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals…. On Friday, he went out of his… Continue reading

“The passage of time”

October 24, 2025, 7:58 amUncategorizedVoting Rights ActSpencer Overton

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky in SCOTUSBlog: When is it ever appropriate for the Supreme Court to decide that a federal law is unconstitutional because it is no longer needed? This question arose during the oral arguments on Oct. 15 in… Continue reading

More Concerns About the SG’s Proposal in Callais

October 24, 2025, 7:54 amUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

I’ve already discussed a number of problems with the SG’s proposal in Callais (that plaintiffs’ demonstrative maps be required to achieve jurisdictions’ political objectives). Upon further reflection, I have two further concerns. One is that the proposal is inconsistent with the… Continue reading

“Protester Who Played ‘Star Wars’ Song Sues After Arrest in Washington”

October 24, 2025, 5:04 amUncategorizedFirst AmendmentSpencer Overton

NYT: A Washington, D.C., resident who protested while playing the “Imperial March” theme from “Star Wars” sued members of the National Guard and the city’s police force in federal court on Thursday, arguing that he was wrongfully arrested during… Continue reading

“Virginia Democrats Plan to Redraw House Maps in Redistricting Push”

October 24, 2025, 5:03 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: The next front in the nation’s pitched battle over mid-decade congressional redistricting is opening in Virginia, where Democrats are planning the first step toward redrawing congressional maps, a move that could give their party two or three more… Continue reading

“Judge sides with disenfranchised voters in challenge to Virginia’s felony voting laws”

October 24, 2025, 5:02 amUncategorizedfelon disenfranchisementSpencer Overton

Courthouse News Service: RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — A judge ruled in favor of a pair of disenfranchised voters Thursday who argued Virginia’s felony voting law violates a 150-year-old federal statute. U.S. District Judge John Gibney ruled from the bench… Continue reading

“Ahead of Mayor Race, Noncitizen New Yorkers Grapple with a Voting Policy Failure to Launch”

October 24, 2025, 5:02 amUncategorizednoncitizen votingSpencer Overton

BOLTS: ….A DACA recipient who arrived in New York City in 2005 as a child from Mexico, [Antonio] Alarcón has been a longtime vocal immigration and community advocate and organizer. But he’s also part of a chunk of the… Continue reading

“Letitia James to Appear in Court as Battle Over Trump-Urged Prosecution Begins”

October 24, 2025, 5:01 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, is set to appear in federal court in Norfolk, Va., on Friday morning for an arraignment where she is expected to plead not guilty to charges lodged by the Trump administration that… Continue reading

“The 2025 Elections Using Ranked Choice Voting”

October 24, 2025, 5:01 amUncategorizedranked choice voting, RCVSpencer Overton

From FairVote: Ranked choice voting (RCV) is now used in dozens of cities, counties, and states across the U.S. In 2025 alone, 18 cities and counties are using RCV in their elections – including the most populous cities in… Continue reading

“White House List of Donors for President Trump’s $300 Million Ballroom”

October 24, 2025, 5:00 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

NYT: President Trump says he and a group of donors are footing the bill for the 90,000-square foot ballroom that he wants to build where the East Wing of the White House once stood. Here is the list of… Continue reading

“CLC Urges FEC to Hold George Santos Accountable for Campaign Finance Violations”

October 24, 2025, 4:59 amUncategorizedFederal Election CommissionSpencer Overton

From the Campaign Legal Center (disclosure – I am a CLC board member): On October 23, 2025, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) sent a letter to Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioners Shana Broussard and Dara Lindenbaum urging them to hold former… Continue reading

“Can New Legal Challenge Reshape State’s Congressional Districts?”

October 23, 2025, 9:55 amUncategorizedNicholas Stephanopoulos

This piece in Urban Milwaukee discusses the anti-competitive gerrymandering claim that has been filed against Wisconsin’s congressional districts (by a team of lawyers of whom some are at HLS’s Election Law Clinic). The piece nicely illustrates how much more competitive… Continue reading

Penn Law Review Multiracial Democracy Symposium Today & Tomorrow

October 23, 2025, 7:59 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

Attend virtually or in-person by clicking here. We’ll hear from leading thinkers on voting rights, including Guy-Uriel Charles, Torey Dolan, Tabatha Abu El-Haj, Nathan Fleming, Damon Hewitt, Ellen Katz, and Michael Morse. We’ll also hear from many top scholars… Continue reading

“A Ballot Measure Targets Mail Voting in Maine”

October 23, 2025, 7:54 amUncategorizedSpencer Overton

From a bit back, but worth posting now from BOLTS: Sarah Trites, who is approaching her 60th birthday, has made a point to vote in every federal election since she turned 18. She worries her streak will end soon.… Continue reading