“N.C. lawmaker flips parties, handing state GOP a veto-proof majority”
Rep. Tricia Cotham becomes a Republican, in a district that apparently went 61-38 for Biden.
Category Archives: legislation and legislatures
“Tennessee House moves to expel 3 Democrats after gun protest”
Stories from the AP, the Tennesseean, and Fox review the resolutions to expel three members of the Tennessee House for leading students in the gallery in chanting for gun reform, without being recognized to speak. (They’d apparently not… Continue reading
“Towards Proportional Representation for the U.S. House”
New report:
In Towards Proportional Representation for the U.S. House, Protect Democracy and Unite America examine a 1967 statute enacted by Congress—the Uniform Congressional District Act (UCDA)—that mandates the use of single-member districts for House elections; how the… Continue reading
“Pence Must Testify to Jan. 6 Grand Jury, Judge Rules”
NYT:
A federal judge has ordered former Vice President Mike Pence to appear in front of a grand jury investigating former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, largely sweeping aside two separate legal efforts by Mr.… Continue reading
Richard Bernstein: “The U.S. Supreme Court Should Vacate and Remand in Moore v. Harper”
The following is a guest post from Richard Bernstein, who wrote this amicus brief in Moore v. Harper but who expresses his own views here:
Although I wrote and joined an amici brief supporting affirmance in Moore v. Harper, recent… Continue reading
“Confusion Shrouds High Court Election Case With 2024 on Horizon”
Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson for Bloomberg Law:
The US Supreme Court’s surprise decision to seek additional briefing in a North Carolina voting case could push an open question on the role of state officials in setting federal election rules into 2024.… Continue reading
“Republicans Use Arcane Political Tactic to Thwart Democrats”
NYT:
Republicans have settled on their procedural weapon of choice for this Congress — and they have it trained squarely on Democrats anxious about their 2024 prospects.
Twice in the past week, Republicans scored wins and divided Democrats by employing… Continue reading
“The House was supposed to grow with population. It didn’t. Let’s fix that.”
Danielle Allen WaPo opinion piece:
What if we increased the size of the House?
Given that most of us are pretty frustrated with Congress, this might sound crazy. But growing the House of Representatives is the key to unlocking our… Continue reading
“Republicans have won the Senate half the time since 2000 despite winning fewer votes than Democrats”
Stephen Wolf analysis for Daily Kos:
Even though Democrats retained the Senate—and expanded their majority—in 2022, the results nonetheless marked the continuation of an unwelcome trend: Our new data shows that Senate Republicans last won more votes or represented more … Continue reading
“Pence to fight special counsel subpoena on Trump’s 2020 election denial”
Politico:
Mike Pence is preparing to resist a grand jury subpoena for testimony about former President Donald Trump’s push to overturn the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the former vice president’s thinking.
Pence’s decision to challenge Special… Continue reading
North Carolina Supreme Court Schedules March 14 Oral Argument in Rehearing in Harper, the Partisan Gerrymandering Case that Could Moot Moore v. Harper (the Independent State Legislature Case) at SCOTUS
Here is the order. That gives plenty of time for the North Carolina Supreme Court to do what I expect, which is to reverse the earlier holding that partisan gerrymandering violates the North Carolina constitution, before the Supreme Court… Continue reading
“Sweep in 3 Special Elections Gives Democrats Control of Pennsylvania House”
NYT:
Democrats swept three special elections in solidly blue House districts in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, putting the party in the majority by a single seat and breaking a Republican legislative monopoly that has… Continue reading
A practical reason for the North Carolina Supreme Court to expedite rehearing of its partisan gerrymandering decision
I appreciate Rick H.’s perspective on the issue of potential mootness in Moore v. Harper. Indeed, I think if the North Carolina Supreme Court reverses its partisan gerrymandering decision, it’s hard to think that even a malleable doctrine like “capable… Continue reading
My New one @Slate: “Unfortunately, the Biggest Election Case of the Supreme Court Term Could Be Moot”
I have written this piece for Slate. It begins:
Will a power grab by the new Republican majority on North Carolina’s Supreme Court—ostensibly to reverse a power grab by the earlier Democratic majority on North Carolina’s Supreme Court—deprive conservatives on… Continue reading