Category Archives: legislation and legislatures

“Jan. 6 committee subpoenas Secret Service for missing records”

July 16, 2022, 5:58 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislaturesDan Tokaji

WaPo: The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol issued a subpoena to the U.S. Secret Service on Friday requesting records after a government watchdog accused the agency of erasing texts from Jan.… Continue reading

“Jan. 6 Committee Considers Seeking Testimony From Donald Trump, Mike Pence”

July 15, 2022, 5:49 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislaturesDan Tokaji

WSJ: “Members of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol are discussing the next steps in their investigation, including whether to seek an interview with former Vice President Mike Pence and potentially… Continue reading

“Judge rejects Bannon’s bid to delay trial, executive privilege claim”

July 11, 2022, 4:33 pmelection subversion risk, legislation and legislaturesDan Tokaji

WaPo: “A federal judge on Monday refused to delay Stephen K. Bannon’s trial next week after the Justice Department called an offer by the former Trump aide to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection… Continue reading

“The Case That Could Blow Up American Election Law”

July 11, 2022, 6:50 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Tom Wolf and Ethan Herenstein of the Brennan Center in the Atlantic: Members of the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority just last week took the next step in a little-noticed, but extremely dangerous, project: attempting to jam into law a radical… Continue reading

“How the Supreme Court could make it legal to steal the next presidential election”

July 11, 2022, 6:32 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Jessica Levinson in MSNBC on Moore v. Harper: “Our conservative Supreme Court stands ready to allow states to legally steal presidential elections by blessing a right-wing legal theory called independent state legislature doctrine. It is not an overstatement to… Continue reading

University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation

July 9, 2022, 6:11 amlegislation and legislatures, political polarizationDan Tokaji

NYT has this story on the University of Maryland School of Public Policy’s Program for Public Consultation, which has issued this report entitled “The Demand for Public Consultation.” Here’s the NYT’s summary of the program’s work: In simulations conducted… Continue reading

“The dangerous election theory the Supreme Court may be poised to endorse”

July 8, 2022, 4:13 amelection subversion risk, legislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Josh Douglas in CNN Opinion: The justices have agreed to hear Moore v. Harper, a case that hinges on a technical legal issue with immense implications, and that raises the question of whether there any limits to… Continue reading

Washington Post on Independent State Legislature Theory

July 5, 2022, 9:46 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

WaPo editorial: “The decision to hear Moore v. Harper could lead to an erosion of voting rights and an increasing likelihood of election interference…. It could also create manifold opportunities for mischief of the sort then-President Donald Trump and… Continue reading

A Historical Challenge to the Independent State Legislature Theory

July 5, 2022, 9:13 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme Court, UncategorizedDan Tokaji

Sean Daly (MA, Political Science, NIU) shares these thoughts: In the 1930s the Court unanimously decided Smiley v. Holm, Secretary of State, 285 U.S. 355 (1932), Koenig et al. v. Flynn, Secretary of State, et al., 285 U.S. 375 (1932),… Continue reading

“Will Justice Barrett Switch Sides on Independent State Leg. (ISL) Theory?”

July 4, 2022, 12:04 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Interesting post on Daily Kos, claiming: “[B]ack when ACB was trying to get the GOP nominee elected president [in 2000], she argued AGAINST the ISL theory. Had the ISL theory been applied in her case, her side would’ve lost, and… Continue reading

Michigan appeals court finds that proof of compliance with state campaign finance laws is an additional qualification for congressional candidates

June 9, 2022, 6:57 amlegislation and legislaturesDerek Muller

A dispute recently arose out of Michigan’s 13th Congressional District. Michael Griffie challenged Adam Hollier’s candidacy and alleged that Hollier filed “a faulty affidavit of identity attesting that he had no outstanding campaign finance issues.” From the Michigan Court of… Continue reading

“Texas GOP donors urge Congress to act on gun control measures”

June 5, 2022, 5:35 amcampaign finance, legislation and legislaturesDonors, governance, policy responsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

In a full-page ad in the Dallas Morning News, “Major Republican donors, including some who have contributed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaigns, joined other conservative Texans in signing an open letter supporting congressional action to increase gun restrictions in… Continue reading

Is the House GOP feeling the need to show voters the Party can govern?

June 1, 2022, 3:33 pmlegislation and legislaturesgovernance, Policy ReponsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Washington Post reports that “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) plans to unveil a strategy Thursday outlining how Republicans would address climate change, energy and environmental issues if their party gains control of the House in the midterm elections.”… Continue reading

Uvalde, an unlikely opportunity for responsiveness to public sentiment

May 30, 2022, 5:05 amcampaign finance, legislation and legislaturespolicy responsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

Public support for gun control, including regulating access to assault-style weapons, is currently extraordinarily high. But will Congress act? It would take ten Republican Senators to break. The odds are not good. And if they did, federal legislation… Continue reading