Release: On June 24, Joint Center President Spencer Overton provided expert testimony at a joint congressional hearing entitled “A Country in Crisis: How Disinformation Online is Dividing the Nation.”During the congressional hearing, Spencer explained that both domestic and foreign actors … Continue reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Des Moines Register: Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law new restrictions that will prevent Secretary of State Paul Pate from mailing ballot request forms to Iowans in November’s election without first seeking approval from legislators. The law will also prohibit county … Continue reading
You can find the articles here: Featured Articles James A. Gardner, Democratic Legitimacy Under Conditions of Severely Depressed Voter Turnout Daniel P. Tokaji, Voter Registration in a Pandemic Richard H. Pildes, How to Accommodate aMassive Surge in Absentee Voting Richard Briffault, Election Law Localism … Continue reading
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy: The impact of the coronavirus on the daily lives of millions of Americans has demonstrated that patience is a virtue. But it is clearly a virtue that not everyone in the United States possesses, as politicians and armed groups have demanded that … Continue reading
Listen: Long lines, machine breakdowns, absentee obstacles: As our country grapples with a pandemic, social uprising and divisive politics, voting is more challenging than ever. But what does complacency, voter disenfranchisement and rights infringement say about our election system, and … Continue reading
Here is the order. And two of the judges had this to say about the Purcell principle: “Purcell is not a magic wand that defendants can wave to make any unconstitutional election restriction disappear so long as an impending election … Continue reading
June 26 Duke virtual event: COVID-19 presents major challenges for the US election process. Measures necessary to protect the public and prevent the spread of the virus, like shelter-in-place orders, quarantine and self-isolation, and fear of infection will keep many … Continue reading
There’s a new empirical paper out from a strong group of authors on what turnout effects Virginia’s voter ID law might have had. In this abstract, I highlight the surprising findings: One contentious question in contemporary election administration is the … Continue reading
WaPo reports. … Continue reading
William J. Palatucci and Steven H. Sholk in the New Jersey Law Journal. … Continue reading
A cautionary tale about claiming voter suppression. … Continue reading
At the Washington Post, I’ve published this op-ed urging policymakers and election administrators to recognize the critical role in-person voting must continue to play this fall. Here’s the opening of the piece: As the long lines in recent primary elections … Continue reading
WaPo reports. … Continue reading
Fox News reports. If you watch the video clip, Director Wray is very understated about voter fraud, saying that it happens “from time to time” and when it does the FBI investigates. … Continue reading
CNN reports. … Continue reading
WaPo reports. … Continue reading
NYT: President Trump has been baselessly warning that mail voting will lead to a “rigged election.” Here’s how states running mail elections track misconduct. … Continue reading
Courier-Journal: While national Democrats, athletes and celebrities are saying Kentucky’s rescheduled primary is an attempt at voter suppression, the Bluegrass State is on its way to a possible record turnout in Tuesday’s primary election.Kentucky received high marks months ago when Democratic Gov. … Continue reading
AP: “It’s a way of trying to turn the foreign interference claims that have been made on their head,” said Richard Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California, Irvine. “Typically we’ve heard that the Russian government and … Continue reading
Maryland Matters reports. … Continue reading
Newsday reports. … Continue reading
Here at the Brennan Center. … Continue reading
Cameron Kistler and Nanya Springer in Slate: We’re arguing in court that a failure to take reasonable precautions to protect voters from COVID violates Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which makes voter intimidation illegal regardless of whether anyone intended for … Continue reading
See here. … Continue reading
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: A voter ID lawsuit that has been simmering before an appeals court for more than three years could upend Wisconsin’s election this fall. Then again, the three judges in charge of the case could continue to sit on the litigation, leaving it unresolved until … Continue reading
CPI/NBC reports. … Continue reading
New at Freedom to Tinker. … Continue reading
WSJ editorial. … Continue reading
Spectrum News reports. … Continue reading
Earlier this week, I wrote In Risky Move, Texas Democrats Appeal 5th Circuit Absentee Voting Decision to Supreme Court, Claiming 26th Amendment Violation about this application filed by Texas Democrats in Texas Democratic Party v. Abbott. Justice Alito has now … Continue reading
Joshua Sellers and Erin Scharff have posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Stanford Law Review). Here is the abstract: States are increasingly responding to local governments’ actions with preemptive legislation. Scholars have tracked this trend through detailed examinations of laws … Continue reading
WaPo: Fewer than 200 polling places will be open for voters in Kentucky’s primary Tuesday, down from 3,700 in a typical election year. Amid a huge influx in requests for mail-in ballots, some voters still had not received theirs days … Continue reading
Roll Call: The November presidential and congressional elections are a little more than four months away, and Congress must act now to help states prepare for a surge in Americans seeking to vote by mail because of pandemic-driven fears that … Continue reading
AZ Law reports. … Continue reading
BAN reports. … Continue reading
Axios reports. … Continue reading
Opinion here. Josh Douglas thread starts here: BREAKING: KY denies plaintiff’s claim that having only one polling place on June 23 violates the Constitution and the Voting Right Act. 1/— Josh Douglas (@JoshuaADouglas) June 19, 2020 … Continue reading
Scott Shafer for KQED. … Continue reading
Philly Inquirer: The Pennsylvania NAACP sued the state Thursday demanding an overhaul of the electoral system before November because, it said, the system in place for the June 2 primary was not equally accessible and disenfranchised black and Hispanic voters.Among … Continue reading
Detroit News: A Michigan Court of Claims judge denied a request Thursday to halt Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s mailing of absentee ballot applications to all registered voters ahead of August primary and November general elections. Nevin Cooper-Keel, Yvonne Black and … Continue reading
Politico: California lawmakers sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill Thursday that would bolster California’s plan to mail every voter a ballot for the November election — and passed it with support from several Republicans, despite monthslong criticism of absentee voting … Continue reading
AP: A network of deep-pocketed progressive donors is launching a $59 million effort to encourage people of color to vote by mail in November, a step many Democrats view as crucial to turning out the party’s base during the coronavirus pandemic.A … Continue reading
Important story from Politifact, which cites our report, Fair Elections During a Crisis. … Continue reading
If this pattern holds for November and nationwide, it means that Trump could be leading in places on election night only to have the outcome change as absentee ballots are counted in coming days. Jonathan Lai: In Pennsylvania’s first election … Continue reading
NPR reports. … Continue reading
The Mercury News reports. … Continue reading
Politico: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday took steps to help localities prepare for what could be high voter turnout this year, but stopped short of extending early voting or letting counties consolidate polling places in the battleground amid signs … Continue reading
WaPo: President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 U.S. election, telling Xi during a summit dinner last year that increased agricultural purchases by Beijing from American farmers would aid his electoral prospects, according to … Continue reading
NBC News: The motion alleges the Mendez campaign used at least one individual to steal ballots out of mailboxes. That person, YaYa Luis Mendez, already confessed to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, McKoy says in the motion. … Continue reading
I have posted this short new essay on SSRN titled The Constitutional Emergency Powers of Federal Courts. Here’s the abstract: Discussions about whether governments in constitutional democracies possess emergency powers during exigent times focus exclusively on the political branches. But … Continue reading