Category Archives: Voting Rights Act

My New Article Posted on SSRN: “Election Reform: Past, Present, and Future”

September 13, 2022, 3:51 pmdirect democracy, legislation and legislatures, Supreme Court, theory, voting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have posted on SSRN a draft of this encyclopedia article, forthcoming in the Oxford Handbook of American Election Law (Eugene Mazo, editor, forthcoming 2023). Here is the abstract: This Chapter considers what election “reform” is and why many Americans… Continue reading

“New congressional maps dilute Black power, critics say”

September 5, 2022, 6:24 pmredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

AP reports.

Follow-Up Written Answers for Senate Judiciary Committee on Voting Rights after Brnovich and Shelby County

August 30, 2022, 11:38 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Last July, I testified at a Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on The Constitution, hearing entitled “Restoring the Voting Rights Act after Brnovich and Shelby County.” Two Senators had follow-up questions, and I have now posted the questions and… Continue reading

“The Limits of Procedure: Litigating Voting Rights in the Face of a Hostile Supreme Court”

August 26, 2022, 7:25 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Carolyn Shapiro has posted this draft on SSRN (Ohio State Law Journal Online). Here is the abstract: This essay is a response to Charquia Wright’s article, Circuit Circus: Defying SCOTUS and Disenfranchising Black Voters, 81 Ohio St. L.J. 405 (2020).… Continue reading

“How a rare voting rights win took two races off Georgia ballots”

August 25, 2022, 11:07 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

AJC reports: An unusual voting rights victory is delaying elections for Georgia’s utility regulators until next year, allowing the Republican-led General Assembly to make new rules for Public Service Commission elections but giving Democrats a better chance to break… Continue reading

“The Truly Scary Part of the $1.6 Billion Conservative Donation; It’s not about the legality. It’s about the loop.”

August 23, 2022, 6:00 pmcampaign finance, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece with Dahlia Lithwick for Slate. It begins: On Monday, the New York Times broke the news that last year conservative mastermind Leonard Leo had obtained control over $1.6 billion through something called the “Marble Freedom… Continue reading

“Activists in Florida say Black voters have seen their political power curtailed”

August 23, 2022, 7:03 amredistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

NPR: A combination of new election laws and congressional redistricting has made it harder for Black communities in Florida to organize and vote, activists say.Florida, which concludes its primary elections on Tuesday, is among various Republican-led states that have… Continue reading

“Arkansas violated the Voting Rights Act by limiting help to voters, a judge rules.”

August 22, 2022, 8:04 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT: A federal judge ruled that Arkansas violated the Voting Rights Act with its six-voter limit for those who help people cast ballots in person, which critics had argued disenfranchised immigrants and people with disabilities.In a 39-page ruling issued on… Continue reading

Breaking: Georgia Gives Up Seeking Emergency Relief after Supreme Court Loss, Will Run Elections for Public Service Commissions Using Districts to Remedy Likely Voting Rights Act Violation

August 19, 2022, 2:44 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Following up on this post, Georgia has raised the white flag, at least for this election. That’s even after the 11th Circuit set a lightning fast briefing schedule to consider a stay on remand from the Supreme Court.

Breaking: Supreme Court Reverses Eleventh Circuit in Georgia Voting Rights Suit Finding Georgia Secretary of State Conceded Purcell Principle Could Not Apply; Remands for Further Proceedings (No Noted Dissents) [Updated 11th Circuit Order on Remand]

August 19, 2022, 8:45 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Georgia’s failure to use districts for electing certain statewide officials was found to violate the Voting Rights Act, and the district court required the use of districts in an upcoming election. The Eleventh Circuit put that ruling on hold, apply… Continue reading

Federal District Court Rules That Georgia’s Food and Water Ban for Those Waiting in Line to Vote Likely Violates the First Amendment, But Refuses Preliminary Injunction on Purcell Grounds

August 19, 2022, 7:15 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can find the opinion at this link.

Plaintiffs in Georgia Voting Rights Suit File Emergency Application to Vacate Stay with Supreme Court, Seeking District Elections for Public Service Commissioners. Case Raises Major Purcell Issue

August 15, 2022, 7:34 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can find the petition here, and my earlier coverage here.

11th Circuit, Over Strong Dissent by Judge Rosenbaum over Application of the Purcell Principle, Stays Order Delaying Georgia Public Utility Commission Elections with At-Large Plan Likely to Violate Voting Rights Act [corrected title]

August 12, 2022, 9:55 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can find the opinion and dissent here. In my view (consistent with the views in my article identifying the “Purcell principle”), Judge Rosenbaum’s integration of Purcell into the broader Nken standard for considering emergency relief is the right… Continue reading

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Proves Likely Violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in Lyman County Commissioner Redistricting

August 11, 2022, 4:33 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can find the court’s order on the preliminary injunction at this link. The Tribe and individual voters are represented by the Native American Rights Fund, Public Counsel, the Law Office of Bryan Sells, the Law Office of… Continue reading

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