Category Archives: chicanery

Ellen Katz: “Redistricting Texas Now is Illegal and the U.S. Department of Justice is the Reason Why”

July 30, 2025, 7:53 amchicanery, direct democracy, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Ellen Katz has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the Texas Governor and Attorney General that claims four Texas congressional districts violate the Voting Rights Act and the… Continue reading

North Carolina: “All-GOP Appeals Court panel ruled against Stein in elections board dispute”

July 29, 2025, 2:36 pmchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

Carolina Journal: Three Republican members of the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued the April order that blocked a lower court ruling favoring Democratic Gov. Josh Stein in a dispute over state elections board appointments. Appeals Court rules blocked release… Continue reading

“DOJ Is Said to Plan to Contact All 50 States on Voting Systems”

July 29, 2025, 1:46 pmchicanery, Department of Justice, election administrationRick Hasen

Democracy Docket: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has said it intends to contact all 50 states about their compliance with federal voting law, a national association of state election officials told Democracy Docket. “As states recently began to receive… Continue reading

“Justice department asked California to give info on non-citizens on voter rolls”

July 29, 2025, 9:14 amchicanery, Department of Justice, election administrationRick Hasen

The Guardian: The Department of Justice has asked several large California counties to provide detailed personal information of non-citizens who got on to the state voter rolls, an unusual request that comes as the Trump administration has asked about a … Continue reading

“Project Veritas Withdraws Lawsuit Against The New York Times”

July 29, 2025, 8:25 amcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: The conservative group Project Veritas this week dropped its yearslong libel lawsuit against The New York Times. The lawsuit accused The Times of defamation for an article published in 2020 that reported that researchers from Stanford University and… Continue reading

Ballot Stuffing in Brooklyn?

July 26, 2025, 9:00 amchicaneryDan Tokaji

From the NYT, reports of what sounds like old-fashioned election fraud in a GOP city council primary: The New York City Board of Elections asked prosecutors on Friday to investigate possible ballot stuffing and votes being cast by dead… Continue reading

Trump’s False and Malicious Claims That Former President Obama Engaged in “Treason” in Connection with the 2016 and 2020 Elections Merits Mention Only on Page A17 of the NY Times and Is Barely a Blip Elsewhere

July 24, 2025, 11:27 amchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Displaying a willingness to weaponize the federal government in ways that were as novel as they were audacious, he took on a wide variety of individuals and institutions — from law firms and universities to journalists and federal bureaucrats… Continue reading

“Kenneth Chesebro and the Ethics of Election Subversion”

July 22, 2025, 8:57 amchicanery, election law bizRick Hasen

Sung Hui Kim has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article examines the role of attorney Kenneth Chesebro in orchestrating the “fake electors plot” following the 2020 U.S. presidential election. It traces Chesebro’s transformation from a… Continue reading

“Lawyer Who Pushed Bogus Trump Elector Scheme Is Disbarred in New York”

June 26, 2025, 10:26 pmchicanerydemocratic backsliding, January 6, The Big LieJustin Levitt

The NYT gets this headline right. Based on his part in the scheme for fake electors to submit fraudulent returns in 2020 — one of the few schemes NOT involving a municipal election — Kenneth Chesebro is no longer… Continue reading

“Delaware County borough official sentenced for attempt to steal mayoral election”

June 26, 2025, 10:25 pmchicaneryelection fraud, local electionsJustin Levitt

The Pennsylvania Capital-Star covers the sentence, delivered to the final co-conspirator of a scheme to submit fraudulent write-in votes in a 2021 municipal election. (These sorts of schemes are rare, but when they do occur, they’re almost always in local… Continue reading

“Former postal carrier gets 5 years for ballot theft scheme”

June 25, 2025, 10:04 pmchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadThe Big LieJustin Levitt

From Colorado Public Radio: A Mesa County woman who was a part of a scheme to steal ballots ahead of the 2024 election was sentenced to 5 years in the department of corrections, Wednesday. , , , At the… Continue reading

“Bachenberg agrees to pay $500,000 to settle voting machine audit lawsuit”

June 23, 2025, 12:40 pmchicanery2020 Election Conspiracies, The Big LieJustin Levitt

Armchair Lehigh Valley and The Morning Call have a report on some of the latest in 2020 fallout: A prominent Lehigh Valley Republican and major supporter of President Trump has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a federal lawsuit that… Continue reading

Former NJ Senator Menendez Starts 11 year Sentence for Corruption

June 17, 2025, 9:00 amchicanery, ethics investigationscorruption, MenendezTabatha Abu El-Haj

The N.Y. Times has a long profile of Robert Menendez, the former Senator from New Jersey, who is scheduled to start his federal prison sentence for corruption today.