Category Archives: Supreme Court

Warrington and Buzas: Are Chen and Cotrell Right About Net Partisan Gains in Partisan Gerrymandering Cases?

August 3, 2017, 7:56 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Greg Warrington and Jeff Buzas, which may be relevant to the upcoming Supreme Court partisan gerrymandering case: I am grateful to Rick Hasen for the opportunity to post here about my recent… Continue reading

“Intent is Enough: Invidious Partisanship in Redistricting”

August 1, 2017, 6:54 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Justin Levitt has written this piece for the William and Mary redistricting symposium. Here is the abstract: When the Supreme Court last seriously grappled with partisan gerrymandering, all nine Justices concluded that too much partisanship in the redistricting process violates… Continue reading

“Ohio’s voter culling practices are legal, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted tells U.S. Supreme Court”

July 31, 2017, 8:58 pmNVRA (motor voter), Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Cleveland.com: Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted on Monday defended Ohio’s practice of beginning the process to cancel registrations of voters who haven’t cast ballots in two years, telling the U.S. Supreme Court its actions are needed to keep accurate… Continue reading

Wisconsin Files Its Opening Brief on the Merits in Supreme Court Partisan Gerrymandering Case

July 28, 2017, 1:39 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Read it here.

Tam Cho on the Efficiency Gap

July 28, 2017, 7:55 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Important piece at the University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online by Wendy Tam Cho on the “efficiency gap,” at the centerpiece of the Wisconsin redistricting case. It begins: The efficiency gap has recently been touted as a general partisan fairness… Continue reading

“Democrats’ short-lived 2012 recall victory led to key evidence in partisan gerrymandering case”

July 25, 2017, 7:31 amrecall elections, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Madison.com: By most accounts, the 2011 and 2012 gubernatorial and Senate recall elections were a complete disaster for Wisconsin Democrats. Gov. Scott Walker’s historic victory boosted his fundraising and re-election prospects. The recall petition became a litmus test for party… Continue reading

Must-Read Journal of Law and Policy Symposium on Buckley at 40, Campaign Finance and Free Speech

July 24, 2017, 10:04 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

It was a great conference and now what looks like a very promising law review issue: Current Issue: Volume 25, Issue 1 (2016) Articles PDF Introduction; The Past, Present and Future of Free Speech Joel M. Gora PDF A … Continue reading

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Gerrymandering Case May Be Most Important Decision SCOTUS Face”

July 23, 2017, 8:43 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

HuffPost: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says a case dealing with how far political parties can go to draw election districts to their benefit might be the “most important” the court will hear next term. Ginsburg made … Continue reading

Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Argument in WI Partisan Gerrymandering Case Oct 3

July 19, 2017, 11:03 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Greg Stohr tweets.

“We disrupted the U.S. Supreme Court to protest money in politics, and are being sentenced today.”

July 17, 2017, 10:03 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Matt Kresling statement.

“The 2016 U.S. Voting Wars: From Bad to Worse”

July 17, 2017, 8:39 amchicanery, election administration, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights Act, voting technologyRick Hasen

I have posted this new draft on SSRN (for the pre-APSA event, Protecting Electoral Security and Voting Rights: The 2016 U.S. Elections in Comparative Perspective). Here is the abstract: If the “voting wars” which have broken out across the… Continue reading

“A Supreme Court mystery: Has Roberts embraced same-sex marriage ruling?”

July 17, 2017, 8:15 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Bob Barnes for WaPo: A Supreme Court mystery: Has Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. embraced the court’s same-sex marriage decision that he so passionately protested two years ago? The “does-he-doesn’t-he” question is prompted by a case that the court… Continue reading

The Road to Put Texas Back under Federal Supervision for Voting Just Got Longer

July 14, 2017, 2:22 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

There are two federal courts considering whether or not Texas should be “bailed back” into preclearance coverage under Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act. That section lets a court in its discretion put a state under federal supervision for… Continue reading