Category Archives: Supreme Court

Nick Stephanopoulos Speaks Out on Brnovich

July 19, 2021, 7:09 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActNed Foley

Calling it an “embarrassment” in this Q&A, Nick expresses views on the majority opinion in Brnovich that are much harsher than mine. Given the inherent ambiguity of section 2 as revised by Congress, and the genuine difficulty of applying… Continue reading

New Voting Laws Face Court Challenges Across the U.S.

July 19, 2021, 6:30 amcourt decisions, election administration, election law and constitutional law, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActNed Foley

WSJ reports on the recent explosion of election-related litigation but also the challenges lawsuits have in light of new rulings like Brnovich.

“How The Roberts Court Laid The Groundwork For 2021’s All-Out Assault On Voting Rights”

July 17, 2021, 6:00 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

In TPM, an excerpt from Orville Vernon Burton and Armand Derfner’s new book Justice Deferred: Race and the Supreme Court. Here’s the last paragraph of the excerpt: In 1989, in a dissenting opinion, Justice Blackmun made an observation that has… Continue reading

Senator Mike Lee Demanded That Sen. Padilla and I Apologize for Saying Justice Alito’s Brnovich Decision Goes Against Textualism and Is Not Faithful to the Voting Rights Act; I Doubled Down on the Claim

July 15, 2021, 4:22 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

This all happened at Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee hearing on voting rights after Brnovich and Shelby County. You can watch Senator Padilla ask me the initial question in the video at the 2:56:42 mark. Senator Lee’s rant, where he… Continue reading

“On Voting Rights, Justice Alito Is Stuck in the 1980s”

July 15, 2021, 5:07 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Linda Greenhouse on Brnovich: Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion for the six-justice majority insisted that the law should pay little mind to the occasional “inconvenience” of casting a ballot. Justice Elena Kagan’s dissenting opinion, joined by two other justices, accused… Continue reading

“Democrats craft voting bill with eye on Supreme Court fight”

July 11, 2021, 9:02 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

AP: Democrats face dim prospects for passing voting legislation through a narrowly divided Congress, where an issue that once drew compromise has become an increasingly partisan flashpoint. But as they look to reinstate key parts of the Voting Rights… Continue reading

“Why America’s Most Popular Party Isn’t Getting More Done”

July 11, 2021, 6:55 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Jeff Greenfield in Politico: The decision [in Brnovich] was a gift-wrapped present to future Republican candidates, and a direct slap at one of the top priorities of not just Democrats, but good-government advocates across the country. The Democratic response?… Continue reading

“The Democrats’ New Voting-Rights Obstacle”

July 10, 2021, 6:56 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Ron Brownstein in the Atlantic: [T]here is a gnawing anxiety among voting-rights advocates that even if Democrats find a way to roll back the Senate filibuster and pass new federal legislation safeguarding access to the ballot, the Republican-appointed majority… Continue reading

“The Revenge of John Roberts”

July 9, 2021, 8:16 amcampaign finance, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Rolling Stone: “Combined, the AFPF and Brnovich decisions continue the Roberts court’s decade-plus track record of undermining the hard-fought voting laws enacted during the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-corruption reforms passed in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.… Continue reading

“Brnovich v. DNC, The Supreme Court, and Voting Rights”

July 9, 2021, 8:13 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

A We the People podcast from NCC, featuring Rick H, Ilya Shapiro, and Jeffrey Rosen.

Nationwide preclearance for congressional elections

July 8, 2021, 1:25 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActNed Foley

For my inaugural post as part of ELB’s new format (and I’m honored to be on board–thanks, Rick), here’s a new Washington Post column. Given Brnovich, it proposes nationwide preclearance but limited to congressional elections as a way to… Continue reading

Charles & Fuentes-Rohwer on Brnovich

July 8, 2021, 11:48 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActDan Tokaji

Guy Charles and Luis Fuentes-Rohwer in the Atlantic: The Court’s opinion in Brnovich is deeply problematic, but not because the majority reached the wrong result. Reasonable people can disagree as to whether the specific electoral rules at issue—the wrong-precinct… Continue reading

“The Supreme Court’s Latest Voting Rights Opinion Is Even Worse Than It Seems”

July 8, 2021, 7:30 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: It’s been almost a week since the Supreme Court issued its most significant ruling on voting rights in nearly a decade, and each time I read Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion… Continue reading

FEC Appeal to SCOTUS in Ted Cruz Case

July 8, 2021, 4:06 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

The jurisdictional statement in FEC v. Cruz, involving the limit on post-election contributions to repay candidates’ loans to their own campaigns, is here.